Aisha's Pregnancy Journal

This is Aisha’s 9th pregnancy. She has 7 children, and is now expecting her 8th child. Her last pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage, and after waiting two cycles she is eagerly awaiting the birth of her next child. Join Aisha’s as she shares her pregnancy journey and coping with pregnancy at 40, running a small business, and managing a household full of 6 boys!



*Weeks 16-20*  Made it to the 2nd Trimester!

Alhamdulilah, I was so relieved  to have made it this far.  After having a miscarriage prior to this pregnancy, I was on pins and needles my whole first trimester. Now this is not usual for me, and I’m usually pretty carefree during my pregnancies, but having experienced a miscarriage, that attitude changed for this pregnancy. I made a lot of dua for Allah to keep me strong during this pregnancy and for the baby to be born safely. I asked Allah also for patience and to accept His decree no matter what. After reading that women over 40 have a 50% chance of having a miscarriage, those are kind of depressing odds. But I know Allah has control in all matters and to not put too much weight into what the “odds” are and what the “studies” say.

But I was still nervous.  I bought an Amazon a fetal doppler so I could listen to the heartbeat. I thought this would give me peace of mind, but also a cool tool for my husband and children to be able to listen to the hear beat too. Well the first time I tried, after about 20 minutes I was able to pick up the heartbeat…or what I thought was the heartbeat anyway.  A couple of days later I decided to try again, wondering if I really did hear it the first time or not. Well this time I couldn’t pick up a heartbeat. I knew it was still early to be able to pick up the heartbeat using the doppler that I purchased, and that the more your pregnancy progresses and the baby grows, the easier it will be to pick up the heartbeat.
But still, I just wanted that reassurance. It was about a week till my next midwife appointment, and I tried almost daily to pick up the hear beat, but no success. Alhamdullilah, when I had my appointment, the midwife picked up the heartbeat right away. What a relief! I told myself that I was not going to use the doppler anymore and would sell it. The anguish you feel when your not able to hear the heartbeat and all the “what ifs” that go through your head is just not worth it. On the other hand, the feeling you have when you hear the heartbeat is awesome and such a joy.
About a week after my appointment I decided I would try one more time. I payed attention to where my midwife found the heartbeat before and now that I was further along, I hoped I would be able to pick it up. And Alhamdullilah I did! So,I still have the doppler, but I do have mixed feelings about it. It is a beautiful thing to hear your little ones heartbeat and for families members to hear it as well. But that moment when you can’t find it does do a number on you. I guess me and my doppler have a love hate relationship, but for the time being we’re going to stick together.


My energy has really started to pick up the last few weeks, Alhamdullilah.  I’m finally over the first trimester fatigue fest which helps, and I’ve recently upped my iron intake as well. I now take my prenatal vitamin plus two additional iron supplements a day. I’m normally slightly anemic without being pregnant, but pregnancy just wipes out all my iron stores. I’ve found these great Iron supplements called  Mega Food Blood Builder that I got from Amazon. They work great, I feel better, and my Iron levels have increased substantially. I also try to increase my iron intake through iron rich foods as well. Some of my faves are chicken livers, raisins, dark chocolate, and spinach. I also do most of my cooking in a cast iron pot as well, which is an additional way to get iron into your system.


That’s all for this entry. Next week I’m looking forward to my Ultrasound appointment and a trip to the zoo with my Mom and kiddos. See ya then!


Pregnancy Journal Weeks 20-24 Trip to the Zoo/ Gender reveal?


Alhamdulilah, I've been feeling pretty good overall. However, I do get frustrated sometimes because there is so much I want to do, and yet I just don't have the energy to do it. 😐 Sometimes it's all I can do just to make sure everybody gets fed for the day and that's about it. Alhamdulilah, my mom, Nancy, has been pretty understanding and picking up some of my slack and doing a great job on our site and FB page. (Jazzak Allah Khair Ummy! ❤).

