First Trimester Wrap-Up

On Thursday, April 15th I got out of bed after Richie left for work and got dressed. As I was shaking with anticipation I set up my phone to record my reaction after taking a pregnancy test.

If you’ve read my “Life Update” blog post then you know the story already.

Rewind to Tuesday of the same week, I had started spotting. It was time for my Aunt Flow to pay a visit. So, this was my initial thought. But then I realized it was different than normal. It was darker and only enough to be considered spotting. Since we had been trying to get pregnant but had been told it would be nearly impossible for us to conceive naturally, I was trying not to get my hopes up. Especially after we felt our chances were so high in February, knowing exactly when I was ovulating. Then, being devastated in March when we found out I wasn’t pregnant. (More details in this blog post). So, I told myself, “Just give it time, you will probably start today or tomorrow.”
The next day, the same thing was happening. It wasn’t enough for a pad or tampon and it was still a darker color. At that point, I decided if I hadn’t fully started by Thursday morning I would take a pregnancy test.

Wednesday night I dreamt I took a pregnancy test and that it was positive!

So, here we are. It’s Thursday morning. I’ve taken the test. And before I could even lay it on the ground I thought I could see a line forming! I just knew my eyes were playing tricks on me. I rushed to press record on my camera before taking a closer look at the test.

I held the test inches from my face and let out a huge gasp! I was in total shock to see two lines were fully there!! “I’m PREGNANT!” I couldn’t stop saying it! I was filled with so much joy and excitement on top of the shock! I kept putting my hands over my lower belly and getting butterflies. “Keep growing strong little babe, and I’ll do everything I can to keep you healthy.” I would say. At this time, I was about 3 to 4 weeks along and our baby was as big as a poppy seed!! SO TINY!

The first thing I did was call my OBGYN to get an appointment on the books. Much to my surprise, they do not schedule the first appointment until the pregnancy is at least 8-9 weeks along. So we had to wait an entire MONTH before seeing the doctor and our baby for the first time and making sure everything was okay. This was almost just as shocking to me as my positive test.

Something that gave me comfort during this LOOOONG wait was -all the pregnancy apps! I researched which ones were the best and decided on the “Pregnancy” app first. I love how it has “Daily Updates” with a little nugget of new knowledge to read every day. I also love how the home screen on the app includes a “Trimester Chart” with the week you’re on circled. So, I can easily visualize where I’m at in my pregnancy and how much further to go. It has some useful tools as well, like a weight tracker, kegel exercise training, kick counter, pregnancy items to explore, contraction counter, and a calendar/diary. Soon after I wanted to find another pregnancy app that had more fun pictures of what size comparison the baby is each week. So, I downloaded “The Bump” app. I love their in-depth weekly view during pregnancy. What’s super cool is that it shows you a 3D view of your body and the baby’s every week giving a unique insight into how things are progressing. It offers a new “Daily Fact” each day, mostly about different baby size comparisons, and also “Daily Reads” – articles on different topics that relate to where you’re at in your pregnancy. Further along, into my pregnancy, I was hearing a lot about the “Ovia Pregnancy” app. So I decided to download it also. (LOL 3 apps is a little excessive, I know). What I really loved about this one was how it shows the actual size of how big the baby’s hand and foot are if you were to place them on your phone screen. Each of these apps has new weekly updates informing you on what’s happening with you and your baby that week.

Each day I’ve really enjoyed looking at each of these apps and reading up on the different facts, and weekly updates they give.

Another thing that was sure to keep me busy until our first Dr. appt was figuring out how to announce our pregnancy to everyone. So, that same day, I immediately started planning how I was going to tell Richie and our family members.

See the video of our pregnancy reactions and how we told everyone for more details!

I also ordered a “First-Time Mom’s Pregnancy Journal” that I found. I thought this was such a perfect way for me to look back on all the ups and downs, feelings, and special moments of my first pregnancy. -Also, keeping me occupied!- And, of course, a dress to take my bumpdate pics in! -Linking the items I ordered below!- After I’d come up with a solid plan for our announcements, I went to work on making sure all of my beauty products were pregnancy safe. I’ve stuck to products and brands that are non-toxic, but sometimes even non-toxic ingredients are not safe during pregnancy. Luckily everything checked out okay.

There was one more thing I was obsessed with that occupied my time while I was in bed for 2-3 weeks straight with nausea and exhaustion waiting for our first Dr. Appt. It was watching YouTube videos of Vloggers that were also pregnant. Hearing other women’s pregnancy stories and experiences helped me tremendously. I’m so grateful for all the TMI discussions on their vlogs because this FTM could relate! That was huge for me!

