I documented my 1ST TRIMESTER of PREGNANCY

WEEK 2

I am not sure how this is possible. I knew I was pregnant in my second week of pregnancy. I didn’t realize how early I was until after my first doctors appointment where I was told my due date and where I was in my pregnancy at that time. It started with sore boobs and light cramping before my first missed period. I continued to second guess myself until two days after my cycle was supposed to begin. On February 18th I had very light spotting around 3 or 4pm while still at work. It was a Friday afternoon and I began to freak. The last time I had light spotting and not a full period, I miscarried. Sometime during the night I felt so much peace and an overwhelming feeling that I am Pregnant and everything is going to be okay. I had no proof of this, other than my sore boobs, dark and enlarged areolas, a seemingly missed cycle, and light spotting. I was so excited about this weird revelation of a feeling that I told Brandon the following day. I made some joke about eight months from now and he went upstairs to check for pregnancy test. Obviously there weren’t any seeing as I wanted to wait as long as possible before having tangible proof. I wanted to leave my first doctors visit with an answer. Brandon was a bit skeptical at first but came around to the idea as time went on and my symptoms became more prominent.

WEEK 3&4

As my Pregnancy progressed I started to feel small amounts of nausea here and there and I became exhausted so easily. Just walking up and down the stairs in my home was having me stopping to catch my breath. These were symptoms I had never felt before. In my last two pregnancies I never made it this far. Not in weeks or days, but in symptoms pointing to a healthy pregnancy. I continued to feel adamant about my feeling of pregnancy and knowing that God had given me that feeling. I started to associate the vivid dreams I had been having as another symptom of Pregnancy and my continuous sore boobs that had become relentless.

WEEK 5&6

March 6th (5weeks & 5days) we finally had proof. Three positive pregnancy tests, my symptoms, and my HCG levels. Before testing I made sure to call the doctor to get an appointment on the date Brandon and I hoped for. I was asked to come in for blood work on Wednesday, March 2nd and Friday, March 4th to test for HCG to determine if it is a healthy pregnancy. March 7th the doctor called with my results. As of Wednesday my HCG was at a 7,000 and expanded to 12,000 by Friday. Which is inline with a healthy pregnancy. Something I have never had before.

I have become more and more nauseous lately, something that I have been struggling with because Nausea for me is the worst illness I could ever have. My boobs are still relentless, swollen and sore to the touch. I can barely keep my eyes open at work and I yawn at least three times an hour. I was sick at night a lot and I have now determined it was the cause of overeating. The nausea is now rearing its ugly head in the morning, I wake up I am okay until I start moving around . I first associated it with my new prenatal and then realized it is just pregnancy. Not having any food in my system since the night prior. My stomach is empty and the baby knows it! Another thing I struggle with. I am not a morning person and hardly ever eat breakfast. I had stomach aches if I ate right after waking up and I have always been a meal person and not a very big snacker. My Mother-in-Law thinks that I am having a boy, one reason being boys run in the family and the most resent because I said I was more sick at night than in the morning, just like she was with Brandon. I am still always tired and all I want to do is lay in bed and do nothing. Thank God for my amazing Husband. He has been picking up my slack around the house and catering to me. I really love this attention and excited for the next seven months of it.

One week from today (March 9th) I will get to see my baby for the first time. I thought that I would be 8 weeks and 6 days. Going off of the dates calculated from the first day of my last cycle. One thing I am a little disappointed about is that the doctors office I go to only do internal ultrasounds during the first trimester. I never wanted that again. I have had so many bad experiences coming out of those that I wanted to wait for as long as I could as to avoid this. Brandon won’t be aloud in the room, another thing I wanted to avoid. He will, however, be aloud back into the normal exam room after the ultrasound. Another thing I am scared of, not being able or aloud to hear the heartbeat. The main reason for waiting so long to test and have medical proof. I do not want to leave that appointment without hearing my babies heartbeat. I don’t know what is going to happen and I am trying my best to put it all in God’s hands. I am asking for peace in the situation and knowing he will carry me through whatever comes.

