Holy. Freaking. Crap. I can't believe we are having a baby! There are about a billion emotions that run through your mind the moment you see that second, ominous line roll in on that pregnancy test. Such as: disbelief, laughter, crying, fear, fulfillment and incredible joy. How do you describe such a full feeling? You can't! I've wanted many things in this life but more than anything I've always wanted to be a Mom -- and from a very young age I always had very maternal instincts (probably why I dabbled in nursing for a couple of years). Having a baby brother that is 13 years younger than you helps too! Needless to say the hormones are now in full swing and I find myself sitting on the couch holding my 'bump' (bloat) and crying a lot of joyful tears. God is so good. I will be posting updates of our baby journey here and all of the awesome and scary details that come along with creating a human inside of you. I am currently 11 weeks & 1 day! Almost out of the first trimester! Whether anyone wants to read this to know what to expect when they're expecting, or if this is simply just a journal of reflection for myself -- either way, I will try to cover all of the bases! I didn't have confirmation of my pregnancy until I was 5 days late! To be honest with you, I just thought my cycle was out of whack because of coming off of the depo-provera shot back in October. It hadn't really been super consistent. We expected it to take about a year to conceive based on other peoples experiences with depo-provera. Starting in January there were months we were actively trying and other months we would give up and relax because of how mentally draining it can be! Wouldn't you know the month we got pregnant was the month we weren't really trying -- which everyone says by the way. They say it because it's true. HA! Within the first 11 weeks these are the symptoms I've experienced: - Tired and needing naps throughout the day - Extreme indigestion and heart burn -- it would just sit up in my chest and never leave me - Dizziness, low blood sugar and headaches - Hunger pains every 2 hours - Fullness of breasts but not too much soreness - Major bloating (started around 7.5 weeks) - Food aversions to some of my favorite meals as well as any meat. - An uneasy feeling in my stomach that lasts most of the day - No vomiting but a loss of 4 pounds due to my food aversions and lack of appetite. - Constipation. Yeah, I only use the bathroom every 3 days. Ask me how I feel about it... Things that have helped me cope with my symptoms: - Tums - Saltine crackers - Snacking consistently between meals on things like - PB & J's, granola bars, grapes, apples & bananas - Peppermints - And unfortunately... CARBS.
Fitness & Nutrition thus far: I've managed to maintain my gym routine in the mornings around 5:00AM, 4 days a week. Just recently I had to start bringing crackers to the gym to leave in a cubby for myself to come back to about halfway through my workout when I'm feeling yuck... yes my friends make fun of me. Doing cardio is spotty for me. I've mostly dumbed it down to fast pace walking at an incline of 3 or 4 to try and make it count. I'm not pushing myself in any areas or looking to make any PR's -- just looking to maintain what I've built thus far in hopes of only adding baby weight -- we'll see if this works out. HA! I'm working on building up my abdominal muscles during the first trimester as well, so I'm trying to get abs in at least 2-3 times a week. This, I've read, will really help with pushing during delivery! Unfortunately there's a misconception about being pregnant and "eating for two." I've had about 20 people tell me to eat twice the helping I normally would just because I'm pregnant. -- Yes, there is a human growing inside of you but you're not supposed to increase your calorie intake until your second trimester. Now, once you have increased your calories, it doesn't mean that your baby who weighs maybe 1.5 ounces, needs an additional jumbo meal from McDonald's or twice the amount of food that an adult sized human needs. Let me just say, however... there was a 3 week stretch from the 7-10 week mark that I felt like complete garbage and I didn't care WHAT I put into my body. I was laid out on the couch in the most pathetic way crying about how I felt so useless. I called this time, 'My Horizontal Life.' Sometimes, all I could eat was fast food and even then it still gave me goosebumps. LISTEN to what you need and by no means cause yourself to be in any pain or additional discomfort for the sake of watching your calories. Seriously, eat what sounds good! If you find that you have no food aversions and you can eat whatever, there's a great chart that I found on What To Expect When You're Expecting(see below,) that is really helpful and gives you a good, healthy breakdown of things you can increase your calorie intake with through all of your trimesters! More updates to come soon! - xx, Katie
2 Comments
Aunt Jan
7/10/2017 06:25:53 pm
OMG! OMG!!!!! I can NOT believe I have NOT heard from your mom or you that you are pregnant!!!!! I am so excited and happy for you sweetheart! I am over here doing flipflops, shouting the glory, singing lullabies OMG!!!! This baby is going to be beautiful!!!!
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Moms
7/27/2017 02:22:02 pm
I just loved reading this and how excited we are for our little grandchild. Don't worry about loosing those 4 pounds - we'll be working up an appetite and gaining 4 (or more) pounds on our trip to NY. Praying that you continue to take such good care of yourself and that God gives you the strength and energy you need daily. Love you BIG TIME!!!!
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