At week 4, when I had my positive pregnancy test, along with spotting, I (unknowingly) had a couple of other pregnancy symptoms. Such as getting easily dehydrated and out of breath, and swollen and tender boobs. I continued spotting through Saturday, and yes, this worried me. I was so scared that I could have miscarried. Funny thing is, just a couple of days after having my positive pregnancy test, I started having more pregnancy symptoms. Why is this funny? Because it helped me realize, I was still pregnant and never miscarried! Having these symptoms was my proof. This gave me so much relief!! The spotting was due to implantation happening in my uterus. My other symptoms included having to pee a lot, becoming extremely hungry, and being a little nauseous if it had been longer than 2 hours since I had eaten. My nausea came on during week 6 and mostly in the evening around bedtime. I was getting out of breath easily even just while having a conversation. My mouth would get abnormally dry, I was bloating, and had a frequent upset stomach. Also, I started waking up every morning with really sore and swollen boobs. Those symptoms along with getting easily exhausted remained strong carrying me through to our first Dr. Appt.

The day after Mother’s Day we headed to the doctor SO anxious to see our baby for the first time and make sure all was well. I’ll never forget that first magical moment in the ultrasound room. The lights were off, Richie sat beside me as I laid on the table. We watched the screen with wide eyes as she found our little baby in my womb. Then, in the middle of our little bean, we saw a flicker of a heartbeat. Richie and I grabbed hands as the light from the screen lit up our faces. We were so relieved when she told us that everything was looking good. We got to hear our baby’s precious heartbeat (161) and my heart melted. We felt pure joy, shock, and relief all in one. We were also given our due date based on how our baby was measuring in the ultrasound. Richie and I looked at each other and chuckled when she told us our due date is Christmas Eve!

We were waiting until after our first appt affirming everything was going well to announce our pregnancy to family and friends. BUT, the weekend after our appt we had a family trip to Florida for my cousin’s wedding. We waited until my birthday weekend just a couple of weeks after we got back from the trip, so we didn’t take away from anyone’s special day. -Refer to this video for more details!- At this point I was already 10 weeks! It felt so good to finally share the news, and everyone’s completely shocked reactions made it even better! After getting to see our baby and sharing the news with those closest to us, things were feeling more real!

-Linking the items I bought to share the news with Richie and our family below!-

At 11 weeks, we had our second Dr. Appt. We heard our baby’s galloping heartbeat again at 174, which is normal. The Dr. informed us that since my blood type is Rh- and Richie’s is Rh+ I will have to get the RhoGAM shot at 28 weeks and after delivery. This is to protect our baby and any future babies from my immune system trying to fight them off during development and causing a miscarriage, in case they also have Rh+ blood. -I’m so thankful for modern medicine!- We also decided to get the blood screening done at this appointment that would tell us the gender of our baby!! We planned on waiting until our gender reveal to find out. A week later we picked up a sealed envelope with the gender of our baby written inside. Our reveal party was still two weeks away. I constantly held, touched, looked, and grinned at that sealed envelope so giddy with excitement. It held the fate of our family! It took everything within me to not open it. I had also received the results of the blood test online which was even harder for me to not look at!! Somehow I stayed strong! I could not wait to start envisioning what our lives would look like with our future daughter or son!

One night, at 12 to 13 weeks, we were laying in bed and I felt two separate flutters in my womb. I immediately put my hand over my belly and told Richie I think I felt the baby move! It was SO early on for this so I couldn’t be sure. But, it was definitely a new feeling I’d never felt before. Not the same as a gas bubble, kind of similar to a muscle twitch. I had a hunch it was our little baby moving around. Oh, how I could not wait to create an identity for our growing little one!

It was Friday, the day before our gender reveal, and I entered into my second trimester! We sure started it off with a bang! More on this in my 2nd-trimester blog post!

Looking back on my first trimester it’s crazy just how fast time flew by! The first month after finding out I was pregnant waiting for our first Dr. appt was the toughest by far. Richie and I were the only ones who knew. I was experiencing some not-so-fun symptoms. All while trying to patiently wait to see our little one for the first time and confirm things were going well. While this is true, having some time with just Richie and me sharing this huge secret was pretty special. After that first tough month, the time has consistently flown by!

Highlights of my first trimester definitely include the memories of sharing the news with Richie and our family and friends. Sharing the special moment of seeing our baby for the first time with Richie. I felt recurring gratefulness for my body knowing what to do to keep this baby growing healthy and strong. The feeling I get when I put my hand on my belly. Experiencing everyone’s excitement for our growing family and all the loving support. Completely emptying one of our guest rooms to turn into our nursery. Feeling those very first flutters! And, having the sealed results of our baby’s gender in our possession!

