Getting through the first 13 weeks of pregnancy!

There is alot they don’t tell you about pregnancy, feeling nauseated and or sick was about the limit of what I knew before finding out. Swollen boobs, dizziness, bloating, belching, constipation, sore teeth, reflux and cramps were a few of the unexpected added delights. So Im going to share with you about my journey and how I dealt with these unexpected pleasures.

It was a beautiful easter sunday, camped by the river, the sun was shining and the family was gathering. I was walking through the scrub to check on how the spit was coming along for tonights feast and for the first time I felt nauseated. It was out of character, I hadn’t had much to drink the previous night so I headed back to camp and had some breakfast. Funny enough it went away. Afternoon came and it was back, I had some easter chocolates and again it went away. This was the first time I thought ‘this is strange, could it be?’. With no way of testing the wait started until our return to the city.

So fast forward to pulling up in our drive way, I headed straight for the bathroom cabanet and pulled out a pregnancy test and waited, nothing at first, except one line. Then I found myself willing the second line to come to explain my symptoms. Then slowly after a couple of minutes a second faint line appeared. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Was I imagining it?? I was pregnant.

It had happened so quickly. I was 37 years old and we had only been trying for three months. We just finished competing at the australian dance sport championships when I decided we should start to try. Already being in pretty good health, I just started to taking pregnancy multi vitamins, Folate and Fountain of life (an antioxidant). I continued to exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, work full time, socialize and to my surprise, it happened!

So what next, I called my mum and told work. I had to be moved out of all the X Ray rooms to protect my baby. I stopped drinking, that was easy as I wasn’t a big drinker anyway, but I needed more advice. So I made a doctors appointment to confirm and get the advise I needed. Things to avoid sushi, unpasturised milk and cheeses, deli meats, soft serve ice cream, dips and salad dressings in which vegetables may have been dipped, raw vegetable garnishes, ready to eat seafood, pre-prepared or pre packaged fruit and vegetables including those available from buffets, salad bars and sandwich bars. It was more important than ever to freshly prepare food ready to eat immediatedly. For an extensive list of do’s and don’t you should contact your local doctor, specialist, community health centre or maternal and child health nurse and for more information visit these websites www.foodstandards.gov.au or www.cdc.gov.

So after finding out all the rules for safe foods to eat, safe food handling and storage. I was good to go again atleast until I got sore teeth. So off to the dentist I went. I would highly recommend doing this every year and especially before you start to try. As a suffer of sensitive teeth already, pregnancy made this worse. Thank goodness for Michael my amazing dentist who saw me quickly and advised Sensitive Pro Relief tooth paste, my teeth were back to normal in days.

From 7-8 weeks with all the hormone changes and the increase of progesterone, I have been dealing with a constant battle of belching, constipation and bloating. Its lucky for me as many of my nursing colleges have walked this path before me. They haven’t hesitated in sharing their tips and tricks, Metamucil and prune juice are now my new friends, going for a walk after eating and taking the occasional dose of mylanta have all contributed to getting me through.

By 13 weeks my boobs have now doubled in size, so it’s been neccessary to buy a couple of new bra’s, pants and tops to accomodate the increasing size of my body which thankfully my partner has found very attractive. I’m embracing my new body and all the body changes it is going through and rub my belly with moisturizer each day to help with stretch marks, some use bio oil. The time feels like it has flown and it’s a real blessing I get to grow this little miracle inside of me.

Much love always,

Sheridan x

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