Uncomfortable at 21 weeks. How much worse does it get?

[Dorli]

Honest answers please...

I'm 21 weeks pregnant. Unbelievably over the moon but very uncomfortable too. Constant nausea, bad ligament pain, headaches, fatigue, have a slight waddle already, achey bump low down, quite breathless, backache, etc etc. I'm very uncomfortable and notice many other women don't seem to be (my colleague for example).

I'm usually very fit, I'm a slim size 10 so maybe not used to the extra weight, but worried about how shit I feel already. My train is super busy in the mornings and I stand for 40 mins most days. I'm starting to worry about falling over or just not being able to stand on a rickety old train for that long!

How much worse does it really get from the half way mark? I feel like a walking zombie.

For me... every stage has just got worse! BUT at least the further you get, the closer you are to it all being over!
I'm 36+4 now and have certainly reached the stage that I am willing for it to be over!!

In recall second trimester the worst to be honest but saying that the third trimester you're whale like proportions tend to limit a lot lol! My second pregnancy was much better than first sometimes I guess it's just where your baby lays physiologically and what that does to your body

You get bigger, heavier and more uncomfortable as the weeks go on I’m afraid. You may start to swell or suffer complications which can make you feel even worse. Pregnancy isn’t as easy ride.

38 exactly here. It’s swings and roundabouts for me. On the one hand I’m less breathless since the baby dropped, I don’t feel sick anymore and weirdly I’m less hot and sweaty the last week or so.
On the other hand I’m having constant twinges, stabbing pains up my fanjo, my bump aches when I wake up, and I can’t physically do very much.
But it all means it’s closer to the end of being pregnant and having a baby so I’m trying not to complain too much

I was never under the impression it'd be an easy ride, I've just never done it before and feel as bad if not worse than I did in the first trimester. I feel like I'm falling apart!

Sorry op , some pregnancies are a pretty rough ride and you get more and more uncomfortable as the weeks go on.

It does get worse, but the thing is to find the things that help you rather than just suffer. Swimming and Pilates really helped me. Look at what you are eating and how often to help the nausea. Find cotton or linen clothes if you are feeling itchy. Get into a habit of including a rest time in your day so your later evenings are more positive. If you expect it to get harder and adapt it's better than just putting up with it all! Good luck with your baby and congratulations!

I felt awful around 18-25 weeks and thought it was just never going to end. Then I had a bit of a 'perk up' until about 34 weeks, which is when I finished work. I had a bit of energy and the only problems were heartburn and SPD at night.

Now 37+3 and never known uncomfort like it!

Ah bless you. Yes it can be shit. I'm on baby no2 at no (28 weeks) and for baby no1 I had short lived nausea, extreme hunger and spd. This time the nausea lasted until a couple of weeks ago, I've had heartburn (none before) and my pelvis has been sore but not terrible like before. Some "symptoms" will probably drop off, though you may get others instead. Everybody is different and every pregnancy is different. But yes it really is wearing for some women, especially if you have friends who are fine. Also she may be keeping bad symptoms to herself so you may not get a good comparison. Get a seat on the train if you can, slow down a bit stuff like that and be nice to yourself. Try to take it easy on yourself and don't compare to others who may not have told you everything and/or have a worse time later and/or with other pregnancies.

Here's hoping you start to feel better soon and have a lovely 3rd trimester.

Oh and get a "Bent on board" badge so people know to offer you a seat.

Baby on board! Ha ha!

I think some people breeze through but I felt very much like you by 21 weeks so I sympathise OP. I’m small and was very slim and put on a lot of weight compared to my pre-pregnancy weight so I’m sure that was a factor. There’s not much you can do except try to get as much sleep as possible (I had a cushion to support my bump which helped). If you have an achey bump/pelvic pain you might find an elastic support belt helps. If you are breathless it might help to try and increase your intake of iron-rich foods. For your back, do some of those ‘rounding the back’ exercises.

I gave up work at 33 weeks with my first, I was feeling so awful. Second pregnancy was completely different BTW (I had some problems but they were different ones). Felt a lot less drained generally. I think first dc wore me out even before he was born! (He was a live wire compared with his chilled brother!).

It'll probably get a lot worse, I'm afraid. I was in the same boat as you are and it's horrible.

I hate to say that I thoroughly loathed being pregnant! Don't forget about the weight gain and stretch marks

All worth it in the end, of course. Although it is tough.

Oh and I agree with PP. I was very petite and put on a lot of weight, as well as having an 8lb 7 baby with a huge head. I think that contributed!

I actually found 18weeks ish to 25 weeks ish the worst. I then seemed to have a spell of feeling pretty comfortable, which lasted until a couple of weeks ago. Now feel horrific...but am at 39 weeks so expected really!

I am similar to you and was a fit size 10. I am 34 weeks and actually had crappy weeks around 22 -26 weeks that I haven't had at 30+ weeks so I wouldn't assume it's going to get worse on in from here.

A lot of the pain I had around 20 weeks was groin ligament pain and lower bump pain where my body was adjusting and telling me to slow down and stop going so fast. I still get the odd pain when walking the dog but not like the earlier weeks as I assume I'm a bit more stretched out now and I am taking it much easier than I did before.

Just be kind to yourself and listen to your body and fingers crossed it's not all downhill from here there will be good weeks and bad weeks. I found yoga, a bath, an early night and a good body pillow helped me through the more challenging weeks

Ps, I did start mat leave early (30 weeks) to avoid a long commute and heavy workload, I think that has helped immeasurably too!