Pregnancy - Weeks 1 - 18

I've talked a lot about my pregnancy on Instagram however I thought it would be useful to put it all in a blog post where I can go into more detail as my word count is not restricted.

In many ways I've found this pregnancy easier than my first. I'm not entirely sure if this is because physically it has been easier or if a. I know more of what to expect this time, or b. Because I'm distracted by my one year old Sonny so not as focused on it. I'm very grateful though that bit has been this way as I must admit I was sort of dreading going through it all again!

Weeks 1 - 6

It took a while for any pregnancy symptoms to kick in. On the right is me at 3 weeks pregnant. I felt very little tiredness or lethargy in the first few weeks as I had with Sonny. There was no sickness or nausea and generally I felt good. The only thing that really got me down was a horrendous cold/flu that I had over Christmas which I think hit me harder than usual. It also left me with a four day migraine, which is something I have never suffered from and unfortunately no pain relief helped but thankfully once that had passed I felt much better again. I've had my flu jab now, something I didn't get with Sonny so hoping this protects me a little more.

Weeks 6 - 12

Around this time I started to feel some of the unpleasant symptoms of pregnancy.

Nausea began to creep up in the mornings along with stomach cramps, gas and bloating. The nausea was nowhere near as bad as with Sonny but I went off lots of my usual foods and the smell or thought of certain things made me feel sick. Usually I love my oats or muesli and fruit in the morning, however the only thing I could stomach was eggs on toast. My favourite breakfast that I still eat most days is boiled egg on toasted sourdough with avocado, tomato, spinach and a good sprinkle of chilli flakes, pink salt and pepper: below right, and on the left me at 6 weeks pregnant.

I found plain old water made me feel so sick, I usually drink a lot of sparkling water but the thought of that too made me want to barf. I ended up drinking lots of low sugar juices instead and couldn't get enough orange flavour Fanta zero. I also went through a phase of loving soda and lime with lots of ice.

I found I mostly craved citrus, spicy, salty and tangy flavours and still do now but not to the same extent. I have to be careful with salt as if I have too much I've noticed it makes me blow up like a balloon with water retention.

The nausea was worst in the morning and when my stomach was empty but it would last all day and often I'd go to bed still feeling sick.

I didn't actually throw up often, it was just like feeling a bit pukey all day.

So as I said, the other thing that caused most discomfort and still does if I don't take steps to combat it, is digestion issues. I'm bothered

with this anyway even not pregnant so I regularly take probiotics and am careful about what I eat and when. High levels of progesterone in pregnancy make your digestive system slow down so that your body can fully absorb all the nutrients in food. For me it feels like food just sits in my stomach all day fermenting. I get gas that I can't pass which then leads to painful bloating and stomach cramps. I'd often be lying on the floor contorting myself around to try to ease it.

Finally I discovered some solutions and thankfully these help me keep on top of it. I found regular bread aggravated it and simply switching to sourdough made a huge difference. I also tried not to eat too much in one sitting and not eat fruit directly after a savoury meal. Sometimes this can over load your system.

On the right 11 weeks pregnant.

I began taking a digestive enzyme along with my probiotic capsule after breakfast and lunch, so two of each per day. Lastly I take a shot of lactulose at night before bed and sometimes after breakfast too. This acts as a stool softener and helps move things along. Without it I'm guarunteed sore tummies and constipation.

If I do all of the above I literally have no sore tummies, minimal gas and a regular bowl.

SKIN

The other thing that did bother me in the first trimester was my skin. I suffered lots of breakouts and it was incredibly sensitive. I would have fiery spots on my t-zone and cheeks as well as flaky dryness. Nothing really helped apart from regularly using Aveeno cream and exfoliating. Thankfully by week twelve it improved a lot.

INSOMNIA

Up to around week 12 I also suffered from regular insomnia. I'd wake up lots through the night and find it impossible to get back to sleep. A few times I just got up at 4am or would go on the internet to pass the time. Probably not conducive to sleep but atleast it was better than lying there! Thankfully I haven't had it recently although freaky dreams and nightmares are now a thing. Honestly some nights it feels like I'm watching a movie about myself and it's usually not a good one!

