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| 6 weeks pregnant! |
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| 12 weeks pregnant and the first signs of a bump! |
I am so late on getting this post up, but better late than never, right?
I feel like my first trimester went by sooo slow and then all of a sudden I am 17 weeks! The first 13 weeks of this pregnancy were truly crazy, for lack of better words. It was a whirlwind of shock and excitement and anxiety and overwhelming joy, which is why I think it took me a month to be able to sit down and put it all into words. We found out at a very early four weeks and while we knew it was a possibility, it was still a big shock! The best way to describe the feeling of seeing those two pink lines is surreal. For me, it was something I was so excited to see pop up that I almost thought I was imagining it when it really happened.
After the initial shock and excitement, a huge cloud of anxiety settled over me. I was about to have to make so many big life changes. One of the biggest changes I made was coming off of anxiety medication. I had been on anxiety medication for about three years when I found out I was pregnant and could no longer continue taking it. I didn't know how this would affect both my physical and mental health. The first trimester comes with a lot of worries as it is, so I think this made them a bit more heightened for me. Thankfully I have a wonderful support system and was able to manage it moderately well if I do say so myself.
Health
Everyone prays for a "normal", healthy pregnancy before you even become pregnant. Of course, this is not always the case. I will admit that I have experienced some complications that I did not share before now, but in the grand scheme of things have not caused any major issues. During week 9 I woke up with some very intense cramps in my stomach, I waited about an hour and a half before deciding they were too serious to ignore and we went to the hospital. Of course, your mind jumps to the worst-case scenario. Thankfully we were seen immediately and assured that our baby was safe and healthy. I was admitted to the hospital and after a very long two days, my dr found that I had an ovarian cyst that had ruptured. All was determined to be well, my pain had finally subsided and I was sent home. Secondly, it was discovered at week 12 that I have a uterine septum. Now I could go into all the details, but I will spare you. Basically, I have an odd-shaped uterus and this in combination with my petite frame, means the baby could run out of room faster causing 1. early labor and 2. baby being breech due to lack of room to turn, meaning a c-section. My first reaction was sheer panic, but with the help of my husband, and family, and doula, I realized this was a small complication and that overall my baby and I were healthy. For all we know, I could still go to full term and have a natural birth as planned, and I will keep you all updated.
Other than those two small road bumps, baby is growing and progressing on schedule, and we are both very healthy!
Symptoms
I have gotten many questions about the symptoms I experienced so here is a list of all the symptoms I experienced during weeks 4-13
1. NAUSEA - Nausea hit me HARD. I did not get physically sick every day, but I almost wish I had because I constantly felt like I had to throw up. On top of that, there were very few things that helped me feel better. It was rough, y'all.
2. ACNE - If you know me personally you know that I have been blessed with some great skin and never really experienced breakouts, even during puberty. Well, I am making up for that now with the worst acne I have ever had in my life. This is actually the symptom that made me think "I might be pregnant" and made me take a test (the very test that turned out positive).
3. BOOBS - The sisters grew fast and man were they sore!
4. PEE - I don't know why I thought the whole frequent urination thing didn't start until the baby was heavy on your bladder, but I discovered real quick how wrong that assumption was. I get up 2-3 times a night to pee and during the day is no better.
5. SOB - Aka, shortness of breath. Breathing is hard y'all. Just walking up the stairs takes my breath away and I feel so embarrassed saying that!
6. AVERSIONS - Everyone talks about the weird food cravings, but no one bothers to mention the food aversions, of which I had many. In fact, I think I only had aversions during the first trimester, no cravings. That in combination with my nausea actually caused me to lose weight rather than gain it in my first trimester. Craziest aversion? COFFEE. If you know me, you know how big that is.
Must-Have Items
1. Prenatal Vitamins - If you haven't started taking them already, start now! Your body is about to go through so many changes and prenatals are so important in the support of all these changes.
2. Pregnancy Pillow - I was gifted this one by one of my sweet friends, and I wish I had gotten it earlier. It is the most comfortable thing I have ever owned. I truly don't know if I will ever sleep without it again, pregnant or not.
3. Preggie Pop Drops - As I said above, not much really got rid of my nausea, but these definitely helped, and if nothing else they taste just like candy!
4. Comfy clothes - I got to a point where even though I wasn't showing yet, tight clothing on my belly was very uncomfortable. I lived in oversized sweatshirts and these aerie leggings.
My Gender Prediction as of week 13: BOY!!
I am so excited to continue sharing my pregnancy journey with you all! If you have any questions or recommendations, drop them down below!
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