Pregnant with a Peppercorn // 19 weeks pregnant

This week has been a worrying one! A few weeks ago I booked for Busby and I to head down to Sussex so we could visit family and friends for a few days, as I’ve been feeling pretty lonely in our current limboesque situation in West Yorkshire. I guess I didn’t really think the logistics through; 5 days worth of (winter) clothes and a toddler to lug a couple of hundred miles on the train… The train journey is usually very easy, with minimal time in London, but sadly it was dreadful on the way down due to “adverse weather conditions” (a bit of rain) and it resulted in me over-stretching myself terribly, both physically and mentally, and I suspect this has contributed to some issues with the pregnancy this week. I feel so stupid. So utterly stupid.

Peppercorn’s foetal movements have reduced considerably – he’s gone from flying all over the place at all times of the day, to the occasional kick. I don’t know whether this is because I’ve been more active and I haven’t noticed him, but he’s been very quiet the times when I have been still, and the pint of cold water trick doesn’t seem to be working particularly effectively.

My anxiety levels are up tenfold at the moment, and I’m not dealing with any kind of change or conflict well, which isn’t a great mindset to be in when you’re visiting family and you’re missing your “home” (I’m a Sussex girl born and bred) terribly. This has made me feel really quite stressed for most of the week…

I had a couple of bleeds later on in the week; a drop of fresh blood, but mostly old. We phoned the Early Pregnancy Unit in Sussex, and they said this was normal as Peppercorn is getting bigger and stretching my womb, so I decided to wait until we got back to Yorkshire to see whether being able to relax here would do any good. My usual nightly routine of bath and bed didn’t really help me chill out to the extent I needed, and even a blissful footrub from Nick didn’t fully relax me.

So… I spent an hour on Saturday morning trying to get hold of someone in Yorkshire who might be able to help. It turns out the Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit here is only open during the week, because we all know that babies adhere to 9-5… I finally managed to talk to a lovely Midwife on the labour ward who called me “Flower”, and told me to come in so they could check his heartbeat. Apparently it’s quite normal for Baby’s movements to disappear for a day or so at this stage, as Baby is still quite small. But still, I wanted to know everything was ok with him – especially after the bleeds. We were seen really quickly and everything was absolutely fine; his heart was beating strongly and she checked my blood pressure and urine to make sure everything was fine there too – it was a huge relief, and means that I can now relax this weekend and look forward to the 20 week scan on Monday – whereas I know I’d have been worrying all of the weekend and dreading the scan if Peppercorn continued to remain quiet.

So drama over, this week Peppercorn is the size of a mango (nom) and research suggests that he may be able to hear my voice, which is pretty exciting! We sing lots with Busby so I’m hoping he’ll start enjoying the songs too.

Those of you who follow me on Instagram will notice that I’ve had a rather sweet tooth this week, and have been greatly enjoying eating out with friends and family and indulging in puddings (it hasn’t all been stressful!) Chocolate has featured highly on my pudding wishlist, as well as consuming copious amounts of cherry yoghurts at Mutti’s house! I’ve still been wanting red meat, and cooked one of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten on Thursday night. A Subway meatball sub has also been pretty high on my list of “wants” and Nick took me for one after visiting the hospital on Saturday. He’s certainly a keeper!

As I write this, I’m tucked up in bed on Saturday afternoon, trying to relax! Peppercorn has just started dancing away again… I have a feeling he might be a chilled out soul when he arrives as he seems to like nothing better than me lying in bed!

I’m very excited about our 20 week scan on Monday, and can’t wait to find out whether we’re having a boy or a girl! Following on from last week and the “gender tests”, my Mutti did the (highly scientific) ring test over my bump during the week, and that suggested Peppercorn was a boy… and then I did the baking soda test I talked about last week, and it fizzed which suggests a boy as well! All will be revealed on the blog this week!
Hannah