November 15, 2021

1st Trimester Recap

+I found out I was pregnant at the verrrrry end of July. I think it was the 31st. Scott wasn't even here when I took a test. He was en route from Kansas to Pennsylvania to his dad's funeral that weekend. The timing was...something. I went to the doctor the next day, after calling to find out what the procedures are for this hospital here*. In Colorado, I just did a regular test in the lab. Here, they sent me for a blood draw (Wells in tow) because the nurse I saw said he preferred blood tests because he's gotten a lot of wonky results from urine tests. Anyway, they called that day with the results and I was making an appointment at OB and filling out all the registration paperwork two days later (Wells in tow...the manager of the OB office gave Wells a lollipop while I worked my way through the packets. He warned me that I would never be refused an appointment if I brought Wells to an actual doctor's visit but candy would be given to every child who came in so...it was at least nice to know they wouldn't refuse service).

*90% of having a baby in the military is trying to figure out what the heck you're supposed to do or where you're supposed to go...it's not like I can just "go to the doctor". I don't have "a doctor". My doctor changes every 2 years.

+The short version is that this pregnancy has taken away two things I love: coffee and reading. Even the smell of brewed coffee is still too much. It smelled like hot boiled garbage to me, and it STILL doesn't smell great, but I can drink it now. I did lattes (kind of) and and I could do iced lattes easily. Regular coffee was a no, though, until very recently. In fact, I had to take the trash can outside and clean it out with the hose and dish soap to get whatever perceived smell of coffee grounds I felt were lingering in it. 

Also, books: for all of August, the thought of reading a book made me want to throw up. The physical act of turning the pages on a library book was a huge aversion. I started s-l-o-w-l-y attempting reading again around mid-September and that has also been a fail, and library books still sound like a turn-off, even now. Maybe this winter...

+ All I can really say is that this first trimester was a complete 180 from the last time around. Not in a good way. The food aversions, the nausea, the dizziness, the general i-hate-everything feeling. I would have been shocked if this were a boy, just because it's such a turnaround from my pregnancy with Wells.  

+So, yes, it's a girl. My doctor called after a bunch of bloodwork at 12 weeks and asked if we wanted to know the gender. That's unheard of in military healthcare...with Wells we found out at 22 weeks...so I jumped on that. It made the whole thing feel much more real. It turns out that it depends on who the commander of the hospital is; some will not let doctors tell the gender to patients after bloodwork. 

+ Holy cow, the food aversions. I don't even know what to say. If I felt like I was hungry for something, and if I didn't eat that thing within 15 minutes, the feeling would pass and that thing suddenly sounded like the most disgusting food ever. With Wells, my only real food aversions were meat I cut up and cooked myself and anything sweet, including fruit. There were very strict boundaries and it was very easy to stay within them. This time: there were no rules. It was horribly unpredictable. I couldn't even open the kitchen cupboards for weeks. It wasn't just food; it was textures. The most random things (my phone case, a purse, a sweatshirt) would bother me to the point where I couldn't think about them and I still haven't gone back to using those items. 

+Working out was a challenge. Mostly because getting down on the floor to do any kind of anything would make my head spin. So, I didn't do a thing for most of August. I went on a few long walks but it was also 100+ degrees and humid every day, which was not great. September was better. I got back into Pilates every day and started prenatal yoga. I put this off, purposely, because once you start the prenatal workouts, it's hard to transition back. And regular yoga doesn't appeal to me. Prenatal yoga saved my sanity last time around because I had a lot of round ligament pain. This time, I'm more focused on retaining strength so I'm Pilates-focused. I had bought a prenatal Pilates series a few years ago and I pulled that out again, as well as using my Balanced Life subscription and modifying what I can. I've been doing 20-30 minutes of cycling too a few times a week. I prefer to walk but there's not time to do that during the week. I gave up on the cycling after a few weeks because I had some pretty bad ligament pain but I really need to start that again now. 

