PREGNANT | 13 weeks

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Where to begin.

I guess a good place to start is to announce that we’re expecting a new addition to our family May 2018! And by addition I mean baby. We’re expecting a baby! (;

It’s been a whirlwind of emotions, but using this blog as my pregnancy journal has been really nice to remember it all. Moving forward I want to do weekly updates, but for now I’m going to do a quick 4-13 week update!

How I found out: I didn’t have a ton of suspicions leading up to it. When I was hanging out with some sisters we got on the topic of babies (which happens a lot ;)) and I casually mentioned a couple of things going on. They couldn’t believe I hadn’t tested yet and this led to an impromptu trip to Walmart to buy some tests. When a positive line came back I couldn’t believe it. Not even the second time either haha. I took a digital test with Titus a week later, and when “pregnant” on the screen came back (and when my doctor confirmed it) it finally started to sink in.

How I told Titus: Didn’t do anything special or cute here. It was a lot to take in on my own, so I just came right out and told him.

His reaction: “I’ve never been more excited about anything ever in my entire lifetime. I wanted to shout from the rooftops we were pregnant. I spent the day convincing her to talk to me about it because that’s all I could think about and I daydreamed about what being a dad would be like. I spend every day/week/waking moment being excited about the fact that we’re going to bring another life into this world!”

Miss anything: I was not even a big wine drinker to begin with, but lately I’ve been missing a nice glass of moscato. Maybe it’s one of those you want what you can’t have 😉 I also miss pickle rolls with sandwich meat, scalding baths (yes that’s how I like it), and runny eggs. Weeks 5-7 I missed feeling like myself. I didn’t feel normal and I didn’t get excited about things I’d normally get excited about. Thankfully now in week 13 I feel a little bit more like myself, but I still have my moments and I miss having energy.

Food cravings: What sounds good to me and what doesn’t can literally change by the day or hour. I haven’t had any weird cravings though (like pickles and ice cream), something just needs to sound good to me if I’m going to eat it or not. Some days all I could eat were cereal and crackers and then some days I felt like I was eating for two (even though you’re technically not supposed to!) I established a pretty good healthy lifestyle before pregnancy, so I just tried to be extra disciplined in eating right when I was feeling extra hungry. But let’s be real that didn’t always happen, because ice cream, burgers, and sweets! Now in week 13 my appetite is pretty much back to normal and I can eat whatever.

Food aversion: Pre-pregnancy I would have a cup of black coffee every morning and even though I still like the smell, the thought of it doesn’t even sound good to me. But every once in a while I indulge in a yummy coffee latte and those are so good to me!

Mood: Mood has changed a lot over these weeks from feeling great and feeling bad and everything in between. In the back of my mind I’m always paranoid that I ate or did the wrong thing. Pregnancy is pretty restricting at times and that’s hard to get used to. Even though I’ve had my own sick and sad moments, I’m reminded of some women that have it way worse than me. This has helped me to feel thankful about my own experience.

Sleep: Thankfully sleep has not been a big issue for me. Even when I nap during the day I manage to still fall asleep early and get decent sleep. I’m not going to tell you how many hours I get so don’t ask! 😉

Queasy or sick: Even though I have my sick moments here and there, weeks 5-7 were not fun. I felt sick and so tired. I felt like I was napping all the time and my energy level was shot. Just going outside to get the mail was a marathon. “I’m just gonna sit down for a sec” turned into sleeping for a couple hours. I was very happy to start to get my energy back. I did not like feeling like I couldn’t do anything. Currently I’ve been sick for about 3-4 weeks now and whenever I think it’s going to get better, it gets worse. Doctor says it’s bronchitis and there’s just nothing I can do about it. Boo.

Also, my gag reflexes are way more sensitive now. Anything that I sorta didn’t like pre-pregnancy I really didn’t like now.  Thankfully I haven’t thrown up, but everything makes me gag. Walking outside and catching the whiff of a dumpster. Having phlegm in my throat. The smell of a public bathroom. That foamy spit in the sink after brushing your teeth. I need to stop typing this. Feeling that gag coming on now.

Looking forward to: Figuring out the gender and getting my first ultrasound! These both will happen at 20 weeks. Just a couple more months…I can do it…

Best moments: Not pregnancy related but I did my first job with my lifestyle modeling agency when I was 11 weeks preggo and it went super well! I was an extra in a commercial for a new skincare product for Remington. It was a great experience and I was so thankful I had the energy! I didn’t really look anything but bloated, so I just sucked in the whole time and it worked. Hey, working my ab muscles right? 😉

Hearing the heartbeat at our 12 week appointment and having confirmation that yes, there is indeed a baby growing! The heartbeat was 170 BPM. Old wives’ tales say this points to a girl….I wouldn’t be mad 🙂

Recommended weight gain for the first trimester is between 1-4 pounds. I was super happy to see I’ve gained less than a pound! I haven’t been starving myself (by any means), so I was pretty nervous to step on the scale. My goal this pregnancy is just to find a good balance between healthy meals, getting active, and indulging a little 🙂

Worst moments: Weeks 9-10 brought back some of my appetite, but also brought some mood swings and emotional times with it. I felt myself going from fine to irritated in .3 seconds and I had to watch myself on that. Poor hubby got the worst of it. We got takeout from my favorite Mexican restaurant and when I saw they had forgotten the tortillas, I just broke down and cried. Never mind we had tortillas at home, never mind they’re just tortillas, but I cried and cried and it literally almost ruined my day haha.

Week 11 while we were at church singing I almost passed out. All of a sudden I started feeling really hot and dizzy, but I kept trying to stand and sing through it all. But then I started seeing black spots and I was losing my vision. I leaned over to Titus and told him I thought I was about to faint and he made me sit down. Smart man 😉 I wasn’t hungry or dehydrated so it was just a strange and not fun experience overall.

Meditating on: At church we had a baby dedication where the parents dedicate their babies to God, the church, and vow to raise them in a righteous manner. One of the questions that was asked was, “Do you receive this child with gratitude, as a gift from God?” That really stuck with me. My child is not an inconvenience. Not someone that sucks my energy and makes me feel sick. But my child is a gift and should be received with the utmost thankfulness.

Titus’ quotes/ stories/ thoughts: “Something that keeps surprising me is the baby bump. Bloating will set in and you think it’s a baby bump, but then the next morning it’s gone. It goes back and forth and it’s an emotional roller coaster!

“I didn’t realize that hearing a tiny heartbeat through a machine would make me feel such love for someone I’ve never met before.”

“A nice surprise is that Carolyn was not as sick as I thought she’d be, but at the same time I didn’t think she’d be as tired either. The symptoms were not what I was expecting.”

“The hormones are tricky to deal with. We’ll be laughing and joking, then she’ll be really angry with me, then we’ll be laughing again. It’s hard for me to keep up sometimes.”

“I didn’t realize it’d actually be kind of boring. I thought there’d be a flurry of things to do until the baby comes, but it’s a lot of sitting around and waiting for doctor appointments.”

“I also didn’t realize how much I’d think about it. All day I walk around and think if my house is okay for baby, how we’d deal with certain situations, etc. It really takes up a lot of my thoughts.”

“If I were to sum up the past 13 weeks I’d say it was very unexpected. Her pregnancy has been way different than many pregnancies I’ve been around. It’s been weird how mature and different I feel already even though you can’t tell there’s anything much different with her. It’s been weird, but very good.”

That’s all for now! Starting with week 14 I hope to do a weekly update and publish it on Saturdays. Stay tuned!

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