Selia's pregnancy diary

The theme of this month was chronic morning sickness misery. In the vast majority of cases, it should have ended, so I was starting to worry. The lack of nutrition was catching up with me and I could barely walk five minutes without feeling winded and faint. The doctor ordered a blood test and found that I was anaemic due to the lack of iron - so that explained the fatigue, pale skin, dizziness and headaches! He was reluctant to put me on any medication - either for the nausea or iron-deficiency. He said that the baby was a 'parasite' and would take what she needed from my body. 'But there's nothing left to take!' I told him in frustration.

Food! Finally!
I was so worried about the development of the baby - especially when all my pregnancy books stressed the importance of good nutrition. At 18 weeks, I started to really panic. I decided to get a second opinion and called one of my friends in America who is an obstetrician. She was concerned and recommended some mild medication for the nausea so that I could start eating. Ironically, the next day, the symptoms started to ease and I held off on the pills. I then had my first meal in weeks.

While lying in bed one night, I felt some bubbling in my lower abdomen. Could it be the baby? I screamed for my husband. It was too faint for him to feel from the outside. The next day, I felt it again - it had to be the baby. Maybe she was happy to finally get fed! Over the next few days, the movement got stronger, and I noticed it every couple of hours. This had to be the best part of pregnancy.

Pretty in pink
The following week, Doug came back from a business trip with a 'surprise'. He had literally bought out the entire Baby Gap shop. I'd never seen so much pink in my life! He carefully laid out each outfit - it was so sweet to see how excited he was. It finally hit me that he is going to be a father. So far, this pregnancy had been all about me. Then as I watched him reading his 'expectant father' book, I just couldn't describe the love I felt for him.

At 18 and a half weeks I had a bump. It literally just popped out one day. I couldn't fit into any of my trousers. People at work suddenly started to take notice and comment about it. I looked at my profile in the mirror and I started to well up with emotion. Until then, I'd sort of felt outside of myself looking in on someone else who was pregnant. But it started to sink in - this is really happening to me.