The joys of early pregnancy symptoms

I'm about 10.5 weeks pregnant now and apparently I should be moving into the 'glowing' stage of pregnancy soon - the all-hallowed 2nd trimester. I thought it might be a good opportunity to reflect on some of my early pregnancy signs & symptoms now whilst I remember them!

I have to say, I think I've been pretty lucky all in all - yes there's been times when I've felt seedy & tired & emotional - but it's just a good reminder that there's a little being in there, fully dependent on me and growing away faster than you can imagine.

My top 3 symptoms have been as follows, for those who don't mind a little too much info!

1. Frequent urination

I think my trips to the WC must have increased about ten-fold since conceiving Baby Read - it's crazy - and when you need to go you need to go - there's no hanging around - long gone are the days where my trusty bladder could 'hang on' until a convenient time to pee - now it's make time to go or have an accident!
The 'medical' reason for this is as follows:-

 "It's mostly because the amount of blood in your body increases dramatically when you get pregnant, which leads to a lot of extra fluid getting processed through your kidneys and ending up in your bladder. Eventually, you may also feel pressure on your bladder from your growing uterus.

You may notice that you need to get up to pee more often during the night in particular. That's because when you lie down, some of the fluid that you retained in your legs and feet during the day makes its way back into your bloodstream and eventually into your bladder"

Ahhhhh... so that explains my blurry-eyed dashes to the toilet in the early hours of the morning!!!

2. 24/7 nausea

According to online stats, approximately 75% of women get morning sickness in the early stages of pregnancy. Also, I think morning sickness should be renamed because believe me - it's not just during the morning that you feel sick!

I'm extremely lucky in that I've only physically been sick twice - on the morning of the dating scan when I had to drink all of that water - and one near miss when I was brushing my teeth but the constant nausea isn't much fun.

I find that I get most nauseous if I don't eat frequently so I have taken to always having a little snack available - a  muesli bar, some ginger biscuits, fruit & nut mix, even the occasional Boost bar - who am I kidding - the chocolate is great!!! Once I have eaten I seem to feel better for a while - until I get hungry again - it's a vicious cycle!

I must say I'm feeling much better now - at week 10 - than I was a couple of weeks ago - and this sickness/nausea is supposed to abate at around the 12-week stage... fingers crossed huh?!

I found this little cartoon online & loved it - especially given my prior penchant for a tipple or two!!

3. Tiredness

And last but not least the tiredness - it's hard work growing a human being don't you know?!

I have found since becoming pregnant that it is extremely challenging to stay awake past 9pm and there have been many a night when I've fallen asleep on the sofa downstairs & missed the end of yet another 'Boardwalk Empire' - poor Adam must get incredibly bored with my sleepiness but there's nothing I can do - I promise - apart from perhaps drink some strong coffee - which is a no no!!!

I also quite often fancy a nap in the middle of the afternoon - this is obviously challenging whilst at work - I find that a breath of fresh air & a snack seem to perk me up a bit though!

Luckily my mate Rocky shares my love of a nap too... here he is tucked up in bed...

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my symptoms - they're really not that bad are they?!