We’re having a girl!! Of course just hoping for a healthy happy baby, but can’t deny that I am so excited for a girl. Honestly I just had a feeling. From the moment we found to I was pregnant, I just felt it in my bones. For some reason, I just felt a girl was on the way. Most of the old waive’s tales were true too! The Chinese calendar was definitely accurate as well. We still haven’t decided on a name, but we are down to a couple of options.
The belly really starts growing in the second trimester. For a few weeks I felt like I just looked chubby, one too many burritos. It’s in the second trimester around week week 19-20 that my belly finally popped. With the anticipation of the bump growing even bigger, I’ve been making sure to moisturize daily with this Burt’s Bees belly butter. Knowing that stretch marks are to be expected, Ive been trying to get ahead of it with this product which is super buttery. I honestly enjoy dipping my fingers ini to it, it’s pretty thick and goes on smooth. Click Here
I’ve been spending a lot of time in leggings. I found this awesome line on Instagram. Bump’n Clothing has awesome super comfy leggings for pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum. The material is super comfy, breathable and not see-through. I love how high waisted some of the styles are. They literally come up to under your boobs to give the growing belly support. There’s a few different styles to choose from and so far I’m loving these and basically living in them. More info Click Here
I got this book for my husband to read and surprisingly he really enjoyed it. He even learned a few things that I didn’t even know about! I love hearing him say, “the book talked about this” or “I knew you’d want to buy all the baby stuff, the book warned me about this” Lol I chose this book because it’s very much a guys-guy book. It speaks directly from dude to dude, no fluff Here.
OMG sleeping is not easy in the second trimester. Once that belly starts growing it starts getting pretty difficult to get comfy at night. Before I got this pillow, I was using a regular pillow between my legs, which is fine, except every time i’d switch sides I’d have to completely reporisitoin and switch the pillow with me.
This pillow is HUGE but it allows you to turn from side to side all night without having to adjust it. Just turn your body from one side to the next. My husband’s first reaction to seeing it was “that is so unnecessary” lol I bet to differ. This pillow has been such a help! Check it out HERE
There’s so much to learn when getting ready to welcome a baby into your world. I had no idea that sleep training was a thing. Thankfully some mommy friends have been able to give me tons of advice including on sleep training. One of these amazing mommy friends gifted me this book. It worked for her and her two little ones and she swears by the method. I haven’t started it yet, but I’me excited to learn everything there is to know before baby gets here. The Baby Sleeps Tonight
Why would anyone want to get pregnant during a pandemic?? I heard that so many times before I decided to share the news that I was pregnant. Every time someone said it, it stung. Or “I would hate to be pregnant right now.” Listen, I get it, I know it, I feel it and I am living the fear that you are so relieved to not be living through.
The truth is we found out we were pregnant right before sh*t hit the fan. My husband and I decided we would try to start a family at the end of this year (2020). I went in to see the gyno in early February to get off of birth control. I had an IUD so I needed to go in to have it removed. Knowing that it could possibly take months even up to a year for your body to clear itself of the hormones, the plan was to allow my body to get a rest from the birth control before trying to conceive.
During my doctor appointment, I remember her saying “come back when you skip your period.” I remember thinking, “Pfff, see you in a very long while doc. That’s not going to happen until the end of the year.” Boy was I wrong! After having the IUD removed in early February, I got my first period a couple of weeks later. Then March came, but my period didn’t. There’s no way. This can’t be. It could take months, right? Even years for some? I had always had fears that getting pregnant wouldn’t come easy for me. I had spent most of my adult life on birth control, ever since I was twenty years old. So naturally, it wouldn’t be that easy….right?
When I didn’t get my period in March, I just knew. I was only a few days late and something in my bones was telling me I needed to take a pregnancy test. I didn’t say anything to my husband and I took a test. Is that a positive? I couldn’t tell. The second line was pretty faint so it was confusing. So I waited a few days, still no period. I decided I needed to take another test. I wish I could be one of those women who has the will power to keep it to herself and then come up with a cute way to surprise her husband with the news. I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t not tell him, I was freaking out. I needed his moral support and I wanted him in the process with me and also I wanted him freaking out there with me. I didn’t want to be there alone. So I told my husband what had already happened and we decided to run to the pharmacy together to pick up another test. I really wanted to make sure so I took a few tests. They were all a faint positive. It was time to make doctor’s appointment.
When I made it in to see the doctor, they did a pee test and as the nurse said the results were “clear as day,” I was pregnant. At that point I was about four weeks along. It was too early to do any other testing so they scheduled me to return two weeks later, at six weeks. The next few days were an emotional roller coaster. It still felt so surreal, I didn’t feel pregnant and my brain hadn’t quite processed the information yet. And then I started bleeding. I did a lot of research and found that spotting is normal in the beginning so I didn’t worry too much. The spotting continued in to the next week and there was a couple of nights where I was in extreme pain. I was having really bad abdominal and leg pain. It felt like a bad period. That’s when I started to really worry. I called the doctor and they got me in a couple of days before my six week follow up to get a blood test. They wouldn’t be able to tell me if I was having a miscarriage until my blood results came back and until they were able to give me a vaginal ultrasound at my next appointment.
