I’m now 33 weeks pregnant and I’ve still not caught up to date with these blog updates, but here is the post I wrote at 23 weeks pregnant…
I can’t believe I’m 23 weeks pregnant already. On one hand I am thinking “where has the time gone?” and how this pregnancy is flying past far faster than I am comfortable with. But then I cast my mind back to when I wrote that 4 weeks pregnant blog post and how much has happened since then… and it feels like a lifetime ago. It feels like years ago that I conceived – a different time, a different place. I was with a person who is now a complete stranger to me and a regrettable part of my history. A part of me that it took a while to recover from, but I am so much stronger now for leaving that all behind and moving on from it. The happy, glowing, buzzing, excited me is back and here to stay. The creative me, the writer, the independent woman who is always striving to be a better person.
I absolutely LOVE that I am feeling Baby Bear move for much of the day now, even though his kicks have become so powerful that they are uncomfortable and the odd one or two even painful. I count myself so very lucky that I have been able to enjoy 11 weeks of baby movement already, as I know most people only start to feel it around 16-20 weeks. I am not a big fan of the downward directional kicks though – they had me dropping to my knees in a museum last weekend and I had to sit down for ten minutes.
I feel HUGE. I compared a photo the other day, of me at 20 weeks with twins and me at 20 weeks during this pregnancy… I’m EXACTLY the same size, but this is only ONE baby, ONE placenta, ONE lot of amniotic fluid. Either this baby is going to be a big’un or having twins seriously wrecked my abdominal muscles! People who haven’t known me long, keep saying, “oh you aren’t that big” or telling me how neat my bump is… but what they don’t realise, is that I am usually a size 8, with a flat stomach and that I don’t gain any body fat when I’m pregnant. I carry my baby’s compact and all up front. Plus… I’m only 23 weeks pregnant…I’ve still got a LOT of growing to do.
My larger stomach feels heavy already and is starting to cause me problems:
- My spatial awareness is off and as a result, I keep knocking things off of shelves, tables and worktops.
- I lose my balance at really random times.
- I have been diagnosed with mild sciatica, as the weight presses down on my sciatic nerve, sending a shooting pain down my leg and causing my leg to give way at the most inopportune moments.
- I can’t get comfy in bed or on the sofa. It’s time to start investing in some more pillows I think.
There are also upsides to having a larger stomach… it’s like having your own personal table. I realised yesterday, that I’ve been resting things on my bump… cans of drink, my dinner, the tv remote, a book… it’s a great place to put things temporarily!
Unfortunately, my size is not the only thing impacting on my sleep. I have suffered with nightmares throughout this pregnancy and those leave me waking up in the morning with feelings of sadness, fear and restlessness. Apparently this can be combatted by learning meditation or practising lucid dreaming… I’m not sure I have the time to fit that into my busy days on top of everything else, but it’s something to consider.
I hope the nightmares have eased now. I remember being even more clumsy than usual when pregnant, but at least it’s a good excuse!