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 2: Sharing our good news
After finding out that I was pregnant I went on an emotional roller coaster, one I’ve already discussed in Part 1. After calming down, having a cup of nice tea and thinking things through rationally, we had to take the next steps. We did the test on the evening of 8th February and, as it was positive, we knew we had to go see the local nurse practitioner and then, the local midwives. After all, we’ve never been pregnant before and they are the people who do know about these things!
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So the following morning we were at the local Surgery talking to a nurse, who used to be a midwife but no longer practices that side of medicine. It was a really funny appointment. There are no waiting times on Eday as it’s such a small community so we just turned up, sat down and when she asked “So, how can I help?” we both exclaimed “We are pregnant!”. She looked at us, waiting, so we added “and we’re so happy about it!” and then the nurse burst into a huge tirade of congratulations and excitement for us! I like how she reserved the judgement until she knew our stance on this situation for sure, that was very professional indeed - I am sure nurses all over the world have people pronouncing the very same news but in a less joyful manner and with completely different intentions . . .
After we confirmed that it was a happy time indeed, the nurse asked if we are sure and only then we explained that we had actually completed the pregnancy test and it came back positive - we were not there just on a whim or a hunch. The nurse then explained that we will be contacted by the midwifery service in Kirkwall and they would book us in within the next few weeks and that was that - we were off home.
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The following day we told everyone! I know some people like to wait until the three month mark and we were only on week 7, but we couldn’t wait at all - we are very honest and impulsive and just couldn’t keep a secret that big to ourselves! So, we knocked on the door of our closest neighbours and, as we sat down with a cup of tea and some scones, we exclaimed “We are pregnant!” and they were so happy! The next few days we met other neighbours and friends and the friends of friends and before we knew it the news had spread around the entire island like a wildfire. Sometimes people we barely knew and never spoken with would come up to us in the local shop congratulating us. It was really lovely and we felt so loved by the whole community!
We took this opportunity to ask a few of our closest friends if they would consider being the baby's "Odd Parents". James and I are not religious but we like the idea of the child having people in their life who could become their mentors and guides and who could advice and direct them on any life's situations. Whilst the question we asked was very impulsive, we feel that our friends are happy to help and will indeed be on the look out for the little baby's welfare.
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We also told our families: my Nan in Lithuania and James’s sister in Australia. They were both so excited and we received so much love and encouragement from them both. They do, however, live really far away and apart from an occasional birthday card we don't have a lot of contact, so this will be an interesting new adventure for us - one we are prepared to undertake on our own!
Ah yes, let me also share the good news with you! Here is a video we made for Easter (and incidentally April Fool's day too!) and James kept going 'round and 'round the houses, but in the end we announce our pregnancy to our YouTube friends as well:
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So this is the happy side of the first trimester. A more challenging time came a little later and I will talk about it in the next chapter.
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