I've documented everything on this blog since I was 16 years old, and one of those dreams back then and always has been was to be a mum, and now it's coming true. I'm still in shock and incredibly excited. I always wanted it to happen, and I was so scared the chance would never come, but what a gift to be pregnant and have my baby boy growing inside me.

Pregnancy has been a complete whirlwind and something I thought I knew a lot about until actually going through it, especially with the highs and lows.

Now I'm over halfway and gearing up for my third trimester, so I thought it was the perfect time to share my experience.

Finding out I was pregnant was a happy shock and news that took me a while to feel like it was real. It's funny because I felt like I knew before I took a test, as I felt different, something about my body wasn't the same anymore. I also found out when I was around 5+ weeks, which is why I started to feel sick and have sore boobs, as I was waiting for my usually late period to show up.

My partner and I couldn't believe our luck; we were going to be parents. It's weird not telling anyone straight away, as I felt so unwell and unlike myself, and the tiredness was hard, but there was also a special element that it was our news, our journey, and our secret.

Overall, my pregnancy journey has been a rollercoaster, with emotions I didn't even realise would come up, pure joys in telling people our news and feeling the baby kick for the first time, fear and worry that something would go wrong, and learning the art of slowing down.

I definitely underestimated how challenging pregnancy could be, as everyone says the first trimester is the hardest, but I didn't feel like myself until about 20 weeks in the pregnancy. I struggled with nausea, tiredness, and ultimately my mental health. The complete exhaustion was a lot; however, the mental challenges I struggled with were much more.

Feeling low, unmotivated, and a lack of interest in doing certain things was hard, especially as I'm such a productive, ambitious person by nature who loves to keep busy. But the plus in that level of tiredness and unmotivation was learning the power of rest and really teaching myself it's important to slow down, especially when I am growing a whole other human, which is a lot of work! Also, as the bump grew, the aches and pains began, which is another story.

Even though I have really struggled, pregnancy and all the highs that come with it have outweighed that, especially now as I feel so much more myself, and I'm loving the movements of my baby boy every day. Going to the first scan was nerve-racking, but when we saw our baby on the screen and heard his heartbeat for the first time, it was magic. As you don't have a bump in the first trimester and no kicks or anything, it's quite an anxious time, so to find out he was all healthy was everything to us.

I love knowing that every day and whatever I'm doing, my baby is with me and coming along for the adventure. From around the 18/19 weeks, I started to feel little flutters, and from 20 weeks, the movements have been consistently stronger. He is such an active bean, and it's a really reassuring feeling to see him move around and kick me. Every time I feel him, I smile as I know he is with me and is happy, which is all I could ever wish for.

I also love how my bump has grown, and when I hit the halfway point, I suddenly popped, and it was much more obvious I was pregnant, which I feel so blessed. Following along on the app, seeing the size of the baby is a lot of fun, and I love seeing how big he is and knowing that in a few months, he'll be here.

I'm over the moon and loving every minute of the baby getting bigger and bigger! I can't wait to finally meet him and see the little baby I've been growing and what he looks like and who he'll become.

I hope you enjoyed this post and overview of my pregnancy journey.

Thank you for reading <3