The Stages of my First Pregnancy
Updated: Nov 28, 2022
This page will be my dump of my journey in my first pregnancy.
The "Trying"
Saturday, October 22, 2022
I've been wanting to write this post for a while now. My husband and I decided to start "trying" mid-August this year. My older sister asked me what does that even mean, does it mean you're just not taking any precautions. I've realized now that it's been two months that "trying" is much more than that. It's actively keeping track of your ovulation cycle. Wondering if you might be pregnant, and if you should stop drinking a beer. Googling EVERY little thing about your body and pregnancy. Thinking that you might be pregnant, feeling mixed emotions, then thinking yeah you're ready, only to have your period come, and then the cycle repeats.
After the first month, I bought prenatal vitamins because I read that you should start taking them months before you even start trying. I got these SmartyPants Capsules Prenatal Multi off of Amazon. They do have a little fishy taste and after taste/baby burps, but they're not terrible and currently seem to have the most (and pretty positive) reviews. It says you don't have to eat it with a meal, but I would definitely not recommend eating this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I did that once and started to feel dizzy a couple hours later.
The second month, I started spotting pretty early before my period and thought it might be the infamous implantation bleeding that I read so much about the month before when my period seemed extremely light for a while. It eventually resulted into my period beginning.
This cycle, I read through Google searches that it's best to have sex 2-3 days before ovulation. I made sure to do it on both days, and then some. Well, I guess I'm just going by the built-in iPhone cycle tracker, but it seems to be pretty spot on with my periods. To make it fun still, I haven't told my husband about my ovulation cycle and all of this information I've been learning - Maybe I should though? I just don't want both of us to get caught up in numbers and technicalities, but maybe it'll come to that.
Having a baby truly is a miracle. I always thought that it just happens, and happens fast. You grow up scared of getting pregnant before marriage, and then once you're married you realize it's not that simple. Well, here's to another cycle!
Monday, October 24, 2022
The thoughts start.
My stomach had some random cramps the other day on the right side of my lower stomach - could that have been the attachment to the lining of the uterus? Is my body changing itself to get ready for a baby?
Is my discharge different? Is the smell different/more?
Should I play it safe and not have a drink when we go out?
Should I not be running/jumping around with kids?
Should I not eat this food that is a bit too spicy, or raw meat?
Did I accidentally eat the prenatl vitamin twice? How would that effect the baby?
There's constant thoughts with everything I do, leading to the main questions of 'What if I'm pregnant?' and 'Would this effect the baby's development?'
Trying is not just physical, but so much more mental.
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
It's close to the time my period should start. I feel anxious. My stomach is cramping and my breasts are very sore and swollen. I haven't started spotting like last time, which happened pretty early. What if I am pregnant, then I probably shouldn't have drank all those beers the past few weeks. If I'm not pregnant this month, I really think I'm going to avoid alcohol next month. I keep having dreams about being pregnant. I looked up what it might mean:
“Pregnancy dreams are typically connected to something else in your life that is in a growing and development phase,” says Lauri Loewenberg, a professional dream analyst and author. “Plans that are in the works, or maybe a degree that's in the works, that will, when it comes to fruition, result in a new life for you.” https://www.thecut.com/article/dream-about-being-pregnant.html
There's also theories of it meaning that you're pregnant, or someone else is pregnant, or fear of getting pregnant. So maybe I dreamt it because I've been thinking about it so much.
Thursday, November 3, 2022
Two more days until day 1 of my period. Am I getting my hopes up to be let down again? But also, am I actually ready for a baby? Are we ready?
My body does feel like it's changing, or is this just me psyching myself out. I googled it today that you can take a pregnancy test starting day 1 of your period. So if by Saturday I still haven't started it, I'm grabbing a test! I'm nervous. How should I do this? Should I do it with my husband? Or surprise him? Then how do you tell others? If I had a positive test before Halloween I had already imagined that we'd wear a preggo and chef costume and surprise people at their doors, but there goes that idea. I guess we could still do that since it's close to Halloween? Or at our family photoshoot on Saturday? But I don't know if I want other people to know so soon? There's so much to think about, but also, am I just wondering about all this in vain though? My mind is already racing through all of the possibilities, positives and negatives.
