Almost 25 weeks! Our journey so far

So today we are 24 weeks 4 days. I thought I'd share our experience so far...

Around the time of ovulation It was hubby's birthday and I was genuinely so fed up after 10 months of trying and a chemical last September I decided to have a bottle of wine. I'm not a drinker at all so a bottle of wine is a rare occurance! 2 weeks later I was bending to put my shoe on and felt a pop in my back. For the next few days I was in pure agony. Unable to get up off the sofa unable to walk properly. I was also due AF. I'd had no symptoms (previous months I'd had sore boobs, nausea etc) and the cramping started. However it wasnt the usual cramping. It was much lighter and no bleeding. It still didn't click that I could be pregnant. I was more concerned with my back at this point. A few days later I realised I was 5 days late. Took a test and there it was! Our BFP!!

At 5 weeks I had unexplained bleeding. The midwife said it was possibly the egg implanting. We went through the next few months and what to expect etc and we went away still reeling (in a good way) at the fact we're about to become parents.

At 11 weeks we went for our first ultrasound to be told we were actually 9 weeks 4 days. I ended up having a transvaginal scan. Everything was OK baby's heart was good. The next day after a day in work I started bleeding at 11pm at night. Bright red blood. We went to a and e who checked my cervix and did some swabs and also a scan and everything was fine. 2 weeks later we went back for our next scan. Everything was fine, by their calculations I should have been 11 weeks and 4 but baby was measuring 12 w 5d. So we got put forward again. In the appointment that followed I was subjected to complete unprofessionalism by a midwife. A person who is supposed to reassure and support you.

Now I'm not a small lady. Im roughly a UK size 18 to 20 in clothing (16 to 18 American sizing). I am a very active person with a good diet and I'm very healthy. I've just always struggled with my weight. Just after the scan a midwife took me into a room did my blood pressure and then proceeded to remark that I'm lucky to be sitting where I'm sitting as women like me usually has to pay. I was mortified. This was supposed to be a time of celebration and all I wanted was the ground to swallow me. I was prescribed fragmin Injections and I explained I was terrified of needles but she rushed me to do the injection without proper guidance. I then left feeling completely humiliated. The next day when I tried to do my injection again, I was so panicky I went too deep and caused a massive purple bruise on my stomach.

Following on from this I spoke to my community midwife who advised injecting into my legs and alternate each day. I was able to do this and to this day I am still trooping on with it!

I reported the midwife to my consultant who was appalled at what she had said. I didn't make a formal complaint however I did inform them that that midwife was to not have Any involvement in my care moving forward which they agreed.

I also had the down syndrome screening test. I had to have a blood test as at 12 weeks baby was resting right against the sac so they couldn't take the measurements. Despite the comments by the midwife saying I'd be likely to have a ds baby as I'm classed as high risk, all the tests came back as low chance 💙

At 16 weeks I had a surprise gender scan booked as a birthday gift. We found out baby is a little boy 💙 we even got the 'alien' scan too!

At 17 weeks I started bleeding again. I had an appointment the next day so I didn't panic. I wasn't in any pain or discomfort just perplexed by this random bright red and brown bleeding with little clots. The next day I was examined and again everything was fine. They could find no reason as to why I was bleeding. Baby was active and healthy.

20 week anomaly scan went well. Baby was again very active so I had to go back for another where they confirmed he's a boy 💙 everything is looking good too.

We're now at 24 weeks 4 days. Midwife appointment went well this morning. Our little beans heartbeat is strong and I'm doing well. I've continued to take prenatals all the way through just to boost the baby. I also had my whooping cough injection this morning. This was something I was worried about having heard horror stories about reactions to the injection. But I had it at 11.25am and I've not had any pain or felt different at all :) I've also had super leaky boobs! To the point I wake up with wet patches in bed 🙈

In the beginning i struggled a lot with the stretching and worrying. I suffered a chemical miscarriage at 5 weeks last September and I struggled a lot in the beginning worrying about every little thing. Now I can feel him moving about it fills me with relief and I find myself relaxing more.

Were still not prepared... So far we've bought his cot pram and rocker and that's it 😂 but we're planning on getting it all sorted the end of this month.

It's been a roller-coaster over the past 6 months and I am feeling much more relaxed and looking forward to the next few months. January is definitely going to be an exciting time!