1st Trimester Pregnancy Update

I still cannot believe I am finally getting to share this part of my life with you all now! The first 13 weeks have come and gone so quickly! I’ve been keeping a log of how I’ve been feeling after the first initial OB appointment to confirm this pregnancy, and I am so thankful I did. I would definitely say it was very difficult for me with how I was feeling, even though I know I got the “light end” of it all.

We’ll start with the first weeks following the positive home pregnancy test back in December.

My symptoms started off almost right off the bat, even before I got a positive test. I was craving water like crazy, and all I wanted to eat was spicy foods. Especially Jalapeno Cheetos; Oh my gosh did I love those Cheetos. This was so bizarre for me because I do not like spicy foods, at all. In general,I was pretty tired, and I would get dizzy spells and nasty migraines so bad to the point where it would make me throw up. It was not fun. It was also very hard to not call everyone we knew and tell them our exciting news. I had already decided I wanted to tell a few people pretty early on so I would have a good support system in case the worst was to happen.

The weeks following were filled with constant nausea, insomnia, tender boobs and food aversions so bad I struggled eating each day. It was very hard for me, especially since recovering from my eating disorder this year. In a way it made me feel very defeated, but I knew I wasn’t forcing myself not to eat and caused me to go back and forth on how I was feeling about the whole situation. I envy the women to get to experience nausea only in the morning. My nausea was very much an all day, never ending feeling of vomiting, but never actually throwing up. It was very frustrating, as I tried everything to make it better. Ginger Ale, ginger chews, lemons & other sour things, salty things; Nothing worked. It has been a long first trimester in terms of my nausea, and it only just started to fade when I hit eleven weeks. It was brutal, but I am thankful that I never actually thew up the entire first trimester.

My cravings and aversions came and went daily and it drove me nuts. What I craved yesterday, I cannot stand today, and continuing to try to find meals for me to eat was and adventure for my husband and I. Now that I’ve passed into the second trimester, it has gotten better, but I do wonder how on earth I survived only by snacking literally throughout the entire day…

What really hit me the last 3 weeks has been the insomnia, fatigue, migraines and pelvic pain. It definitely does not help that my nausea was replaced almost instantaneously with a nasty head cold. My stuffy nose and cough keep me up just about every half hour at night, and unfortunately wakes my husband as well. The migraines have definitely been very hard to cope with, as I can't take anything but Tylenol. They aren't too bad if I catch them early enough, but when I wake up in the middle of the night with a splitting migraine, it becomes so hard to function. My days off have started to consist of naps from fatigue and naps trying to get rid of my migraines.

The hip pain has been a whole other game I didn’t know would be as bad as it is. I do have a pretty tiny frame, only standing at 5’3 and I never weighed more than 100 lbs until I graduated high school, but I have always been a very petite woman. My pelvic bone and hips have started to expand and make room for this baby, and I have never been in more pain in my life. Some of you who have been following me for a little while know that I have this strange chronic hip pain that my doctors can’t seem to diagnose, but this pain is on a whole new level. The best way I can explain what it feels like, is that my hip bones are pulling backwards to my sacrum, and my sacrum feels like it is going to fall out my butt. I can even feel them shifting when I am walking which has been very bizarre. It is not comfortable to say the least….

I did have a little bleeding scare right after I hit 8 weeks that spooked my husband and I pretty badly. My blood type is RH Negative, and my husband is RH Positive and basically what can happen is if my baby has RH Positive blood type and my blood mixes with his, my body will think it is an unknown entity and create antibodies to attack my baby. So obviously I started freaking out as soon as I saw blood and called my OB immediately. I am so happy I switched my OB from who I had prior to these ladies, as they are much closer to where I live and where I work. They were extremely understanding, especially with the severity of my blood type, and they were able to get me in to see a nurse 20 minutes after I called. My husband picked me up from work and we raced over and got checked in. I knew with my negative blood type I would have to get a RHO-Gam shot eventually, but not this early. I did end of having to get the shot in my backside (which was not pleasant), and they took us into the ultrasound room to make sure baby was still there. They were able to see him right off the bat, healthy heart beat and all. He even wiggled a little bit for us!

Getting to see him on the ultrasound screen is what has made this more real. The first three ultrasounds done at 6 weeks and 8 weeks were weird since he looked like a melted gummy bear. The 12 week ultrasound I cried, because he now has a little face with a nose, fingers, toes and all. He's also quite the wiggle bear! He was flip-flopping throughout the entire ultrasound and kicking and suckling on his thumb. Ah! I think, based on his side profile, that he'll look just like my husband, but we'll see! We won't know for sure until he's a few months old, but he's going to be so stinkin cute!!! 

All in all, as hard as the first trimester was for me, it has been so worth it for my little boy and the day I get to meet him. Jacob and I are beyond thrilled to start this new chapter together and it’s going to be so much fun getting to bring you along with us!

Tootles!

Izzy