Weird pregnancy symptom of the month....

Kissing this pavement would be more pleasant than my chops right now!

Cracked lips....

Like majorly cracked.

To the point I woke up with my lips bleeding one morning.

It doesn't matter how much I drink either.

Random....

Milestone: My Booking Appointment

Major milestone today, in the form of my booking appointment!

At 12:45pm everything became a little more real!

I went on my own - that's another story for another time - and actually it was fine, any questions I could answer.

Quick run down of what happened :
Met a sourly and vague receptionist - it wasn't personal, i witnessed her unique brand of customer service with several people! Good for her keeping the hospital / doctor receptionist stereotype alive(!)

Had to provide evidence that I'm a UK citizen and live in the borough- passport and ID plus bills etc
(I'm not sure what would have happened if I didn't have it.....?)

Met a midwife assistant Vanessa- not at all like Debbie McGee but equally smiley.
She weighed me. I asked not to be told and she stopped smiling very quickly and barked "you have to know", OK thank you ma'am(!)


Oh by the way did I mention that Vanessa is as short as me and 3 dress sizes smaller...no? Hmm.

It's official - I'm still short - 5' 2" and have turned into a porker BMI 32, yes thirty flipping two!

I did a urine test and was told I need to eat more...hey?! I thought I was too fat?! I had eaten only an hour before the appointment, but was told I have ketones in my urine. Little and often snacking I;m told is the way forward.

I need to get back into exercising. i stopped a year ago...bad move.

I'm told I should walk for an hour every day...every day. I will have to see a consultant because of my fibroids. We went through a long questionnaire asked about my health, family history both sides.... She took several gallons five little vials of blood.
I was told I'm High Risk due to my fibroids. I may have to see a specialist team due to previous depression.

What I walked away with:

Maternity Book - it's huge!

My first Bounty Pack

• Maternity Book - massive yellow folder with all your medical notes
• Bounty Pack with some money off leaflets
• Leaflet on breastfeeding as I said it was my intention to bf
• Information on antenatal classes
• Maternity guide for my hospital

Tips -

• Write questions before you go - there's so much info you may be overwhelmed and forget.

• when she asks if you have any social problems she means social service type issues, not whether you have a fear of public speaking or are shy at parties!

• You will be asked about previous pregnancies and the outcome, so be prepared.

• Bring a big plastic bag if you tend to have small handbags, as you'll be given a ginormous Yellow Folder which contains all your hospital notes, plus you'll get a Bounty Pack.

• Bring some reading material - you may be sitting around a while, although to be fair i sat for no more than 5 minutes at a time before the next stage.

• Eat before you get there as the whole thing for me from beginning to end took two hours.

So, next step; scan and consultant appointment - 24th April, all booked today :)

Oh and apparently it's OK for me to get my hair relaxed, after the first trimester,phew...

Drama...

Yesterday I had some brown smudging accompanied with some pain.

Brown stains stopped today but the pain continued, so I checked out NHS Direct. NHS Direct said contact your GP.

I called my GP still thinking it wasn't too big a deal and rather than waste an appointment I'll wait for GP to talk on the phone to me.

I spoke with GP and she ordered me in for an examination.

She found a hard lumpy mass on my left abdomen and was quite concerened about it...so was i after she prodded it, man was it sore!

I was given a referral letter and sent straight to A&E Gynaecology, as my GP was worried the hard mass on my left hand side was a possible ectopic, albeit too early and high for one.

I sat in A&E trying not to bawl my eyes out.
Mum came to meet me as OH didn't fancy explaining to his manager (his manager is also known as Satan's right hand man!) and to be honest I thought there'd be no need as by the time he'd get down to the hospital I;d be seen.

Anyway, I was seen very quickly. I had my assessments, question, blood, urine and a rather uncomfortable internal exam all done within an hour and a half. brief wait and then I was scanned....

It was an internal scan and a bit uncomfortable but well worth it!

Beanie was seen in the right place, with heartbeat pulsing as well. I was so relieved!

Consultants also found three large fibroid in my uterus. These are likely to be the culprits of the lumpy mass found by GP. i was told they will grow as blood increases in the area. This means I'll need to be managed for blood loss as there's a risk of hemorrhaging during labour and after birth stage. Other than that their position is not too bad and not blocking entrance to cervix.

Everything else is fine and dandy...ovaries are also a.o.k!

Good day all in all.

Walked away with a scan picture to show OH :)