Month: January 2020

Today, our little orange-sized bean is officially fourteen weeks and two days. I am finally starting to see what will soon grow to be a pregnancy bump more than just pregnancy bloat (hallelujah). I’m starting to need a little bigger pants and have added leggings as a normal part of my weekly wardrobe. At home, it’s all dresses – the looser the better.

I am starting to like eggs for breakfast again and I’ve had more energy to make dinners in the last few weeks. I’m noticing I’ve needed a little less sleep too, however, I’ve grown accustom to 8:30p bedtimes and don’t see this changing any time soon. I love ice water and find myself most thirsty right before bed (which is extremely unfortunate come 12:30a but I’m now used to waking up for middle of the night bathroom break(s) since my first trimester so I won’t be giving this up anytime soon).

The other week, I read a few articles after my heart had been feeling like butterfly wings in my chest for a few minutes. Apparently this is because my body is producing so much extra blood and my heart rate is about 25% faster than usual. This is crazy to me that being so early on in my pregnancy, my body is already experiencing physical changes I can actually notice. I can’t wait for this little bean to keep growing and to finally feel his/her kicks.

On February 21st, we find out the gender and I’m trying not to think about it because when I do, my heart races even faster and I can’t stop thinking about it. I wonder what their little personality will be like and what they’ll look like (even though Daniel and I already decided they’ll have bleach blonde hair for the first few years since both of us did growing up). We haven’t even started on the nursery yet but come February 21st, I know that will be all I can think about and focus on. I have always said that I only want boys; five of them to be exact. But now as this little bean grows, I find myself having less and less of a preference, so long as they’re healthy.

I wrote this post a while back and finally have worked up the nerve to post it. Enjoy.

Almost all of November, I have been going to sleep before Daniel. Which wouldn’t seem like a big deal if that didn’t mean going to sleep before 8p. I attributed it to being extremely busy during the day and treadmill running after work, etc., but one Tuesday mid-month, Daniel finally convinced me to take a pregnancy test so we could rule that out; otherwise, he said we should schedule an appointment with my doctor. That night, I left the little pink stick wrapped on the bathroom windowsill for the required 3 minutes and tried to busy myself during the longest 180 seconds of my life. When the timer went off, I brought it out to Daniel, hand shaking, eyes wide and a smile, “I’m pregnant.”

Daniel has been talking about kids since we started dating. He also isn’t one to show a lot of emotion. That night, however, he could not wipe the smile off his face. He held the stick in his hand, trying to argue with me as to not get his hopes up. The second line is really faint, does it really count? You’re sure two lines means pregnant? He even tried tilting it in different lighting, “just to be sure”. I took a second test the following morning when hormones are supposed to be stronger and, lo and behold, pregnant. I told Daniel that his smile was larger with this news than it had been at our wedding which only made him smile more, trying to hide it.

We met with my doctor the following day as a final confirmation and she gave us a few tips and pointers about the first trimester and finding an OB. She said my love for a warm Starbies will have to be put on hold as espresso isn’t recommended; same with using hot tubs or cleaning Nova’s litter box. The latter actually thrilled me (sorry, Daniel). She asked if I had noticed any changes the last few weeks — at this appointment, it had been 6-weeks since the beginning of my last cycle (TMI?). Again, I hadn’t even thought to attribute anything I had experienced to being pregnant. I had noticed certain parts of my body were a little more tender, but that went hand-in-hand with the cramping I had felt, so I must be getting my period soon. The iced tea craving every other day was just for something iced and yummy. The exhaustion was because of how hard I was working (pats self on back). She smiled at my naïveté and said, now that I know, to pay closer attention and listen to what my body is saying. Sleep when I need to, eat when I need to. Give in to cravings (this was my favorite thing to hear). We have a lot to learn and a long road ahead but for now, I just know I have to take it easy, listen to my body, and keep this little nugget growing.