Well If you are reading this I am probably about 12 weeks pregnant and have made my pregnancy public! For now however it is July 13th 2022 and I am 4+2 weeks pregnant with an estimated due date of March 20th!
As this will be my 5th and most definitely final baby – yes I know Iv’e said that before, but I really do mean it this time, I thought it would be nice to do a series of blogs to track it; The pregnancy diaries if you will.
As of yet I do not really have any symptoms, I knew I was pregnant simply because my period didn’t arrive so I thought I better test – and test and test again lol.
I bought a pack of cheap non branded tests from Amazon, and started to get those positives. The main reason I tested so many times was that they took a while for the positive line to show up. When I have taken previous tests the line is pretty immediate even if faint. These took a good 6-7 minutes to show a positive result. The tests came without instructions so I didn’t know if I should just discard them, with most tests a reading doesn’t count if it shows a bit later. I have ordered a clear blue just to be certain – although my period is now 3 days late and I know my body well enough that even with no symptoms I am most definitely pregnant.
At the moment I am not sure it has quite sunk in! My husband is on the other side of the world so I haven’t even been able to tell him yet – I think until I get to share it with him it wont feel real.
This was a surprise pregnancy, but I generally feel very calm and positive about it. I have always wanted 5 children, and only a few months ago was discussing with Will whether we should start trying for that 5th, considering our ages, and how we would feel if our baby days had come to an end. We hadn’t really come to a conclusion either way so i’m glad the choice was made for us.
I love this time of year to be pregnant, thankfully by the time I am heavily pregnant this horrendous heat wave will be over and I will be mainly carrying over winter – bring on those oversized cosy knits! Noah our eldest is a spring baby (Mid April) and It is just the perfect time to have a newborn. You can get out and about without having to put 50 layers on the baby just as it poops up it’s back (we’ve all been there), and you don’t have to stress about keeping them cool in the sun, or having them stick to you whilst feeding! I have had a baby in every season and spring is definitely my favourite.
I do have some initial concerns that I’m trying to put to the back of my head though. Firstly I am praying – literally praying that I don’t get hyperemesis gravidarum again. I had it with Oliver (pregnancy 3) and after being sick up to 25 times a day, every day until I was 6 months pregnant I feel like I have been left with a bit of trauma and complete anxiety over it. HG is horrendous and you can’t truly understand how bad it is unless you’ve experienced it. It was hard enough trying to navigate life with it when I had two children who were both at school, but dealing with it when I have four children all home will be ………. I don’t even have the words!
My other worry is that I am 38 now so this pregnancy will automatically be classed as high risk. As an older mum I know this little bean will have a higher risk of having Down’s syndrome, or other chromosome complications. My risk of miscarriage is higher along with having a still birth.
Will also spent time in Singapour and Malaysia in May which is a Zika virus country which adds another risk factor, finally I am definitely not in my best physical shape. I am probably a stone or even closer to 2 over what I would like to be at the beginning of a pregnancy so don’t feel like I am going into it as healthy as I could be.
I know these things are against me and this pregnancy, so for now all I can do is be thankful for the tiny bundle of cells growing into a little life inside me, and pray that I have a healthy pregnancy and baby in 8 months time.
Hayley Higgins – mum of 5 🤪 That is completely insane!
