5 Minute Read
For those of you that have followed me from the beginning will know that the road to falling pregnant and staying pregnant following the birth of our first son has not been easy. After 5 consecutive miscarriages, I actually had the conversation with my husband that I just couldn’t do it anymore, that I had given it everything but after 5 years of pretty much back to back pregnancies, 5 surgeries to either remove the pregnancy or correct a septum in the uterus, steroids, countless blood tests and seeing consultant after consultant, I didn’t have anything left to give. My mental health was suffering and I wanted to enjoy the time with Max whilst he was still so young as I knew I’d never have that time again.
Lo and behold, when I had said conversation with my husband I was in fact already pregnant and didn’t know it yet and that pregnancy decided to stick around. Fast forward months of daily injections, progesterone pessaries, countless scans, we eventually got to our 20 week scan and I was safe enough to stop all of the above and enjoy the final leg of my pregnancy. However, the universe had other plans for us and decided to throw a global pandemic into the mix and my final trimester was spent in lockdown, shielding from an unknown virus.
It wasn’t exactly how I envisaged my pregnancy to end but now I’ve had time to reflect, I can see so many positives of being pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic and it will always be a time I look back on and see it as one of the happiest years of my life. Firstly, locking ourselves away, safe in our own little bubble was bliss. We were lucky enough that we were graced with an early summer in April 2020, so whilst I was locked away from the outside world, we spent countless days in the garden, enjoying the beautiful weather. The schools shut so obviously Max was at home with us, but the novelty of home schooling first time round hadn’t worn off yet, Max was a willing and eager pupil (at the beginning) and we were able to get out into the garden and make learning fun, for example, count backwards from 20 whilst bouncing on the trampoline, make a rocket launch using a bicycle pump…you get the drift. Having my husband working from home too, meant I had help with Max and we could enjoy breakfasts, lunches, and dinners together as a family, which really helped with Max’s fussy eating and in turn made the days more enjoyable.
Max and I didn’t leave the house for the first 10 weeks, apart from family walks where we saw no one, I also switched off the news and deleted news apps from my phone as it was raising my anxiety levels knowing what was happening in the outside world. I had everything I needed at home and to be honest, I enjoyed the make up free days and not having to put on many clothes as the temperatures soared and I got bigger and bigger.
I’m not going to pretend it was all plain sailing and lockdown bubble bliss as it also came with its challenges. One thing I didn’t enjoy was the swelling, oh my goodness did I swell. I was like a balloon being blown up daily and it really started to hurt towards the end. I suffered badly from carpal tunnel in both wrists that kept me awake at night and my feet and ankles were so huge that my skin ached from being stretched to its limit. I hadn’t had this during my first pregnancy with Max and it could be the a boy/girl thing, the fact I was slightly older in this pregnancy or the fact I was more stationary during this pregnancy as we were stuck at home and limited to one daily exercise.
It was also hard having to attend scans and midwife appointments by myself, given what we had been through to actually get and stay pregnant, and due to my high risk pregnancy, I had scans every 4 weeks scheduled that also had to be cancelled which didn’t help my anxiety levels. Luckily, my midwife appointments stayed pretty regular so hearing the heartbeat in between the 32 and 38 week scans helped. I didn’t particularly like seeing my consultant on my own too, as you always have 101 questions but when it is just you, these questions seem to go out the window and I just sat their nodding, not really taking anything in.
Thankfully, I got to 39+6 weeks pregnant and my waters broke the day before my due date and our beautiful baby girl was born that day. I had wanted to write this blog post whilst I was pregnant but instead I am writing it 8 months later because although 2020 was a year that we all stayed at home, life was pretty hectic and the time just flew away from me!
So anyone pregnant now, please try and enjoy the quiet days, nap whilst you can, stay in your comfies and relish in the fact that you don’t have to dress up for work...and relax. Most of all, relax and take time for you. Turn off the news, delete the apps, because you control what you read and are taking in. If I learnt anything from hypnobirthing, it was to cancel out the negatives and focus on the positives.
If you are due over the next couple of months, focus on the fact that you can enjoy the newborn baby bubble as a family without having to worry about tidying the house for visitors, focus on the fact that maybe your partner will also be at home to enjoy even longer with you and the baby, help with bathtime, bedtime and giving you a break when you need it most. Women are strong and we are in this together, you will get through this and you won’t remember this time as being a global pandemic but the year your beautiful baby was born.
Love always and please do always message me on Instagram or email me if you have any questions.