Last Updated on September 13, 2017 by melissanreynolds
By week 21 my burgeoning bump had taken over! Forgetting my new size, I brushed against things and banged it a few times before learning (that can hurt!). At week 22, I wondered how I could possibly grow for 16-18 more weeks.
A nice, healthy, detoxifying, warming drink I fell in love with was warm lemon (juice of half), honey (1 tspn) and tumeric (1/4 tspn).
I started to think more about the birth. After a 20 hour posterior (baby facing the wrong way causing severe back pain) labour with Nu, I was really keen for a nicer birth story. The news that second labours tend to be shorter and that those who have had posterior labour previously don’t realise they’re in labour until fully established gave me some confidence! I was planning all I could to save my energy and to avoid the stress of the first few days that we had with Nu. The first was that my husband doesn’t leave me, if he had to go, I had to go too! The second was that I know the signs of back labour and if it occured again, I would ask for intervention sooner.
A steady low back ache developed again at week 21, disturbing sleep and making the day more painful. A heatpack, pelvic tilts and child’s pose were somewhat helpful.
The only thing that really helped was reducing my activity level, aiming for 8000 steps or less. I could manage this for most of the week, but on weekends it was more difficult. There’s always too much to do on a weekend and it’s always been difficult to keep up with my husband. Another hard lesson in pacing.
We named our wee boy and the sweetest sound is Nu saying his name and talking to baby through the bump.
At week 23 I felt like there was a lot going on physically. I was put on antibiotics for bacterial vaginosis. My low back and neck were troublesome, to say the least. And I began getting Braxton Hicks contractions. It was time to admit that I was quite pregnant! The countdown may have begun for the end.
I thought I would share this journey, as I did with the first, to provide a sense of what it’s like for a mama with Fibromyalgia to do pregnancy. Find all of the posts and more at Pregnancy Diaries and Resources.
Sign up to receive access to my free resources which include the PDF reports: Tips for Managing Early Pregnancy Symptoms, Navigating Pain Relief in Pregnancy and my free micro course Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia: Arm Yourself with Knowledge. This is part of the first module of my full eCourse Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia.
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