I also looked up if cramps are normal during a pregnancy:
“Early on in your pregnancy, it's natural to feel some mild cramping in your lower abdomen at infrequent times as your body prepares for your growing baby,” Dr. Nalla said. As your belly grows, so does your uterus. This may cause you to feel some slight pulling, tugging or stretching similar to menstrual cramps. https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/teach-me/when-should-i-worry-about-cramping-during-my-pregnancy
There has also been no spotting at all yet, which is very unlike my period lately. But maybe it's the prenatal that has changed it a bit too? I'm not sure. There's also a smell when I urine and my discharge that just reminds me of a baby. Maybe this is just all in my head though lol.
I should slow my mind, and just take this one step at a time. We'll get there when we get there.
Friday, November 4, 2022
Still no spotting at all! Just small cramps and very sore breasts, but I think this might be it! I got distracted a bit today with thinking about how to tell my husband, and tell our family. We're doing a photoshoot this weekend so I debated about telling everyone all at once? But then I thought about it a little more and thought it'd be best to tell my husband first (I also googled this haha). I had this plan to just put the tests in one of the envelopes that has his name on it and say that I accidentally opened it but he should look at it. But then when I was at the library printing papers, I thought of a better idea! To do it like how he proposed to me - using Magic the Gathering. I made a MTG card similar to how I did our wedding save-the-date too. I printed a bunch of sizes because I'm not sure what will fit in a sleeve, I feel prepared and ready for this now!
To solidify my confidence even more, I bought my very first pregnancy test EVER today at Walmart for $10. It took me forever to find. I even looked it up online but aisle G30 seemed to be non-existent, there was an aisle G29 and G31. I went around the stores so many times, then went back to where I thought it would make sense to be (by the pads/tampons) and that's where I eventually found it behind glass doors. Coincidentally a little bit after I got there, another lady came with a worker to open it getting exactly what I was looking for so I hopped right in and also said I needed one of those too. She had to walk both of us to the self check out. Still thinking about it makes me nervous! What if I'm not pregnant? But also, what if I am??
I decided that I'll take the test when I wake up in the morning. My husband decided to work tomorrow morning for some over time, so it couldn't be more than perfect. I can have time to feel all the feels then set up the announcement (if there is one). I'm still debating if I want to just leave the card out randomly or put it in a box and suggest we play MTG tomorrow when he wakes up (that's what he did for the proposal). I guess we'll see what the results are tomorrow!
The + Test!
Saturday, November 5, 2022
Well, this section is going to be a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be. I took the tests this morning, and they were both very clearly POSITIVE! I think it still hasn't fully sunk in yet. Everything that I'm about to encounter with this new journey. But I guess I'm ready for it!
I took the test early in the morning after my husband went to work at 2 am. My mind then couldn't sleep! So much to prepare for, so much to do. Here were some of my thoughts (tried to put it in order, but I honestly don't remember):
First thing's first, I set up my announcement for my husband. I'll play it by ear if I should announce it right when he gets home or if I'll do it when he wakes up (Note from later: He was pretty tired, so I decided to opt for later).
Then I thought about how to announce it to our family. I'm thinking of making a little sign "We're gonna (avo) baby!", and pulling it out at the end of our family fall photo shoot on Sunday. I wondered if I should wait until it's solid at 12 weeks? But this article convinced me that I don't have to (especially with close family/friends).
Then for my best friends from college, I'll suggest that we make a zoom call for our scheduled trip to Ireland in March, and announce it then. I debated about getting "best friends to auntie" pins or something, but I'm not sure about that. I did do research about if traveling to Ireland would still be safe. By that time I'll be around Week 25, and it and according to Aerlingus, up to week 27 there are no special requirements. I also read this tripadvisor post about a woman who went there for her babymoon also at Week 25, which might also have good advice for what my friends and I should do there too.
Then maybe for our friends in state, I'll get a bottle with a sticker of something along the lines of "drink this for me cause we're having a baby".
I also thought about if I want to know the gender. Do I actually want to have a gender reveal? And then a baby shower? And the whole shabang? Or do I just feel obligated to because that's what I've seen most people do? This article convinced me that it'd be fine (maybe even fun!) if I didn't know the gender until birth. Reasons that stood out to me:
The feeling when the doctor says "It's a boy" or "It's a girl"right when you give birth. This could even be an incentive for "pushing" harder lol.
Avoiding expectations for it and gender stereotypes before birth. If we do have a baby shower, I definitely don't want it to be the typical blue/pink colors. I would do my husband and I's favorite colors (red/orange).
Minimalism - "A crib, bassinet, car seat, stroller, breast pump, swaddles, bottles, etc. But the truth is, beyond those items a baby doesn’t really need much!...[Her nurse] said all a baby needs is to be warm and clean, be fed often and have a safe place to sleep."
