Second Trimester

Magical times, MOTHERHOOD, when you learn about the strengths you did not know you had and dealing with fears you never knew existed.

Second Trimester was all about getting to know the baby more as now I could feel the flutter in the tummy. It was 11th December 2019 when I first felt butterflies in the stomach and afterwards there was no looking back. Initially the movements were very delicate and little but eventually they became strong and much noticeable. Moreover, this trimester was a bit of a breeze as there was less morning sickness and sensitivity to smell; though tiredness was still there specially towards the afternoon. I was still taking maxolon tables, first thing in the morning to ease out the symptoms of nausea and vomiting.

No one could guess if I was pregnant as I did not put on much wait in the first trimester. I was still able to fit into the clothes that I own and did not invest in any of the maternity clothes. Later in the 2nd trimester I only bought maternity denims from Target because all the denims that I had were high waisted and I did not want to squish the baby. However I did not like the denim and I wore it only a couple of times during the whole pregnancy. I found it uncomfortable to wear since it had the elastic band and every time I used to put it on, I had to pull it up.

Refereed to King Edward Memorial Hospital

As we were in the catchment for KEMH my GP referred me to the midwife in that hospital. Although it was quite early in the stage (usually pregnant women are referred to hospital close to 20th week) and only because of the cyst on my left ovary my case was handed over to the midwife. I enrolled into the KEMH Midwifery program where you will get to see the same midwife most of the time or midwives from the same group and the group was of 4-5 midwives. I booked the appointment and decided the day for the first catch up with my Midwife - Helen.

First meeting was all about the pregnancy journey so far. Discussion on the cyst that I have and after looking at the scan results it was confirmed that this was not a harmful cyst as long as I do not feel any pain in the left side of my abdominal. This was the day I listened to the baby's heartbeat for the first time.

Also, we had a conversation over my upcoming trip to India and that I would be going to get the Anatomy scan done (which is done in the 19th - 20th week of pregnancy) while I was still in India.

Travelling to India

Our tickets for the trip to India were booked in June 2019 long before knowing that I would be pregnant by the time we would be flying to India. There was a lot of confusion on travelling from my end particularly considering the travel exertion, going from hot temperature to cold weather conditions. Until last minute I was not too keen on going, somehow I got convinced (all thanks to my husband) on travelling and now I feel so glad that I went there and saw my family before the travel bans because of Covid-19.

Our stay in India

After spending a couple of days at my sister-in-law's place in Gurgaon, we went to our hometown (Patiala). Spent a few days at my in-laws and then I went to see my family which is literally next door. Seeing my mum, sister and dad after a long time was such a relief and I did not want to come back to Perth. Apart from spending time with the family, shopping was the priority.

Holidays were coming to an end, which means time to hit reality and start the job again. As always saying goodbyes was a hard job but somewhere in my mind I had the hope that someone will come when I will have the baby.

20th Week Scan

The scan was a lot different as compared to the one which is done here in Australia. Partner was not allowed to be with you when you go for the scan, also I was not allowed to see the baby while they scan, the radiologist did the anatomy scan and prepared the report. As per the report everything was going fine. According to the growth they gave the Estimated Due date as 3rd May 2020.

Back to Reality and Covid-19

Only after coming back to Perth I got to know about Corona (Covid-19). Life was still as usual, going to work, cooking food, going out, until the situation worsened and Perth had a few cases of Covid. While taking precautions I was still going to work. As my due date was 9th May so I decided to work until the end of March.

Exercise

Apart from my regular long walks I started going for Pilates Class in North Perth which is specialised for Pregnancy - Best Body Pilates. That was like the best decision I made to keep myself active and prepare the body for delivery. Indulging in many pelvic Floor exercises, workouts to get relief from backache definitely helped me during the pregnancy journey.

Medications

While living with the family in India I don't know when I stopped taking Maxolon (My nausea medicine) and thereafter I did not need that. I was on Thyroxine 100 mg for Hypothyroidism that was continuously reviewed by my midwife. Moreover my cyst was under the scan as well by the hospital to make sure it was not growing or interrupting with the growth of the baby. By the end of 2nd trimester I gained 10kg.