Pregnancy – The First Trimester

The first trimester has felt like it was never ending. What made it hard was not just openly telling anyone and everyone that we were expecting and then awaiting my first scan at 12 weeks was torture! It was probably the longest couple of months I’d ever experienced, though I remember the countdowns to month long holidays in Thailand also felt the same.

I spoke a bit about how the first trimester has been when we announced that we were expecting but I wanted to share a few of the products I’ve picked up during those early stages, in case you have just found out your expecting or are looking for gifts/ideas for a friend or family member who has just told you they’re expecting!

The first thing I bought when I found out I was expecting was lotion for my stomach and boobs. It was the first thing I thought of buying because I knew I wanted to try and avoid stretch marks as best I could and keep my skin and well nourished as possible. After a little research I went for the Neals Yard Mothers Balm. It’s not anything like a cream or lotion or oil, it’s quite waxy.. like the name suggests, a balm. It doesn’t have a scent to it, which a lot of the women reviewing said they liked but I think I would have preferred a subtle scent, like lavender or something calming. Especially because I tend to put it on after my shower, before bed. I also haven’t really had much sickness, so a light scent would have been nice for me but perhaps not so much for others who have suffered badly with morning sickness during the first trimester.

The second product(s) I treated myself to were some comfortable non wired bras from M&S. Since COVID, I haven’t particularly worn a bra much and when I do, it’s either a plain t-shirt bra or a sports bra, neither of which are particularly comfortable. Because my boobs were just so painful to touch, I just wanted something soft I could wear everyday under my clothes, so I got this pack of three, 2 x black and 1 x white for £18. They’re the comfiest crop top/bras I’ve worn. So soft and go perfectly under my workwear.

Besides from a few items for the baby that I picked up pretty early due to the January sales, I was told by many other mothers that a pregnancy pillow was one of the best things they ever bought. Many bought them sometime during their second trimester and some in to their third but they encouraged me to get one as early as possible as it would really help with sleep and later help with breast feeding, if this is something am able to take to eventually. I’d originally looked at the bbhugme pillows, which are both highly rated and aesthetically pleasing but come with quite the price tag, so I looked about and ended up purchasing this Tommee Tippee one in the sale. It actually just arrived this afternoon and I’m currently sat in bed using it to prop me up whilst I type. I can confirm that it is firm and comfortable! I’m looking forward to a good nights sleep tonight and hopefully the pillow will make sleeping on my side much more comfortable, as I tend to sleep on my back which isn’t good for the baby later on in pregnancy.

That really is all I’ve bought so far. The next few items on my list I don’t really need until I get a bit bigger so I’ll share those in my second trimester round up. I’ve also got a few items in a basket from H&M I’d like to order, like some maternity dungarees, leggings and t-shirts, ready for the Spring. I am a little reluctant to buy maternity wear but I’ve always wanted some dungarees and for some reason I always think a baby bump goes so well in them! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this post. I promise I’m going to try and post more often! Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to share ☺️

Finding out I was expecting

Early November, almost a week before my 27th birthday, I’d had this feeling all day at work that I was pregnant but I was too scared to pick up a test from our local pharmacy and Spar shop, in fear that I’d bump into someone I knew or was served by someone I knew.. which is more than likely with where we live, so I waited until Josh got home that evening to collect a test under the cover of darkness, hoping that nobody would catch us and start any rumours! I’d taken tests before, but this time felt different. I just knew that two lines were going to appear, so I took the test and turned it over to let it work it’s magic. I was too nervous to look, not because I was hoping it would or wouldn’t be but because I just knew in my gut what it was going to say anyway. Josh had the first peek and there it was… those two faint lines. It was so overwhelming, we sat there just wondering whether the faint line really meant I was pregnant or whether it could be a mistake but I read the instructions over and over and even the faintest of lines meant high levels of HCG were detected in my urine sample.. and this could only mean one thing.. we were going to be parents.

The next few days were like walking on cloud 9, I’d never felt anything quite like it. I couldn’t sleep because I was so excited to tell my friends and family. I was constantly thinking of wonderful ways I could share the news but shortly after I began to feel anxious about the future and whether we were able to fully support a child. My worries about our finances were consuming me and I worried that we would never be able to do all the things we’d planned, now that we were expecting. Those worries soon subsided when I began telling my family and friends. I could see how excited they were for us and I kept telling myself that if most other families can do it, then why the hell couldn’t we?

Soon after seeing a nurse, who surprisingly didn’t even check to see if I was pregnant with a urine sample because home tests are so reliable, I started developing some symptoms. The most noticeable one for me was how sore my boobs were and what literally nobody tells you.. constipation! The first week or two of this was incredibly hard. I was waking up in the night with the most horrendous stomach pains that I thought something was seriously wrong but apparently constipation is a common symptom of early pregnancy. I wish someone had told me at the beginning because I would have started eating prunes much earlier on, so take my advice. Buy the prunes and don’t delay! You’ll thank me later…

As the weeks passed, and the constipation disappeared, I did wonder if I was even pregnant. I’d had no sickness, only a little nausea which was neither here nor there, and my first midwife appointment was just a lot of questions, a blood test and a urine sample. I’d contemplated taking another test but for some reason didn’t and awaited the 12 week scan, just before Christmas. This was when it really began to feel real, though I sometimes don’t believe it, even now! To see a little person on the screen growing inside of me was just the most wonderful feeling. It was emotional and incredible to see its little heart beating and it’s arms moving around. What was more amazing was that it was only 5cm head to toe, which still blows my mind that something that small is fully formed, has a heart, fingers, toes, and lungs.

And now here we are, in a little bubble of happiness after a lovely first Christmas in our first home together, just waiting for the next time we’ll get to see him or her. I’ll keep you updated on how we get on! I’m so excited for this next chapter in our lives <3

Easedale Tarn and Tarn Crag | Grasmere

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It’s 10pm Monday evening and I’m in bed with a hot water bottle on my toes reflecting on what has been a busy but truly lovely weekend. We took Friday off to get a walk in, as the forecast said it was meant to be the perfect winter day, pure blue skies, no wind but it wasn’t as expected. We decided on a shortish walk from Grasmere up to Easedale Tarn and had planned on walking right around on to Helm Crag and back down but we set off a little later than planned and cut the walk short down Tarn Crag. We only ended up taking one bag with a sandwich each, some water, a flask of hot chocolate and that’s pretty much it. We should have known that Met Office can never be trusted, and packed ourselves a waterproof each but you live and you learn! When we got home I prepared some food some friends we had round that evening and ended up staying up well past my bedtime! I feel like it’s all caught up on me and I’m literally falling asleep as I type this… so I’m going to leave it here. Love, L.


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