I haven’t written in awhile. Quite honestly, it was hard writing the past few months because we were keeping a little secret which was pretty much all consuming. I found it challenging to find the inspiration to write without giving it away. LOL!
And by now, most of my readers know since you follow me on social media.
We are expecting a baby boy sometime this month! Michael and I are beyond excited! We only recently revealed the news on social media (on May 4th, because we are Star Wars geeks…LOL!) but all of our close friends have known for quite some time.
So I thought I would give a recap of how each trimester went.
1st Trimester
It’s so funny to me that by the time you find out you are pregnant you are already considered 4 weeks pregnant. They start counting from the beginning of your last menstrual cycle. I get it, since there is no possible way to know the exact moment of when that miraculous meeting of egg and sperm occurs (even if you know which days you did the horizontal mambo), but it still boggles my mind. Which makes your due date a total estimation.
We found out we were pregnant on Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day. I took a home pregnancy test first thing in the morning, as most women do, and was overjoyed (and slightly nervous and scared) to see those two lines! To be honest, I think I kind of already knew as I wasn’t experiencing some of the pre-period symptoms I normally do.
How did I tell Michael?
I was going through a crafty phase. Specifically with golf balls. I painted a golf ball orange and green (Miami colors … know your audience, right?) and shared the news with him that way. We both had the day off from school and he was working in the office when I presented him with the golf ball “Here, I made this for you” later that morning. Yes, I kept our little secret all through breakfast … it was so hard!
He was excited, of course, but I feel we both felt a little caution and nervousness in getting too excited considering our previous losses (I miscarried in June of 2019 and March of 2020). Could this really be it? I wanted to believe that it was. Third time’s a charm, right?
Did we tell our friends?
Some people choose not to share the news until after the 1st trimester, but we decided to share the news with close friends and family, sooner rather than later. Our reasoning was that that they had supported us through our losses, so why not allow them to continue to support us through our joy? If we have another loss, they will be there.
I shared the news with my parents in person when I went up to Harrisburg for a girl’s weekend with my mom and cousin/sister. Little did I know that this would be one of the last times I would get to see them in person until closer to my due date.
When did I first go in?
Because of my previous losses, I had an appointment to confirm the pregnancy the following week. They wanted to track everything as closely as possible, with a sonogram beginning at 8 weeks. Because we were in the middle of a pandemic, Michael was not allowed to attend any of these appointments with me. It was tough. Quite honestly, it would have been more challenging had we already experienced a previous pregnancy during non-pandemic times and were comparing the two experiences.
It was amazing to see our little peanut at 8 weeks!
Any symptoms?
I have been one of the lucky moms who did not experience any morning sickness or any of the harder to manage symptoms. Just extreme exhaustion. First trimester fatigue is no joke! I was really surprised by how drained and tired I was. This coming from an energetic athlete. Hard to deal with!
In terms of work, I was able to continue teaching from home which was a blessing. I could squeeze in some quick cat naps as needed.
My food aversions included fish and shellfish, much to Michael’s dismay. But he was able to work around it pretty easily. I also found that I would hit a point where I could no longer eat. It wasn’t a full feeling, just a feeling of loss of appetite. Kind of like how you feel right before you’re about to get sick, without the sick feeling. It was very strange.
1st trimester vibes
The first trimester is always tricky because you want to wait for the genetic testing to come back before you get too excited, you’re not really showing so you don’t get any special treatment, and you have to avoid any social situations that could potentially give away that you’re pregnant (especially for someone like me who enjoys their wine!). Pandemic times helped with that a bit, but we were certainly dodging any social situations or virtual happy hours with friends who weren’t in the know. Mocktails became my friend.
Thankfully, the genetic testing came back with all negative results and we found out we are having a BOY! We were both incredibly excited and relieved! To be honest, I knew everything would be just fine.
Third time’s a charm, indeed!
Stay tuned for a 2nd trimester recap…
Do what makes you happy.