And with that, I also think having a welcoming baby party would be fun to have too instead of the typical baby shower. That way close friends and family can meet the little one! The only thing I worry about is if I'll have enough energy to take part in it, and also when/if it's alright for baby to meet a lot of people. I would just need to lay down rules for holding baby. This article was pretty convincing and had a lot of good info. Some things that attract me towards this:
It eliminates the guesswork of size, name, gender, etc. Gifts can be more personalized.
The spotlight isn't just on the mom, but also the baby. You don't have to do so much work to entertain guests with games.
It can take place at any time within the first 6 months. Suggested wait 2 months until baby gets more visitors.
Includes more than just ladies, but guys too since the main event is meeting the little one!
The mom can share her first sips of alcohol again with the party :)
I also looked up if I could get tattoos while pregnant, that's a no go lol due to possible infections, etc.
It eventually ended with thinking about a babymoon, and I think this was a good bulk of the time. I love traveling and I think it'll be nice to have a last travel time together before we have a little one.
I thought it'd be very cool to go to Thailand or Bali before we have a kid, but looking it up, that doesn't look like it's recommended - clearly stating "If you are pregnant, you should postpone non-essential travel to this country."
Then I thought about maybe Hawaii, but airline tickets are $500+ and we're also looking to buy a house within the next year too. So I decided against that and went with going somewhere domestically on the mainland, my husband also doesn't have his passport so that's another reason to not do an out-of-country babymoon.
It was between Myrtle beach and Miami, because I really want to show/watch the sunrise/sunset with Kong. I found this beautiful (and more importantly cheap!) Airbnb right on the beach front that had 4.9/5 star review in Myrtle beach. The cheapest airline tickets were $200/person for April 28th, which would be around Week 29 so it'd still safe for domestic traveling (up to 36 weeks for healthy pregnancies). Comparing it to Miami's cheapest airline times, there weren't too many (cheap) options for a beautiful ocean view stay. So I first booked the Myrtle beach Airbnb since it's free cancellation until the day before. Then I went into a whole journey looking through Sun Country's travel insurance vs. their change fee waiver. I decided to just get the travel insurance since it covers 100% if the flight is cancelled due to pregnancy implications vs. the change fee waiver doesn't seem to give you a refund on the airline ticket but just waives the $40-100 change fee if you decided to change/cancel your flight. I also double checked on Hopper if prices for airlines would get cheaper, and it said it'd only go up from here so I booked those airline tickets.
Am I impulsive? Just too excited? Am I nervous? Am I selfish for wanting to take this vacation before baby comes? I think it'd be sweet to bring baby to watch the sunrise/sunset at the beach too someday. It's truly so beautiful and one of my favorite moments that I have by myself so far. Anyways, I think I'm going to "gift" this to kong for Christmas. It's kind of an us gift, but I guess I'm mostly buying it.
Of course all of these thoughts are just my first thoughts, and I'll definitely discuss all this with my husband once I tell him later today. But these were all my thoughts this morning, and kept me up until 5:30. I eventually turned on some "possibly good for the baby" music (Mozart), and fell asleep. I woke up again at 7:30 and got caught up thinking about the baby again. And now I'm just awake. Was that enough sleep? Is this bad for the baby? I'm overthinking this aren't I? I think I'm done for the day and should stop thinking about these things.
P.S. I also found this Pregnancy Checklist and a Pregnancy Calculator that both seem like really useful tools!
Friday, November 11, 2022
I made my very first prenatal appointment on Monday! I decided just to go with an in-network doctor near by us. There were mixed reviews pretty much everywhere, but this one seemed to have pretty good ones on the doctors. They said they do the first appointment 8 weeks out, so we have to wait until December 1st! I'm so excited, and that feels like so long from now! I'm still debating if I want to tell my family beforehand around thanksgiving? But maybe I'll wait until the first appointment. I'm just thinking, if I had a miscarriage, I'd probably still tell them so why not just do it now. But I guess I wouldn't want them to get too excited especially since it's out first child and would be their first grandchild/niece/nephew. It's just so hard to keep in! And what if they want to drink? How do I hide that? lol We decided that the photoshoot on Sunday was too soon. I'm glad my husband makes straightforward decisions some times.
