Squishy Report: 24 Weeks Pregnant

How far gone? 24 weeks

Total weight gain: 6lbs so far! I know it's nothing but I feel HUGE!

Maternity clothes: I have been living in £5 Primark maternity jeans (January sale bargain) - they are comfy but not very sturdy. But they do the job. Also have some H+M black trousers (£7 on reduced rack) that are amazing - they look smart but feel like pyjamas.... a green check shirt from Mothercare (£15 in sale) and then black leggings (£4.50 from Mothercare in sale). So not loads but I live in leggings and dresses anyway!

Sleep: They say not to sleep on your back but that's the only time I'm comfortable really, also lying down makes my heartburn worse so I try and prop myself up a bit with pillows.

Movement: Squishy moves loads - especially when I'm relaxed. I'm on my feet all day at work but have been trying to sit down whenever possible as I was getting so worried about the rate of movement when I haven't had chance to.

Food cravings: None really. Well nothing specific. I have been wanting salty and savoury foods much more than normal and sometime will have a bag of crisps of a sausage roll after tea rather than anything sweet - just because that's what I fancy more. I have, as my boyfriend pointed out, been going through an obscene amount of cheese spread lately but I'm not sure if that's anything or nothing.

Gender: No idea. We are waiting to find out until the birth. Although everybody guesses boy, and I have been having these vivid dreams where Squishy is always a boy - but none of that means anything! We are "Team Yellow" - although I can't wait to find out the sex!!

Labour signs: Thankfully none.

Symptoms: Where do I start? I've so far had so many pregnancy symptoms - and while they've made me feel terrible, I also feel so thankful as that's been reassuring - especially earlier on in my pregnancy.

• Heartburn - started around 14 weeks. It was alot worse at first. I've tried Rennie's, Asda's own heartburn tablets and Tesco's own tablets too and would say just pay the extra and stick with the Rennie's. You can have more of the Rennie's if you need them, they taste nice (the Tesco fruit ones were disgusting) and they seem most effective. I like the orange flavoured ones and try to pick them up when they are on offer.
• Congestion - apparently more common than I realised! I have been experiencing cold-like symptoms since around 6-8 weeks which make me sneeze violently (just a tip but try and hold your bump when you sneeze, if I don't then I get a horrid pain. My friend told me this so also this must be fairly universal) and sometimes I also get little nose bleeds. Some days I have no symptoms, some days I have loads. I'm not taking anything for this as it is completely manageable.
• Cramps - I have been getting cramps in my legs every so often. Not every day, and there's no pattern to them but when they come they are horrible! I read to try and point your toes towards your knees and doing that usually helps the cramps stop.
• Back pain - With working on my feet all day I have started getting horrible back pain. I bought some Deep Heat to use but it's recommended you stay away from stuff like that in pregnancy so I left it in the cupboard. Instead I've been using some heat packs I found in the pound shop (3 for £1 isn't bad at all). You attach them to the outside of your clothing where the pain is (best to do in the house as walking round with a big white patch on your back looks a little crazy) and they say the heat lasts up to 8 hours - although I have been using them early evening (around 5 or 6pm) and leaving them on all night and they've still been fairly warm at 7 the next morning. I've also found that trying to sit down at work is helping my back pain too.
• Excess hair growth - I feel like pregnant ladies should be given some kind of pass to just not bother shaving their legs in pregnancy! The hair grows at an insane rate, and as some kind of cruel joke your body also makes it hard to reach your legs by sticking your big bump in the way! 
• Other niggles - I'm still quite tired and sleep at least 9 hours a night. I have been having horrid mood swings and getting myself completely worked up about nothing (I have crying fits if the dishwasher hasn't been filled..). 

Despite all of these symptoms i actually feel much better now than I did in the first trimester (that horrid morning sickness stuck with me up til 16 weeks!) and now that I can feel the movement and see my bump growing I'm enjoying pregnancy much more.

What I'm looking forward to: Starting to decorate the nursery in the next few weeks and buying cute bits and bobs. 

I have been reading about Squishy's progress each week here so go and have a look. I found it so interesting. This week baby is the size of an ear of corn!