The next few days were such an emotional rollercoaster. I hadn’t even began accepting that I was pregnant and now I thought I was losing the pregnancy. The baby news I hadn’t even fully celebrated or believed to be real now felt like it was slipping away. How could this be? I was beginning to mourn a loss for something I barely ever had. I didn’t even know how to feel, I was confused as to how to feel. I told myself that maybe this was for the best. Maybe this was the Universe saying it wasn’t the right time. The world was scary and unsafe and maybe it just wasn’t meant to be, not yet. I spent the next few days convincing myself that it was ok and it wasn’t the time.
Lets talk about the pandemic. It really has made the normal nerves of finding out you’re pregnant even bigger. My husband wasn’t (and still hasn’t been) able to accompany me to any of my appointments. Before I was allowed to even enter the office, I had to call the office and be questioned on whether I had been out of town, whether i’ve been in contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and whether I had had a fever in the last couple of weeks. Once you answer all of those questions, they have to do a temperature check before letting you through the front door. Once you’re inside, everyone is wearing a face mask. It felt like the weirdest thing. I was reminded of some weird dystopian society like in The Handmaid's Tale.
A couple of days after coming in for the blood work I had my appointment for my very first ultrasound. The moment of truth, is the pregnancy viable. I was so nervous. It was a new weird experience made even weirder by the face mask I had to wear during the exam. They pulled up the images on the big TV screen and it didn’t look like anything. I couldn’t tell if it was good news or bad news. Then the ultrasound technician confirmed, there was a heartbeat. I was still pregnant. My baby made it. It wasn’t the wrong time, it wasn’t not meant to be.
Salt Crackers- My doctor told me the first trimester was just a bout surviving, and boy was she right. For me the nausea and Morning (really all-day) sickness kicked in at six weeks. The only way to get a hold of it was making sure I never got hungry. Eating every 2 to 3 hours was important. Not much was appetizing at this point, the more bland the better. Salt Crackers were a life saver. I still sleep with a pack on my nightstand just in case I wake up in the middle of the night and feel my tummy rumbling. Tip: Snack before going to sleep and when you wake up to pee during the night (it’ll happen a lot). It helps to wake up with food in you stomach, otherwise the morning sickness will be worse with an empty stomach.
Aside from bland carbs to help settle my tummy, fresh fruit was another must have. Specifically watermelon. I had a ton of watermelon, usually with lemon squeezed over it. OMG pregnant or not this snack is so yummy but during the weeks of queasiness it was necessary. Fruit was one of the only things I could stomach during my miserable chapter.
Gatorade- It is so important to stay hydrated during your first trimester. Especially if you were having a hard time keeping any food or nutrients down. I’m usually really good at drinking lots of water. I don’t go anywhere without my water bottle but during these rough weeks consuming water was tough for me. Gatorade is such a big help! If it’s too sweet, try mixing it with water to dilute it a little bit. Make sure to hydrate, as difficult as it may be.
Believe it or not working out actually helped. It wasn’t easy starting though, that was the hardest part. I often forced myself to get some exercise in knowing I would feel much better during and after. During this time of your pregnancy you’re often exhausted and have low energy but getting in a little bit of exercise each day can help tremendously. By the way, even if you don’t have a Peloton treadmill or bike, you can still download the app and find all of their workout classes there. Walking, running, strength, stretching, yoga, meditation it’s all there. Peloton.
Cribsheet- There are so many books how is one to even decide? A lot of books and a lot of opinions, it can get confusing. The reason I chose this book is it was based on facts and not opinions. The information is based off studies and uses date to inform you so that you can make the best decision for you and your future baby.
This isn’t exactly how I imagined my first pregnancy would go. Soon after finding out I was going to be a mommy, we had to go in to quarantine because of the pandemic. As you can imagine, finding out you’re pregnant is overwhelming as it is, add on top of that the confusion of what is going on in the world, made it all the more nerve-racking. I’d always imagine finding out would be a moment of pure joy and it was joyful, but it also came with so many fears of the unknown.
I have found peace in knowing the Universe wouldn’t give us anything we couldn’t handle. I find peace in seeing other expecting mommas going through the same thing and knowing that in the end, it/we will all be ok.
As I type this, I’m nearing the end of my first trimester. We haven’t made an announcement yet and only our close friends and family know. We will be getting all of the important test results back in a couple of weeks and if. all goes well, we will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. All. we want and hope for is a healthy baby. I’m excited to share our excitement with the world and to know our baby is growing healthy. We also get to find out the sex of the baby in a couple of weeks!
I can’t wait to share this experience with you and hear from other mommas and get all the baby and parenting tips. I’m nervous, excited, anxious and happy. Can’t wait to meet our baby and and grow our little family.
