I've really wanted to be able to document my pregnancy week-by-week because I think it would be interesting to go back in the future and compare! Obviously, this blog is just getting rolling, so I am just going to recap what I remember so far. :) This is going to be a longer post since there's lots of catching up to do!
First Trimester: Well, we found out that we were pregnant on May 30. I thought that I was 8 weeks at that point, but after going to the doctor to get everything confirmed, I was only 5 weeks, 5 days (according to LMP and HCG levels). Ah! I thought I was going to get 3 weeks for "free!"
I was like
oh yeah, I'm feeling great! No morning sickness, etc. The day that I turned 6 weeks, I woke up feeling like crap. I remember telling Josh that I didn't think I would be able to make it to Church that morning because I literally felt like throwing up. I muscled through it, got ready, even curled my hair, but just ended up crying (maybe that was a sign there!) that I wasn't going to make it through without throwing up. Aaand later that day, of course I got sick. And it lasted the whole day. The next day, I woke up sick, went into work and was unable to keep anything down. I had to call my boss (Krissy) because I felt sooo horrible and couldn't stay out of the bathroom. But on top of that, I felt horrible that I called her to come in because it wasn't like there was going to be an end to this. I just need to learn how to cope with this new-found problem of mine. When she got there, I whispered to her
there's actually a reason for this. I
had to tell her. How in the heck was I going to have "food poisoning" for weeks upon weeks. Plus she's the one person that I
wanted to tell (I call her my BFF). And it's a good thing I did because I woke up Tuesday feeling even worse than the day before! I swore that I had to have been dehydrated or something more serious was involved. I couldn't keep a single drop of water down. I tried everything from ginger ale, to crackers, to ice cubes. Nothing. So I called my OB and she prescribed me a medication that was supposedly going to help. Thank the Lord that it actually did!
The next week, I was able to get in for an ultrasound to make sure things were looking good (and boy, did I know they were! This little kidney bean was killin' mama!). She was measuring to the day. At that point, I was 6 weeks, 6 days. We weren't able to hear the heartbeat since it was still too early, but we were able to see the itty bitty thing beating away. What an amazing feeling! The next day, we told his family. We brought the images and were waiting for that perfect moment to share. While we were all sitting outside after giving dad his Father's Day gift, we ran in the house, grabbed the images and handed one to each his mom and dad. All his mom could say was, "what is this?! What is this?!" She had been very patiently waiting on grandbabies since the honeymoon, so I knew she wouldn't be able to contain herself. When she realized that was her little grandbaby in there, she jumped from her chair and ran around the backyard yelling "my grandbaby!! My grandbaby!!" with tears streaming down her face. It was definitely a priceless moment.
Fast forward to the rest of the first trimester and the only way to sum it up was morning sickness (lost 5 pounds), major fatigue, and an "off" feeling. I remember fearing that this baby would steal Josh from me, that I wouldn't be able to love it enough, I wouldn't be a good enough mom to her, etc. Krissy kept reminding me "you're pregnant, your hormones are out of whack, don't trust how you feel." And honestly that was a very helpful piece of advice!
Oh, and cravings! I would say that the first trimester, I craved popsicles and ice cubes. Yum!!
Second Trimester: Of course, I'm on the tail-end of this one now! So crazy! This is when I began feeling pregnant. The stomach became bloated (and eventually nice and round!) and my bras became more snug. Josh bought me a fetal doppler to use at home and rid of any worries that I had (from reading too many forums!). I listened to her heartbeat every night. It seemed to stay around 152-145. I began feeling her move at 16 weeks and would describe the movements as swishing; not necessarily the feeling of popcorn popping or butterflies, though I was still unsure if that's what I was feeling. At 20 weeks is when we found out that we were having a little girl! :) The ultrasound pictures from that appointment made me the happiest! They were so very clear and she looked absolutely perfect.
I still have morning sickness. Crazy, I know. I have also began having major indigestion. I stopped taking Tums because I hear so much calcium increases your risk in kidney stones (I was taking the max. amount in 24 hours and they only worked for like 10 minutes) and I am NOT wanting to deal with that while pregnant! I splurged and bought some low dose Zantac that has worked like a charm. :) Fortunately, I do not have to take this every day. So far, I am up 11 pounds from my base weight and don't have stretch marks yet (YES!). A friend of mine suggested this little concoction of Palmer's cocoa butter and Gold Bond ultimate healing, which I have been using about twice a day. Hopefully it continues to help! As far as her kicking, she is one active little girl but I think she may be a shy one. Every. Single. Time I touch or look at my belly when she moves, she stops. She is most active at about 5 a.m., after meals, and about 9:00 p.m. I noticed today that she is also beginning to make her way near my ribs. She's still about half an inch away, so I'm guessing in the next week or so, I'll have toes sticking between them! I wouldn't trade any of this for the world, though. I absolutely LOVE being pregnant! The only complaint I have is not being able to sleep on my back and how difficult it is to wrestle with an army of pillows when I want to switch sides at night. Not to mention the every-2-hour bathroom trip.
Next weekend I go in for my 27 week appointment and this is also when I'll be doing the glucose test. I know that this is optional, but because this is my first pregnancy, I am opting in because I want to make sure that my pregnant body is responding to sugar the way that it is supposed to. If I pass, I plan to opt out in the future. Beginning this weekend, I am going to do weekly posts about what has been going on with me and the little one (oh, and a picture, too!).
I have attached several photos. They are only bi-weekly because I didn't really think it was too necessary to do every single week until I got a little bigger . . . like now! :)
