First Trimester Recap & a Q+A

Since finding out I was pregnant, I have been filtering through the archives of some of my favorite blogs (like Pure Joy Home, Carrie Bradshaw Lied, and Styled Snapshots) & websites to read through pregnancy updates & all things baby! Finding our you’re pregnant comes with a wave of emotions – feeling elated and overwhelmed in one fell swoop. As a first time mom, it’s been really reassuring to read these posts and articles since we were keeping our pregnancy a secret for those first few weeks.

Throughout the first trimester I was cautiously excited – no one really talks about the fear that you have during the first trimester. My thought process typically went something like this: “is that symptom normal?” “Is the lack of symptom normal?” “Is the baby still ok?” and so on. I tried my best to not be stressed, but it’s easier said than done! Every doctor’s appointment, every ultrasound & every heartbeat check helped provide reassurance & I’m beyond thankful to have wonderful doctors and nurses to provide that reassurance and advice along the way.

For my first trimester update I thought I would answer some of the most asked questions from my IG stories! There’s a lot to catch you up on, so let’s dive on in!   

HOW DID YOU FIND OUT & HOW DID YOU TELL YOUR HUSBAND?

We found out at the end of November and were completely elated! We woke up on the Friday after Thanksgiving and were lying in bed talking about our morning plans when I said “you know what I think I’m going to do… take a pregnancy test!” So I went into the bathroom & took the test. When I went back to check it said “pregnant.” Nick laughs because my first response was “uhh babe….” and I ran into the bedroom and jumped onto the bed with the positive pregnancy test! We both immediately teared up and kind of looked at each other in shock before hugging for a long time. I think we spent the better half of the day in shock and being cautiously excited. My doctor’s office was closed that day so we had to wait until Monday to call and get an appointment. Talk about the longest few days ever!

It’s funny because I always thought that when this time came that I would want to tell Nick in a cute way. Looking back, there’s no way I could have held on to that secret for an entire day and I’m really glad that we found out together. It’s a memory I will never forget.

HOW DID YOU ALL DECIDE YOU WERE READY TO START TRYING FOR A BABY?

We had talked about having a baby for quite a while. We knew we wanted to wait until we had purchased a house and had a place for the baby before we even started trying. Back in February I opted to do genetic testing through my OB/GYN to make sure I wasn’t a carrier for anything. Then this summer we planned a date night to talk about starting a family. We chatted about ideal timelines, when to stop taking birth control, and made sure we were on the same page with everything. It was a good conversation to have & after that we started trying.

WAS THE BABY PLANNED OR WAS THIS A SURPRISE BABY?

This sweet little baby was planned! I got off my birth control the following month after our conversation. I had been on birth control for over 12 years so I wasn’t quite sure how my body would react. The first month that I was off of birth control I didn’t get my period, but knew that was a possibility as my body adjusted without it. I took a pregnancy test just in case & it was negative. Come November I still didn’t have a period and took the test that ended up being positive! I am incredibly thankful that it was able to happen so quickly for us.

HOW FAR ALONG ARE YOU & ARE YOU SHOWING YET?

When I got the positive pregnancy test I wasn’t exactly sure how far along I was since I didn’t have a period the previous two months. The only symptom that led me to think I could be pregnant was that my boobs were extremely sore. Turns out I was six weeks along when I took the test and seven weeks along when we confirmed the pregnancy & got to see our baby for the first time!

I am now in my second trimester and I’m 16 weeks and 2 days! I am sort of showing. There is bit of a belly now and it’s very prevalent at the end of the day haha! My high waisted jeans (especially my favorite bf jeans) stopped buttoning around 11 weeks! I’ve been using the bellaband so I can still wear my jeans though! The days of buttoning my pants are long gone ha!

HOW HAVE YOU FELT & HAVE YOU HAD ANY MORNING SICKNESS? ANY CRAVINGS? AVERSIONS?

I feel incredibly lucky that I felt pretty well throughout the first trimester. I didn’t have any morning sickness or nausea (thank goodness!) but have had pretty bad indigestion since about 10 weeks. Tums have been my best friend and saved me numerous times when I felt awful from the indigestion! I have also had some pretty bad headaches. Before I was pregnant I suffered from migraines and tension headaches, but I can no longer take the medicine for it, so I’ve just been toughing them out as best as I can.

As far as cravings and aversions, I really craved cucumbers for the first few weeks. I would eat them almost every day! I also could have eaten steak every single night ha! Lately I have been loving bananas & cereal! The only aversions I have had so far is with eggs. I was making eggs one morning and the smell was suddenly so disgusting that I immediately threw them out.

DO YOU KNOW THE GENDER & IF NOT WHAT DO YOU THINK THE GENDER IS?

We do not know the gender yet, but we will find out in a few weeks at our 18 week ultrasound. I could have potentially found out earlier with a blood test, but we are choosing to wait it out! All we want is a healthy baby. All of the old wives tales have been inconclusive so far and the Chinese calendar says it’s a girl. I’m honestly not sure what gender I’ve got in there!  Some days I think I’m having a boy & other days I think girl! A lot of people think it’s a boy though, we shall see! Either way we will be over the moon happy. We are doing a small gender reveal with our family that weekend & I can’t wait to find out! I think knowing what we are having will make it that much more real. 

