My pregnancy journey: highs & lows

39 weeks TODAY. Wow. We are nearly there. As much as I've been moaning about how slowly this last part of pregnancy has been going, (which I do truly apologise to my friends and family for, I've been moaning a lot!!!) it is quite surreal to think I'm in my 39th week out of 40! Where did it go?!

Looking back from when I first found out I was pregnant to now, I do feel like on the whole I've had a pretty darn good pregnancy journey. Even though I've had low moments, they've been no where near as bad as I expected! However saying that, at the same time I don't think I really knew what to expect.. you read about all the changes physically and hormonally that happen to you during pregnancy, but there's nothing that can quite prepare you for what your body is about to go through! And even then, it's totally different for every women!

I thought back through every stage of the last 40 weeks, and picked out my highs and my lows of my pregnancy. (Obviously this is MY personal highs and lows, and it won't go for every women out there!) this is an insight into my journey and what I have experienced...

My 5 pregnancy lows

• Morning Sickness: I think this was physically and mentally one of the most difficult stages of pregnancy for me. My morning sickness started around week 7 and didn't actually pass till around week 19 - blurghhh!! I had constant nausea and I was physically sick! (Read about my morning sickness blog post here!)
• Dandruff: Yup.. I had the glorious flaky scalp. And it was a nightmare! Just the change in hormones meant my hair couldn't agree with any "normal" shampoo! (I didn't get the blessing of gorgeous glossy locks!) but I managed to find a natural shampoo soap, (which was designed for eczema of the scalp) and used that along with Neutrogina T-Gel and it soon cleared up! I've just stuck with the combo ever since!!
• Stretch Marks: An obvious one that happens when your body stretches and grows rapidly and your skin just can't take it! My worst ones were on my boobs.. I've gone from flat chested ballerina/fitness fanatic, to BIG and ready to breastfeed mama boobs! I call them my 'Tiger stripes' - haha! But they have died down a from using Bio oil everyday! Only in the last few weeks of pregnancy have a couple of stretch marks started to appear on my bump right around the centre near my belly button. So could be worse.. again I've just been Bio oiling and moisturising them multiple times a day and they will fade eventually!
• Bleeding Gums: This one was more for the first trimester and about half way through the second.. they're so much better now! But due to the increase in blood in the body (and baby stealing all my calcium supply), I literally couldn't brush my teeth without multiple areas of my mouth bleeding like crazy! They were so unbelievably sore - I couldn't even bite into an apple! And I went through a real paranoid stage where I was convinced I was going to loose my teeth! I had to use super soft baby toothbrushes! I definitely have made the most of the free NHS dental care while being pregnant!
• Acne: Opposite to the bleeding gums, my skin only started getting really bad when I was about 25 weeks (although with all the crazy hormones running around my body, it had been worse than normal.) But from about 25 weeks, I started getting all these horrible big pressure spots, that just make you feel like crap! As if my body wasn't going through enough changes already, but I then had to deal with feeling self-conscious about my skin?! To be fair these last 2 weeks it has calmed down massively! *touch wood*! Maybe that's down to another hormonal change going on ready to give birth? Who knows! But hopefully it'll completely calm down and go back to normal post baby...

My 5 pregnancy highs

• Feeling The First Kicks: I will never ever forget that feeling of babies first movements in my tummy. The first few kicks I wasn't really sure what to expect, as obviously they are not full on obvious foot kicks like I get now! It almost felt like a little butterfly, fluttering sensation, I felt the first movements around 16/17 weeks. And it was amazing. While my bump was only small then and not 100% obvious to strangers, it really made the pregnancy start to feel real!
• My Bump Shape: Putting it out there.. I know I have a big bump! As said before, this is because of my placenta being at the back pushing my baby forward. However, this means I literally feel every single toss, turn, twist, kick and hiccup my baby girl has, and it is the most INCREDIBLE feeling and I wouldn't change it for the world. I feel lucky to have this much movement, (even if some of her kicks are so strong they almost hurt!) as I feel a real close connection with my girl already, knowing that there is just a layer of skin between us and we're practically already touching! It's magical! I can't imagine what it must feel like for the women who's placentas are at the front and don't get much movement. So yes, I feel really lucky, I love my bump shape and I wouldn't have it any other way!
• Strong, Long, Nails: Before being pregnant, I used to religiously get Gel Manicures every 2 weeks. Being a Personal trainer, my nails would always chip or split if I stupidly caught them on a kettlebell or dumbbell! However, since being pregnant they have literally been invincible! Not one chip, split, anything! Meaning I've probably ended up saving a fair bit of money as I haven't been having my manicures! Just filing regularly to keep a nice shape and a coat of nail varnish and I'm good to go! I may have missed out on the glossy hair, but at least I got good nails! Thank you hormones!
• Finding Out The Sex: Now I totally respect the couples who want to keep the sex of their baby a surprise, but I am so impatient, it would have driven me CRAZY not knowing if we were having a boy or a girl. Luckily Josh is the same so we always knew we wanted to find out from the moment we knew we were pregnant! It's so lovely being able to refer to my baby bump as 'She' or 'Her', I couldn't stand it in the first 20 weeks, referring to my baby as 'it'. Again, this is just me personally, and I admire those who can wait but the suspense would kill me!! It's also allowed us to go all out on baby girl clothes without worry about keeping everything gender neutral (Read about my baby wardrobe blog post here), and also made the mission of deciding on names a lot easier!
• No Mood Swings: Again, I didn't really know what to expect, but I had read about the pregnancy 'rage'! When the sheer amount of hormones running around the body can turn you into a moody, snappy and emotional wreck! Surprisingly, I've felt pretty much normal and very calm all pregnancy, which I know Josh has been really grateful for - haha! I don't feel like I've even come close to crossing into that 'crazy pregnant lady' mode. The only emotional change that's massively gone on is I cry a bit more at a sad story or romantic movie, I've turned a bit more soppy then I already was! I guess this point is more of a high for my friends and family as well as I haven't tried to take out my emotions on everyone!

I am amazed at my body. And proud in a way. At the fact I have carried and grown a human being, just mind-blowingly wow! Especially for me personally, after some tough illnesses and struggles my body has had to go through in my life.. I had no idea how my body would cope being pregnant. I guess the fact that I'm young, fit, healthy my body is in its prime for reproduction! That's partly why Josh and I wanted children now, while our bodies are perfect baby producing machines! We didn't want to wait till we were 30+ and luckily we are in a career where we don't need to wait for us to 'work our way up the ladder'. Having a family was our priority, and I am proud my little body has made it this far without any serious problems or complications.

Yes, 100% I would love to be pregnant again. There are tough times, but it is so so worth it, and when the time is right, I know I would do it again in a heartbeat! Now little madam... When are you going to make an appearance into the world?! We can't wait to meet you!

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