Baby Number 2: 21 Week Pregnancy Update
That fact that I am now over half way through my pregnancy is a little daunting. I’m sure that time didn’t fly by this quickly when I was pregnant with Luke. I realisation that there isn’t ‘long to go’ has only really hit me this week, and it has manifested itself as roller-coaster of emotions. I’m pretty hormonal at the moment anyway; all the apps are telling me that my body should be calming down and ‘getting used’ to everything now, but if anything, these past two weeks are when I have felt most emotional and a bit blue. I’m not feeling depressed, but those mood swings are definitely hitting me and I’ve found myself to be a lot less patient than I usually am. I have been known to snap and be a bit of a shouty mummy lately, ultimately ending with both me and Luke in tears.
Once I figured out that I was quite a way through my pregnancy, it gave me the opportunity to start thinking about how I want my labour to go and what sort of things I want to include in my birthing plan. It’s early days and I have lots of research to do, but I’m really interested in hypnobirthing and have asked lots of people about their in hospital experiences while using hypnobirthing techniques.
How far along? 21 weeks + 5 days. Baby is the size of a cantaloupe/pepper/carrot (depending in what app you’re going by!)
Maternity clothes? Yes! I swapped to maternity leggings a little while ago, but now I’m in the whole get up with both the leggings and the maternity tops. I have two long maternity tops that are great and were really cheap from Matalan which are great for general wear/school runs. Also, I bought myself a new maternity t shirt from Peacocks yesterday, though I wasn’t terribly impressed with their collection sadly.
Stretch marks? Lots and lots of old ones but I have noticed I’ve got two new ones creeping in on either side of my tummy. I was really hoping that I wouldn’t get any new ones as I have so many from Luke’s pregnancy, but I suppose I am doing everything I can to prevent them so I will just have to live with them.
Sleep: Argh, not so great, I must admit. Mikey and I got a new bed recently – it is glorious! We ditched the double and got ourselves and king size and all the new bedding etc. Most excitingly, we got a new mattress, which is lovely and firm (but bouncy) which is incredible. As comfortable as all this is though, I have not been sleeping well at all lately. A mixture of not being able to get comfortable and Mikey’s mental snoring has been leaving me slightly agitated and I have been known to swear at my poor, long suffering boyfriend in the middle of the night. I have gone through every brand of ear plugs known to man, and nothing blocks it out enough for me!
Best moment this week: This week was the week that we had our anomaly scan, which also means we found out the gender of our little baby! We are both thrilled and we had a mini get together with familyover the weekend to reveal the news. We were relieved to find out that the scan showed no anomalies, but did show us that this baby has very long legs – must get those from it’s daddy!
Miss Anything? I miss being able to sleep and breathe. Seriously, breathing! Again, I’m sure I didn’t notice things as much when I was pregnant with Luke. Maybe I was so excited by the whole pregnancy experience that those minor niggles slipped through the net. Now that the experience isn’t ‘new’ to me (although still very exciting), I suppose I am noticing them a bit more and being short of breath a lot of the time is something that is really bothering me. Especially on the school run!
Movement: So much movement! I have been feeling flutters from quite early on, but something this week has sparked little baby to give me a good kick and a thump. Baby is a bit more active now during the day as well, whereas before I mainly felt them in the evenings.
Food cravings: Weirdly today I have been craving red wine. I’m not sure why, I don’t even like it really, but that’s what I want! Obviously, I’m not going to divulge that one. I’ve also been craving fish and chip shop chips. I may have given into that one once or twice.
Anything making you queasy or sick: After suffering from HG, I’m still on medication, although I am able to take a lot less of it these days. 99% of the time, some medicine in the morning sorts me for the whole day. I do often get what feels like snot or mucus at the back of my throat, sitting right on my gag reflex. I’m not sure what this is but it sometimes lasts a whole day or sometimes it just comes on suddenly. I have to make sure I have a drink on hand wherever I am, otherwise I gag. Grim!
Gender: We have been told the gender, although the sonographer finished her examine with, “well that’s what I think anyway!” I’m not sure if that is the NHS’ way of covering their backs or if she really was a bit unsure. Either way we are sticking with what she said and revealed the gender at the weekend. I’ll be writing a whole new post on that soon!
Labor Signs: None, thankfully. Baby is happily tucked up and finger’s crossed, won’t be coming out any time soon.
Symptoms: All. The. Heartburn. Also, very sore hips and back, with the addition of slightly swollen feet after the school pick up.
Belly Button in or out? In for now, but it isn’t as deep as it used to be.
Rings on or off? Still on for now!
Happy or Moody most of the time: As I said at the beginning of this post, my moods have been crazy lately. Everything I have read says that I should be settling down a bit, but my body has other ideas. I think I’m just starting to get a little sick of being pregnant. The aches and pains and the shortness of breath is making me a tad grumpy, but overall, I am happy and everything is going well.