HOW DID YOU TELL FRIENDS/FAMILY?

We told our parents at Christmas (I was 10.5 weeks), which was really special! It was also really hard to keep it a secret until then. We had quite a few dinners and festivities where we had to hide it – thank you alcohol free champagne & red wine for covering up our secret 😉

Nick and I really like wine, as do our family members, so when we came across these pregnancy announcement wine labels, we *knew* that was how we were going to tell them! We wrapped each wine bottle as a present for our parents to open on Christmas. Seeing their reactions was so funny because at first glance they thought it was a random bottle of wine until they read it closely. Once they realized what it said everyone freaked out and were so surprised and excited! We recorded our parents reactions & I’m so happy that we will have those to look back on for years to come!

I told my best friend Jenn the day we found out! Nick and I were at the point where we needed to get this GIANT secret out to someone & we knew Jenn would be a great person to share in the excitement with us! We called her via FaceTime and shared the news with her…which immediately made her cry! Even though we didn’t have a lot to share at that time, it was so exciting to be able to share the news with one of my best friends! Most of our other friends we told in person over the last few weeks (starting at week 11) and the ones who live out of town we either called, FaceTimed or texted photos to! It’s been so nice to share the news with our friends – we feel so so loved & are excited for this new chapter! A lot of our friends already have kids, so we are definitely going to be looking to them for advice.

ARE YOU USING ANY APPS TO TRACK YOUR PROGRESS?

I used the Flo app for the last six months or so to track my periods so that I would know when I was ovulating. I now use the Ovia app for daily and weekly updates on the baby! My friend Cathy told me about this app and it’s so great. It has a food & medicine section where you can look up what you can/can’t have, has a wonderful weekly overview and it even shows how big the baby’s hands/feet are that week… it’s so cute! The Bump app has a daily fact of the day for the size of the baby and it’s hilarious. That’s really all I use that app for. My friends & family love the daily updates of what size the baby is for that day!

HAVE YOU PURCHASED ANY MATERNITY PIECES OR BABY RELATED ITEMS?

I have only purchased a few things so far! I have basically been living in my lululemon align leggings around the house and oversized sweaters to hide the fact that my pants aren’t buttoned! Here’s what I have purchased so far:

–the bellaband: this has been really helpful for allowing me to keep wearing my current jeans! You just put it over your zipper/button part of your jeans & you would never know they aren’t buttoned 🙂
–new bras: I can no longer fit into my regular bras so I purchased a few cheaper new ones until I can determine what size I will actually be! I have been loving these wireless bralettes! I have even been sleeping in those bralettes because my boobs have been so sore.
–this maternity set: I really like the bellaband, so want to try the leggings and tank too! This is a great set for the mom-to-be. The leggings are still a bit big in the belly area, but they’re great to wear around the house for now when I want that extra stretch!

HOW HAVE CHARLIE & AVETT ACTED?! DO YOU THINK THEY KNOW?

I 100% think Charlie knew before we even knew! I mentioned in this post that Charlie loves Nick way more than me. Most nights he is cuddled up wherever Nick is. At the beginning of November he became really attached to me again, which I definitely didn’t hate. He would cuddle with me on the couch and lay on me any chance he got. Nick jokingly said a few times “what if you’re pregnant and Charlie knows?!” Little did we know that I was pregnant, so I definitely think he sensed something. He lays on my belly and purrs all the time now and it’s the cutest thing! I don’t think Avett has any idea yet, but he’s always affectionate towards me! I don’t think he’s ready to have the title of baby taken away from him quite yet!  😉

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED/NERVOUS ABOUT?

Nick and I are both really excited for this new adventure that we get to take on together! We are both very excited to be parents and to raise our little one together. It’s been so exciting going to my doctor’s appointments together and seeing the growth of our baby week after week. It’s so fascinating and I’m in awe every single time. I’m particularly excited to see Nick transition into his role as a dad. He’s already the best husband and puppy/kitty dad and I know that he will be an amazing, caring dad to our child.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about a lot. Becoming a parent is very exciting but also very scary. There’s a lot of information to learn and know and there are days that it feels entirely overwhelming! I spent the first trimester a bit anxious about wondering if my baby was healthy and ok. Since I didn’t suffer from morning sickness or nausea there were days where I didn’t feel pregnant and thought “ok is the baby still in there? Is the baby ok?”

I’m also really nervous about the actual birth and delivery. I have mentioned here and on my IG stories numerous times that I am terrified of the doctor. I tend to pass out and that really made me nervous about having a child. Over time, I realized that my “mom instincts” would kick in and everything would be ok and if it wasn’t that’s what doctors are there for. I have had the mindset of “this isn’t about me, it’s about the baby” for every appointment & it’s really helped calm me. Good news is I haven’t passed out at any of the doctor’s appointments!

thank you all so much for reading!
photos by Shana Leigh Photography