26 Week Pregnancy Update

Wow, the last couple of weeks have literally flown by and I am now 26 weeks and 5 days pregnant. Where is the time going? There’s been quite a bit of drama in our lives lately. Ports (husband) had a car accident 9 days ago. It was the call that every one dreads, but luckily he was ok. He’d been driven in to from behind by a van at 50mph as he was sat at red traffic lights. We got him to a & e and he was checked over and released with strong painkillers and told not to drive and to rest. So, I’ve been playing nurse, driver and chef for the last week, which I have quite enjoyed.

Before I give you my update I just wanted to say that I’ve received a few emails recently, from men (I hasten to add), telling me that my pregnancy updates are great but way too “honest”?!? It’s been very hard to find a way of replying politely to these individuals as I am certainly not writing this blog exclusively for them.

In my very “honest” opinion, I don’t see the point in writing a blog that isn’t telling the absolute truth. Every woman will have a different story during her pregnancy and this is mine, warts n’ all and I am writing it in the hope that it will bring comfort to some women who might be experiencing similar symptoms or to those Type One Diabetic women who are petrified to conceive due to the horror stories that surround us. I am not going to sugar coat pregnancy, not for any one, and if these updates are in any way “offensive” then please move on to something like these raw chocolate shortbread squares or these gorgeous puppies.

Now we have got that sorted I can give you my 26 week update which includes, but is not limited to, hairy nipples, high blood pressure and  nose bleeds.

Weight: 2kg /4lbs higher than pre-pregnancy weight.

Bump: I feel like my bump is huge. Everyone keeps saying it’s a neat bump, which I am thankful for, but then I did get one woman the other day say “How many weeks are you?” and before I could say “26” she said “thirttttyyyyy two?”.  As I don’t have any pregnant friends and Google has way too many crazy pictures it’s very hard to tell whether I am looking “normal” for my 26 weeks or large. Anyway, it really doesn’t bother me, so long as we’re both healthy then really, who cares? Having not had a bump at all until around 18 week I am loving every second of seeing it grow and develop. Plus big bumps don’t necessarily mean big babies so I’m just going to wait and see and enjoy my “big” bump!

Symptoms / feelings: I haven’t really had a second to reflect too much on my emotions recently, especially with P’s accident, all I have been thinking about is him! Which, in a way is probably good for me given how emotional I have felt. I do still feel quite overwhelmed a lot of the time and I feel so protective of Ports, Tilly (cat!) and the baby. My levels of worry and anxiety have certainly increased through pregnancy.

I have been getting some really awful period type pains which can be pretty intense with pain shooting down my legs and on a couple of days my womb felt really heavy. I went to the Dr and she gave me a once over and other than a bit of a high blood pressure (which we assume is down to worry / stress), she checked the baby’s heart and everything seemed ok. I have to go back almost every day this week for close monitoring though as I am flying to Majorca a week on Tuesday and I need a “fit to fly note”.

I have had lots of headaches, most days without fail with pain all around my head, down my neck, between my eyes and in my cheeks. This has been since the end of week 24 now. I don’t feel run down but I have read in my baby book (don’t tell my obstetrician that I’m reading it), that sinus pain is common in pregnancy, so I’m self diagnosing myself with that.

I have noticed hair growth in the most bizarre of places… (men avert your eyes),  I am experiencing hair around my nipples! Just the odd one or two, which are plucked as soon as they are seen but a symptom non the less! Oh pregnancy, I adore you.

I am still weeing during the night a crazy amount and I even find that if I go once before we go out, I will be desperate again by the time I reach the car! It’s ridiculous and there have been a few occurrences when I’ve had to jump out of the car and in to a bush. Luckily we live in the middle of nowhere so the chances of any thing other than local wildlife seeing such a vulgar sight is slim.

Bleeding nose. Again, this is all normal pregnancy symptoms, but the other night it just wouldn’t stop which can be quite disconcerting!

Back pain. I am starting to find sitting for a long period of time really really uncomfortable and by the end of the day before I go to bed my shoulders and back will be aching, it’s nothing that stops me in my tracks but it’s becoming more obvious.

Lastly, I have had, (and this has been from literally week 1 of pregnancy), bleeding gums when I brush my teeth. Sometimes it’s ok and other times it’s bad. Again, I have been told that this is all normal, a symptom of pregnancy.

Sickness: Nothing this week

Cravings: Still nothing. I still can go days without having an appetite and I do have to remind myself to eat sometimes- which is the complete opposite to what I was like pre-pregnancy. I am eating a lot of salads still, avocado, eggs and nuts. I’ve started upping my iron too, so I have a lot of leafy greens and I am trying to eat beef (steak) at least once or twice a week.

