Pregnancy: Week 31

Oops – I’ve really fallen behind with these updates. As I write this post, I am currently 34 weeks pregnant, and in just a few days I’ll be 35 weeks pregnant. Definitely some catching up to do!! But as you’ll see when you read on, I did have a good excuse for not feeling much like blogging at 31 weeks.

Note to self – catching gastroenteritis when 31 weeks pregnant is not a good idea. Don’t do it again.

Charlie was sick for a day or two earlier in the week but we put it down to food poisoning because two days passed and Little Man and I seemed to avoid it. The weekend rolled around, and I was looking forward to a long-planned night out. You can see where this is going.

By lunchtime I was feeling a little nauseous. “All in your head” I tried to convince myself. But I took a little trip to the local pharmacy just in case, to ask if there was anything I needed to watch for if I should get sick.

By 3pm, I was hunched over the toilet and Charlie was on the phone to our friends and our babysitter canceling our night out. A stomach bug is never pleasant, but this one really took it out of me. Must be because of the pregnancy. I was wiped out.

The pharmacist had warned me that it was vital I keep hydrated or I was risking early labour. It was a number of hours before I could keep any fluids down however.

At 1am, as I tossed and turned, trying to ease the growing pain across my back, Charlie asked me was I sure I wasn’t in early labour, because my behaviour was the same as it had been the night I went into labour on Little Man. “Of course I’m not in labour,” I reassured him. But I wasn’t feeling so assured myself. Finally, I managed to keep some water down, and doze a little. By the next morning, I was feeling semi-human, and I ate a little breakfast.

Immediately, I was queasy again, so I waited a few hours and sipped on hot Ribena, which was the only thing I could easily stomach for some reason. Maybe it’s the childhood placebo effect still in place? Who knows? It seemed to work though, and by Sunday evening, I was able to attempt some dinner. Phew, stomach bug gone, and baby still in place!

Being sick really took it out of me though. Although I was well enough to go to work on Monday, I was really wiped out for the week. It was several days before I could eat properly again. And my energy levels were destroyed. Early to bed for me all week, and I still felt exhausted!

Find my complete pregnancy journal here.