Just in case anyone wanted to know the nitty gritty on my first trimester of pregnancy I recorded the "highlights" for prosperity. This post was written in real time as it was all happening - posted now after surviving it all!
The cliff notes version: Found out I was pregnant. Lots of giddiness ensued. Followed by seemingly never ending fatigue and nausea. No vomiting (thanks to a very handy prescription from my lovely OB). The end.
For those that need more details read on...
We had a play date scheduled for mid morning. But I was crabby and not wanting to be social so I did the logical mom thing...I locked myself in my bathroom. And took a pregnancy test. To hopefully cheer myself up. (Admittedly this was a bad plan as the previous four months the results had always been a downer AND it was technically too early to test, like 4 days early). But I figured if the test didn't cheer me up I would paint my nails....
No nail polish necessary. I was instantly in a better mood! But not sure how to tell Joe....
May 30 - Finally Friday! Meaning Joe came home for the weekend!! Somehow I managed to NOT tell Joe the news via text or phone conversation while he was gone. (A miracle!) I was planning on waiting until after the kids were in bed to tell but I just couldn't wait! During the tail-end of dinner I was washing dishes and chatting with Joe, who was still at the table supervising the kids dinner. We were talking about next year (his last school year!!!!) and specifically about his schedule next winter/spring. I couldn't contain my excitement any longer. So in code I announced this pregnancy to him. It took him a while to get it, but once he did he was all smiles. (I wish I had a picture)
This one will have to do. Us on a walk later that evening...as I was already trying to pester him about baby names. His least favorite activity:)
Later that evening after the kids were in bed I was still talking incessantly about THE BABY! I started a sentence with "I have never had a winter baby. I just know I am going to be worried because winter babies are more likely..." And Joe completed my sentence with "be psychzophrenic as adults"! Um no. No. No. No. Not at all what I was going to say. And thank you for adding another item to my already mile-long baby related list of worries!
May 31 - Charlotte introduced me to her baby doll..."Mommy this is Leah. She's my baby. She is sleeping. In her jammies. She really likes sleep. She sleeps a lot. But not as much as you. I don't think anyone sleeps as much as you." Ha! I am SO SO SO tired these days. Growing a baby is exhausting. Seriously if you could hear my inner dialogue, 90% of the time it would sound like this, "I am tired."
June 1 - Speaking of being tired. Today in church there was a brand new baby a couple rows ahead of us. Typically when I see a baby I am instantly smitten. Today however all I could think about was how exhausting birthing and taking care of a baby is. Instead of oohing and aahing, all I could think was how I was too tired to do that again.
[INSERT weeks of packing, moving, traveling, unpacking HERE.]
June 26 - I have entered the less-than-delightful stage of pregnancy in which I constantly feel nauseous. Thankfully I have not thrown up...yet. But opening the fridge, chewing & swallowing, or looking into the garbage can all bring me to the brink of losing my lunch. At least now I am not obsessively worried that something is wrong because I feel too good for early pregnancy!
July 6 - I am absolutely worthless these days. I am either nauseous or tired. Many times both. I constantly have a grimace on my face because that's just how I feel. We went for a walk tonight as a family. I made it a few blocks and then I stopped. I just couldn't go any further. I layed down on the grass and told Joe and the kids to loop back and get me when it was time to head home. On our walk home Joe informed me that I need to start talking pictures. Lots of pictures. Otherwise I won't remember these days with my kids. He's probably right. But that sounds like a lot of work and energy I don't have! This pregnancy is kicking my butt...not sure if it's because I am in my thirties now or the fact that I have three children to take care of...either way I am grimacing my way through it and hoping we all make it to the other end mostly unscathed.
July 11 - Apparently I woke up looking like this today...
Eek! I will be 10 weeks tomorrow. Way to early to be popping. I think it's just bloating and constipation (sorry TMI) or the shirt. But I guess time will tell.
July 17 - Poor baby #4. This is what I am sustaining us on each day...
Pepsi, tomato soup and rice. Plus a bagel in the morning and yogurt + granola before bed. It's amazing that babies can grow and develop on so little. Thanks to my ZOFRAN I am able to keep my prenatal vitamin down. So that's a bonus. Things I absolutely can not eat these days include: meat (especially if I cooked it), bread, tortilla shells, cheese, peanut butter, nuts and sadly pasta.
July 20 - My sweet cousin asked me (via text) the other day how I was feeling. So I sent her this picture...
Because this about sums it up. All day, every day. And due to my pathetic state my children spend far too much time doing this...
Snacking and watching movies. Much to their delight and my dismay. In fact that is what they are currently doing as their dad is in ER today. I am contemplating making just-add-water-pancakes for dinner again. How many times per week are pancakes an acceptable dinner?!?
July 30 - Major breakthrough on the nausea front! Tonight I was craving steak. So much so I cooked steak and ate it! It has been many weeks since I have wanted to eat meat and it has been the rarest of times I have been able to cook meat during this trimester and most of the time after I cooked the meat I could NOT eat it. But tonight I ate steak. Steak that I cooked! However later in the night the sound of Joe eating grapes had me running to the bathroom gagging. One step forward, two steps back. Such is the pregnant life.
July 31 - I wore a bikini to the beach. Never before have I worn a bikini while pregnant. Joe said I looked nice. Joe also said they wouldn't need a lighthouse because they could just use my glowing white abdomen instead...
He had a point. But really, that skin hasn't seen sun in a loooong time. I don't think it can ever catch up again.
August 3 - We finally FINALLY told the kids about this pregnancy! It was getting kind of obvious (see picture above) plus I am 13 weeks. So it only seemed logical to clue them in. (I had been very hesitant before this point because I really didn't want to have to explain a miscarriage. Plus despite everything seeming to be going along normally pregnancy-wise, I haven't been to the OB since I was a mere 5 weeks so it's hard to feel confident that everything is good.) In my mind I had all these grand plans for how we would tell the kids. Scavenger hunts and secret messages. In reality it was just is sitting around the dinner table. Joe told the kids we had a surprise for them. Charlotte guessed candy. Isaiah guessed a new toy. Hannah guessed bubbles. They all seemed pretty excited by the news that the surprise is a new baby. Although they unanimously voted for a boy baby:)
August 6 - I sent my sister this text last night as I was writhing in bed with a migraine trying NOT to vomit (despite having taken my anti-nausea medication)...
And on that lovely note. Goodbye first trimester! I hope to NEVER make your acquaintance again. It's been a trip. I will not miss you constant nausea and fatigue.
Hello second trimester (and hopefully the return of my energy)! It's gonna be good. I just know it.
This is the first time my texts have come back to haunt me :). Did you save it as a reminder for you?
ReplyDeleteAnd here I thought you would mention my glowing white belly:) Joe says texting with me is a dangerous activity...you never know when it will come back to haunt you!
Delete