18 WEEKS PREGNANT!
Entered the 18th week and baby is the size of a bell pepper or the similar sized and way more exotic dragon fruit (because when in Singapore)! I must say this week has introduced the most changes and challenges yet! This week was both amazing and challenging (and at times terrifying) as my body decided to really change on me, in the middle of an international trip to the other side of the world! We are in Singapore this week, exploring the city and tasting amazing foods, meeting quite interesting people and having the best cultural experience of my life thus far.
I’m going to be 100% real with you guys this week because well, there is no easy way to put it! It turns out I was quite uncomfortable on day 1 of my 18th week. The baby has apparently decided to lodge him/herself on my left side, and although I can’t feel him/her move yet, the left side of my abdomen and ribs feel quite heavy and my belly is slightly shifted to the left as well. Later this week I developed a pretty significant cough, perhaps from traveling so many hours, having naturally lower immunity since I’m pregnant and going from extreme heat outside to extremely air conditioned buildings in Singapore…it caused me to develop a really dry throat and a stuffy head which produces some pretty forceful productive coughing.
baby shot in front of the classic Fullerton Hotel of Singapore!
Main Challenge of the week:
I’m willing to overshare this, only because I know this may be happening or may have happened to some of you as well. I had a few episodes of forceful coughing accompanied by some involuntary voiding. YEP! I peed myself after nearly dry heaving (is the literal translation of that initial politically correct sentence), and boy did it freak me out! I was in Singapore for 3 days when this started happening, and granted I wasn’t feeling all to well.
Because of the throat dryness and cough, I started drinking an unbelievable amount of tea (most ginger, lemon and honey), and with tea being a natural diuretic, and me already being 4 and a half months pregnant, this was the perfect storm! Not to mention, Singapore is HOT and humid, so hydration is imperative.
This meant that my “urgency” increased by what felt, 10 fold and I was peeling so frequently, sometimes as close as 10 minutes apart with a full bladder.
my favorite tea session at TWG tea at Marina Bay Sands!
All I have to say is, “Hello pelvic floor muscles!”, who disappointed me and were not there for me for the first time at 18 weeks. I had to laugh at myself because I was so embarrassed, even though I was by myself, in my hotel room in the middle of the night, and did not make it to the bathroom the usual way!
Lesson learned: it is necessary too early to start working on your kegels, so if you just found out you’re pregnant, yea, now is the time to start (even though a pelvic floor of steel couldn’t have saved me from what happened. Pretty traumatizing for starters! haha) As for the cough, it was still going strong on the way back from Singapore facing a 15 hour flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles but I do have a better hold on the bladder situation. I’ve also gotten smarter about not competing with the bladder as well, and realizing it is now the boss of me, along with the baby.
In summary, and international traveling aside, it seems like 18 weeks is the star of a challenging weeks so far, to say the least.
first time for everything! had some durian and i liked it!
- Cravings: no cravings this week, but why? I was on a culinary quest to one of the most diverse countries in the world. I did not have time to crave anything but took in plenty of tropical fruits that were available like dragon fruit, lychees, papaya and even tried the local durian for the first time! Also, young Thai coconut water every chance I got! (And yummy ice cream!) below is just a sample of all the food I got to enjoy!
- Aversions: was super concerned about being in Asia and having a sesame everything allergy but managed to dodge it all! I was very well taken care of in Singapore!
- Mood: I felt great other than the annoying cough which also made me very tired, but managed to sneak some rest periods in between running around like a crazy person all over Singapore, which is what I like to do!
- Ultrasound and Baby’s sex: we get our anatomy scan at 19 weeks! We are pretty excited about finding out more about the baby!
- Movement and Positioning: As mentioned before, baby was completely on my left side in the beginning of this week, making me very uncomfortable especially with long periods of walking. I wasn’t n pain, but very uncomfortable, and all the walking around in the heat didn’t help. Thankfully there was a longer break period of about 3 hours and I was able to rest and lie on my right side in attempts to have the baby reposition a bit to the right, because it just felt like I have a mound sitting on my left ribs, adding lots of pressure on my left hip bone and also causing some pain on my left buttock which I are assumed to be a bit of initial sciatica pain. Towards the end of the week when it was time to leave I started feeling better and it seemed like baby shifted more to the center, which I also appreciate for the long plane ride!
- Weight gain: up another pound or 2. The nurse doesn’t seem to be impressed with my weight gain but I am very tall, so I think I will really gain towards the end.
- Nursery and registry: Nope. I realize I need to do this soon. I may need to ask for help.
- Names: winecoach and I are discussing specifics but it feels like this will be a process until we agree.
- Midwife or OB: no visits this week but will listen to baby’s heart beat with a home monitor unit. It’s hard tto detect the heart rate but it is fun to play with!
- Aches and pains: coccygeal pain which is tailbone pain attributed to long hours of sitting in the plane! I still her some sharp round ligament pains on both sides but mostly on my left where most of the baby is at. I fear this won’t go away anytime soon as baby continues to grow. I’ve also had some right knee pain during this trip but I don’t have the best knees and I’m getting heavier, plus all the walking.
- True Challenge: This cough that started really early this week, making you very very tired already, but I am not willing to let it ruin the vacation. I will just rest as much as possible in between activities. I started getting burning pains right under my right breast, especially during/after eating. Anatomically this corresponds to my liver so I wasn’t sure what that was about, but it too passed, thankfully.
