Month 7 Pregnancy Update

What Month/Week?

Month 7, Week 30

How Big is Baby?

Baby is about the size of a large cabbage, weighing around 3 pounds and measuring almost 16 inches long from head to heel.

Weight Gain

8.5kg

Symptoms

General tiredness, a little bit of dizziness due to lower blood pressure again, some more ligament pain around my bump, and some pelvic girdle pain too.

Cravings

None, although I’ve been more partial to sweet treats (Although that could just be my brain saying, “screw it, you’re pregnant, treat yourself”…)

Food Aversions

None

Reflections

Sleep has been really difficult this month. Between the constant need to pee, plus some pretty bad Restless Leg Syndrome (Something I’ve suffered with at times before I was pregnant, which has had a resurgence during this pregnancy), some nights I’ve felt like I’ve tossed and turned all night. In fact, some nights I have, going to bed at an early hour in time for me to achieve eight or even nine hours of sleep, only to wake up in the morning having slept two hours out of that. There was a week during this month where I was almost a zombie, because I had about four nights consecutively of this kind of sleep, which wasn’t fun at all. As I write this however, my sleep has improved a lot, however is still not as good as it was pre-pregnancy. My pregnancy body pillow is helping me to get comfortable though!

This month Dan and I were also absolutely chuffed to find some amazing secondhand finds to add to baby’s collection, including an iCandy Cherry Pram/Pushchair that came up looking near new after a wash of the fabric covers – an item that would have cost more than £700 brand new, and we nabbed it for £45! In addition, we also found an adorable bouncer for £5, a carrier in a similar style to an Ergobaby for £5, a breast pump for £5 (although I then had to purchase some replacement parts for it), and finished off our stash of cloth nappies – all secondhand, which we are thrilled with!

Dan and I had a little weekend away this month as well as a sort-of “Babymoon” – you can read about that experience here.

I have to admit I’ve been a little stressed this month, unrelated to my pregnancy. I’ve been in the process of applying for a new visa as a Partner of a British Citizen, as my original two-year Tier 5 Visa that I came to the UK on is about to expire. It’s been a long process, and a LOT of paperwork to go through and “evidence of our relationship” to gather, and the thought of potentially being denied this visa has had me feeling very anxious. I honestly don’t know what we’d do if I did get denied. I’d be heavily pregnant (or depending on the consideration time, may have a newborn baby) and having to be sent back to Australia, away from Dan, with my right to Maternity Leave and Pay taken away from me too. However, as Dan keeps reminding me: We have a strong case, I tick all the boxes for this visa, and he’d be surprised if I got denied (I just can’t help but think the worst). Until we have an answer this will be weighing on my mind, but I’m trying not to let it get to me too much as I know stress is definitely NOT good for a growing baby.