The first trimester of my very first pregnancy was full of mixed emotions – excitement, joy, and fear to name a few.  I’m sure many other women can relate to this contrast of emotions because the pregnancy is so new and fragile in the first trimester.  I remember feeling like one wrong move could hurt the baby, so I would catch myself moving rigidly, standing up very straight, and even lowering my waistbands just a tad so as not to “put pressure on the baby.”  Of course all those things seem so silly now and they didn’t help or hurt at all.  They just reveal that my initial feelings of fear and vulnerability from just knowing I was pregnant literally changed the way I moved.  Of course Roy and I were over the moon and we wanted to scream our news from the rooftops, but we were also uneasy because we had to wait for what seemed like forever to confirm the pregnancy.  “What do you mean confirm the pregnancy?  How long until you know?”, I remember asking.  I went in to get back to back blood drawn.  I still remember where I was when I got the phone call from the nurse days later.  I stepped into the hallway of Hutchison School while praying and the nurse said “Your HCG levels doubled within 24 hours – that’s exactly what we like to see.”  “So…I’m really pregnant?,” I asked.  “Oh yes.”  Fireworks.

Then we got to go in for an ultrasound around week 7, I believe.  The nurse was quiet for again what seemed like forever and then she said, “There is ONE baby in there” to which Roy replied “Thank God [there’s only one.]  Don’t get me wrong, the man wanted a baby and he has nothing against twins…but he was relieved that we would be getting only one baby right now.  We saw and heard the heartbeat and I remember it sounded like a train and looked like a ball beating out of it’s chest.  We. were. in. love.

There was a scare around week 8 when I had a little spotting.  We prayed and prayed and relied solely on God because He was and IS the only one in control and we praise Him that it stopped after a couple days and never returned.

The next time we saw the baby, he looked like a gummy bear with tiny arm and leg buds.  He was wigling around! My heart melted more.

The weeks dragged by and I yearned to be reach 12 weeks, so the risks would go way down and we really could start telling people.

I had a strong urge to tell my mom, but I also wanted to wait until I saw her in person in just a few short days (for Roy’s surprise 30th b-day party I was planning).  After thinking about it and having her on my heart all day, I decided to tell her on the phone and when I called, to my surprise she already knew I had big news.  (My mom has feelings about people she loves that come true later.  She believes they’re from God and they’re not physic powers or anything crazy like that.  Perhaps I’ll do a whole post on this at some point down the road…)  Before I could tell her, she said, “Honey, what is it you have to tell me?  I’ve had this intense urge to call you all day, but I figured you would call me when you were ready.”

I remember thinking that everyone knew I was pregnant by just looking at me, but of course I wasn’t showing yet and no one could tell…except for Roy’s Aunt Katherine who later disclosed that she thought I had a glow and a tiny bump when she saw me at Roy’s surprise party at 9 weeks preggo.  Wow – skills!  At 10 weeks, I looked as if I had just slammed 3 cheeseburgers and was a little bloated, but that was only if you looked really closely and/or I pulled my clothes tight.

Finally, 12 weeks came and went and I was no longer in the first trimester.  I couldn’t wait to get a big baby bump and start looking pregnant and get out of that “Is-she-pregnant-or-just-bloated?” awkward phase.

Here I am at 10 weeks

Here he is at 11 wks and 5 days (Of course we didn’t know he was a he at this point though).

In the 1st Trimester….

I felt…

  • Soooooo tired
  • Sluggish
  • Hungry all the time

I craved…

  • Cheeseburgers and fries
  • Hand battered chicken tenders with homemade ranch
  • Fried pickles with homemade ranch
  • Fruit
  • Sour patch kids
  • Anything salty, sour, or rich!