First Trimester

I want to track my pregnancy the best that I can. So many people that I know say things like "My biggest regret is not taking more pictures" or "not writing things down." So, I plan to take pictures and write things down. I love hearing/ reading about pregnancy and always have, so for people like me, I will be including this tracking process here. However, the whole week by week thing is a little much, in my opinion (even when the baby is born.) Months it is!

This post will be significantly longer than the others. I promise to not always be this long winded. But, I'm doing three months in one post here.

MONTH ONE:

--Extremely Thirsty, all the time
--Tired, all the time
--Cramps
--Aversions: bread, pasta, Mexican food
--Cravings: FRUIT FRUIT FRUIT especially peaches/nectarines/oranges, bloody marys (I have never had one of these before...), rosemary, apple/orange juice

MONTH TWO

--Mood Swings
         (I may or may not have literally sobbed for an hour about absolutely nothing, spurned by       absolutely nothing. The first half hour may or may not have taken place in the Temple and was very embarrassing. I tend to be short of patience and generally confused about what I am feeling. Which, is very frustrating to me. I feel like I'm not in control of my emotions.)
--Trouble Sleeping
--Slight Nausea when sitting or standing
           (I feel strange even putting this here, because I feel so fortunate to NOT be experiencing      terrible morning sickness. I find that if I am laying down, I am fine. I feel great.)
--Clothes fit, though my jeans get uncomfortably tight after I eat--especially if I'm sitting down.
--Aversions: None, really.
--Cravings: CHIPS and Juice


We saw the little gummy bear for the first time today (7/14/2016). It was kind of hard for me to believe I was really pregnant until I saw that there was really something in there. Apparently I'm lacking in the faith department--GIVE ME A SIGN. We got to hear it's heartbeat for just a second or two. It is still too small to get much of anything, but their heart was beating 176 beats/minute! It really looked like a little tiny gummy bear. We finally found out how far along I was and my due date! We weren't sure when exactly we conceived so I guessed I was somewhere between 6-8 weeks. Aaaaand right in-between I was: 7 weeks 4 days. Due February 26th. It's pretty amazing to me how accurately they are able to tell how far along a baby is--to the DAY. We were both shocked by our due date. Not only does that feel way too soon, but it is in the heat of basketball season! AH. I may give birth to this baby alone in a hospital room while Kyle is in Connecticut some weekend. Is there a truer form of basketball widow-ship? We both got a good chuckle because every time we talked about having a baby we specifically figured dates so it wouldn't be born during basketball season. HA.

I can't hold my stomach in anymore. Entering that awkward stage where you aren't noticeably pregnant, but you are noticeably chubbier. *Sarcastic Yay*






MONTH THREE

--The family knows!
--More energy!, but tire quickly when exerted
--Dizziness if I do not eat every few hours
--Generally pudgier  in my stomach area. I've been sticking to my jeans that are a size too big and stretchy pants.
--Easily irritated by people/things...
--Skin not loving the extra hormones, hello acne.
--Aversions: Veggies (less appealing, but I still can eat them), allllll meat (cannot eat)
--Cravings: Biscuits and Gravy, Subway, pizza sticks from the LW (my high school) cafeteria

I can already tell that this baby is a shaker and a mover. It is too early in pregnancy to actually FEEL baby moving. But, sometimes, usually when I shower, if I focus on my lower abdomen, I can see little ripples flutter across. It is fun for me.
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We told our families in the middle of July. Baby is the twelfth grandchild for my side so we revealed using a dozen eggs. I colored the eggs in order of the genders of my nieces of nephews (pink, blue, blue, blue, pink, etc.) dying the last egg yellow and then on a piece of paper wrote "an even dozen." We told my Dad first and then send the picture to my siblings. NO ONE GOT IT. "Why are you sending us a picture of eggs you dyed?" Haha. Eventually my Dad was like "she's having a baby, people." Thanks for helping get the ball rolling, Dad. We told Kyle's side at our family vacation by simply putting our ultrasound on the fridge and waiting for them to see. My heart was racing as I sat in the living room and people started filing into the kitchen from outside. Thump thump, thump thump, waiting, thump. We have felt totally surrounded by support and love. We are blessed beyond measure.
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We had a scare at the end of July, beginning of August. One night I began bleeding and it was devastating. We both cried and worried together. Kyle was leaving to head back to Ithaca in the morning and so the timing for something traumatic was poor. I laid in bed all Saturday thinking that maybe if I didn't move, everything would be okay. Turning to the internet for answers was definitely a poor idea, though my only resource. My doctor's office was closed until Monday, so I just waited. Luckily, the bleeding didn't last very long. Eventually reading internet miscarriage horror stories actually lead me to some resources that were very helpful and reassuring. By Sunday afternoon I was beginning to feel like maybe the baby was still okay. Though, we both had trouble trusting that feeling--scared the opposite would be true and we would be completely heartbroken.

On Monday morning at 8 am sharp, I called the doctor's office and asked if there was any way I could get in that day. They were gracious. That afternoon I headed to the doctor all the way in Payson (where they could fit me in.) On the phone I had asked for "Dr. Clark" whom I had been seeing. Well, they sent me to a Dr. Clark who worked in their network, but it wasn't the one I had been seeing--it was his father. It was the greatest mistake! He was the absolute sweetest man. He asked about mine and Kyle's lives, what we were doing, etc. He took time to ask my feelings and explain everything. He was just so considerate and I was holding back tears at my appointment. I wish he could be my OB for the rest of my pregnancy.

He said that he suspected everything was fine, but that he would send me to get an ultrasound just to make sure. "Ultrasound techs aren't actually supposed to tell you what they see. But, you stay in that office and I will call you. I won't let you go home until I get results and can let you know that everything is all right." <3 This ultrasound was breathtaking. That's the best word I can think of. I so wish Kyle had been there with me! It was a much higher quality than one they did in office when I was 7 weeks along. She let me listen to its heartbeat, but also showed me where his/her heart was and let me WATCH it. She pointed out different body parts arms, legs, etc. She paused for a while over the baby and we watched him/her kick and squirm all around. It was AMAZING. The first ultrasound we got, you could barely even tell where the little baby was haha. This one, it looked like a real baby! It was so relieving to see our little bundle and hear that heart beating.