The Second Month
Monday, November 28, 2022
It's been one heck of a time, and I'm not sure how I feel about this first trimester of being pregnant. It makes me really reluctant to have another kid. It's like I'm on my period without the bleeding. I guess on the positive side I've only puked once. Here's a breakdown of how the last couple weeks have gone:
11/13 - I think this is when my cravings and loss of appetite started. I craved pork belly larb. We were too full by the time we got it, so we decided to eat it the next day.
11/14 - I was no longer feeling the pork belly larb or eating any type of meat. I started to feel a little nauseous and ended up "napping" with my husband at 5pm after work which turned into a sleep lol Ate bits of the larb but mango tasted a lot better.
11/15 - I felt nauseous in the morning and laid around doing work, then things got a little frantic with getting Taylor Swift tickets and that got me up and feeling alright again. Craved Dynamite Doritos, and also fruit so I tried instacart for the first time and got a bunch of fruits and snacks.
11/16 - My normal Kale/black bean/tomato rice bowl that I usually make for lunch wasn't as appetizing as it normally is. I think the kale was too green for me. Craved pasta with tomato sauce, but once I ate it, it wasn't really satisfying. I heard peppermint also helps so I put that in our diffuser to try it out. I've also noticed that the shape of my nipple has changed (I took my piercing off too because it was becoming painful). I read that this is normal for pregnancy.
11/17 - Craved instant pho, so I went to go buy some and got the wrong kind that I now have to finish because I bought a whole box lol. Still randomly nauseous especially in the morning.
11/18 - I had to go into work, so I made sure to pack myself snacks and eat so that I wouldn't be as nauseous. Afterwards we went to go play Magic the gathering and I felt fine the whole night too! I actually felt pretty energized and not as sleepy as I thought I'd be staying out until 2 am.
11/19 - I told a few of my friends before we started planning for our international trip for next spring! It felt kind of surreal. Tonight I felt the effects of staying out last night and got pretty tired and nauseous by the end of the day. I'm learning that I just need to constantly snack to avoid nausea.
11/20 - Felt nauseous in the morning. Then agitated and just needed to get out of the house so we went on a walk around the mall and ate food. We ended up getting Korean chicken wings, takoyaki, and shumai. Definitely too flavorful for my palette at the moment but I didn't realize that until it all came out. My stomach is very confused about what to eat. Every morning I have to think "Am I hungry, or am I nauseated?"
11/21 - My stomach hurt all day. I got my flu shot and covid booster, and picked up more hot cheetos + chips, which seems to be my craving and what satisfies it.
11/22 - Ate some soup today, which still seemed too flavorful and I couldn't finish it. Later in the day I got some McDonald chicken nuggets and fries which seemed to go down just fine.
11/23 - Today was the first day (and hopefully only day) that I vomitted a little in the morning. I felt nauseous like normal, but then when to use the bathroom, and as I stood up, I could feel my stomach turning. I only puked out bile, and it was more yellow than I've ever seen it before. I looked it up and found that this was normal for pregnancy vomit. I really hope this doesn't become a common occurrence though. I told my siblings later in the evening when we had a hangout before the drinks came out. I was able to stomach a pizza, a few wings, and a lot of breadsticks with mozzarella sauce. My stomach wasn't too bad in the evening.
11/24 - I made it through Thanksgiving without feeling too nauseous! The constant food at the house helped I think, and forcing myself to look "normal" so that I don't give it away. We decided to wait until after the first ultrasound to tell our parents.
11/25 - I went Black Friday shopping a bit in the morning, and felt alright until I got hungry. I got some panera chicken noodle soup and then went home, and literally didn't leave the couch until it was time for bed. My stomach just hurt sporadically and the fatigue just hit hard. Not sure if it was because of walking for 3 hours in the morning. I've found that it's hard to eat oily stuff, meat, and I don't even want to think about the smell of seafood. Though fish sauce I'm okay with.
11/26 - Was another lazy day hardly leaving the couch. I binged Wednesday on Netflix. The house seems to be a mess, but I'm glad my husband is helping out with stuff.
11/27 - Forced myself to get up today, and it seems like whenever I'm shopping and up that I'm fine lol. After shopping and getting groceries I was alright for the rest of the day. Just the random fatigue/nausea but glad it wasn't all day.
11/28 - Still feeling a bit of fatigue here and there but I think I'm learning how to better control and and what things I need and what to avoid.
On the positive side, I've found myself to be in a very positive mood lately! Not having such a negative view point of the world, or getting mad at my husband for small things like I normally do (though getting irritated at him does happen sporadically some times still - possible mood swings?).