Baby Movement: So much movement. Again, mostly at night. I think this baby’s nocturnal…..and I have a feeling it could be a sign of what’s to come once he/she’s here. I don’t feel the baby so much when I’m active / walking etc, it’s always when I am lying down. The baby is moving all over at the moment from really low to really high. I even felt him/ her up high under my ribs the other day which was so strange. Ports feels the baby a lot now when he puts his hand on my tummy and it’s a feeling of connection and calm that I just adore. When I was in the Dr the other day lying on the table being examined I quickly grabbed her hand and put it on my tummy and the Dr got the biggest kick. She said I’d made her day, which made mine too!

Scans: No scans, just lots of Drs visits to check my blood pressure. I have a diabetic nurse appointment and a midwife appointment this week and will see the Dr for a medical examination too. If they are concerned with anything I’ll have to go in for an ultrasound.

Stretch marks: So, having been none, none, none, I have noticed some! On my right arm near the top. I don’t feel like my arms have put much weight on. I mean, they certainly aren’t as toned, but these have appeared from no where and I think they are so obvious. But, of course, when I asked Ports if he could see them he couldn’t. I don’t have any anywhere else (at the moment), but maybe they’re on the way! Anyway, I’m now upping my moisturising – whether it works or not, it’s better for my mind to think that I am reducing / preventing them.

HBA1C: 5.0%

Belly button in or out? In still. No change. Also I don’t have any sign of the Linea Nigra either.

Maternity clothes: I have a gorgeous new denim pinafore dress from Asos which fits really well. It has SO much room so definitely get the size you usually are in non maternity clothes.

Exercise: Can you remind me what exercise is again? The most exercise I’m doing a the moment is sitting at my desk bouncing up and down on my yoga ball. I am also doing some dumbbell exercises (ok, well, I have done these in the last 24 hrs since noticing the stretch marks!)

Blood sugars: Lots of hypos (lows) still. I have an occasional high (around 9 / 10mmols) but as I check once an hour it is brought down very quickly.

Medication: Other than my insulin I am taking 75mg Aspirin a day (which is prescribed to help reduce chances of pre-eclamsia), I am also taking a calcium / vit D tablet (also prescribed) and a pregnancy vitamin tablet once a day. I have also been taking paracetamol for headaches.

Beauty / Other:

I have almost completely stopped wearing make up recently, other than mascara and eyeliner. My skin is so much better than it has ever been. Although I have never had spots, I have always felt that my skin is a little lack lustre, but recently it’s seemed a lot more dewy and plumped. I am wearing lots of lip salve as my lips are quite dry. I am also a little obsessed with the smell of rose so I’m wearing rose perfume at any given opportunity.

I have been rubbing this Green People body butter in to my tummy almost daily and it’s amazing. A little goes such a long way. I am now rubbing it in my arms too in the hope it prevents any more stretch marks.

Baby buys:

I have been given some gorgeous bits recently from Baby Gap and from Joules. We are looking at travel systems still. Every time we go to look at them the sales staff apply so much pressure to go for this one called the Bugaboo Buffalo. I find it very clunky and it’s at least £300 more expensive then any other brand and as I have never been a crowd follower and never followed trends so I’m not going to start now.

After lots of research I’ve come across a brand called Jané Crosswalk- which is an all terrain travel system that looks really good. Anyway, who knows what we will eventually end up with, maybe just a wheelbarrow with a mattress in.

Concerns: 

That the baby is getting too big because of my diabetes. Ok, so we all know the risks about having high blood sugars and being pregnant, but even though my sugars are basically low the whole time there is still a risk that my little bundle could be big. Now, any non diabetic woman can have a big baby, for example my landlord was 10 lbs and his sister 11lbs and both born naturally. However, the risk is there. I am getting lots of growth scans from 28 weeks so if there is any sign of the baby being far ahead of itself in growth then it’ll be whipped out much earlier than expected. Watch this space I suppose.

My eyes. Something I hadn’t mentioned to you was that for about 12 weeks I have been having these grey floaters in my left eye, the same ones. They come and go but they are always the same. They move, they are not fixed and they are worse when I am looking at a plain wall / table / or the sky, but I can also see them on my skin sometimes when I am moisturising and it’s most disconcerting. As soon as they began 14 weeks ago I went for some private tests, followed by the normal NHS retinal screening and each one came back normal. But, as they have continued I have become more and more paranoid. So, last week I had an appointment in the eye clinic with a specialist. My eye was anaesthetised, dilated and the back of it photographed. The specialist then did a detailed examination and said that it was just the vitreous gel stretching and breaking off, causing the floaters, and that there was absolutely no cause for concern. So, now I just have to try to forget about these naughty little floaters and wait for my brain to get used to them and naturally blank them out!

That’s it for now, but if there’s anything you want to know that I haven’t added in then do let me know and I’ll add it in next time.

Emma and the bump x