WEEK 7

I keep checking for blood every time I go the bathroom. The further I get into my Pregnancy the more nervous I become. If my pregnancy is in line with the first day of last cycle calculations… I made it to 8 weeks. A point I have never made it to before. I have been cramping off and on for a few days now. It is hard to tell if they are “bathroom” cramps or menstrual cramps. It scares me because what if those cramps are a sign that I am going to loose the baby. Or it could just be nothing and only cramps letting me know that I am more constipated than usual. I know it is definitely something I will be bringing up to my doctor at the appointment next week. I haven’t told Brandon yet, I don’t want him to worry. I have had this feeling since the day I knew I was pregnant. Like everything is going to be okay and this baby is meant to be here on earth with us. Sometimes I let my fear overshadow that feeling. When I feel a cramp come on, that could literally be gas, my mind retorts back to the negative. I haven’t documented this pregnancy much through photos and videos. At least not as much as I had in the past. Some of it comes from fear, some of it comes from the fact that I don’t know how far along I am from a medical standpoint. I told Brandon to take an eight week bump photo last night just in case. I know that I would have regretted it if I hadn’t. I am hoping after next weeks appointment I will have peace of mind. I am always second guessing my feeling. I have been praying about it. To find peace with it and find strength to only allow positivity. I know it will be an internal battle with myself for my entire pregnancy. I found out that March is Pregnancy after Loss awareness month. I think it is pretty cool that we officially found out we are pregnant again after consecutive losses during this time. I shared some resources for woman going through this on my socials and I am currently living it, the world just doesn’t know yet.

So I was playing GTA5 on Brandon’s PS4 the other day and I love to steal cars and just ride around. I stole this one car and Mexican music was playing and all of a sudden I wanted a chicken quesadilla! Like nothing but Pregnancy right? I really wanted some Mexican food, I dreamed about it that night. A few new symptoms have risen such as gas, white discharge, and more constipation. That part really sucks. I finally told Brandon about the cramping and he of course googled it and come to find out it is because my uterus is expanding. It seems to be a normal 1st trimester symptom, but I am still going to bring it up to my doctor at tomorrows appointment.

Today is the day, I woke up feeling okay and then as I was taking my prenatal my mind was becoming my enemy. I upchucked my pill and had to take it twice, this put way to much water in my stomach which left me bloated and nauseas. I started to let the anxiety of today get to me. I started crying right as we were opening because I was extremely nauseous, a feeling that has been relentless for weeks and my fear of what I might find out at the appointment later. My nerves were definitely making everything worse. I had nothing that showed me this pregnancy wasn’t healthy. It was all in my head. The PTSD from my past losses and the bad experience at every OB appointment. My coworker gave me a much needed pep talk and I managed to get through the rest of the day. Brandon picked me up from work and we headed to the Doctor's office where my Father in Law surprised us. It was all about to become real. Yes, we had positive tests and all of my symptoms, but now we were finding out how real this baby is going to be. I was called to the back where an internal ultrasound was preformed. My fourth internal ultrasound. The exam took about six minutes and I remember laying there listening to the rain beating against the roof and feeling numb at first and then nervous. When she finally spoke and said,

“I only see one and I do see a heartbeat.”

I instantly felt relieved and started to silently cry on the table.

“The heartrate is 161.”

I sniffled and she asked if I was okay, I replied in chocked tears, “Ya, I've just never had a heartbeat before.”

She then moved the screen into my view and showed me, “this is the bottom to the top of the head. That’s the heart flutter right there. This circle right here is the yolk sac. It’s what helps nourish the baby. Once the placenta develops it’ll just go away.”

I was in awwwee and can still and always will remember seeing my tiny babies heart fluttering on that screen. She reminded me that my doctor would be giving me a due date today and I made sure to ask if I was getting photos of my baby to take home. For the first time ever I have photos, and ultrasound with my name and my baby. I went out to the waiting room with a red face and new tears stinging at my eyes, “There is a heartbeat!” I said while handing Brandon the photos of our little tiny human. We were taken back to a room a few moments later where I gave a urine sample and was swabbed by my doctor in my lady area to check for any anomalies. She answered all of my questions about weird symptoms like the cramping and the fact my #2 in the bathroom began to be really dark and have a green tint to it. Something my doctor assumes is a side effect of my prenatal. She told me she wants to put me on Progesterone Suppository’s for the next 4 weeks given my history with losses. We want to help continue in making this pregnancy as healthy as possible. Noe that there is a heartbeat the chance of miscarriage has gone down to 10% which gave me more relief than I expected. I was honestly happy that we have a heartbeat and wasn’t thinking of much else. The most surprising thing I was told at my first appointment was how far along I am. I thought I was almost 9 weeks going off of first day of my last cycle, but the baby was only measuring 7 weeks and 3 days which puts my due date at October 30th and 10 days earlier than I originally thought. There is a chance my due date could change, but as of now I had my first pregnancy symptom one week after conception and I overwhelmingly knew at two weeks. I was offered to go ahead and give what blood I could for where I was in my pregnancy to test for things such as sexually transmitted diseases and certain levels of pregnancy related enzymes. I gave 5 viles of blood which Brandon and the doctor where unsure of if I was prepared for that day. Honestly giving blood has never bothered me, it doesn’t hurt. Receiving shots is what I hate, that crap hurts. At my following appointment on April 19th, I will be 12 weeks and 2 days. There I will be able to give the rest of the blood needed in the first trimester. This checks for genetic disorders and also the sex of my baby!

