40 weeks is 10 months!

I really wish that I had blogged about my pregnancy while it was happening, though to be honest I wasn't a pleasant pregnant person, I wasn't running around barefoot embracing mother nature and loving my bump, to be frank I was a miserable wench! 

14 weeks pregnant....my 'flat' tummy...

Before I got pregnant I always hoped that I would be a lovely chilled out mother to be embracing her bump and floating around in empire line chiffon dresses. No such luck! 

I am pretty sure that we created Baby Edward on New Years Day 2010 (a great start to the year), and I knew I was pregnant about a week or so later though it was a few more weeks till I took the pregnancy test that confirmed it. I was sick! I was so so sick! I took several days off work hardly able to get up out of the bed.

My sister and I took my mum to Ireland for her birthday present (when I broke the news of her impending grandmotherhood) and we walked for miles, up mountains and across moors, I puked regularly!

15 and a half weeks

I went to the doctor to chat about my pregnancy and have my check over; he added low blood pressure and a heart murmur to my vomiting and shortly after that the fainting started; I fainted on the Chiltern Railway train to London and got picked up by a businessman, I fainted on a rush hour tube and it was so crowded no one needed to pick me up as I couldn't fall down, I fainted going down the stairs and Marylebone station, so you see it didn't start well! 

17 weeks pregnant

Shortly after I found out I was pregnant I moved in with my boyfriend, two nights before we moved he cut the end of his finger off with a mandolin which apparently meant that he was unable to lift anything, leaving the most of it to pukey me! Moving meant that my journey to work in London was now a round trip of about 3 hours, great when you feel sick and faint!

20 weeks pregnant

25 weeks

26 weeks

Some photos of the first half of my pregnancy are above, I didn't put on that much weight which was something to be thankful for, but I think that was mostly due to the amount of vomiting I was doing, I wouldn't recommend it as a planned weight loss program though! Sometimes I cursed my tiny bump, had it been more obvious people might have been more willing to give up their seats on public transport, as it was I think I was in that 'is she fat or is she pregnant bracket for the majority of the 9 months', no one wanted to offend me by offering me a seat!?! 

As my bump started to grow people often said to me, 'oh it's so awful when people reach out to touch your stomach isn't it?', er no, I can honestly say that in the whole 40 weeks I was pregnant no one ever touched my bump uninvited, however everyone did have an opinion on the sex of the baby based on the shape and size of my bump.  We had decided not to find out in advance, we were both of the opinion that it really didn't matter either way and not knowing would give me some incentive to push the baby out so we could find out - well that was my theory!

The second half...

29 weeks...still smiling

 

32 weeks

After our second scan at 20 weeks the second half of the pregnancy seemed to stretch forward ahead of us, there were no other scans to look forward to, no other landmarks to break up the long 20 week wait we had ahead of us!

33 weeks

We'd moved again (when I was 6 months pregnant) and were living in a one bedroom cottage so there was no nursery to decorate and we had all the essentials we required, bought, gifted or borrowed and stored in the loft ready for the baby's arrival. It really was just a waiting game and I for one could not wait for September 27th!

35 weeks

Along with my vomiting I was now suffering with unbelievable heart burn and acid indigestion (the doctor gave me some white glue like substance to drink which only made me feel even sicker so I stuck to Rennie, I could have bought shares in the company!), my feet were swelling and the heat of the summer months especially while I was traveling was crippling me; while everyone else enjoyed the sunshine I wanted it to rain! See I told you I was miserable, Tristan and I had only been together for a short time when we fell pregnant and suddenly he had me miserable and moaning for twice the time we'd even known each other! It's a credit to his patience that we're still together!

36 weeks

 

38 weeks

 

, I struggled just to open a can of pop and the wrist supports they insisted that I buy were no good at all, the velcro just got caught in my hair at night. It continued after Eddie arrived and was worse at night, so bad in fact I was scared lifting him out of his cot for night feeds as my wrists were so weak.........15 weeks after Edward arrived I suddenly realise, it's gone!

I had planned to work right up to my due date but as it was my swollen feet and general lethargy meant I gave up work 10 days before I was due, those ten days dragged but I was glad not to be undertaking that 3 hour round trip to work anymore, I lived on the sofa and wore Tristans shirts as nothing much else fitted anymore, it was cool in the front room and lying on the sofa was about all I wanted to manage.

39 weeks

40 weeks!

Now Edward has arrived every single second of it was worth it, every one of the 10 months! 40 weeks is ten months no matter what anyone tries to tell you and I was pretty miserable for nearly every second of every day of every long long week! I only hope that my next pregnancy is an improvement, though in all honesty even if I knew it was going to be the same all over again I wouldn't hesitate for a second!