FACEBOOK PAGE


I've decided to go back to homeschooling this year after 2 years of my youngest ones going to public school. They are now 5th, 3rd, and 2nd grade. I admit it's been off to a slow start, partly due to the pregnancy and working on my biz. They've enjoyed the break for sure, but enough is enough. 😜 Even if I don't have comprehensive lessons planned, I've got plenty of workbooks, books to read, and educational toys they can start taking advantage of, Insha'Allah. 🖍🖌✏📚

Sneak peak at some "good for you" fries. My mom has a fun post coming up on her & the kids making these delicious treats! 😊
I'm trying to be more vigilant with the foods I eat as well. I was watching a documentary about fetal development and it really freaked me out. I knew what I put in my body would of course go through to the baby as well, but this show really put it in perspective for me...and freaked me out a little bit. 😛  So I've made some changes to my diet, frankly changes I wanted to put into practice for some time . . . but this gave me that extra push to do it now!

I had made some positive steps towards healthy eating prior to getting pregnant and had completed a course with Sister Hind called 100 days of healing. That put me on the right track, but unfortunately I backtracked a bit after I got pregnant. So, I'm feeling very motivated now, not just for me and the baby, but for my whole family to improve their diet. ❤🍽



We did finally get a trip in to the Zoo that we had been planning for ages. So we don't have a car and usually just borrow my moms when we need to, which is cool. I do my shopping with her weekly and she usually goes with me to all my appointmets, so no worries. But Insha'Allah, hoping to get something eventually that the whole family can fit into as well . . . so at least a 10 seater!


But, Alhamdulilah, here in Portland, we have a great transit system. So we all headed out on the bus to the Zoo. We take one bus that goes right in front on my house, and then we transfer to the train downtown which takes us directly to the Zoo. The whole trip is less than an hour, so not too bad.😊


It was a blast and the time went by way too fast!  My mom packed us a picnic lunch and the weather was perfect. This was my 2 year olds first trip to the zoo and he was pretty unimpressed . . . but the other kids had a blast. All the walking took a bit of a toll on me, and I was sore the next day, but it was worth it! ❤



So I had my appointment for an anatomy scan at 22 weeks. I was pretty sure I didn't want to know the sex and wanted this one to be a surprise. I've said that before, but when the time comes and they ask if you want to know the sex, I always give in and say yes. But this time, I'm so proud of myself and stuck to my guns. I said I didn't want to know...even though my mom was putting on the pressure big time for me to find out. And I feel good about the decision I made. With my other children, I always found out in advance, and with this probably being my last . . . I really wanted to experience that surprise factor. Plus I had 6 boys in a row...and don't know what I would do if they said it was another boy. 😜 Not really! 🤣  I firmly believe that boy or girl, it's a blessing and I will be happy with whatever Allah decrees...but I am making lots of dua for a girl.

Alhamdulilah, everything looked good on the scan. I was a bit nervous, because of my advanced age and my previous miscarriage, but Alamdulilah from what they were able to determine from the scan everything looked quite normal. 👌

That's all for this week. Thanks for reading and for all your kind words and duas . . . it means a lot to me! Jazaak Allah Khair! ❤


Pregnancy Journal Weeks 24-36


Well, I've let some time lapse since my last journal entry, but Insha'Allah I'll get you all caught up and stay up to date on my entries until it's birth story time! ❤


Well I've taken a bit of hiatus from the business side of Everyday Naseeha. Alhamdulilah, my mom and biz partner has definetely taken up the slack. 😍 I was working towards some personal and household projects that required my attention. Insha'Allah will share more about that later.
Just when I was ready to start back up with the biz, along came the flu. My 16 year old was first to come down with it, and then the rest of the family, one by one. I was a little bit worried after all the hype I've been hearing about this flu season being so severe and the fact that I was pregnant to boot. But Alhamdulilah, everybody is now on the road to recovery. 😊 Honey, lemon, and blackseed tea, supplements, rest, and lots of dua was our regimen. The hardest thing about it was having to look after myself but also having all my kiddies sick and still having to tend to them as well. Alhamdulilah though for my Ummy who lives in same apartment complex as me, stopped by often as she could to help me out. ❤

I had my 35 week appointment, my first since coming down with the Flu, and Alhamdulilah everything checked out well. Good heartbeat on the baby, my stats were good, and measuring right at 35 weeks. I had lost some weight since my last visit, but they were not concerned seeing as how I had the flu and had no real appetite at the time. I'm stil on track probably to gain 35-40lbs this pregnancy which is the usual for me durring my pregnancies.


