Hi, welcome back! I wanted to write this post for anyone that has an interest in what to expect when expecting. So cliche, I know. But, for a near 35 year old woman that’s spent most of her life just “living” life-traveling, date night dinners, drinks with friends, getting up early on a Saturday and exploring the city, etc.-I admittedly never stopped to truly learn about my body… and especially about pregnancy.
Sure, I’ve had friends and family over the years become new Moms, and I’ve shared in their feelings of excitement by sending my “Yay!!! Congratulations!!” to each of them, but because the past several years-mostly all of my adult life- I have lived in another state or city as all of my close friends I missed out on the real time weekly visits where they could tell me all about what it’s like to be pregnant, good and bad. Because of all of this I was left in the dark.
So, being your friend, here’s what I want to fill you in on, at least from my personal perspective. And what I’ve learned is that there are no two pregnancies alike, so please know that what I share is not 100% what you may experience, or vice versa, and that’s ok. And of course, speak with your doctor if you have any concerns.
Weeks 5 & 6: I found out at 5 weeks pregnant, and am still a little baffled that you technically add on 2 weeks because of the date of your last period. I did not know about this before getting pregnant. This week and the following I felt completely myself, normal. Except that I would wake up really early every morning to pee around 4:30 a.m. I have never been one to get up to pee in the middle of the night so this was the first thing I noticed. During week 6 I called and scheduled my first pregnancy appt. with my OB that would happen in about 3 weeks, since we planned to be out of state for at least another couple of weeks.
Week 7: Almost right to the day I started to feel what I would describe as a little queasy feeling that just lingers. There were about 4 days this week that I could not get off of the couch. I was sooo tired/lethargic and had no energy to do much. I felt terrible, as this is not my norm at all. I am always moving, juggling 3 things at once, knocking out a to-do list…so this was challenging. I had Schuyler (thankfully!) prepare meals for me and do just about whatever I needed. He is a true angel for this, because I know that it’s not easy waiting on someone hand and foot. And by the way, everything I was used to routinely eating as recent as the week prior, was suddenly so nauseating to me. So basically nothing sounded good to eat, and smells of foods and especially coffee suddenly would send me over the edge. I thankfully did not ever throw up.
Week 8: The lingering quease in my stomach stuck around and I felt pretty much the same as the week before. Eating lots of bland and savory foods, i.e. lots of chicken noodle soup. Oddly, not wanting anything sweet whatsoever. Even juice and popsicles made me just bleh. And I usually have a decent sweet tooth. I even had to throw away my prenatal gummies and flintstone vitamins because the sugar and taste was terrible to me. The thought alone of them was just… awful. I have a pretty rough time with swallowing pills so I’ve had a bit of a time finding a prenatal pill I could manage. I’ve had a couple of bad headaches this week, which did not go away easily with Tylenol. I also have not been sleeping well almost each week thus far. Like, clock watching every hour, and it’s frustrating. At 8 1/2 weeks I went in for my first appt. to basically get a giant packet of information about what to expect, what to avoid, etc. and also did some bloodwork.
