Second trimester – weeks 24-26

Well that was two weeks I’d like to erase from my memory!  During weeks 24-26 of my pregnancy I ended up seeking medical assistance on two occasions.

Towards the end of week 24 I took Florence to pre-school as normal and began making a coffee ready to settle down and do some work.  As the kettle was boiling I thought about Baby M and suddenly realised I hadn’t felt her move that morning.  I know the experts say that babies don’t establish a pattern until nearer week 28 but I had only said to Matt the other morning “Oh she’s having a party in there – she’s so lively in the mornings and evenings.” From quite early on I had noticed mornings and evenings seemed to be the time she liked a wriggle – except today!

I text Matt and said I was a little worried and he said to contact midwife.  I asked for advice on Facebook as ringing the midwife seemed a little panicky and everyone suggested the same thing.  Before picking up the phone I tried lying down for a while and also having a cold drink but still nothing. About 9am I decided to ring triage at the hospital and they said to lie on my side and try a cold drink…..ok. So I tried again.  After an hour the midwife called back and as I still hadn’t felt any movement she booked me into a drop in clinic in Gloucester where a midwife would be available to listen to baby.

A couple of hours later and we had been reassured everything was ok.  My blood pressure was slightly elevated compared to booking but nothing to be alarmed about and although I could hear baby kicking on the Doppler I couldn’t feel a thing so we assumed baby must have slipped into a very sneaky position behind my placenta.  The day carried on with little or no movement but I felt reassured.  The next morning I woke to some lovely kicks from Baby.

Week 25 started with a headache which got progressively worse until I ended up in tears on the phone to Matt on Tuesday.  I couldn’t move without feeling sick and dizzy and the banging in my head was unbearable. All I wanted to do was hide under my duvet in a dark room. Once again Matt convinced me to call the midwife and she asked me to meet her at the Cheltenham birth centre in 45 minutes time.  I grabbed my notes and jumped in the car – not sure how I managed to drive as I felt horrendous!

The midwife took my blood pressure, pulse and listened to baby.  My BP was high and so was my pulse, my urine had signs of white blood cells in (meaning my body has been fighting some kind of infection).  Unsure of what to do for the best the midwife referred me to Gloucester Royal Hospital to do a blood test and also get checked over by a doctor.

Matt and I trundled off together, we were shown to triage and again I provided another urine sample.  That’s one of the plus sides of being pregnant – you can pee on demand!

My BP was still high but had come down slightly from earlier in the day and all other tests were fine.  The baby was hiding again so listening to the heartbeat was tricky – the student midwife called in a more senior midwife and eventually we heard it beating away.  The doctor did a few other tests and basically put it all down to migraines.  I was sent packing with a prescription for Codeine (strong painkillers) and told not to take too many as they can cause rebound headaches which are even worse.

The headache lasted another day and cleared up over the weekend.  It really was the worst 48hrs or so I’ve experienced for a long, long time!

Between seeing midwives and touring hospitals I have been doing odds and ends to the baby’s nursery and it feels like it’s coming together.  I’m on the brink of the third trimester now and I can’t wait to get to thirty weeks and begin a proper countdown!  It’s all starting to get real now!

Missed the last update? Read here.

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