They say being pregnant makes you off balance a bit and a little more clumsy than usual. I can attest to that! 😜 Every time I've taken a tumble since I've been an adult, it's been while I was pregnant. I've managed to fall down the stairs during two pregnancies, trip numerous times, and about 6 weeks ago walking back from the laundry room with my kids I fell flat on the pavement and took my 8 year old son with me. I was actually leaning on him for support since I was experiencing  really bad round ligament pain for the past week and it was super painful to walk. I ended up with a bloody scraped knee and hand. My 8 year old was left unharmed as was the baby, but I felt like I had been in a car accident when I woke up the next day. I can't remember taking a fall like that since I was a kid! The bright side of this tumble...my round ligament pain went away after this and has yet to come back since the fall, so Alhamdulilah for that! 🤗

The gender of this little one is still a mystery. 🤔  I'm glad I decided to be surprised and can't wait to find out. With my 7 other children I always knew ahead of time, which was pretty cool as well. But, I really wanted to be surprised with what will probably be my last one. After 6 boys in a row a girl would be awesome, but I'd be just as excited if it's another boy. I don't really have a "feeling" of it being a boy or a girl, but I've been craving fish these last several weeks, and I recall with my first child, which was a girl, I craved fish sandwiches from Mcdonalds. So maybe that means something? 🤔


So all and all, I'm feeling back to normal now and getting really excited about the baby coming. This has been a weird pregnancy for me. Usually I'm very carefree during my pregnancies, but having suffered my first miscarriage prior to this pregnancy, I've just been a little bit on edge. It's a mixture of really wanting to savor this pregnancy and enjoy every moment of it, since it will be probably  be my last and then the other part of me just wants to hurry and deliver a healthy baby so I can quit worrying about something potentially going wrong. I just have to remember Allah is in control and to turn to him with my worries and distress, when I do that I feel better immediately.

On the agenda for the upcoming week? I'm going to start up an exercise regimen. Nothing major, just some light cardio and stretching. I've been wanting to do that my whole pregnancy, but kept putting it off, so better late than never. Also, plan to jump back in to biz mode and back to homeschooling the kids which has taken a back seat for too long now. See ya next week, insha'Allah.

18 comments

  1. MashaAllah! May Allah make everything easy for you and the baby. Ameen!

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    1. Jazaak Allah Khair Sis, Ameen!

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    2. May Allah make your pregnancy easy for you and your family and grant you a safe delivery. Ameen

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  2. This is lovely and so relatable. We also had a scare in the beginning of my first pregnancy where we couldn't pick up the heartbeat and I can totally relate to how terrifying that is. Thank you for sharing this!

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  3. Ahh this is reminding me of my pregnancy days. I can imagine it must have felt a little scary to look for the baby's heartbeat. May Allah make the pregnancy an easy one for you.

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  4. I never got a doppler as I knew I would panic if I couldn't find the heart beat for whatever reason!

    MashaAllah lovely to read your update and in sha Allah the rest of the pregnancy goes smoothly.

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    1. Yeah, probably a good call Sis. Ameen and Jazaak Allah Khair.

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  5. Miscarriage is really most panic attack. I had my first pregnancy the first month of marriage and then miscarriage. And I admit I was biggest fool that time.

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  6. Aww, mashaa Allah. May Allah grant you a healthy pregnancy, ameen. x

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  7. Lovely post, may Allah grant you a healthy pregnancy and keep everyone safe and happy. (www.spicyfusionkitchen.com and www.beautywithzainy.com)

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  8. May Allah bless you all and give you a healthy baby!
    I am at my 7th early miscarriage in almost 4 years after one healthy baby and very easy pregnancy walhamdulillah. Doctors don't find the causes. That's so scaring subhanAllaah that's a trial and I must be patient and focus on a healthy living and on multiplying worship, that includes reducing the small business work that gives me too much stress personally.

    Emilie from Arabic Seeds.

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    1. Ameen Sister! Jazzak Allah khair and please know that you are in my duas and I ask that Allah bless you and your family abundantly. That must be hard to go through, subhanAllah, I can't imagine. I've only had one and it was difficult for me. But you are a very strong sister, and Allah is the best of planners. Insha'Allah you will have that which you desire. Lots of love.<3

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  9. Really a nice story! Thanks for sharing! - Pagbubuntis.info

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