Pregnancy diary: My frantic moment with ‘baby brain’

I’m approaching the end of my third trimester and I’m starting to feel really pregnant. Tiredness, ‘baby brain’ and more involved hospital appointments are becoming the norm.

This is the ninth instalment of Imogen’s pregnancy diary, with a new chapter released every Sunday.

Part one: Why I was dumbstruck when I found out I was pregnant

Part two: The first doctor’s appointment, blood tests and dating scan

Part three: Photo reveals why pregnancy announcement didn’t go to plan

Part four: I had these dreams about my baby’s gender

Part five: My family’s devastating loss while I was pregnant

Part six: Testing the wives’ tales about babies to see if they have any truth to them

Part seven: Coming to terms with the realities of giving birth

Part eight: How we chose the name for our son

I’m coming into 33 weeks of pregnancy this week and I’m certainly starting to feel the tiredness become more pronounced.

The baby is about the size of a honeydew which means that his kicks feel stronger as there’s less amniotic fluid surrounding him in there.

Sometimes it feels as though he’s stretching his arm or leg out and I can feel his limb pressed right up against the inside of me.

It reminds me of those art installations where there’s a piece of stretchy fabric strung between two points and the performers press their hands and bodies into it.

Alongside the fact that baby movement is such a beautiful part of pregnancy, it’s also a critical indicator of the health of the baby, and you’re instructed to keep mental notes and awareness of the baby’s movements from about 26 weeks onwards.

Keeping track of your baby’s movements is a critical part of pregnancy.

Babies will usually fall into a pattern of movement by this point so if you notice that the baby isn’t moving as much or the movements aren’t as strong, you have to get in contact with your hospital or midwives immediately so that you can get a check on how bub is doing.

It’s a huge cross to bear and can be anxiety inducing but I think there’s a level of mother’s instinct at play here too – you know your baby and you know if something’s up.

I’ve also been getting leg cramps at night and have had some slight numbness down the outside of my right leg. According to Dr Google (and confirmed by my midwife) leg numbness and leg cramps are pretty common in pregnancy.

As the uterus grows, it presses on the nerves in your legs, which can cause some numbness and tingling.

Leg cramps can come due to changes in circulation – basically the body prioritises blood for the baby and you get what’s left – and/or because of the additional weight that you’re carrying.

Imogen and her partner Michael with a positive pregnancy test.

I’ve also noticed some instances of so-called ‘baby brain’.

I had ducked into the supermarket to pick up a few things so only had my phone, wallet and keys with me.

As I was grabbing the stuff off the shelf, I put my keys down on some stacked boxes near where I was.

I went to the checkout, paid and then went to an entirely different shop and bought some more stuff.

I only realised I didn’t have my keys once I thought to myself, “ok time to go home”.

I frantically checked my shopping bag, not there.

They weren’t in my hands and I hadn’t bought a handbag in.

I went back to the supermarket and while no one had handed them in yet, the lady told me someone had seen some keys near the back of the shop.

Luckily they had seen them because I would not have been able to recall where I’d put them down.

Before being pregnant, I wasn’t forgetful like this. If I’d placed my keys down then, there would’ve been a little voice going ‘keys! Keys!’ before I walked away from the shelf.

But in this instance, putting my keys down was not even present in my brain – I didn’t even register that I’d done it.

And clearly the little voice had gone on hiatus because I didn’t even think about the keys until I needed them again.

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I did the same thing with some garlic the other day.

I was getting ingredients out of the pantry to make a spag bol – classic – and as I was getting the onions out I was looking for the garlic.

It wasn’t in its usual spot and I even scolded the person who’d moved it: ‘someone’s put my garlic in the wrong spot!’, which I thought was a plausible possibility because we’d had family staying with us for our baby shower.

I turn around with the onions and there’s the garlic, already on the bench.

Again, the fact that I’d already gotten it out hadn’t registered whatsoever.

It is such a bizarre feeling because you don’t even know that you’ve forgotten something – it’s just not there in your brain at all.

My 34-week hospital appointment was the most eventful appointment I’ve had yet.

As I’ve been lucky to have a smooth, uncomplicated pregnancy, most of my hospital check ups have lasted all of about 10 minutes and have consisted of the same three things: checking my blood pressure, measuring my tummy and finding the baby’s heartbeat with the fetal doppler.

My midwife asks me if I’ve got any questions or concerns, to which I usually say no, and then I’m booked in for my next one and off I go.

But there was a bit more action at my 34-week appointment.

Firstly, I was instructed on how to do a vaginal swab for Group B streptococcus (GBS), which I have to do on the morning of my 36-week appointment.

GBS is one of many bacteria that normally live in our bodies and it’s commonly found in the intestines, rectum, urethra, or vagina.

It usually causes no health concerns or symptoms, however, it can be passed to babies during labour and in some cases can make them sick.

Most babies won’t become unwell if they come into contact with GBS, however there is a small chance (about 1 in 1000) that a baby will develop ‘early onset GBS infection’ in the first week after birth.

GBS can cause infections such as pneumonia, blood poisoning (septicaemia), or meningitis (an infection around the brain) in babies, so if you are a carrier of GBS, you’ll be offered IV antibiotics during labour.

If you are a carrier of GBS, you’ll be offered IV antibiotics during labour.

These antibiotics pass through the placenta and into your baby’s blood, which reduces your baby’s chances of GBS colonisation and infection.

After the GBS instructions, we did the usual three items – blood pressure, measure and heartbeat – but my midwife said I was measuring a bit ahead so she referred me to fetal monitoring after my appointment to check the fluid levels around the baby.

So after my check up with her, I went across the hall to fetal monitoring and waited for a midwife to give me an ultrasound.

The midwife doing my ultrasound told me that if there was an excess level of fluid, there’d be concerns that the baby was having difficulty swallowing, as they swallow amniotic fluid during development.

However, she said all my fluid levels were looking completely normal, which was a relief.

Around my 36-week appointment, I’ll go in for a growth scan just to make sure he’s on track as I’ve measured a little bit ahead at my last few appointments.

Seeing as the fluid levels were normal and I don’t have gestational diabetes, I am joining the dots and am assuming that my baby might just be a bit big.

Apparently, it’s common for baby boys to be larger than baby girls.

But that assumption is yet to be confirmed, so we’ll just have to sit tight and wait to see what they say.

Originally published as Pregnancy diary: My frantic moment with ‘baby brain’