Baby Blog: Chapter 1

 

FIRST TRIMESTER

The secret’s out! I’ve finally reached the elusive 12-week mark and my pregnancy is now public. It’s been the hardest secret I’ve ever had to keep, here’s how the journey started…

26th Feb

Emma Reid Wedding 3And so the story begins.

Picture this; I’m bickering with my husband of only 25 days when he suddenly shouts “Are you pre-menstrual or something?” Alarm Bells! Quietly I slope off to the bathroom and dig out an old pregnancy test, not sure if it’s even in date but give it a go. I ask my husband to sit down and break the news, were both in shock. We keep looking at the test and don’t really believe it's true. I have a massive pang of guilt about the red wine and camembert I devoured with friends earlier in the week – I’m sure I read somewhere that your not allowed nice cheese. Why am I worrying about cheese? I’m PREGNANT!

27th Feb

mr and mrs emma reid Need more proof.

Last night I sent my better half out to the 24-hour chemist to get another pregnancy test as you get the most accurate results in the morning and I'm convinced the first one might be out of date. First trip to the bathroom of the day and I do the test, slowly two blue lines appear in front of us. We sit in bed in silence and shock with our newlywed Mr and Mrs mugs of tea, each holding a piece of blue stripped plastic. Later in the day I nip out and buy some folic acid vitamin tablets and take one straight away. X

1st March

Still need more proof.

Two positive tests and I still don’t really believe that we might be having a baby so I book an appointment with my GP for tomorrow. Arrive at work at 5am a bit of a shaky mess and spill the beans to two of the girls in the office in a bit of a panic. They are very lovely and agree that it is too early to make the news public as anything could happen. Have a special dinner with my husband at home to celebrate our 1-month wedding anniversary (bangers and mash). We keep giggling but agree that it is early days and not to get too carried away. X

 2nd March

Doctors today.

I arrive and explain my news and the doctor asks me if I'd like to do another test, and surprise, surprise it’s positive. He looks at my dates and apparently I’m 6 weeks pregnant! I know its more like 3 or 4 weeks thinking back to the honeymoon, but you date a pregnancy from the first day of your last period so that makes me on paper 6 weeks on Thursday. I leave the appointment with the number for the midwife, a prescription for folic acid and for the first time quite a calm feeling of excitement. The one thing that did take my breath was when the doctor said “Your baby is due on the 28th of October.” I’m going to be a mum before Christmas! X

4th March

Did you know the dentist is now free?

I have a routine check-up and polish and go to pay but because I’m pregnant it's free, what a brilliant little perk of the job! It did feel a bit weird though telling the dentist before telling our families the news. We’ve decided to wait a few days and tell our mums on Mothers' Day. I also check the little one's progress and apparently at 6 weeks it's the size of a lentil. X

Can only think of girls names. Does this mean anything? I’m really trying not to get too attached but I can only think of names for girls and not for boys. Favourite so far is Florence. Oh, also starting to burp a lot and feel sick in the mornings.  Not good. X

If you have any great ideas for names i'd really love to hear them. Get in touch via the feedback form at the bottom of the page.

5th March

pearice We've named the bump baby Pea-rice.

This might sound strange but when I became Mrs Pearce on the beach, they surprised us by printing special menus for our guests but they mis-spelt our new surname Pea-rice which we thought was hilarious and became a bit of a running joke. So little Pea-rice it is. One of my pregnant friends is having a 'mini egg' and another has named her unborn baby 'simples' because it looked like a Meerkat on the 12 week scan. I’d love to know what names you've come up with! Get in touch via the feedback form at the bottom of the page. X

6th March

Blame it on a water infection.

Ok so huge dilemma today have a houseful of my closest friends who are over for birthday celebrations and I a) can't drink booze which is totally out of character and b) have turned in to a bit of a narcoleptic and keep falling to sleep. The best thing we can come up with is Cystitis. We fill the fridge with cranberry and pretend I’m on antibiotics and therefore can’t drink –  great plan on paper but the girls are very sceptical. X

8th March

Ginger biscuits are the future.

Great little tip from the girls at work, when your feeling really sick have a ginger biscuit they sort of line your stomach and are good for sickness – so far so good for me. Although I really am getting through them as I’m feeling hungry a lot. X

10th March

Midwife comes to my home.

I thought the home visit was a really nice touch, I wasn’t expecting such a personal service. We went through the health check lists – have you had chickenpox, that sort of thing. I’m reminded that for the next 8 months I can't eat nice cheese or drink booze or too much tea or coffee. Also when I get a bump apparently the seatbelt has to go over and under it. X

11th March

7 weeks today.