Looking forward to: Revealing baby’s gender to everyone this weekend. Also, now we know, I’m looking forward to doing a bit of shopping!
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Lukeosaurus And Me
Rachael is a 31 year old mum to 10 year old Luke and 5 year old Oscar. She lives in England and writes about family life, crafts, recipes, parenting wins(and fails), as well as travel, days out, fashion and living the frugal lifestyle.
27 Comments
Amy - All about a Mummy
Sorry to hear about the heartburn and lack of sleep. That 20 week scan is so special and such a relief to get the all clear. We didn’t find out what we were having but loved that you got the family together to announce the gender.
Talya Stone
Always such a relief when that anomaly scan is clear…how exciting that you know the sex of the baby now! x
Emily / Babies and Beauty
Oh I don’t miss the HG. I hope it eases for you soon. I found around week 24 onwards was a lot better for me.
Emily / Babies and Beauty
Oh I don’t miss the HG. I hope it eases for you soon. I found around week 24 onwards was a lot better for me.
Jenny
So glad to hear that everything is going so well for you. Can’t wait for your gender reveal.
Cath - BattleMum
What a lovely update. Great to hear things are progressing well. As nd I sympathise with you on the snoring front. Hubby and I are now in separate bedrooms because it’s soooo bad!
CHLOE CILIBERTO
I can’t wait to see your gender reveal. So many people say the 2nd pregnancy goes so much quicker. I hope this will be us at somepoint in the next year. I’m seriously broody and reading posts like this make me worse. Although I don’t envy your heartburn and mood swings. Those are two things I am really not wanting to experience again. I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes so smoothly. x
Newcastle Family Life
I am glad your scan went well and you could find out the gender. I hope you enjoy the rest of your pregnancy xx
Pati
aww your bump looks fantastic , i am so sorry to hear about heartburn hope they eas off sooner rather than later x
Sarah
Ugh, heartburn is the worst during pregnancy isn’t it! I’m sorry, and I hope it eases off for you soon! Finding out the babies gender is always exciting though! xx
Whatlauraloves
I get heartburn a lot and I’m not even pregnant but can emphasise with you in that sense, its awful! Hope it eases for you soon xxx
Bread
Glad the scan went well. I don’t think my wife’s body got used to all the hormone changes at any point lol. Good luck for the second half of this journey!
Oskar Madine
We didn’t find out the gender of either of our babies in advance, though I almost gave in the second time round. I still had a lot of fun shopping though 🙂
Fati ma
I’ve just come to know about your pregnancy. Congratulations, really happy for you! Your bump looks great!
Cliona
Ah, it’s so exciting for you – I know there are bad parts and not getting enough sleep can be so horrible but it’s fab that you know the gender now, it must be seeming more real I guess! Enjoy the shopping too 🙂
Lukeosaurus And Me
Thanks, it does seem more real and it’s also a bit of a sigh of relief moment, knowing that everything’s okay and that now you can concentrate on buying all the goodies! 😀
Louise
I’m so glad to hear everything is going well so far. I’ve been super broody recently, but pregnancy doesn’t suit me, so I don’t think we’ll be trying for baby number 3!
Louise x
Lukeosaurus And Me
Pregnancy doesn’t suit me either and I know for sure that I’m not going in for number 3!
Linda
Have you tried Boots Muffles earplugs? They’re £2.50 ish for a box of 5 pairs. They’re wax and you simply warm them by rolling them between your fingers and shove them in. My hubby snores like a tractor and these do help.
Lukeosaurus And Me
I have tried every type of earplugs out there! Currently, I’m on industrial spec (builder’s style) foamy ones. These are at least comfortable to sleep in. I’ll try the Boots ones out next time I’m buying! Thanks for the tip.
Kirsty
Congratulations on baby number 2 – I’m sure all the not so great bits of pregnancy will be worth it when the baby arrives (although it might be quite a few years before the sleep gets better!)
angela milnes
Congrats on your 2nd pregnancy and So excited to see the baby in your blog, Glad that everything is going well.
angela milnes
Congrats on your 2nd pregnancy and So excited to see the baby in your blog, Glad that everything is going well.
Ali Duke
Oh the heartburn was so bad with my second, I sympathise completely with you. I am glad the scan went well x
#fortheloveofBLOG
The Mummy Bubble
Ah this brings back memories of my second pregnancy! Glad your scan went well. Thanks for sharing with #fortheloveofBLOG
Riley Romatz
Oh my goodness we have so much in common, I could’ve written this! Except I’m on my 3rd baby haha! I’m due end of July, have HG and pretty much everything else you mentioned just wanted to say hello from Alaska!
Lukeosaurus And Me
Oh my, I hope you’re doing well and holding up okay! I’m not sure I could ever convince myself to go for baby number three after two HG pregnancies!