For those who want an honest and realistic picture of pregnancy, birth and raising three kids, then take a look at my #pregnancydiary and feel free get in touch with any comments, questions or suggestions.
- What happens to a woman’s organs during pregnancy
Eating Little But Often
This week my tummy has been feeling like it’s about to burst. That one extra slice of pizza is now a complete no no. Even a normal sized meal makes me feel uncomfortably full. My belly is stretched tight, and I still have 11 weeks to go!
I found this diagram which helps explain what happens to a woman’s organs during pregnancy. As you can see the stomach is pretty squished up. So is the bladder… I’m surprised I’m not weeing every two minutes!
It’s amazing how the body accommodates a growing baby and of course this is what women’s body’s are biologically designed to do. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to cope with. I know the uncomfortable feeling will get worse towards the end of my pregnancy. I think little but often is the way to go with meals now. I sometimes leave it too long between meals and end up absolutely starving and stuff myself silly. This obviously leads to me feeling like an uncomfortable beached whale. I’ve now started eating healthy snacks more regularly and I’ll write more about food in my next post.
Braxton Hicks Contractons
Another thing that’s started happening this week is Braxton Hicks contractions. They’re a bit like practice contractions. It’s a tightening of the muscles of the womb for around 30 seconds or more. It’s not really painful but my bump feels really hard and tight and walking is a bit uncomfortable (for some reason I always get Braxton Hicks on the school run!).
During my last two pregnancies I started getting Braxton Hicks contractions after I hit the six month mark. They started happening more often the close I got to my due date. I remember being in the cinema when heavily pregnant with my eldest daughter. I kept having Braxton Hicks throughout the whole film and I started thinking it was the beginning of real labour and that I’d end up giving birth in the cinema. We were watching ‘The Watchmen’ at the time which I found totally boring so it made the whole experience more interesting!
How’s baby?
Baby measures around 39cm from head to toe now and might weigh close to 2lbs but this will vary from baby to baby. Baby’s skin is smoothing out as she continues to put on fat for energy. The Vernix Caseosa (the waxy white substance which has been protecting baby from the effects of the amniotic fluid) is beginning to disappear, as is the soft downy hair (lanugo) which has covered its body (although there still might be traces of both at birth).