I spent most of the night staring at the ultrasound photos of my baby. I am so happy and excited for this life and thank God for this beautiful baby he sent to me.

WEEK 8

This week started out rough, Monday morning I came into work a few hours late because I could not get out of bed. The night before I had barely eaten any dinner and had practically nothing in my stomach when I went to bed. Around 2am I awoke and sat straight up in bed breathing in and out because a wave of nausea overtook me. After awhile I was able to fall back asleep while still sitting straight up. When my alarm went off, signaling me to get ready for work, the nausea was already back. My husband got home about 40 minutes later and brought me some crackers that took me forever to get 4 down. I finally was able to get up and get dressed and made myself a frozen meal just to get something sustainable in my body. I was only able to get half of it down within an hour. It was like my body needed food, but wouldn’t let me eat it. That afternoon I felt a lot better and the extent of the nausea hasn’t been that intense since.

The rest of the week has been filled with exhaustion, more than usual. Of course a lot of nausea in the morning which for the most part dissipates in the afternoon. A big lunch always fills up what I was missing from he morning. Wednesday and Thursday I was unable to take my prenatal in the morning because I felt to bloated and felt as if I couldn’t swallow the pill. Friday morning I felt better than I had in days. Obviously the nausea was still there just less of it. I have been really bloated lately making it look as if I already have a baby bump, but it’s only water and air. I am excited because I planned our Pregnancy Announcement photos to take place on my birthday and my friend has been helping with Gender Reveal prep.

I have been nervous lately because I have never made it this far into my pregnancy before. I know that it is different because I feel different. My symptoms are more intense and the obvious, I am having more of them. Friday morning I woke up and realized I had been laying on my stomach and it kind of freaked me out because your not supposed to. My mind went to a dark place and I had to remind myself of the promise God gave me. I am so happy, but naturally still on the fence about certain things. I plan to call my doctor sometime this coming week and ask about my Progesterone refill, what to expect at my upcoming appointment, and what date we will get our gender results. It is a lot and I am more hopeful than I was. I can’t believe I made it to 8 weeks!

WEEK 9

I did too much this week. My constipation and bloat has become more noticeable to where in my 9 weeks bumpdate I yelled, “I’m fat”. The exhaustion of 9 weeks has been horrible and I find myself trying to remember the good that is coming out of this very hard and draining experience. Over the weekend I pushed myself by staying out all day Saturday, running errands and helping out a friend. Sunday and Monday I felt the repercussion. Tuesday I was late to work because my constipation was so bad that I could not drive due to the sharp cramps I was receiving as an attempt from my body to get “it” out. Wednesday i felt amazing and did not realized that I had pushed myself too far just by doing minimal household chores and reaped the consequences all day Thursday. Friday I had minimal nausea and was able to work through it pretty normally, in the morning my body told me to slow down and I did exactly that.

On a more exciting note Saturday I went looking for my Pregnancy Announcements dress for photos that will be taken this coming Friday which happens to be my Birthday! The first Trimester has definitely been challenging for me and I am grateful for having the symptoms that I do because it keeps negative thoughts at bay. Only two more weeks and I am out of the first trimester and one step closer to bringing home a healthy baby!

WEEK 10

This week has been surprisingly easy compared to the weeks prior. This is one of the few reasons I believe I may be further along than what my doctor says I am measuring. I have had less nausea and less tiredness. Unless I forget to eat I am pretty much good all day. Smells, like my trash can or dog food, have me gagging. I remember I was going to load the dishwasher and start it, but the dishwasher already had dirty dishes in it that had yet to be run through. I opened it and breathed and and immediately made a b line for the next room where I bent down on my knees holding onto a chair with my hand over my mouth. It was awful. I have been trying to take it easy lately which can be a reason for not being tired as often, but I definitely do not have a boost of energy.

