This was a planned pregnancy, but when the pregnancy test read positive, I was still shocked! No word of a lie, I texted two of my besties saying "HOLY $#*@, I AM PREGNANT!" Complete shock, even for people trying to have a baby!
Let's rewind even more here. They suggest not telling people until the first trimester is done, which takes you to 12 weeks or 3 months pregnant (some people even say 14 weeks). That is a long time to not tell people! I get why they say that because in the first trimester, there is a higher chance of something going wrong. Let's just say that I went to 2 weddings and probably at least 10 social gatherings (3 of which were large thanksgiving get togethers) during that time with at least 5 people asking me when we want to have a baby or checking what I was drinking (and proceeded to smell my cup lol). For anyone who knows me, I am a person who is VERY expressive (my emotions show very easily, both good and bad), so as you can imagine, this was hard. We ended up telling more people than we planned to because my husband is also an excited teddy bear who wears his heart on his sleeve. Oh well, c'est la vie! But that brings us to today... I have been wanting to share this with you all so badly! So truth be told, I started writing this blog post almost 10 weeks ago so I wouldn't forget a thing so that I could help others down the line and maybe even be insightful to some men!
Some information about me:
- My pre pregnancy health plan: we decided we wanted to start trying in the summer so the 6 months leading up to that time frame, I really ramped up my health. I worked on my immune system + digestion (through acupuncture and minimizing of certain foods- gluten, dairy, alcohol, refined sugar). I got my health in order and up to date: holistic dentist, homeopathic practitioner, naturopath, massages, colon hydrotherapy, etc. My self care game was strong and better than ever! 3 months beforehand I started taking pre-natal vitamins and my husband starting taking an array of supplements that were suggested to me by Anne Matthews (Energy Tree Anne, my acupuncturist who happens to specialize in fertility but when I started seeing her it was just for general wellbeing and digestion- more on her later). I worked on getting my business in order, becoming more efficient in all areas of my life, decluttering my life, minimizing stress and making room for this baby. It was truly a beautiful time as it was filled with so much self love + self respect. I would highly recommend giving yourself time to do this if you are thinking of having a baby in the near future.
- Due date: May 23rd 2019
- Gender: TBD, I really thought it was a boy but now I am torn! I will find out around NYE time frame (20 weeks)
- Birth plan: I went with a midwife but will be having my baby in a birthing centre within a hospital. All I want is a healthy baby and would like to try the natural route, but am open to whatever is needed to get this little bean safely here! So no "birth plan" really as not much is in my control!
- MAJOR QUESTIONS I GOT: I am definitely ok with lots of questions and not uncomfortable with most of them probably because it was a quick process for us but just be very cautious with the questions you ask women of the child bearing age/stage i.e. "when are you having kids", "how long did it take", etc. It is VERY common in this day and age to try for long periods of time. They say average is 6 months so even though some people think they are being nice asking someone when they are having a baby, they could be a year into trying and very discouraged at this point. My point being, just ask yourself if someone could potentially be hurt by a question you ask. Anyways, I plan to be VERY up front, candid + blunt with my pregnancy/birth/motherhood journey so consider me an exception (or an oversharer haha!)
But here we go...
How long did we try for: started beginning of July and was pregnant by end of August so I would say around 8 weeks! We are SO SO lucky and grateful for this as well!
Did you know you were pregnant: TMI coming your way... my heart/intuition said "yes", but my brain said "no". Another little reminder to get out of your head and follow your instincts. The moment your egg is implanted in your uterine wall is called "implantation". This is around the exact same time you would be getting your expected next period and some of the symptoms are the exact same. For me, I had mild cramping so thought "ok we are out this month", some spotting (which can be called implantation spotting), and breast tenderness (which I normally do not get with my regular monthly period). Two days before I took a pregnancy test, I had what felt like tingling in my fallopian tubes/uterus area and at one point a very sharp feeling there too. I had never felt this before so I was very confused!
- People have different measures of first trimester, but it is 12-14 weeks longs and dates back to the first day of your last period. So basically when you expect your next period, around 4 weeks after your last, that is when you find out. And the good part is, you are already 4 weeks then (even though the baby was likely conceived between 2-3 weeks) Crazy right!?
Week 4 & 5
After finding out I was pregnant (2 days before my sister in laws wedding where I was a bridesmaids and co-MC), I was already mildly nauseas at certain times of the day, sleeping earlier and my breasts were starting to get tender (if this is TMI for you I would suggest to stop reading and to never read my pregnancy posts or to SUCK IT UP as this is a huge part of life LOL! I will still love you though). My energy during the day was very good!
Supplements- I was already taking pre-natal vitamins beforehand (I started taking in early summer) and continued taking them (I used Seroyal brand but switched to Mega Food)
Diet- most foods still but I noticed dairy made me feel nauseas. SO thirsty all the time too!
Exercise- HARD NO. I tried to but it made me feel nauseas.
Self Care- acupuncture once a week, warm epsom salt baths a couple times a week, lots of water, bed early!
