Are you pregnant? Grab your free pregnancy pack now – details inside!
11 weeks pregnant and time had been travelling really slowly. I think it may be down to the really nasty nausea that I had somehow picked up in the last week. So, I resorted to buying ginger ale (which I’ve never drunk before, but tasted really nice) and having a collection of ginger biscuits by my bedside, so I could pop some in my mouth as soon as I woke up. But the morning sickness was relentless. I’d wake up in the morning with a sick feeling in my stomach like I was about to throw up, but I wouldn’t actually throw up. I honestly didn’t know what was worse – feeling nauseous and not throwing up or actually throwing up! Perhaps I should have been thankful that I wasn’t spewing everywhere and I felt I owed that to the ginger biscuits which were the only things I could eat.
A couple of my friends had told me that they knew of people who had suffered morning sickness for the entire nine months. What a way to make me feel better! I couldn’t bear to think about having this kind of morning sickness for that long, so I erred on the side of positivity and hoped that my nausea faded in nine weeks and not in nine months. The ginger biscuits were also a handy tool when I took the tube in the mornings and braved the million different “scents” of other people. Once I sat next to a guy who had the worst body odour (heightened by the fact that I had a supersonic sense of smell) so I shoved a whole packet of ginger biscuits into my mouth before I even got to work to stop myself from throwing up. If I didn’t I probably would have heaved for the first time during my pregnancy…
I also found Peppermint tea to be quite soothing on the stomach after every meal, so I bought a couple of packets, and lots of bottled water, as I couldn’t drink anything else. I steered clear of fizzy drinks because they gave me a stitch-like pain in my back and made me feel very bloated.
I had also been subjected to tons of advice from other women like:
“Don’t drink and eat at the same time!”
“Don’t each too much food because it’ll give you bad indigestion!”
The opinions were hard. But I tried to pick up the good advice and forget about the rest. And, I did find it easier to just smile and say, “That’s great advice, thanks” rather than try and follow everything, otherwise, it became a bit too overwhelming for me. Oh and one other thing. I WANTED COFFEE!!! Work had this awesome coffee machine that made amazing coffees and the aroma was so enticing. BUT, I refused to give in. I had requested some decaffeinated coffee pods, so at least I could satisfy the craving a little. I knew giving up coffee was going to be difficult, so I just needed to get through this pregnancy. Plus, I constantly told myself that coffee would affect the baby, so it helped me to stop. I did conveniently forget that caffeine was also in hot chocolate drinks, chocolate and some nuts, so it looked as if I had a sizeable caffeine intake anyway. I hoped I hadn’t taken too much to affect the baby’s heart rate, though! We’ll see…
Another positive was that I wasn’t crazy tired anymore. I wasn’t sleeping fifteen hours a day, and I could feel my energy slowly coming back. I could get up in the morning without feeling too dead and I could even brave the tube in the mornings. But I still felt like I was on some kind of sleep-inducing drug. I may have not been sleeping all day and night, but I’m sure that if I was allowed to, it wouldn’t be so hard to do…
A fun fact – The baby is about the size of a large lime or apricot (4cm head to bottom) and weighs around 7g
🍼 Create Your Perfect Baby Shower Wish List on Amazon Today! 🍼
The science part
Your baby at 11 weeks
- Your baby is starting to look like a real baby now!
- Your baby’s heart is beating twice as fast as yours and you may be able to hear it with a Doppler ultrasound at your pre-natal visit
- The blood vessels in the placenta are growing to support your baby throughout the pregnancy
- Your baby has a sense of smell now
- Your baby’s sex organs are developing now
- Your baby is practising breathing by swallowing and peeing out amniotic fluid
- Your baby’s vocal cords are developing
- Your baby’s arms and legs are developing
- Your baby’s intestines are making their way into the abdomen
- Your baby’s kidneys are functioning now, helping them to filter their blood to keep them healthy
Your pregnancy signs and symptoms
- Hopefully nausea has started to subside, however, changes in hormones may meen that you will experience constipation and heartburn
- Your mood swings are probably all over the place thanks to elevated hormone levels
- You might be started to spot the first signs of a linea nigra, which is the line that goes down your belly
- Stock up on your fruits and vegetables
- Make sure you get your daily recommended intake of vitamin D to make sure your baby’s bones are developing as strong as they could be
Your next steps
- Make sure you’re getting plenty of calcium to ensure your baby’s bones are growing big and strong
- Make sure you’re also getting in plenty of carbs to provide you with that much-needed energy. Some great foods are whole-wheat bread and almonds, which are high in iron
- Gentle walking is great exercise and relaxing too.
- Look into maternity clothes – there are tons of fashionable clothes out there, you won’t even know they’re for pregnancy!
- Have you started to think about sharing the news now?
- Keep your caffeine intake and stress levels down so you don’t add any undue stress to the baby
- No more heavy carrying! Your muscles will be more prone to strain as they are loosening to make way for the growing baby.
*Illustrations by Charlotte Watkins.
If you have any questions about her work, please contact Charlotte via her website, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn*
Are you pregnant? Grab your free pregnancy pack now – details inside!
About Leyla Preston
Leyla is a UK mum of four, a writer and the founder of Motherhood Diaries, which she has edited since 2010. She has written about pregnancy, birth and family life for more than 15 years, edited NCT Harrow’s Special Delivery magazine, and is the author of several children’s and family books. She is also co-founder of Poppy, a new app helping UK parents find trusted local support, and presents Tech Talks Zone, a YouTube channel reviewing tech and AI tools for busy parents. Read Leyla’s story
Follow Leyla: LinkedIn · Instagram
Our health articles follow NHS guidance and aren’t a substitute for advice from your midwife, health visitor or GP.
