Pregnancy Update: Week 13

The end of my first trimester has come and gone at last! Hoo-flipping-rah! Monday marked the start of my thirteenth week of pregnancy, and almost as though a light had been switched on overnight, I woke up with less sickness, more energy and a happier outlook on life. So it is true what they say about the 'happy second trimester' after all! What a relief.

Bumpdate

I've noticed a considerable change to my bump this week, particularly after I've eaten! It seems to have popped out a little more, and I'm starting to look a bit more shapely. According to one of my many pregnancy Apps, the baby is now about 3 inches long (think the size of a peach), but weighs only 0.81 of an ounce.

The most exciting bump-related news of the week is that I've started to feel a bit of movement in there. This is quite early compared to most mothers, who can generally expect to start feeling something between 16 and 25 weeks, but the tiny ticklish movements inside me have been unmistakeable!

Symptoms 

The sickness lingered into last week, but this week it has all but gone. I still experience a bit of queasiness here and there, but mainly just when I haven't eaten or drunk anything for a while, and I am low on blood sugar. I also get quite irritable during these times (I've coined the phrase 'Extreme Pregnancy Hanger' (EPH) for these occasions), but luckily I have an excellent hunter gatherer in the form of Mr Sunshine who has done very well at making sure I'm kept well fed at all times, thereby preventing the beast from being unleashed!

We have come back to the UK for the week to see family and friends, and as a result we have been packing quite a lot into our days, which I have found quite tiring. However, it's nowhere near the gut-wrenching exhaustion that I have experienced over the past few weeks, and just so long as I manage a full 7-8 hours sleep a night (punctuated of course by the inevitable dashing to the toilet at about 4am!), then I've found I can manage just fine.

I am hoping that this week is a good sign of things to come, rather than an anomaly! Please keep everything crossed that things are now on the up for us three :-)

What I've been eating

I definitely need to eat little and often these days, so instead of sticking to three set meals, I'm tending to snack throughout the day. At the same time, I'm trying to ensure that these snacks are as healthy and wholesome as possible. Luckily, this is quite easy to accomplish in London. A superfood salad from Pret; a freshly made soup from a little delhi in Chelsea; a fridge pack of mango slices from Waitrose, and of course, the odd naughty pub meal and bar of chocolate here and there...I'm starting to enjoy food a lot more than I did in the last trimester.

My new craving is cream cheese and marmite on toast in the morning with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Sounds bizarre, but it is simply beaut. And I didn't even used to like marmite!

How I've been feeling

Pretty damn good actually! You know when you've been sick for ages and you didn't realise just how sick until you start to get better and feel like yourself again? Well, it's kind of like that. I've loved being able to walk through old haunts in London, arm in arm with Mr Sunshine, and to take my two year old nephew on a trip to London Zoo, and to be able to get up early enough to enjoy a sitting for brunch at the Duck & Waffle. It's obviously been amazing to be able to share my pregnancy properly at last with all of our family and friends, who have been so supportive and excited!!

Feeling our baby move inside me was obviously the crowning moment of this week. I can't tell you how much I love this little being already, and we still have six months to go before we meet him or her!

What I've been wearing

Coming back to London has meant that I can finally get my mitts on some proper maternity wear, something which is pretty difficult to find back in Doha. I definitely need a few choice items in my wardrobe now, as my jeans are getting tighter and more uncomfortable around the middle, and tops don't seem to sit right any more. I had visions of only being able to find frumpy, lumpy-looking items that resembled bedsheets, but Topshop surprised me with a few really nice (and more to the point, amazingly comfy!) pieces. I also bought a few over-sized bits and bobs from New Look and Zara while we were out shopping - see below for all the details.

New Look Burgundy Deep Hem Over-Sized Shirt 

Topshop Maternity MOTO Leigh Jeans in black, grey and navy

 Topshop Maternity MOTO Black Ashley Denim Shorts

Selection of Topshop Maternity tops for the evening, work and casual 

Zara basics over-sized t-shirt and roll neck sweater

The products I've been using

I slap on a bit of this Mother's Balm from Neal's Yard morning and night - to ward away any unwanted stretch marks across my tummy and boobs (luckily there is nothing as yet!).

Neal's Yard Mother's Balm

I love it because it's made from completely natural ingredients, so I know I'm not subjecting the baby to any unnecessary chemicals.

I've also been using this organic moisturising lotion with manuka honey by dr. organic for my dry legs and arms, which has worked a treat.

dr. organic Manuka Honey Skin Lotion

This week, I also moved from the Elevit Pronatal multivitamins and minerals that I was taking, to Pregnacare, which are much more widely used in the UK and seem to have far better reviews! So far, no complaints.

Baby bits

Coming home has meant that we have been inundated with gifts of all shapes and sizes. My favourite baby-related gift this week was this teeny-weeny baby cardigan, lovingly hand-knitted by Rich's grandma, Yvonne. Isn't it gorgeous?!

Link of the week

All Doha-based mummies or mummies-to-be should join the Positive Birth Doha Facebook page which provides a forum for mums to share useful resources, advice and services in the area. I have been on the page every day since I joined and it's already proven to be incredibly useful. They also have a sales page if you're looking to buy or sell baby-related items, which you can find here.

Final words

I've read hundreds of these weekly summaries by other mummy-to-be bloggers since I became pregnant, and I think they're a really nice way to document your pregnancy journey, so I will be attempting to post an update once a week from now on. I've tried to only include information that's interesting or useful, but please do let me know if there is anything else you would like to know about that I've missed!

Thank you soo much to everybody's incredibly kind and supportive comments so far - I have to admit I shed a little tear reading through them all. Things have been ridiculously busy but I will reply to each and every one of them very soon. At the same time, a new Doha restaurant review and my honeymoon posts are also on their way shortly, I promise!

Thanks for following along with the next step of my pregnancy journey. I can't wait to see what next week has in store.