Week 6 & 7
Morning sickness is a thing! Week 6 was my worst week hands down. I was lucky enough to only have it during a small time frame every day (830-10am) if I had not eaten enough so I learned very quickly that if my stomach wasn't coated with oatmeal, saltine crackers or toast, I would be throwing up (I only threw up three times in total but felt nauseas a lot during these weeks). Magically enough though, even on mornings I got sick, I felt better afterwards and the rest of the day was just breast tenderness, going to bed by 9pm and eating really simple foods! Also waking up at 3am to pee every night.
Supplements- I was taking my pre-natal during the afternoon with food when I knew they would not be coming back up. I was also taking b6 twice a day to help with nausea, b12 for energy, and magnesium before bed on some nights to help relax (all Seroyal products)
Diet- these were the weeks that changed a lot. Most foods seem unappealing to me and I was only consuming super simple carbohydrates basic. My diet basically consisted of: saltine crackers, toast, apples, gingerale, sometimes herbal teas, lots of water, pastas. I could not stomach most vegetables, meats, cheese, black teas, etc. Most of the time I would be forcing myself to eat because I knew if I didn't, I would be sick. Let's just say, scrolling through my Instagram feed made me feel queasy. My husband was always suggesting different foods to eat and make, and I would tell him to hold that thought for a few weeks. For a foodie, this adjustment was hard! ALSO still consuming so much water. I would feel so thirsty at times (think waking up at 3am hungover and feeling like you have never had a sip of water in your life and your mouth feels like a desert). My energy during the day was great still!
Exercise- I stopped spinning and doing HIIT workouts as they sometimes made me feel so tired after like I drained all my energy I had for the day. So I vowed to get in 8-10k steps a day (using my fitbit) for the time being
Self Care- acupuncture once a week, warm epsom baths a few times a week (the magnesium is great for nausea), bed by 9pm.
Week 8 & 9
The biggest difference in these weeks (and saddest) was my appetite. I frigging LOVE food and most seemed pretty gross to me. I didn't like cooking for myself, vegetables seemed gross, most meat seemed disgusting and carbs were my best friend (and so was bloating because I was carb-loading) ha! By the end of week 9 is when things started to change for the better but all in all weeks 6-10 were pretty dang good!! I think I had it very good for a pregnant lady. My biggest change was my appetite throughout. Those 5 weeks seemed like eternity! Still chugging water like its my job. I had good energy throughout the days still!
Exercise- 8-10k steps a day, started to spin again and do some strength training
Self Care- bed was now by 830pm! GRANDMA STATUS. It felt really food though and overall my sleeping in the first trimester has been AMAZING! Like 7-9 hours, mostly uninterrupted sleep.
Week 10
HALLLLLEEELUJAAAAAAAAAH! My appetite was starting to come back and my first craving was crunchy vegetables and dill dip. I also wanted to cook and bake again which was so nice. I started to feel like me again!
Exercise- I feel like an old woman when I say this but I love going to the gym and walking on the treadmill for 60-90 minutes which is usually around 5-8km and watching a TV show, catching up on work emails, etc. I LOVE IT! I also am spinning once a week and doing HIIT 1-2x/week but LOVE ME SOME BRISK WALKING!
Self Care- same old, same old. Bed early. Sleeping well.
Week 11 & 12
Nausea started to come back but mainly just in the mornings when I woke up. Certain foods seemed gross again. I can also feel my stomach starting to grow and expand more as I have light cramping every so often. Baby is getting ready to start growing more and more! By week 12 its the size of a plum. I had my ultrasound (see below) where I saw my little nugget and it felt very really and was such a special moment. If you zoom in on the face, I swear I see a smile and have been telling anyone who will listen the baby already "has my nose".
Crying over nothing is a thing. It has happened to me twice (so far) in this pregnancy and I am sure will happen a lot more. It looks like this... MAJOR TEARS. husband- "Whats wrong?!"... me- "NOTHING! I DONT KNOW!"...
Exercise- still loving my treadmill walks. I am actually getting way more steps in than pre-pregnancy which is funny. Hopefully counteracting all the carbs I have been consuming.
Week 13
THIS WEEK! If you are reading this when I actually posted this (3rd week of November) I am currently 13 weeks pregnant and my baby is the size of a lemon!
I am so excited to continue to share my pregnancy journey with you all! If I had to sum up my first trimester and pregnancy so far it would be...
Positives: My energy levels overall were really great! My nausea at the worst of times was maybe a 3/10 (I am very lucky) and I only got sick 3 times which was mainly in week 6! I have slept very well throughout and my dreams have been very vivid. My thirst has been strong which is a bonus as I have consumed more water than ever which is great on many levels!
Obstacles: mild nausea, but the hardest part for me was food aversions and major changes in my appetite! I said this already but as a foodie, not being able to make and eat all different types of foods was hard! This is a pretty good problem to have in the grand scheme of things as some women experience all day nausea and vomiting, cannot sleep, have low energy and feel like garbage.
I WAS AND STILL AM VERY LUCKY!! There is a lot out of your control in pregnancy and I still have a lot to learn but now that I am moving towards my second trimester I am super excited to see what it has in store. I have been told it is the "honeymoon" trimester which (typically) consists of you feeling back to normal, and your bump appearing. Speaking of "honeymoons" we have booked a "baby moon" to the Bahamas in December as it is one of the few places in the Caribbean that is "Low Risk Zika". Anyways, if you have any questions please email me directly. I am happy to help, hear any suggestions you might have on baby products, classes, etc.
XO
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