Today is the last day of the first trimester. We pray every night and thank the Lord that we are here. Everyday is a miracle and a day to celebrate. We saw our little one again on the ultrasound (we were just going to have a doppler check the heart rate but they couldn't hear anything - scariest moment ever - the ultrasound found him though) and I couldn't help but just start crying. Happy tears. So many happy tears. He is looking more and more like a little person and I can't believe how much has already developed in his little body.
Every week we look at the progress of whats happening in baby's body and mine. I can't stop saying how much of a miracle this is. It's amazing and completely unbelievable what needs to happen for this little one to grow and be.
I've had the joy of having a very manageable first trimester. Morning sickness happens and started pretty early on. The first day I felt "sick" was at work. I had made ramen the night before and ate a good amount of it. The next day I just felt weird. I couldn't think of eating any more soup and all I craved were sweet things. I drank 3 cranberry juices from the patient's fridge and ate all the fruit I had. On the way home I had to stop and get some strawberries, whipped cream, and shortcake. I ate almost the whole thing. I realized if I was pregnant it would be late enough for a test to come back positive. While I was buying all those sweets I bought a home pregnancy test. The next day, + . I crawled back to bed and told Cory we're pregnant. Over the next week I noticed my "sugar cravings" were actually aversions to a lot of food. The nausea started and came and went throughout the day. Not just in the morning, but in the evening as well. This first few weeks I ate a lot of fruit, bagels, and lasagna. Pretty much all of that on repeat. Around week 10 I noticed the aversions slowly were going away and I was able to open up my diet a little more. I gave myself grace and tried eating something good (fruit and vegetable) at least once a day. I never actually threw up and only lost 5 lbs during this trimester.
Besides the nausea/food aversions the fatigue was real. People tell you it comes but I didn't expect to the extent it hit me. Everyday I was off I would take at least a two hour nap. Not like me at all. I realized my body was going through a big change and I took a lot of breaks and slowed my pace. Overall though, this first trimester has been wonderful. The first times we saw him on the ultrasound; the talks on names; designing and starting to renovate the nursery; these firsts have been so incredibly special.
I want to make sure I can look back at this pregnancy and remember how I looked and felt. I want this time to be remembered because it is so very much cherished right now.
My must have/tips for the first trimester:
1. A good water bottle / tea you like: keeping hydrated can be a challenge in the first few months. I made sure to get in my fluids in more creative ways. Drinking water extra cold or really warm helped. Drinking tea helped as well. Just make sure those teas are pregnancy safe.
2. Jolly Ranchers / the nausea will hit you at the most inconvenient times. Driving home I would start getting nauseous and would pop in a jolly rancher. Having something to suck on relieved a lot of that nausea until you can eat.
3. Eat frequently but not a lot / I noticed that having an empty stomach triggered a lot of the nausea. Eat small things until you feel that nausea subside a little and stop. Being too full is incredibly uncomfortable.
4. Sleep when you can / just lay down and see if your body falls asleep. If you do, you'll be happy you slowed down and let your body do what it needed to.
5. Be joyful / there is no reason to let the worry feelings overtake you. Tell your friends and family, celebrate and be happy. This time is supposed to be joyful and don't let any negative thoughts consume you.
Very thankful for this pregnancy. This time is magical and should only be celebrated. Looking forward to the next few months.
xo / leah