My constipation is still pretty bad. I haven’t had much stomach pain, but have not… you know… in days! I have been taking Miralax, but has been difficult to get down. I can barley drink apple juice anymore and you can taste it in water, which is where the gagging comes into play. I am more nauseas when I think or smell something now more than just constantly feeling it. Now it catches me off guard. Still have puked though, that is a plus! I have also noticed acne EVERYWHERE! I have broken out all over my body, on my back, my chest and stomach, face. It is nasty. It isn’t overexaggerate which is good, but definitely a change for me given I have never had bad acne problems in my life. My stomach has continued to be bloated and I wonder if that is just water and constipation or BABY! while taking the upcoming weeks bump pic my friend told me I am starting to round out and it made me so excited! Instead of looking like I am constantly on my period, I am started to look pregnant. Obviously I am not showing much at all and outside eyes may not see a difference, but watching these changes happen to your own body definitely has me seeing baby. I always feel bloated and full, which isn’t painful but uncomfortable for sure. It is normal, but could also can be more noticeable with higher levels of progesterone which my doctor has me on for my first trimester. Just another week and a half and I will no longer have to put awhile pill up my hoo-ha.

My Birthday went pretty good. It was definitely the most low key and relaxing Birthday I have ever had. I woke up around 7am. because of some tummy troubles and then started to get ready for the Pregnancy Announcement photos being taken by my childhood bestfriend that morning. Brandon came home and surprised me with flowers and a new Pandora charm for our third pregnancy. He said because we have two for our angels he wanted to get one for our heartbeat. The photos went well, but the wind was atrocious and it was freezing. It was a beautiful day with the sun out, but the wind and the sun shining so bright had us resorting to shaded areas instead of the open field that I had envisioned. This day also happened to be the first day of the week that I was actually really tired. So after our photos and an amazing lunch at red robins Brandon and I enjoyed a nice three hour nap! It definitely gave me the rest I needed and gave me the energy to enjoy a Birthday dinner with my family. I think I may have eaten too much throughout the day because by the time we got home and laid down, my stomach was so full and bloated that I thought I was going to blow!

WEEK 11

I am so freaking happy to be nearing the end of my FIRST TRIMESTER! The stage of pregnancy where loss is the most common. I am definitely ready to be in the Trimester everyone says is the easiest. I am more than ready to feel normal again after feeling so off over the past two months, but I know it is all a blessing! I have for sure rounded out! It is going to be so weird having a big belly considering I have been a small person my entire life, but I am definitely looking forward to it. Mostly being able to feel my baby move! Although the 11 week of Pregnancy has definitely been the week I have felt the most normal out of all of them. Less nausea, little tiredness, and not as much bloat. My constipation is still pretty bad, but I honestly don’t think that is going to change. Friday was my hardest day! I was more nauseous than I had been in weeks in the morning and around 2pm I hit a wall. Given we were really short handed at work and were extremely busy! I also took my last Progesterone pill this week, that was also a big milestone. I am grateful my OB felt it necessary to put me on this given my history because it gave me peace of mind knowing I was able to do something to help my Pregnancy in the best way.

My friend sent me the Pregnancy Announcement photos this week and I am so freaking excited to finally tell the world BABY C is real! We have come such a long way and I am so happy to be here for the first time ever. We also started actually planning the Gender Reveal party over the weekend and it is definitely a little overwhelming and nerve racking given I am not my full self when it comes to party planning given the pregnancy. I know it will be all worth it in the end though!

WEEK 12

OH MY GOODNESS! The beginning of this week was brutal! Sunday evening we had Easter Dinner at my Grand-in-laws, as we were getting ready to pack up and leave my stomach started to hurt. It was strong sharp cramps that I knew without a doubt was my body telling me I need to go to the bathroom. We finished up at their house and dropped off our tax envelopes at the post office. By the time we got home my stomach had been hurting for 40 minutes and I thought it was about time for the “happening”. I was sooo wrong! I was in the bathroom off and on trying to relieve myself from 8 until 11 at night. At this point I was so over it and decided I would try and get some sleep. I laid down for maybe 5 minutes when my feet and hands started to intensively itch. To the point my skin was burning! I went to the bathroom and checked myself for red bumps or a rash. I thought I noticed something, but I wasn’t sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or if it was just from scratching. I tried to wake Brandon, but he was dead to the world, he told me it was nothing and rolled over. The next morning he didn’t even remember that. I tried to lay back down, but every time I moved an inch either my stomach would hurt or the inching would be really intense. I got up again and soaked my hands and feet in hot water for a few and then laid down again. When my alarm went off in the morning I immediately texted my boss and told him I was not coming in. I was still a little itchy, it just wasn’t as intense as the night before. I got up and tried once again to go to the bathroom. The pain was so intense that I had to move my leg or claw at something while breathing through the pain. This is nothing new for me, but the fact it had lasted for 8 hours almost non stop was excruciating. I was tried and just over it. Brandon awoke and inspected my skin, but honestly neither one of us saw a thing. I was so confused and scared because I had know idea what was going on. I freaked and I started crying, I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and just not okay. Brandon told me to get in the shower and wash off. He left for work and also to pick me up some Benadryl and calamine lotion. Washing the last bit of conditioner out of my hair I felt it. I was finally going to be able to relieve myself. After this i called my mom to ask about the itching and she relayed to me that as a young child I used to get unexplained rashes all the time. I still have know idea what caused this, but I am glad that it is over. I have a good feeling I am going to be just fine during labor because the pain I have handled my entire life is very similar to birthing pains, at least I am somewhat prepared. Brandon got home and I ate I tried to get something my system. After everything I was now physically and mentally drained as well as nauseas due to an empty stomach. I took some Benadryl and slept from 10am until 3pm. MONDAY was ROUGH!

