H has been away all of this week at his friend’s weddings in Kos. When he booked it a few months ago I was under the impression I would be huge, uncomfortable and wouldn’t enjoy it – how I regret that decision! Although I’m not huge, I have however got to the uncomfortable stage, but only because I’ve now developed SPD/PGP (Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction/Pelvic Girdle Pain). I had been having some pain around my groin and pelvis area on and off for a while but over the past couple of weeks it has become more constant and more painful. My arthritis also seems to have returned in my knees now that I’m almost a stone heavier.

I had my 28 week midwife appointment this week so I bought it up with her and she explained that it’s due to the relaxin hormone relaxing all the muscles and ligaments around my pelvis and some women just have too much of it so their pelvis moves more than it should. There isn’t much they can do but I can wear a support belt and see a physiotherapist if it gets worse. However everything was ok with baby, heart rate was lower than usual at 140bpm and apparently I was measuring small but baby is now starting to catch up and my uterus was measuring at 27cm. I also had a glucose tolerance test this week for gestational diabetes but that was all clear too.

On Saturday I went to see Take That with H’s sisters which was really good and I even got a seat on the tube as someone spotted I was pregnant this time! It was definitely needed as I was shuffling along by the end of the night due to the SPD pain.

I think the shuffle and pregnant waddle is now a permanent thing unfortunately and after shuffling into town on my lunch break this week to do a bit of shopping, I developed the horrible cramping I had last week when I did too much walking. My pelvis and belly was in so much pain I could barely walk and I only just made it back to the office again. The cramping and pain continued into the night and the next morning so I took it off work to rest and just went in for the afternoon. Since then I haven’t braved walking too far again, choosing to drive to the supermarket on my lunch instead! I’ve also been buying a lot for the baby this week, I think with H being away, there’s no one around to curb my shopping habit! I bought the Angelcare Bath Support which has been on our list for a while along with the cot mattress and a breast feeding donut pillow. I’m always on the lookout for baby clothing but as I’ve mentioned before, nice, neutral baby clothes are very few and far between. I did spot a very cute set in H&M this week though with a hedgehog print bodysuit and little baby leggings. So far poor Baby G only has 3 outfits! It looks like more shopping is needed!

I think it’s finally hit this week that I’m getting big and my body is definitely letting me know! I’d been having odd groin pains on the insides of my legs every now and then but I kept thinking I’d pulled the muscles in my groin. However it’s now become a constant pain and I’ve ended up with the classic pregnancy waddle as it’s just so painful to walk. A couple of times this week after taking a walk on my lunch break I also developed cramping down low and combined with the back and groin pain I nearly didn’t make it back to the office! Getting dressed has become a struggle too and the pain combined with the bump now being in the way, has made standing on one leg to put socks/trousers/shoes/pants on pretty impossible! This also means sitting down in the shower to shave my legs ha!

Because of this, sleeping hasn’t been great either as the pain is also in my lower back. However I ordered the hypnobirthing book and CD that my yoga teacher uses and it arrived this week so H and I decided to listen to it before we go to sleep. It helped massively and we’ve both been sleeping really well after listening to it every night. Hopefully those subliminal messages are going in and I’ll be just as relaxed during childbirth too…ha!

The tiredness has also returned and I seem to have been very emotional this week too. Considering I have always been very emotional and cry A LOT, I have actually been very unemotional during the pregnancy until the last week or so. Baby G has definitely still got some energy though and is moving about constantly and I can feel it up by my ribs now, although its feet are still kicking me low down so it hasn’t turned yet!

Summer has actually made an appearance this week and I’m definitely feeling the heat much more than I usually would. I’m always the cold one but at the moment I’m just hot all the time and combined with the growing stomach and aches and pains I’m really starting to feel frumpy and fat now which I’m not enjoying. I’m also finding everyone I pass looks at my stomach which I just hate but there’s no hiding the bump anymore. So much so I’ve finally had to give in to some maternity clothes (why are they all so ugly!). I’ve also bought a lot of smock dresses and tops which are my usual style so I’m hoping I don’t grow out of these too!