I am 11 weeks pregnant today.  It has not been a good day, mainly because of lack of sleep and poorly children.  I’m glad I’ve started this pregnancy diary, even though it feels like a bit of pressure to write a post instead of falling into bed exhausted at the end of a long day.  It’s good to set aside some time to pay attention to this baby who might otherwise not get a look in, and remember that I’ve got something to feel positive about even on the worst days.  It’s also nice to have a moan about pregnancy symptoms too!

Baby is: the size of a lime, and can now smile and suck his (or her) thumb.

I am: a little disappointed that I am feeling more sick again, and the dizziness is worse too.  Having very little sleep last night may have something to do with that, so I hope I will feel better tomorrow if I manage to sleep tonight.  I had my first antenatal appointment yesterday, which felt like an achievement after having to reschedule several other appointments and wondering if I was ever going to manage to fit them in to my crazy life.  I had to wait two hours to be seen which was annoying, but it was weirdly nice to be back in the very familiar territory of the hospital antenatal department.  So I shall try and take nostalgic pleasure in the reassuring sameness of it all, instead of being annoyed at the inefficiency of certain aspects of the system.  I do love the NHS with all its imperfections.

I am going to try and spend some time at the end of each day focussing on and connecting with this baby.  I hope it will reduce my stress levels and help me to put things into perspective.  The unpleasantness of the first trimester feels like an eternity when you are in it, but it’s not much in the context of a lifetime.  I have been here before, I have come out the other side and the view is amazing.