Tuesday I had my 12 week appointment with my OB! I have been anticipating this appointment for weeks. I finally got to hear my babies heartbeat for the first time! The office was moving pretty fast because I was called back 15 minutes before the time my appointment was set for and left just 8 minutes after my appointment was supposed to begin. My doctor asked me if there had been any changes or concerns throughout the past 4 weeks and made sure I was okay. I mentioned the constipation and she gave me some options like medimusal and gummy prenatals for now because they do not have iron in them. My favorite part came next, the doppler. She said it may take a second to find the heartbeat since it was still early, but it only took her 47 seconds. I know this because I was recording for Brandon because he was not able to be there. It was the most beautiful sound. The heartrate was ranging from 170 to 175. A very fast and strong heartbeat! She found the mesmerizing sound 3 times and lost it just as much because the baby was moving so much! which is so weird to think about but makes me even more excited for the day I will be able to feel him or her. After this she answered all of my questions and I left. I sat in my car and listened to the sound of my baby for a while and sent the video to a few people. I then finally announced my pregnancy to the world! Or at least social media. I felt like I had been hiding this secret forever and so relieved to finally share it. We waited until after we heard BABY C, wanting to take extra precaution given my history. I called Brandon and told him everything including the COVID 19 restrictions almost being lifted, meaning he will be able to join me for all appointments now. That is definitely a relief.. The next morning I went back to the OB office to get my blood drawn for the NIPT test. This tests the babies Genetics for things like down Syndrome. This test will also tell me what my babies gender is! (The phlebotomist was out the day before so I came back Wednesday morning before work.)

Those are the most exciting and weird happenings of the week. My stomach has been pretty sensitive all week and I have been eating small amounts of food instead of a meal. I had a mix of pain and relief in the last week of my 1st Trimester. I cannot believe I am officially out of the 1st and what most people find to be the hardest trimester of pregnancy. I have gotten further than I ever could have imagined a year ago and so excited for the rest of this journey. BABY C you are so loved and we are all so ready to meet you, after you cook for 6 more months of course.

WEEK 13

The Pregnancy headaches have finally made their appearance. It seems as if every Sunday evening I start feeling bad. This last for a few days and then I am typically okay up until the next weekend. Unfortunately that has not been the case this week. Sunday night a mild migraine crept up on me and Monday morning it had dissipated. Monday afternoon the pain behind my eyes reappeared so I went home and took a nap. This did not take the migraine away so I ate a little something, finished up the chores that I needed to get done, and went back to bed. Tuesday the pain was very subtle in only my left eye. Wednesday was my only really good day! I went for a walk for the 1st time in a month, I did chores around my house that I would have normally done in the past with no breaks, and I cooked dinner. The middle of the week was awesome, I felt like myself. Unfortunately it was short lived, Thursday afternoon my head began to pound once again. It was not too bad so I was able to such it up and go to the car wash like I planned, but after showering I hit a wall. My head did not let up all night and fell asleep with a cool rag across my forehead.

Thursday is also the 1st day I saw a real change in my body. As I was getting undressed to step in the shower I noticed my growing stomach and realized I have never been this big before. It was a weird feeling, but a good one. I was excited to wear tighter clothing Friday and show off the growing and now much rounded bump!

I was wrong last week about my 1st Trimester being over, apparently the first day of 14 weeks is the start of your second trimester. Not the last day of your 12th week. But that is okay because I am now officially put of my first trimester and over that hurdle. I am very freaking excited to see what this trimester has in store for me including our Gender reveal in just two weeks! I cannot believe we will know what BABY C is so soon.

BE SURE TO CHECK BACK AT THE END OF MY SECOND TRIMESTER FOR A DETAILED RECAP!