- Sleep: passed out each night I was in Singapore because I was so exhausted. I did wake up a few times to cough and pee but I’m done talking about it anymore. You already know…. Also, lying on either side with a pillow in between the legs and under belly seems to work best.
- Silver Lining: seems the metallic/bitter taste in my mouth has given me a break this week! Also wearing compression stockings on my flights really minimizes my foot and leg swelling!
- Currently wearing: dresses are my friend! All kinds! Loose, right, depending on the event. The bump is here and now I’m showing it off! Travel in pajama like looking pants. ALWAYS, from here on out!
- Traveling – International: Beautiful Singapore! Literally the other side of the world, and I’m looking forward to sharing The Singapore Food Festival with you all on my upcoming post this week. Stay tuned!
I love sharing my weekly journey with you all! Please let me a comment or message below about your experience during your second trimester, especially the “body dysfunctions”. I’d love to know how you handled all these changes (especially the one) and outlook on what’s to come!
Thank you for following me on my colorful pregnancy journey! Please leave me comments with any tips for the upcoming months as baby continues to grow!
Xo, Ana
Count Colors, NOT Calories!
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SNAPCHAT: AnaSandee – I will continue to snap and cook so get the recipes in real time before they make it to the blog! Of course I’ll also be sharing some more awesome things about the pregnancy as I learn them! Videos stay up for 24 hours. I may condense them into YouTube videos after!
Cougoing so hard you pee is normal!! It happens to the best of us. Soon it’ll be laughing and a little pee comes out or you sneeze and you pee. It’s crazy how pregnancy makes you feel like you loose control of your body, and same with post pregnancy…this won’t go away for a long time!! Haha.
Pregnancy does a lot of weird things to the body. I recommend the book Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy. It’s a hilarious book that talks about what most people DONT talk about during pregnancy. I felt so much better after reading that!!!
Well yes!! I feel like nobody wants to talk about this stuff but I had to share!!! It’s insane! I was shocked! LOL thank you for sharing!!! ?
It is common! I myself had that problem with both my pregnancies. panty liners were my best friend. God forbid i tried to bend over, sneeze, cough, or get out the car without a little leakage. Its just one of the many encounters in pregnancy. I know many friends who have had the same struggle and sometimes out in public! Love your snaps. & can’t wait to see how beautiful your baby will be.
Thank you so much Arlyne! Yeah, I guess it comes with “the job”! It hasn’t happened since that coughing session…It lasted a few days, and was horrid!! I’m hoping it doesn’t come back, but that’s probably not realistic! LOL
Not only coughing and laughing, mine would kick my bladder! LOL!
Ah man…I hope I don’t get kicked in the bladder! LOL
Yes I remember this happening to me at 30 weeks! I sneezed and peed myself! I was so traumatised thinking I have been exercising throughout my pregnancy and my pelvic floor should be stronger! Anyway the good news is that the pelvic floor strengthens quite quickly and I religiously started doing kegals and everything seemed to strengthen back up so quickly, no more leeks! You don’t have to put up with leeks during and after pregnancy, just take care of yourself and do those pelvic floor exercises!
YES!!! Now more than ever. That’s very valuable advice Fiona! Thanks! PS: Love your name!
Thanks! I’ve been following you for a while and make your recipes and was thrilled to hear about your news!
Totally normal, promise! And for me, it got just a little worse with each pregnancy (I have 4 kids). Stock up on pantiliners, you’ve still got a ways to go lol. And make sure you listen to your bladder, because even if you think it won’t be that much and you can wait a little longer, you’re wrong. It will be more than you think and you can’t wait much longer haha. Confession time: I don’t usually read your blog, I follow you on Snapchat, so this question may have been answered…are you two planning on finding out if you’re having a boy or a girl?
Oh, I’m no longer fighting the bladder! I have surrendered…. We are planning on finding out, sooooooooooooo……stay tuned!
I’ve had two sons and both experiences were completely different my first son i didn’t find out i was pregnant until i was 20 weeks (i wrote off the movement as gas) and my second son i had terrible acid re-flux, hemorrhoids and cramps in my legs while i slept…the coughing i got was minimal but also very annoying but know it doesn’t last forever. when you’re carrying another human in your body know that for those nine months your body is not your own and there are many unspeakable things that can happen.
OMG! I’m starting 20 weeks and I can’t believe you didn’t know! Clearly my belly is literally out there by now, but we are all different, obviously. I can start to feel the baby move now, and it’s just insane, feels like a fish! For the longest time I just thought it was gas but now I know it’s baby!! WOW! Not looking forward to hemorrhoids…Peeing on myself was enough of a challenge. I’m ready for whatever comes my way…what can we do right! #momlife! Thanks for your insight Danielle!
I used to laugh and pee so I started wearing a slim pad – Especially since I had to drink a LOT of water almost a gallon because I would get hydrated (I live in the desert SO YEAH jejeje) Hang in there – I was always tired the first trimester EXHAUSTED! – I really enjoyed your Singapore snaps! I drink Yukult and it was awesome to see they have soo many different flavors oh and the cool fruit stops with the benches with the trash cans – Wish we had that here in the US a fruit stop ! 🙂
So you’re telling me this is what I have to look forward to! haha….It’s all good. Singapore was amazing! I’m glad you enjoyed the snaps Shanell!
Hi… I am 24 weeks pregnant and I Can totally relate to the coughing/sneezing and oeeing that accompanies it. Lol it only becomes more intense…. its funny and annoying but its a part of yhe chanhes we are going through.
My baby also mounds on the left side… it hurts but once you feel he or she move you won’t care its just amazing!
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