Weeks 12 - 18

TRAINING

I haven't talked yet about training so I will now. I've been incredibly lucky that I've been able to train in the gym around 4 - 5 times per week all the way through. I haven't been hit by the tiredness or lethargy that is so typical in pregnancy and that I definitely had the first time round. I have no idea why but I just haven't felt it... yet.

I don't intend to push myself during pregnancy, for me its about holding onto some muscle where I can, being active and working on flexibility through stretching and yoga.

Most days I'll start a session with a fast uphill walk on the treadmill, it's incredibly convenient and I enjoy it. Usually I'd mix my training up more with HIIT circuits however I've gone right off these as I get short of breath easily so I'm just sticking to what feels good.

I'll then follow with resistance making sure I train all muscle groups over the course of the week. I'll try to use different equipment on different days as each will engage slightly different muscles and techniques. I modify exercises where I need to and am not lifting as heavy or to overload as I normally would. I'd say I work to around 70-80% maximum effort.

I pretty much train what I feel like that day, either upper body or lower. I always try to include lots of glutes in a lower body session. I'll have a rough idea in my head before I start so I have a plan before I even go in. Often I'll watch Instagram or youtube for inspiration. The main thing is I try to use different exercises over the course of a couple of weeks. Mostly big compound ones that engage lots of muscles at once.

If you want to know more I post most of my workouts on my instgram page or in my IG stories.

Ok, back to pregnancy. The nausea began to fade around week 14 and now I don't get it badly but can still feel a bit off. It feels a bit more like indigestion nthan nausea though, a kind of nagging feeling of stomach just sitting in my stomach. I've avoided heartburn so far but as I write this, currently at 19 weeks, I've felt it a few times in the last few days.

I can eat most things, drink water again and don't really have any food aversions. I haven't had many strong cravings either. With Sonny my taste buds changed all the way through and I just didn't enjoy food the same, however this time that hasn't really been an issue.

Probably the thing that has been most noticeable - to my husband especially - is my moodiness and irritability. Now I need to say that I don't particularly feel it, at the time it FEELS like I'm totally justified to be annoyed at whatever it is, it's not until after that I realise actually it probably didn't matter that much or I over reacted. Usually its something that wouldn't really bother me much but I'm definitely more volatile and tend to snap a lot more quickly than usual. Often at my poor husband. Sorry dear x

Weight Gain

I'm not entirely sure how much weight I've gained. I don't really weigh myself anyway and choose not to focus on it during pregnancy. I was around 64 kgs to start with and I was 67 kgs last time I checked however this was a few weeks ago.

Physical changes in my body are obviously bump - which I don't feel is much bigger than last time, and a little more cellulite on my butt and thighs. My boobs have about doubled in size and are growing each day, which for someone who usually has no boobs is actually nice little novelty. I've ditched most regular bottoms in favour of maternity leggings and maternity jeans. Most are still a little big but I'd rather that than squeezing into my old jeans which just makes me feel rubbish!

So here we are, at 19 weeks and only a week away from being half way through. It's definitely passing quicker although I try not to think about the months too much as that can still make it feel like an eternity! I'm so glad I have Sonny as a distraction as he helps keep me busy and active and also he's growing up and learning so much right now that it's an absolute joy to watch him each day. I have those usual feelings of trepidation about loving another baby as much, being able to divide my love between him and his baby sister.. but as time goes on this gets easier. He's such a loving little boy and just adores his older step sister, so I really think he'll be great.

I have some worries about time management - how bath, bedtime, meal times will all work? Will I ever have time to brush my hair or put makeup on ever again? How the hell will I keep the house even remotely tidy? I just have to take some comfort in hearing and seeing other mums cope and know that I surely will too.

Mostly though I'm just excited and enjoying beginning to feel some little kicks.

If you have any questions or there's something I didn't cover feel free to drop me a message x