Life
03.26.17

Our First Baby

I can hardly believe that I’m sitting down to type this up! I feel like I’ve been keeping our little secret for so long now. As you probably guessed by the title of the post, Alex and I are expecting our first baby this September and we couldn’t be more excited to expand our family!

Where do I start? I have so much to catch you guys up on! I think of you all as friends and this blog as one big community and family, so I’ve been dying to spill the news.  I’m currently 14 weeks and feeling good. The first trimester was crazy in so many ways. Being pregnant is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced! I’m literally growing a human…how is that even possible?!

I apologize in advance for how long this is going to be, but I have been so excited to share our journey with you guys that I wanted to make sure I fill you in on all the things you’ve missed so far! Also, fair warning I may be oversharing but I’m an all or nothing kind of girl, so here goes…

Let’s start with how I found out. Does anyone remember when I thought I pulled a muscle in my back a few months ago? Well, it turns out that back pain and cramping (similar to period cramps, sorry for the TMI) are pretty common tells in the very beginning. Of course, I didn’t know for sure at the time, but I did have a gut feeling. A few weeks later I was home working, while Alex was out working and I had an instinct to take a test, so I did. I remember it perfectly. I waited, expecting to see a “no” and clear as day the test said “pregnant”. I immediately thought it was a fluke and there was no way I really could be pregnant. I had so many butterflies in my stomach from the possibility, but didn’t want to get overly excited in case it was a false alarm. So, I texted Alex a picture of the outside of the pregnancy test box and just said “Bring home more of these, NOW!” You know how you hear those cute stories about how people tell their husbands… well, sorry Alex! haha. He brought home two more boxes, I took the remaining four tests and watched as they all read positive. It felt so surreal. I went to take a shower but instead of showering, I just sat down crying tears of happiness and thanking God for blessing us with the miracle of life. Alex and I drove to my parents’ house the next day to tell them. I had something cute I was going to say all planned out, but of course just instantly burst into tears and they immediately knew.

The first trimester was filled with so many joys, firsts, worries and a few pretty funny stories. If I’ve learned one thing for sure, it’s that pregnancies are like snowflakes, no two are the same (some wisdom my mother-in-law shared). Everyone is so different, but I wanted to share how it’s been for me, since I’ve absolutely loved reading other people’s posts like this and bump-dates along the way.

Suddenly, I feel like google became my new best friend. Every time I’d feel something strange or new happening, I’d either call our doctor and inquire (they must know my name and birthday by heart now) or I’d google. All of a sudden, when I would walk up the stairs I was out of breath – for someone who works out 4-5 days a week, this never happened in the past! I googled it and sure enough, it’s a common symptom. Apparently, your lungs expand and it takes a while for your body to get used to, so it’s common to be short of breath. Who knew?! I started to get nauseous around five weeks on our trip to Boston. We got to tell my brother and his girlfriend, which was so much fun and I spent the weekend with friends (who didn’t know yet) for Alex’s birthday. I was constantly searching things like “Can I have mac and cheese when I’m pregnant?” Thank goodness the answer is yes, as long as the cheese is pasteurized. Speaking of, “Is this cheese pasteurized?” has quickly become a common phrase whenever we go out to eat. What can I say – I love cheese! Funny enough, I actually have aversions to certain pieces of clothing I wore on our Boston trip, because I was so nauseous while wearing them, R.I.P Free People sweater. I definitely can’t complain though because I only actually threw up a handful of times and to be honest, I was so happy every time because I’d heard it was a sign of vitality and good hormone levels. That’s really the attitude I’ve tried to have these past few months – grateful. Whenever I got a symptom (even if it wasn’t a fun one, which honestly most aren’t haha), I’d be thanking God! Speaking of throwing up, let’s just say that I never managed to be home when the moment struck – a car, an airplane…I’ll spare you the details, but you get the point.

A little bump-date on my first trimester and the past 14 weeks…

How far along? 14 weeks and some change.

Due date? September 21st! Just in time for the holidays 🙂

Gender? We don’t know yet but we’re excited to find out at our 20-week appointment. We opted not to find out via blood test because we kind of liked the suspense but I’m kicking myself a little now because all of a sudden, I’m dying to know! In the beginning, I was pretty sure it was a boy, but almost everyone I know has guessed girl, so now I have no idea! We would love one of each, so we will beyond happy either way. There’s this thing that happens the minute you get pregnant where a switch just flips and anything you said you want goes out the window and all you care about is a perfectly healthy babe. Any guesses?

Any cravings? Everything haha. Can I say everything? I see something that sounds good and all of a sudden I need it! Mostly salty and sour things and lots of fruit and fresh veggies. Earlier on in the first trimester, I was really craving carbs because it was all that sounded good to me. There have been lots of pasta nights in our house recently!

Aversions? In the beginning, eggs! Eggs were the absolute worst. Also, avocados (crazy, because usually I love them) and coffee haha. I don’t drink coffee even when I wasn’t pregnant, but I really couldn’t even stand the smell of it.

Showing yet? I’m definitely showing in the afternoon and at night.

Thank you all so much for following along and taking the time to read this super long post! I cannot wait to continue to share this new chapter of life with you. That’s it for now, but lots more to come :). xo