Gingerjo’s Blog

How am I supposed to keep my mouth shut and not tell everyone about my pregnancy for weeks? I know I’m blogging about it, but none of my family and friends know so they won’t find out by reading this. It’s all I want to talk about. So far only my husband knows and he’s not really one for words.

I expect I’ll start getting morning sickness properly in the next couple of weeks which may give the game away. At the moment I’m just a bit dazed and confused, but then everyone is by the end of September where I work. We’ve just been through the busiest two months of the year and we’re all battle-weary. No-one thinks anything if you’re a bit off your game at this time of year.

It’s not at all easy to keep quiet. There are so many holes in conversations that would be neatly filled by the news. And so many ways to tell people. I’m looking forward to seeing the delight on some faces and the shock on others. And possibly the horror on some others when they realise they’re going to have to find someone else to cover my work while I’m off on maternity leave. Believe me, I’m planning to be off for as long as possible!

The pregnancy app on my smartphone (from babycentre) tells me that I need to max out on nutrients, eat plenty fruit and veg, nuts, pulses, lean meat, low fat diary products, etc - all the healthy things. I also need to make sure that I don’t fall in the trap of ‘eating for two’ since my energy needs won’t actually increase until much later on in my pregnancy. Now generally my diet isn’t too bad - I’m not saying we eat perfectly but on the whole Mark and I eat home cooked meals and we try to include plenty fruit and veg. Of course, not too bad is no longer good enough - I’ve got to become a healthy eating freak.

Although I’ve read leaflets in the past about 5-a-day I wasn’t sure exactly what you can count and what you can’t so I’ve been on the NHS website (http://www.nhs.uk/LiveWell/5ADAY/Pages/5ADAYhome.aspx) to read up about it. Surprisingly, your 5-a-day includes things like baked beans and dried fruit as well as the obvious carrots, apples and broccoli. Unfortunately it definitely doesn’t include potatoes or nuts.

My first official act as healthy eater extraordinaire involved me bobbing to Sainsbury’s this lunchtime to stock up on healthy snacks for the office. I’ve bought myself some almonds and hazlenuts, along with some fresh apples and some mixed dried fruit. The only thing I have to do now is not eat them all at once!

I’ve been taking vitamin B supplements for what seems like an eternity, but I bought cheap ones from Asda last time and frankly I don’t trust them. So I popped into Boots on my way home last night and chose from the dizzying array of specialist pregnancy multivitamins on offer. In the end I picked their own brand pregnancy support capsules with folic acid, B vitamins and Omega 3. They aren’t arf expensive! But obviously I want to encourage proper neural tube development so I handed over the cash.

I’ve just opened the packet now - god, they want me to swallow a torpedo - the capsules are enormous. Just how do they expect someone with morning sickness to swallow these?

I probably shouldn’t have at this very early stage, but the thought just popped into my head. I was thinking ‘it’ wasn’t a very nice way to refer to our little kernal of life, and about how at the moment he or she is somewhere between the size of a poppy seed and a sesame seed. And there it was - Pip! So Pip it is, at least for now.

I’ve booked a doctor’s appointment for next week. I don’t think they’ll tell me to do anything I’m not already doing, but at least I’ll be on the NHS’s maternity radar. And I’ll be eligible for a free flu jab. The one thing I might do is invest in a new tub of vitamin B tablets though - I’m not convinced that the ones I bought at Asda are as nutritious as they claim.

I had a good night’s sleep last night which was welcome because I’m exhausted. I can’t tell if that’s because I’ve been working so hard for what seems like forever, or if it’s a consequence of the changes going on internally. I’m now hyper-aware of every little abdominal twinge - there are so many of them! Aches here, twinges there. I expect they are always there, but I’ve never really noticed them before. I hope I’m not going to turn into a hypochondriac.

I’ve peeed on my digital stick and it’s a definite answer. I’m pregnant. How do I feel? Excited and terrified. Delighted and terrified. Satisfied and terrified. There ain’t no going back now.

I’ve told Mark. He can’t deny a digital window with the word ‘pregnant’ in it. I think he’s processing the news, as I am. A faint pink line was inconclusive, now we’ve been caught red handed, on CCTV and with DNA fingerprinting to boot. In short, we’re going to be parents, unless the unthinkable happens.

And what about all the changes we’re going to face? Not just the physical changes to my body, but to our relationship, our finances, our working lives and all that other stuff. As I say … excited but terrified.

Had a really rough night last night - woke up about 2am with a bad headache and nausea. I wasn’t actually sick but I did wretch and my head felt like it would explode. Finally got back to sleep but only after propping myself up at a 45° angle like I do if I have a migraine. Daren’t take any painkillers though, just in case.

I did another test this morning. I think the line is getting stronger, but Mark’s not convinced so I’m going to buy a clearblue digital test on the way home to be certain.I know nausea is normal, but are headaches too? I’ve googled it and it seems they are for at least the first trimester, especially if you’re prone to headaches in the first place - which of course I am. A good sign then? Hopefully I’ll have an answer later this evening.

We had a good time at the party last night, besides wondering what the faint pink line meant from time to time. I’ve done another test this morning - the result is similarly faint. Mark says they look closer to no than to yes in his opinion. I don’t know what to think. Feel like I’m about to come on any moment - I feel pretty rough and really want a little nap, so I’m pretending to everyone that I’m hungover. Hope it’s not a false alarm but won’t be surprised if it is.

My husband and I have been trying for a baby for about two and a half years now. We’ve been beginning to worry a little and have been planning to visit the doctor for tests, but I’ve been so busy at work that we haven’t had chance.The last couple of weeks I’ve been feeling light headed and dizzy from time to time, felt nautious here and there and been more emotional than usual. I’ve put this down to it being the most stressful month of my whole working year. It hasn’t worried me. I’ve just been thinking ‘god, I’m stressed, I wish it was over already’.

Tonight we are going to a family party and I fancied a drink, maybe let my hair down a bit. Every month I think this might be the month so I never drink in the second half of my cycle. Normally it’s not an issue, but I thought I ought to do a pregnancy test, just in case, since I was planning a good few bevvies. I’ve been feeling typically bloated, headachy and crampy and have been expecting to come on anytime, but best to make certain - then I could get tipsy with a clear conscience.

It’s not what I expected. We bought the first response early test. There’s only supposed to be one line - except that I’m definitely seeing two. One’s very faint though. What does that mean? We bought a couple of boxes of tests since they were on offer, so I’ve also tried another one with a different batch number. Same result. The instructions don’t say what this means. Not sure what to think.I’ve googled it and it could mean I’m pregnant. The forums say to keep testing each day to see if the line gets darker. I won’t be having that drink tonight that’s for sure!

Mark and I have chosen our half-term break tonight. We’re off to Newcastle and Gateshead for a few days next month. We’re staying in a Travelodge so it’s costing us less than £100 for a three night stay. Needless to say we’re not expecting much. I’m looking forward to going to the Beamish Museum, but apart from that we haven’t got any firm plans for what we’ll do when we get there. I think there’s plenty to do though and I’ve sent off for a tourism brochure so hopefully that will have some good ideas for us.