First trimester recap
My first trimester was honestly really easy. My
biggest fear before getting pregnant wasn't gaining weight, or feeling huge
and uncomfortable at the end, or even giving birth--it was morning sickness.
I'm kind of a puker by nature. And by that I mean, if anything has a
possible side effect of nausea and vomiting, the vast majority of the time that
means I will end up with nausea and vomiting. I've had some really
unfortunate experiences with anesthesia and migraines. It's less than
ideal, but my family knows it, Jake knows it, and I know it, so we're all a lot more
prepared now when it happens. That being said, we were pretty much
expecting that my first trimester might be really, really ugly. My sweet friend and neighbor (who is due a whole 11 days before me with her second baby--there are going to be a lot of new babes in our 'hood this spring!) brought me over a little care package shortly after she found out I was pregnant:
Turns out, we had nothing to worry about! I feel almost guilty saying this, but aside from sore boobs (sorry if that's TMI) being eternally tired and having to pee all the time, I really felt great the entire first 13 weeks of my pregnancy. Which I'm superbly thankful for, because work has been crazy busy the past few months, and I simply did not have time to be sick. I had back to back work trips in early October (ok, so Boston was a bit rough. The long travel day and the time change did me in and I spent both mornings sitting on the bathroom floor of my hotel room nibbling on crackers and trying not to vomit), meetings galore, and several long days. (I am so looking forward to some time off at Thanksgiving and Christmas!). But I'd be remiss if I didn't say that my supervisor and coworkers have been wonderfully supportive. I was SO nervous to tell them I was pregnant.
Aside from physical health, I have gone through a whole range of emotions the past 13 weeks. Based on what I've read, I think this is very, very common. At first, I was thrilled! We got pregnant quickly and I was thankful. I know that it can take time, so when we started trying, we were really just hoping it would happen in the next 6 months. That said, my joy was quickly followed by guilt. I can think of any number of friends and family members who have struggled or are currently struggling with infertility. It just seemed unfair. And too easy. And too random. Guilt was followed by fear. We all know that miscarriage rates are the highest during the first trimester. I really tried not to think about this too much, but it crept in nonetheless. Again, I can name several dear friends and family members who have sadly walked through that experience. We were talking about whether our baby might be a boy or a girl the night we told my family we were pregnant and I distinctly remember saying, "I just want this baby to be alive." And that was really how I felt. I had already heard the heartbeat and gotten a peek at our baby, but I was still scared. At my second appointment (at nearly 12 weeks) the Doppler was either not finding the heartbeat or not working altogether--regardless, it resulted in a tense few moments for this mama. Lucky for my husband (who couldn't come to my first appointment) the ultrasound machine had to be pulled out, so we got another chance to see our little one, who was bigger and more wiggly than the first time around.
Having made it to the 13 week milestone, I am no longer a bundle of nerves, but thinking more and more about who this little baby will be and rejoicing over the fact that I am finally able to sleep through the night again without having to go pee (although I imagine this will be a somewhat short-lived victory. I'll enjoy it while it lasts).
Here are a couple of shots of Baby Bennett at 8 weeks and 12 weeks:
And of my belly at 4 weeks (when we found out we were pregnant) and my mini baby bump at 13 weeks:
Turns out, we had nothing to worry about! I feel almost guilty saying this, but aside from sore boobs (sorry if that's TMI) being eternally tired and having to pee all the time, I really felt great the entire first 13 weeks of my pregnancy. Which I'm superbly thankful for, because work has been crazy busy the past few months, and I simply did not have time to be sick. I had back to back work trips in early October (ok, so Boston was a bit rough. The long travel day and the time change did me in and I spent both mornings sitting on the bathroom floor of my hotel room nibbling on crackers and trying not to vomit), meetings galore, and several long days. (I am so looking forward to some time off at Thanksgiving and Christmas!). But I'd be remiss if I didn't say that my supervisor and coworkers have been wonderfully supportive. I was SO nervous to tell them I was pregnant.
Aside from physical health, I have gone through a whole range of emotions the past 13 weeks. Based on what I've read, I think this is very, very common. At first, I was thrilled! We got pregnant quickly and I was thankful. I know that it can take time, so when we started trying, we were really just hoping it would happen in the next 6 months. That said, my joy was quickly followed by guilt. I can think of any number of friends and family members who have struggled or are currently struggling with infertility. It just seemed unfair. And too easy. And too random. Guilt was followed by fear. We all know that miscarriage rates are the highest during the first trimester. I really tried not to think about this too much, but it crept in nonetheless. Again, I can name several dear friends and family members who have sadly walked through that experience. We were talking about whether our baby might be a boy or a girl the night we told my family we were pregnant and I distinctly remember saying, "I just want this baby to be alive." And that was really how I felt. I had already heard the heartbeat and gotten a peek at our baby, but I was still scared. At my second appointment (at nearly 12 weeks) the Doppler was either not finding the heartbeat or not working altogether--regardless, it resulted in a tense few moments for this mama. Lucky for my husband (who couldn't come to my first appointment) the ultrasound machine had to be pulled out, so we got another chance to see our little one, who was bigger and more wiggly than the first time around.
Having made it to the 13 week milestone, I am no longer a bundle of nerves, but thinking more and more about who this little baby will be and rejoicing over the fact that I am finally able to sleep through the night again without having to go pee (although I imagine this will be a somewhat short-lived victory. I'll enjoy it while it lasts).
Here are a couple of shots of Baby Bennett at 8 weeks and 12 weeks:
And of my belly at 4 weeks (when we found out we were pregnant) and my mini baby bump at 13 weeks:
I apologize for the less than ideal quality of these photos. While an outdoor photo would be much nicer, it's COLD out there folks! There's no way I'm baring my baby bump in those chilly temps and you can't really see it when I'm buried in layers. Hallway photos will have to do :)
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