Guest Pregnancy Journal – 26 Weeks
This brave first-time Mama shares her journey through pregnancy after miscarriage while navigating chronic health conditions including Rheumatoid Arthritis and Endometriosis.
Her honesty about loss, anxiety, autoimmune disease and learning to trust her body again is deeply moving.
26 Weeks Pregnant – Babies Are the Size of a Zucchini
Cravings: Citrus
Symptoms: Lots of baby movements
Weight: 68.4kg (pre-pregnancy 62.5kg)
I’ve been feeling…
Like this is really going to happen. After losing my previous pregnancy, it has taken time to truly believe this one will result in a baby.
I’m starting to accept that this might actually be real.
Sleep has been…
Actually not too bad apart from getting up once in the night to wee. Some strange dreams though!
This week I learned…
Braxton Hicks contractions can be really uncomfortable.
I feel happiest when…
I remember there is a tiny person inside me and that it will all be worth it when I meet her.
I hope my parenting style is…
Structured with good boundaries and routine, but also loving, gentle and kind.
Before baby arrives I’d like to…
Feel well rested and not too stressed. I’d also love to feel a little more connected to my husband.
The advice I’d give about the second trimester…
If your nausea subsides, it really is much better than the first trimester. But it comes with its own challenges — clothes not fitting, body changes — and learning to accept them as they come.
How I’m going with diet, exercise, sleep and stress…
I’m trying not to get too stressed and to eat what my body wants — within reason.
I’m also managing long-term health conditions in the background, and I’m really trying to be kind to myself when I’m not 100% happy all the time.
Pregnancy After Miscarriage & Chronic Illness
After reading her 26 week entry, I asked if she felt comfortable sharing more about her previous pregnancy loss and living with chronic health conditions.
Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis & Endometriosis
I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and the treatment involves medications that are not compatible with pregnancy.
Before we even attempted to conceive, I had to stop my medications three months prior. RA is worse in winter, so I planned it seasonally — stopping in August so that by summer I might conceive quickly.
We didn’t know if that would happen because I also have Endometriosis.
I was incredibly lucky to conceive first time in November — but that pregnancy ended at only five weeks in December.
The hardest part was feeling like my body had failed me. That’s such a common feeling with chronic disease.
As a nurse, I understood the medical side — but I hadn’t prepared myself for the emotional side of miscarriage.
Conceiving Again & First Trimester Anxiety
We were fortunate to conceive again immediately.
But my first trimester anxiety was 10 out of 10. I constantly expected the pregnancy to fail at any moment.
I couldn’t even look at baby items until about 16 weeks.
Now at 26 Weeks
Now baby is measuring small — which isn’t uncommon with RA — and my joints are beginning to flare again.
It’s a constant mental battle: Is my disease harming my baby?
Pregnancy is visible. Joint pain is invisible. Managing both at once is exhausting.
If I could give any advice…
Try to trust that your body can do it — even after loss or difficulty conceiving.
But trusting your body means surrendering control, and that’s incredibly hard.
You May Also Like
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- 18 Weeks Pregnant – Feeling Low
- 19 Weeks Pregnant with Hyperemesis
Want to Record Your Own Journey?
Our guided Pregnancy Journal creates space for the honest entries — the hopeful, the anxious, and everything in between.
If you’d like to share your story anonymously, email megan@forgetmenotjournals.com.