+Ummm what else...I don't know. You get bigger faster the second time? I haven't worn pants in quite some time because it's not worth it. Since I will be pregnant-pregnant through the winter and not just the first trimester, I may have to buy some maternity PANTS this time. I got away without last time, and stuck to dresses and tunics/leggings and then shorts in the summer. 

+I think my point is that the first trimester was rougher this time and I have no idea why. I never lost my drive to participate in life last time. This was very odd. Last time, it was a lot of worry. This time, it was more survival mode. I just wanted to sleep. But even sleeping didn't help. I wasn't even tired. I just wanted to not be awake and dizzy. 

+What have I done to prepare? ....I bought a vat of cocoa butter lotion because the memory of itchy skin from last time is still burned into my brain. I dug out the box of maternity clothes. It's lived in two basements (Pittsburgh and Kansas) and a barn (Missouri) now. Mostly I wanted it so I could wash the clothes and free up the tub for clothes I won't be wearing for the rest of the school year, just to get them out of the closet. I went back to my lightly lavender-scented body wash and vanicream deodorant...I get, apparently, uber-sensitive skin while pregnant. (Something weird that has happened with the 2nd trimester now is that things smell sour to me; my face serum, my body washes, coffee, hand sanitizer..it's very odd). 

+And that great prenatal hair and glowing skin? No. I never had a lot of post-partum hair issues; my hair falls out when I'm pregnant, I've learned. And the cystic pimples that will pop up on my forehead? That I can't treat because it's not safe while pregnant? Totally continuing in the 2nd trimester. In addition, this time I've also gotten some crazy hormone headaches. 

And that's about it. 

We're pretty excited. If you ask Wells his thoughts though he usually says "no, I want a baby boy" or "I don't want ANY-TING". We'll see how it goes. 

I show you this picture because I took it to send a friend and it showcases what an absolute disaster the future nursery is. Right now it's a clean laundry and PT clothes hold-all. Plus the closet is full of Christmas presents and my dresser is still in there, as well as the guest bed...(I think it'll be doubling as a guest room and a place for whoever is taking care of the baby to sleep, as well...)

Anyway: 

17 weeks. With Wells I felt very distinct fluttering around 14 weeks. There was no mistaking it for anything else. With this one, there's been no fluttering. I started feeling taps, kicks, and punches around 15-16 weeks instead. Turns out, the placenta is in the front, which means movement is more muffled this time. Last time, it was in the back. Who knew, right? 

And 21 weeks:


(I don't really take pictures the first trimester...you just look a little bloated, you know?)

5 comments:

  1. I don’t know how you’ve taught! That sounds miserable and I’ve heard that baby girl’s hormones mixing with the moms make girl pregnancies more like this.
    I couldn’t smell coffee while pregnant either but I had no other issues.
    Hope the rest is so much better!

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    1. Yes, as soon as I felt sick, I knew it was a girl lol. Teaching has been okay...it kept me occupied when I felt gross at home. NOW, I'd rather be home!

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  2. All that extra estrogen... all the nausea _ UGHHHH - that's how I usually guess on people if they're having a boy or girl - that nausea. I know its not 100% accurate but it is a high percentage.
    Wells... lol - going to be a transition to have someone else needing attention in the house - I'm sure he'll be a great big bro once she's here.
    That's awesome you found out early what you're having.

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  3. Luckily the smell of coffee never bothered me - I think Jan would have cried. Haha. I always give up coffee entirely before an embryo transfer so I never tried drinking it. THE worst smell for me was onions cooking and our neighbours seemed to cook onions every single day - sometimes at 8 a.m. when I was trying to eat breakfast!

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  4. You know I understand. The texture thing is real. Even sounds made me feel sick. Sounds! With Clara, I threw up every time the oven preheated. There was a certain smell that got to me every time. I still feel queasy just thinking about it. When I was pregnant with Gracie, I merely *thought* about coffee and then Immediately threw up. I didn’t drink coffee either time until the last couple weeks. It was too much. I couldn’t read either. It’s the most benign activity ever, but somehow akin to a rollercoaster while pregnant. I got sick just looking at books. Anyway, all that to say I understand.

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