Days seem to be going so slowly and spending half of them feeling sick doesn’t make the time pass any quicker. 12 weeks seems miles away. Anyway as it's Thursday I have reached another week milestone and have decided to begin a new tradition of checking on the bean's progress each Thurday. So here goes – the baby is now the size of a grape and has webbed feet. Oh, and I’m no longer going through the night without spending a penny, too much information? I thought so. X

14th March

Mothers Day!

Well this is going to be a good day – telling the parents our little surprise on Mothers Day. My in-laws are lovely and extremely excited about the prospect of becoming grandparents. Next up my Mum and Dad! They are having lunch at the golf club and despite us taking them to one side my Mum screams the restaurant down with excitement. So much for keeping it secret until 12 weeks still I don’t suppose the waiter is going to tell anyone. X

15th March

Pills Evil folic acid “horse” tablets make me puke.

I’m not sure if I’m alone in this but I definitely can’t take the tablets before lunch without ending up kissing the porcelain. Getting a bit worried that my dashes to the loo between news bulletins are going to make people cotton on. Taking them at bedtime is just about bearable and I’m determined not to let them beat me as I know that they’re important for the bean. X

16th March

I never thought I’d ever go Tee-Total.

I can’t believe that my absolute favourite thing, aside from a glass of wine which is definitely off the menu, is now turning my stomach. A month ago I loved nothing more than a strong 'builder's brew', maybe it’s just nature's way of telling me to lay off the caffeine. It’s either that or the fact that the decaf tea bags that I’ve just filled my cupboard with are enough to put anyone off. Is anyone else going off their brew? X

17th March

Virgin Mary

I’m definitely not referring to our conception, but the cocktail its apparently a great sickness fix. They have worked with me when I’m hungover so I see the logic. I do keep seeing people drinking wine on tv and it is making me want a glass, giving up the booze isn’t as easy as I thought. If you have any ideas for a good sick fix then please get in touch. X

18th March

8 weeks, it feels like a milestone.

Two months pregnant and the "Pearice" no longer has a tail and is losing it’s webbed feet. It’s currently 1.6cm so more of a butter bean than a baked bean now.

PS - I'm really loving my Thursday updates – bring on next week. X

19th March

Now I told you it wouldn’t be pretty…

Glamorous side affects to harbouring a butter bean include the inability to stop burping – may be baked bean would have been more appropriate!?!? Planning a quiet weekend as I can't stop falling asleep at the moment so am not even going to try and fight it. X

22nd March

Emotional wreck.

Ok so I’ve been over-reacting a bit to things at home but today I sobbed for a full hour all the way through my favourite TV show, fair enough it was sad but this is not rational. Also got a touch of road rage and started shouting behind the wheel at someone who cut me up – luckily she couldn’t hear me. I blame the hormones. X

25th March

1 inch long.

It’s Thursday and the Pearice is now apparently the size of a Martini olive (a distant dream to me.) It nearly has ears and depending on if it’s a boy or a girl its “penny” or “peter” is now growing.

After moping about and being emotional I have decided to try and get my old life back a little and went for dinner with friends, It was great and it made the day go much quicker. Note to self: Do more normal stuff. X

27th March

Birthday cake It’s my birthday.

I feel like I already have the best present in my tummy but cant get used to the idea that I will be a Mum before Im 30. Bang go all those plans for a Sex and the City girlie shopping trip to New York.

I celebrate with lunch and break the news to my two closest friends, they cry and are already planning my baby shower. Which I feel is a bit much to ask as it was only a couple of months ago that they were on bridesmaid duty for me. Still I’m sure they’ll get their own back when the time comes. X

29th March

State of emergency – I’ve run out of ginger biscuits.

Head to the supermarket in search of supplies and something nice for lunch – walk the aisles for about half an hour looking for something yummy and eventually leave with a box of cereal and a pint of milk.  Oh,  and ginger biscuits.

Best news today is that my husband isn’t being made redundant. It’s a massive relief for him with all the other changes on the way for us so we have a special tea to celebrate. I make him his favourite Thai green curry, even though I’d secretly prefer a plain jacket potato. X

30th March

Being pregnant is affecting my brain.

Ok so it wasn’t until the bath water was cold that I realised I hadn’t even finished my fashion magazine. Usually I flick through devouring the pictures and planning my next shopping spree but today I read four articles word for word and even shed a tear. For the first time in my life I can imagine buying Take a Break – what is happening to me?

Oh and need to buy more evil “horse” pills (folic acid vitamins) tomorrow as I’m about to run out. X

31st March

I just couldn’t wait until Thursday.

I know it’s naughty but I have a blood test tomorrow so I thought I would just sneakily check on the bean's progress a day early. It’s just over 3cm’s and is apparently starting to grow hair and finger nails. My womb is now the size of a grapefruit, it's normally the size of a pear.

