Second Trimester Fun! 😩

Boom! My energy is back! Where did the sickness just disappear to? Who knows, but I felt like I wasn’t even pregnant now in this second trimester.

Jacques and I booked a holiday to Crete and I was 17 weeks when we flew out there. It was a weird feeling knowing I was pregnant getting into a bikini. I remember trying to poke my belly out a little more so people knew I was pregnant and not just bloated haha. But we had an amazing holiday, and it felt very odd knowing this would probably be our last one alone for sometime!!

I had a few issues during my pregnancy that I didn’t speak about it my first trimester blog. But we had a private scan at 8 weeks and it was at this scan that the sonographer noticed an Amniotic Band. As it was so early in the pregnancy and the scan we were at was just to check I was pregnant, she didn’t really give anymore detail other than that I may want to contact my midwife to see if they want to bring my 12 week scan earlier.

So what did I do as soon as I got home?! Googled ‘Amniotic Bands’ and then scared both Jacques and I by what I was reading!!

If you’ve never heard of this before, an amniotic band forms when there is slight rupturing to the amniotic sac. There is no real reason why it happens though but as the baby gets bigger the band can actually get tied around the babies limbs, and worse case, can cut the circulation off to that area which then causes amputation. So you can understand we were a little worried. I also read that the band can fray and create more little bands which can get dangled around the baby.

Always on scan days, I was a little nervous. I suppose most women would feel the same. It is a huge relief when you get into and on the screen you see the heart beat. Sitting here now writing this, seems so long ago now. Time really does fly!

I had quite a few scans because of this as they just had to ‘keep an eye on it’. It was at my week 20 scan that we found out we were having a girl :) All along both Jacques and I thought it would be a boy, so hearing it was a girl was shocking! I have a lot of girls in my family and Jacques' side has alot of boys. We also found out that the band was ok and she was lying on it so it hadn’t got wrapped around anything thank goodness!

It wasn’t until my week 23 scan that we had full confirmation that the band was just a membrane and it was too thin to cause any problems with the baby. This was such a relief as up until now, we were always concerned about it! Phew! I can chill now…

But oh no… week 24 came along and all of a sudden I started getting soreness in my pubic area! OMG, it was soooo sore and this area would swell! I literally had to put an ice pack down my pants! 😩 The Doctors reassured me it wasn’t anything to worry about it and it was pubic symphysis pain and that it was just my bodies way or responding to the hormonal changes. I cannot tell you how painful this got if I stood too long or sat for too long. At this point I was working full time in the Police and I would either be sat down in the office or driving the car. So my step count was very poor, but if I sat too long it would hurt, and if I stood or walked too long it would hurt! What a nightmare!

So there is me at home asking Jacques, “DOES IT LOOK SWOLLEN DOWN THERE” LOL. So embarrassing. He would laugh and say, “YES”. I saw the physio who gave me a tubi grip belt to help with supporting my bump but this sensitised my area even more and so I could only bare that for a short time. The physio also reassured me that it wasn't anything I had done, it was my body responding.

Things really got to me when we went to Ikea to look at some nursery furniture. We got to 10 minutes into the store and I started to get upset because I couldn’t walk anymore without it feeling like someone was stabbing me down there 😩 We had to sit down like every minute! I felt sorry for Jacques as there was literally nothing he could do to help me. We ended up getting an instant ice pack from Boots at the retail park and going to Costa so he could get a coffee whilst i would put ice down there! I even started having to do this at work - taking ice packs in. The things us women go through for our babies, haha!

My exercise routine had to change and completely be modified. I did actually play netball up until I was 4 months pregnant but had to stop due to it not being fair on other players. I couldn’t keep my walks up as I had to section up my hours so I wasn’t doing one thing for too long. I would set my phone alarm every 20 minutes and change what I was doing.

On my dad’s 65th Birthday, my family and I headed to a gorgeous countryside stay. Jacques and I went to Dover Castle, but he had to push me around in a wheelchair because I couldn’t walk the castle without the stinging and swelling!! Funny when we talk about it now.

This pain and swelling lasted until week 34 in my 3rd Trimester when it eased up. I remember the physio saying when then baby changes position and drops into the pelvis, the pain will ease. And she was right!! It DID!!

I do wonder whether I would suffer with this if I were to ever get pregnant again... it worries me a little, because it wasn't very pleasant to deal with it all!

If you ever experience any Pelvic Girdle Pain do get this checked out with the healthcare professionals. I also have some other blog posts on PGP and also tips on self management for Pelvic Girdle Pain.