Bump Update: 25 Weeks

This week has been a really tough one for me and my family. My parent’s dog, Findlay hadn’t been well for some time now. There were niggling signs that he had an inflammation in his jaw and a few other things that made us feel that something just wasn’t right. He started developing a lump next to his ear on his face and after a few tests and check ups, the vet surmised that it was probably a tumour. Over the last couple of weeks things just seemed to go downhill fast and it seemed to become more aggressive. The vet suggested a CT scan and then chemotherapy but the more we thought about it, the more we realised that it would be selfish to try and prolong his life just because we wanted to keep him with us for a few more months. His quality of life would be severely affected so we all decided that the kindest thing would be to manage his pain and let him go peacefully. This has been an incredibly hard time because he wasn’t just a dog, he was part of our family. Anyone who has a pet will know how animals take over a special place in your heart.

He was such a loving, intuitive, spiritual dog – he looked at you like he knew exactly how you were feeling. I went out to my parent’s house yesterday to see Findlay because I knew he didn’t have much time. I knew as soon as I saw him that he was ready to go – he just looked tired, tired of struggling. When I said goodbye, I knew it was my last goodbye with him and that really broke my heart. That night he lay on the floor with a blanket over him, hardly moving. It was then that my parents knew it was time to let him go. The vet was called to their house to put him to sleep. We have lost 2 dogs before and it never gets any easier to say goodbye. When I saw all of the pictures of the Northern lights in our area, I knew that was Findlay showing us that he was passing over to a better place. We’ll love you forever Finny. RIP.

Total weight gain: 15lbs – Another couple of lbs creeped their way on this week but I know the baby will be doubling in weight in the next 2 weeks so weight gain has to be expected! Never the less it can be disconcerting to see the scales edging up every week. My face, arms and legs are still looking relatively as they did before I got pregnant so that is keeping me happy for now!
Maternity clothes? I have found that I’ve reached that point where even oversized stuff that I wore when I wasn’t pregnant is getting more than neat over my bump! Oversized shirt gape at the chest and over the bump so they’re definitely being stored away for now. I’m fully into the maternity clothes phase now but I’m quite happy to live out my days in maternity skinny jeans, fitted tops/cosy jumpers. I have definitely found that more fitted clothes look the best because they celebrate the bumpage instead of hiding it and making me look like a sack of potatoes!
Stretch marks? Nada! I’m rather chuffed about this but I’m keeping in mind that when my bump gets to gargantuan status, there’s bound to be a couple of stretch marks popping up here and there. But I get a little baby in return so who cares?
Sleep: Sleep has actually been ok this week. I do find it really difficult to get comfortable because my bump just feels so awkward and heavy. Even just turning from one side to another is a huge effort which leaves me wincing in discomfort. I am still up 2-3 times a night to go to the toilet and I’ve noticed that I get particularly thirsty at night time which has led to me keeping a water bottle next to me at all times. As you can imagine…that doesn’t help the toilet trips!!!
Best moment this week: Chris finally felt the baby kick for the first time and it felt really great for him to share in the experience. He was getting so frustrated that he couldn’t feel it but now the kicks and nudges have become so strong that it’s really easy to pick up on them. The look on his face when he felt it was priceless! It was a really special moment that I’ll always remember.
Miss anything? Nothing this week.
Food cravings: The food cravings have altered slightly – I now want dark chocolate…specifically the Lindt dark stuff with orange and almond in it. It tastes like heaven! The great thing is that I don’t need a lot of it to satisfy my craving because it’s so intense and rich.
Anything making you queasy or sick? If I move too quickly, I get a nauseous feeling and also if I overdo it on the walk with the dogs in the morning. The heartburn makes me feel sick when it’s really bad.
Gender: It’s so hard keeping this a secret!!!
Symptoms: Constant heartburn, sore back/pelvis, headaches, stuffy nose, leg cramps at night, lack of appetite, pins and needles in wrists/hands at night.
Happy or moody most of the time: As I said, this week has been really tough for me emotionally and I have done a lot of crying over Findlay’s death so it has been making me feel quite low. But I’ve had to really try and pull myself out of feeling like that as I’m sure it’s not good for the baby.
Looking forward to: Having date night with Chris tomorrow night. We didn’t go out on Valentines evening and agreed we would go out for a lovely dinner this weekend instead. Life has been so up in the air lately that it’ll be nice to just spend some romantic time together.