Oh and while we're talking about pears, they have grown and I’m now struggling to squeeze into my biggest bras! They hurt a bit too but I’m reassured that’s normal. X

1st April

10 weeks.

Wahoo! Made it to 10 weeks and I'm still in one piece. Just a fortnight until we have a scan and can make the news public. Today I have to go for blood tests. Well I am a complete wimp, despite the nurse being lovely. When we have the scan in two weeks' time, we will get the blood results back and will find out if we are at a high or low risk of having a baby with Down Syndrome. Trying hard not to worry about it all too much. X

7th April

Trip to the seaside

We have a few days off after working the Bank Holiday and head to the sea-side for a bit of fresh air and relaxation. I am starting to feel less sick, which may be down to no longer getting up at 4am but I do still have to have a ginger biscuit first thing in the morning. X

8th April

Not very good phone signal at the seaside so I’m standing on the garden furniture in my dressing gown trying to get WiFi so I can find out my 11 week update.

The baby is now 2 inches long and although I can't feel anything our little "Pearice" is apparently wriggling around like a little acrobat. I'm really looking forward to my 12-week scan now, hopefully we'll catch the little wiggler in action. X

14th April

Heartburn replaces nausea.

I have a new symptom and instead of feeling so sick I’m now getting a bit of heartburn after I eat. Oh and I got a special card in the post that means I get free prescriptions throughout my pregnancy and for a year afterwards, another little bonus. X

15th April

The day I have been waiting for.

AM: We are going for a scan today so I have the morning off work, I’m so excited and nervous I haven’t been able to sleep a wink. My husband is being very relaxed and doing a great job at trying to calm me down. I am worried that if I see the little pearice for the first time I am going to fall in love and get really attached and then find out that there is something wrong – I'm sure it will all be fine.

PM: OMG our little baby (about the size of a lemon) is wriggling around like an acrobat in my tummy and I can’t even feel it. The scan is totally amazing and when they play you your little one's heartbeat it takes your breath away. It beats twice as fast as ours because it’s still so small. Everyone at work is delighted as I make the news public and show off the photos of our little alien. You can see a video of our little miracle and although I appreciate it may not be quite as amazing to you, it is fascinating to see how much they can check the flow of blood and its tiny heart valves. Apparently there’s about a 65% chance of telling whether it’s a boy or a girl but we have decided that we do not want to know yet. See what you think…

16th April

Pros and Cons of a water birth

One of the girls in the office mentioned that her pregnant friend, who is due any day, is opting for a water birth. Apparently the water is really warm – it hides your modesty a bit at what is bound not to be your finest hour so I’m not totally against the idea. I also think it would be hilarious to get my hubby in the pool with me in his Speedos! I’d love to hear from you if you’ve had one or thought about it. X

17th April

LSO Summer Nights cocktailTreats are possible when you're Keith Cheggers

Had a fabulous day sipping (alcohol-free) cocktails in the sun around the pool on the roof of a very exclusive private members club in London. I was celebrating a friend's birthday and as it got chilly the waiters stopped bringing sun cream and brought us blankets and heat lamps instead. The only down side is that my assets have grown to such a size that random strangers are now comparing me to Kerry Katona on a good day. X

18th April

Feeling a bit dizzy

I don’t mean my usual blonde moments, I am actually going dizzy and a little bit blind if I get up too quickly. I’m getting my blood pressure checked in a few days so hopefully it will be fine. Just going to take it easy just in case. X

19th April

I wonder if the Pearice can hear us?
Apparently not for another five weeks or so, so I had better get all my swearing out the way between now and then as its going to be all sugar and frollocks there after. X

20th April

NHS scan today.

I wasn’t sure after having the earlier scan whether the NHS would do one just a week after but I was in luck. Although it was only a couple of minutes long we got to see the little Pearice face down kicking around. It’s grown a centimetre since last week.

Down side, I was a total wimp when it came to having my blood taken, I was so tense it stopped coming out after three tubes. Despite everything being fine during the appointment I felt really down afterwards didn’t really know what to do with myself. I always imagined that you might get a bit pre-menstrual but I didn’t imagine I'd feel depressed. I’m blaming the hormones. X

21st April

The best thing about today…

Was the guilt free magnum I ate at four in the afternoon at work, sometimes I love being pregnant. X

22nd April

13 weeks Pregnant: The Pearice is the size of half a banana.

Thursdays are fast becoming my favourite day of the week. Apparently all the baby's little bones in its feet and heels are in place now and it is 3 and a half inches long from head to bum. I also have a bit of a confession – I am turning into a bit of a dragon at times I cant help but over-react at really little things like the dishwasher not being unloaded. 

I can't believe we are already at the end of the first trimester. Parts of the journey so far have been painfully slow but looking back now the first three months seem to have gone really quickly. I think that's because it's only eight weeks since we found out our exciting news.X