Q & A

Q: Were you trying? If so how long?

A: We were trying! I’d say, by the end of 2019 we knew we wanted to start trying soon. Then in 2020, we were just navigating all the changes that were happening in our lives. In the summer of 2020, I started doing things to prepare for pregnancy. Such as getting my allergies tested so I could try to get off my daily allergy medicine. I started allergy shots in September and my Dr told me it was only safe to continue the shots during pregnancy once I’d reached the maintenance dose. I opted for the “rush” version of the shots so I could get to maintenance sooner. So, instead of getting them once a week, I was getting them twice a week. We postponed trying for a baby until I reached the maintenance dose in December. So, we officially started trying in January 2021. Then we got pregnant in March!

Q: Have you been sick?

A: During the first trimester starting at week 6 I began having “morning” sickness. While I did have some nausea throughout the day if I got too hungry, it mostly came on strong at night around bedtime. Luckily I never got sick from the nausea but it was still very unpleasant all the same. It also contributed to me having insomnia multiple nights. One night, it was so bad, I woke up at 1 AM to pee and could not go back to sleep until after 5:30 AM! Nausea lasted from week 6 to week 12-13. This was when I started to gain more energy and feeling more myself again!

Q: How did you deal with any nausea?

A: Before I got my hands on any nausea remedies, what helped me most was knowing that it meant my baby was progressing and growing. This gave me so much comfort. I also had some peppermint oil on hand that I kept close and would smell any time it got too bad, along with keeping food on my stomach! Once nausea hit the next level where those things weren’t enough, I placed an amazon order for Preggie Pops, ginger tea, and peppermint tea. The Preggie Pops worked well at times and have worked great for others. I would have a couple on my nightstand at all times. What helped more than anything was a prescription from my Dr. It was a mix of B6 and nausea meds. Evidentally experiencing nausea during pregnancy can be due to a lack of B6. I would take one before bed and kept it on my nightstand in case I woke up in the middle of the night needing another dose. I was able to quit taking these around weeks 12-13. Another helpful thing was peppermint! I had mints in my car at all times, in my purse, and by the bed. This baby will probably have a strong liking for peppermint! -Linking the items I ordered below!-

Q: Have you had any cravings?

A: At first while I was experiencing a lot of nausea and exhaustion I wanted carbs constantly! I went through several different kicks. Plain bagels with plain cream cheese was a favorite, waffles, and crackers, etc. I craved strawberries and blueberries a lot. Then all of a sudden I couldn’t live without having cheese every day. When we were in Florida during week 8, I found myself eating slices of cheddar cheese. That’s when the cheese craze began. After that, I started craving salads and wanted one every single day. Lupi’s Pizza garden salads hit the spot on a whole other level for me during this time! I could drink their house vinegarette dressing it’s so yummy! I never craved anything sweet until my nausea subsided around weeks 12-13. One day I was on my way home from getting my allergy shots and HAD to stop for some munchkins from Dunkin.

Q: Have you had any food aversions?

A: Mostly just with things that had a strong smell. We couldn’t bake anything in the oven for a while since it filled the house with such a strong scent. Then things like broccoli were a no-go. I LOVED Hippeas before I got pregnant and I couldn’t stomach those anymore. Then with things like the trash, I’d have to hold my breath.

Q: What excites you the most about being a mom?

A: Wow! My focus has been kept so much on being pregnant that I haven’t gotten used to the fact of having a little one calling me Mom soon! I’d say what excites me the most right off the bat is experiencing the ways our baby resembles me and Richie. I’m also so excited to watch our baby grow and see their personality blossom. Also, all the adventures we will get to experience as a family!

Q: What has shocked you the most?

A: The first thing was seeing my back getting a little wider to accommodate my enlarged kidneys. I did not know this happened and it happens immediately! Also finding out I’m Rh- blood type. I grew up being told I was Rh+. And, learning that only 15% of the world’s population is Rh-.

Q: Did you have a feeling if it were a boy or girl?

A: Yes!! Ever since I knew I wanted kids one day I always envisioned having a boy! I was also told (years before I was ever pregnant) that I would have a boy. So, naturally, from the beginning of our pregnancy, I had a feeling it would be a boy. Of course, it goes without saying, I’m so happy and grateful to have either gender and just pray for a healthy baby!

I hope this post brings peace and insight to any other first trimester mommies out there with similar experiences! So far pregnancy has been a wonderful experience. I’m continuously grateful for every single moment.

Comment below any questions or relatable experiences you’ve had!

Catch me on IG for more regular appearances and updates. Up next I’ll be sharing our gender reveal! I’ll catch you here next time with my 2nd-trimester blog post! Make sure to subscribe!

Love always,