Week 9: No big changes in symptoms this week but I did get to have my first ultrasound at 9 weeks, 6 days, and sadly Schuyler could not come in with me. We were both a little bummed about it. I was able to FaceTime with him, but in hindsight I would have videoed the ultrasound and showed it to him afterwards. Anyway, I saw the baby for the first time and truly just sort of freaked out at the thought that the super wiggly tiny thing I saw on the screen was wiggling around inside of me! I remember just sucking in, holding my breath, in disbelief that there is an itty bitty baby inside of me. Just wow. It’s truly amazing what a human body can do. Baby’s strong heart rate also measured at 160, and the ultrasound tech confirmed a due date of April 2nd. I am trying to go on walks and managed to get just one walk in that pretty much wiped me out. Better luck next week 😉
Week 10: I’m using the Bump and Ovia apps to check in weekly on what to expect. This week baby is the size of strawberry, and has all limbs and organs, which is so wild! They will double in size in the next 3 weeks. I had a couple of days where I did not feel much quease in my stomach this week which has been very relieving. Still have BIG food and smell aversions, but I’m learning my limits on what to eat. If I’ve gained a pound or two it has to be just from eating a little heavier, because that’s the only way to settle my stomach. Think french fries, baked potatoes, quesadillas, burgers…things I normally do not indulge very much in. I very much plan to get back to my usual healthy meals once I feel that I can. I’ve been feeling pretty calm throughout my entire pregnancy so far. Still no real bump happening which I figured I would notice by now. My lower stomach is a little harder this week, which is an interesting feeling. But overall, I’m still rocking my jeans and shorts okay. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been a lot more quiet on Instagram stories, and that’s because I spend so much time laying down, no makeup or hair done. It’s tough to find the mental and physical energy to do much else. I think I’ve done my hair and makeup maybe 3 times since becoming pregnant. Oh yeah, the hormones are also very interesting. We were driving home from an errand one day this week and a song called “Lady” by Brett Young came on the radio and I instantly was wiping tears from my eyes. Ugh, such a softie. Not my favorite haha. Schuyler looked at me strange because of this. Next appt. is in 3 weeks and WE GET TO FIND OUT GENDER! I had NO idea you could find out baby’s gender so soon, but wow, I feel like I’m still processing the idea that I am actually pregnant, much less getting to know an identity in just a short amount of time. All in all, I pray every single night that myself and baby are just safe and healthy during this entire journey. In addition to being able to find out gender by a blood test we will also be screening for any genetic abnormality possibilities. Thinking positive thoughts here!
Week 11: This week I feel like the nausea kicked up a notch. I figured that with each week it would only get better, but evidently not for me. Taking Dramamine chewables almost daily. Experiencing headaches when I wake up but luckily they are going away on their own. Still pretty much mostly lying or sitting up in bed, nibbling on crackers every couple of hours. It’s been hard for me to not be on my phone as much, especially stories. This is something I hope to get back to asap. I also really wish I could drink coffee right now because an iced pumpkin chai latte will be calling my name!
Week 12: About the same as last week. I go in later this week for my NIPT test where bloodwork will be done. *Edit: had an unexpected sonogram at 12 wks 6 days and also unexpectedly found out gender, but will keep this to ourselves for a bit longer!
Week 13: Well, I woke up first thing this morning and vomitted twice on an empty stomach. No clue what triggered it. First time the entire pregnancy, so there’s that. Welcome to the second trimester? haha. I never experienced “morning sickness” aka what I’m calling vomitting in the morning, but my nausea would show up and worsen in the afternoons and nighttime. And morning sickness is all I knew about pregnancy. Wow, have I learned so much!
Overall, baby is growing every single day, whether I can sense or see it, and I want to be sure I’m doing everything I can to ensure a happy, healthy, little bebe.
What I wish I knew before: No one tells you about fun things like constant bloat, a slowed down digestive system so it feels like you’re never hungry, always full, and just a little…uncomfortable. And oh yeah, constipation. All new things for me. I have not had sore boobs at all, which I find many people do.
Things that I have not experienced: sore boobs as mentioned above, implantation bleeding or cramping, spotting, lower back pain, severe morning sickness (hugging the toilet) & breakouts. And for all of this I feel incredibly grateful. I also don’t think my boobs have gotten bigger, which, let’s be honest…. I’m not sure I want them much bigger. Schuyler thinks otherwise. HA!
Things that have gotten me through the first trimester: These Dramamine chewables for nausea, saltine crackers, lots of water and rest… and that’s about it. I tried so many things that sadly did not help me much-psi bands (pressure point bracelets), ginger chews, and sniffing citrus or peppermint oil. Just a reminder that no two pregnancies are exactly the same.
For all of you mamas that have gone this road before me….can you relate to any of this??
NEXT UP….GENDER REVEAL COMING! What do you think Baby Smith is?? Leave your guesses below!