My first time pregnancy story
I am pregnant for the first time and I live on a small remote island. This is my story.
Blog Chapters
Pregnancy blog: front page
Chapter 1: I'm pregnant! The initial emotions
Chapter 2: Sharing our good news
Chapter 3: The unwelcomed symptoms of pregnancy
Chapter 4: Initial midwifery appointment
Chapter 5: Hello baby!
Chapter 6: A healthy growing baby
Chapter 7: The happy second trimester
Chapter 8: Gifts & preparations
Chapter 9: Our plans for home birth
Chapter 10: The start of the third trimester
Chapter 11: Birthing options - a decision finally made
Chapter 12: An unplanned trip to the hospital
Chapter 13: Newest third trimester sensations
Chapter 14: Last minute preparations & more gifts
> Chapter 15: A scare! Has the baby moved today?
Chapter 16: We are ready for the home birth
Chapter 17: The woes of late stage pregnancy
Chapter 18: The excruciating waiting stage!
Chapter 19: Scanning & sweeping
Chapter 20: Trapped in town (an indefinite hospital stay)
Chapter 21: Baby's birthday! My delivery & birth story
Chapter 22: A quick recovery
Chapter 23: Final thoughts. . .
Chapter 1: I'm pregnant! The initial emotions
Chapter 2: Sharing our good news
Chapter 3: The unwelcomed symptoms of pregnancy
Chapter 4: Initial midwifery appointment
Chapter 5: Hello baby!
Chapter 6: A healthy growing baby
Chapter 7: The happy second trimester
Chapter 8: Gifts & preparations
Chapter 9: Our plans for home birth
Chapter 10: The start of the third trimester
Chapter 11: Birthing options - a decision finally made
Chapter 12: An unplanned trip to the hospital
Chapter 13: Newest third trimester sensations
Chapter 14: Last minute preparations & more gifts
> Chapter 15: A scare! Has the baby moved today?
Chapter 16: We are ready for the home birth
Chapter 17: The woes of late stage pregnancy
Chapter 18: The excruciating waiting stage!
Chapter 19: Scanning & sweeping
Chapter 20: Trapped in town (an indefinite hospital stay)
Chapter 21: Baby's birthday! My delivery & birth story
Chapter 22: A quick recovery
Chapter 23: Final thoughts. . .
Chapter 15: A scare! Has the baby moved today?
We were visited by an amazingly calm and very experienced midwife on 18th August at my week 34 appointment who filled us with positive emotions for the home birth. She didn’t stay long but really put our mind at rest that the home birth is a good choice for us, even if we live so remotely! She said they would send us a box ahead of time, full of equipment that they would need for assisting us at home and any emergency supplies that we may require. It was an amazing visit and an awesome week.
The following week came with a little scare, though. In the morning of Saturday 25th August I was busy pre-folding baby nappies (“folding!”) and in the afternoon we all went for a little walk to the common fields where we got chased by an excited and rather jumpy calf. At about 5pm I realised that despite all the excitement of the day I didn’t feel the baby move very much. Usually, I feel pokes, nudges, wobbles, pushes and hiccups all throughout the day but it was a very quiet day. . . We phoned the midwives in Kirkwall to check what we should do and they advised that it might be best to come in for a check-up.
I didn’t complain too much, because the boat timetable on Sundays is a real nightmare and then we were going to have a Bank Holiday Monday and who knows what the ferries would have been like then, so we were taking no chances. We had an hour to scramble to get to the evening boat that Saturday and, with a little help from our friends and neighbours, we made it just on time - having a hospital bag pre-packed was a really good idea!
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James was scared and worried, but as soon as we got onto the ferry I felt the baby kick. It was such a relief for both of us but we were also glad we were heading into the hospital to be doubly sure that nothing was upsetting the little one. It was worth going in, if only for a piece of mind!
We got to the hospital and I was connected to an ECG machine that constantly measured the baby’s heart rate. Two yellow disks were placed on my belly, strapped with yellow bands and the machine played the rhythmic soothing wonderful sound of the little heart. I was laying there for 20 minutes just happy to hear my little one doing so well and then the nurse came in and said “oops, we forgot to press the record button” so I had the joy of listening to the sweet sweet sound for a further 20-30 minutes, this time with a piece of paper recording the scribbles of the beating baby’s heart.
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We don’t have full length mirrors at home so it was a real shock and surprise for me to see just how big I had become. My baby belly was so huge! And I think my belly button has popped outwards!!! Some old wive's tales predict this to mean that I carry a boy - we shall see, I guess! I really have no particular hope or preference when it comes to the child's gender, all I want is to have a healthy and happy little one!
Here are the last two baby bump pictures - week 34 on the left (in red) and week 37 on the right (in blue)!
Here are the last two baby bump pictures - week 34 on the left (in red) and week 37 on the right (in blue)!
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The ward was too warm and the window wouldn’t stay open so I placed my hat in the frame to keep it open. It was a little amusing but it did the job. We stayed in the ward overnight - luckily, there was nobody else there and we had a whole room to ourselves. I was way too hot and there was too much light coming in from the corridors so I didn’t sleep very well, but it was my first time staying in a hospital bed ever, so it was a real adventure. James, on the other hand, was freezing cold but managed to get some sleep before our return trip home on Sunday morning.
We missed the dogs, but they were well walked and fed before we headed out - making sure they were happy was a part of our scramble routine! We returned home safely and were so happy we checked the baby, otherwise we may have always had the doubt and fear that something was actually wrong, when in fact it must have just been a busy day and my mind was preoccupied. . .
All this also meant that I didn’t require a separate week 36 check-up so our little adventure also saved the midwives a trip to Eday.
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