I’m through the first trimester! While some say it ends at 12 weeks, others 13, and still others are very technical and say 13w3d, at 13 weeks, developmentally our baby is 1/3 of the way to being fully cooked.
Overall when I reflect on the past few months, I would give the experience a B, or maybe B+. I really didn’t suffer too much morning sickness – just a few weeks of feeling yucky – but that cleared up around week 8. The fatigue on the other hand was profound at times and my overall energy level has been very…un-Jenn. Being so sick for 2 weeks didn’t help things – that whole time feels like a blur. I still don’t feel totally normal, but I feel a little more awake now. I’d say the other other big symptom I experienced was just feeling a lot of crampiness for most of the first trimester – period-like cramps often, especially in the early weeks and up to week 10 or so.
As far as my health overall, I gained about 1-2 pounds, which technically I shouldn’t have gained any, but still I’m not unhappy with that. My eating has been decent, fortunately I’ve not had mass cravings for junk food – my biggest cravings were red meat in the earliest weeks, and lots of oranges in the later weeks. I’ve not dieted or counted calories or tracked food, though I’d planned to. Instead, I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full. Not rocket science, but somehow this approach has felt much more effortless pregnant than it did before. I am just now starting to get heartburn even after eating a reasonable amount of healthy food. Bummer. I’ve had to eschew hot sauce and am now being more conscious about eating acidic foods, especially without a buffer of some sort.
My right hip sciatica was there before, so it’s just ebbing and flowing for now but sometimes it really hurts and makes it hard to want to exercise. That said, outside of my head cold/ear infection time, I’ve been getting 2-3 lake walks in a week and will resume prenatal yoga shortly. I had been in a good rhythm before getting sick. I also want to get back to the gym second trimester, just some 30-minute bike rides and some weights/squats, etc. to help me be strong for labor. I’m having moments now of feeling like myself energy-wise, so I hope (hope hope!) this is a sign that I’ll have that energetic, great-feeling second tri everyone talks about.
My body has changed for sure, my belly feels really full and looks pretty big from my vantage point. I think all of the excess space in there has been filled out and now things are starting to grow. I wouldn’t say I’m showing in the sense that anyone would know I’m pregnant, but I can certainly tell, as can Jill. I still struggle a bit with feeling/looking fat, and this is mostly old stuff for me and my history around weight issues. So far reminding myself of this fact has helped me feel ok about it and not go down any rat holes of struggle in that department. I know the weight gain is necessary and for a good cause 🙂 – it’s still hard, but manageable. Lately I’ve been having a breakfast sandwich (made at home with eggs from our hens), second breakfast around 10ish (yogurt, fruit), lunch varies but I’ll admit usually involves carbs in a way I would not have before, afternoon snack is usually small (pretzels, an orange, nuts, etc.) and dinner is usually some sort of meat and veggies. I’ve had some sweets but nothing off the hook – a few bites of fruit crisp or a square of chocolate. And, the new heartburn symptom is helping to keep quantities in check.
Jill was especially thrilled to find out the sex of the baby! Knowing he’s a ‘he’ has been a big shift for us in that it’s just made the whole thing so much more real. She certainly takes good care of me, understands when I’m not 100% Jenn, and checks in on “how is the baby today?” a lot. She has loved “pregnant Jenn” in that I like to have lie-downs, take naps and go to bed early. If you know Jill, this makes sense. She loves to be horizontal and will tell you so. She’s going to be a great mom, and already we went to Goodwill and she got him some very cute outfits. I feel like we love each other more than ever, and we’re just falling over ourselves being crazy in love with our little baby together. It’s an exciting time for us as a couple no doubt!
Babykins himself is doing well as far as I can tell. I have briefly found his heartbeat with our at-home fetal doppler, but it’s not consistent or easy to find. I just check in now and then. I refuse to worry when I can’t find it. All of the early testing we did came back without issues – so we know many chromosomal defects have been ruled out which is great. Knowing that he is getting good prenatal care, and that I am working hard at having a very healthy pregnancy makes me feel pretty confident in him coming out a very healthy baby. It’s nice to have the peace of mind. It’ll be so great to feel him moving and especially when Jill can feel him!
Meanwhile, we are working on names and starting to ponder the nursery theme. I’m totally overwhelmed by the baby stuff out there – so we haven’t built a list of wants/needs yet, but we are keeping an eye on Craigslist for a few things and otherwise we’ll get this done in the 2nd tri. I’ve also amassed a small group of pregnant friends via online, two of Jill’s peeps, and a former coworker. So, I’m hoping to leverage some of their research too :). I wish I could hire a consultant to just tell me which stroller, carseat, etc. to buy.
Well first trimester, that’s a wrap! On to Babykins Trimester 2!
Babykins! 