We were still in shock about the rapid progression with the pregnancy but were so pleased we could start telling people. Straight after the scan James shared the news with his sisters - one had already guessed as my lack of alchol at Christmas had triggered alarm bells, and since then had set James' mum a series of traps to see whether her suspicions, her buying a travel cot and accepting a baby bath confirmed it! My mum spent that afternoon on the phone telling anyone that she thought would be vaguely interested, I spent that afternoon constantly running to and from the loo as my bladder was still angry about the 2 litres of water consumed before the scan. I also told my two best friends, Shelley and Beccy, straight away, they were mega shocked as I had never shown any inclination towards motherhood - and they certainly don't want kids, as were all of our other friends - it is so easy to hide a pregnancy when people think you hate kids!
I told my form group fairly early on that I was pregnant - I didn't want them to hear from others as I have had them for almost 5 years, and also didn't want them all whispering that I was getting fat! They were delighted for me - and really impressed with my timing as I will leave just after their exams therefore they won't be affected by my maternity leave - however they did say it was an extreme measure to avoid having a Year 7 form next year! By lunch time the whole of Year 11 knew but it took many weeks to trickle down through the whole school - kids are very unobservant! Luckily most kids were really considerate during my pregnancy which made teaching a bit easier, as did choosing a date for maternity leave early on! However teenagers are a little bit too interested in pregnancy and are really crap at suggesting baby names!!
I quickly realised that maternity clothes are disgusting - who honestly thinks that when someone gets pregnant they want to spend their days wearing tents and hideous curtains. Several people on ebay were selling bundles of 'maternity clothes' - which on closer inspection were actually just size 16/18 clothes being marketed towards regular size 12s - thank god for Asos! Luckily I seem to have a tidy bump - possibly because I was so sick!
Last year I stupidly bought an MX5 on an impulse - not the best car for a pregnant woman. In fact that car had been the worst purchase decision ever - I work out in the sticks and driving a rear-wheel drive car on untreated back roads in the ice and snow was no fun at all, most mornings I was impressed that I had managed to get into work without sliding into a ditch! By late February I was struggling to get in and out of it so we bit the bullet and started looking for a more sensible family car. Already having a massive dog meant our choice was estate or people carrier - we opted for the people carrier as I didn't want a wardrobe on wheels (I am perfectly aware that a people carrier is also very uncool!), and bought the first one I thought was vaguely acceptable! Researching the buggy was a much bigger job!!
At the beginning of March we had our sexing scan. I was really nervous about this and had got it into my head that it would show something was wrong, although the huge amount of sickness I was suffering with (which didn't actually stop until about 22 weeks) was a sign that the baby was thriving. The sonographer was silent for the first 5 minutes which made me think she was finding all sorts of hideous things - she wasn't - apparently she was just quiet as she was concentrating! Everything was good which was great to hear although I did have a slightly low-lying placenta which I wasn't particularly worried about. And despite my massive nosiness we didn't find out whether we were having a pink or blue baby!
The low point of my second trimester was contracting a filthy bug from a filthy child at school. I was so so sick and had horrendous cramps like nothing I have ever had before. I stupidly went into school despite not sleeping at all and crying all the way in, however it was the Year 11 photograph which I didn't want to miss. I didn't make it to the photo though as I was sent home to see the midwife. She was unhelpful - according to her I either had a urine infection or was going into labour - and rather sensitively she said that if that was the case there was nothing we could do. I was distraught and an hour or so later I was in so much pain that I was admitted to hospital. Thankfully everything was okay with the baby but I was so dehydrated that I had to spend the next 24 hours on a drip (listening to other women give birth!) and the rest of the pregnancy drinking as much water as I could. Very scary!
Throughout this stage everyone said how well I was looking, despite not feeling it. Towards the end I started to feel better though, even with weighing in at 11 stone and it being really hot! We did get the nursery sorted, the buggy purchased (the Britax B Smart 4) – which took longer to pick than the car did) and have a couple of weekends away in Norfolk and the Peak District. These trips away coincided with the return of the pea-sized bladder which was not great on the motorways or when we were trying to walk anywhere. The Peak District was a particular challenge as Shelley has no comfortable furniture, we walked too far and another friend sent me home with an array of disgusting maternity tops I would never wear but was too polite to refuse!
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