baby journey!

i had been thinking of starting a blog for this pregnancy for a while, and when my friend mallory asked me if i was planning on blogging, i figured now is a great time to start since it's the first day of the 2nd trimester and a new year!

i really enjoy looking back on my two blogs from japan and remembering little details i might normally forget, so i'm hoping i will get the same benefits with this baby blog. here we go!


1st trimester wrap-up:

we found out i was pregnant at the very end of october. i had been charting my temperatures even though it was our first time trying because i know it doesn't always work on the first go, and i wanted some data points for the next month of trying (yeah...for those who know me, know i'm a super planner...). but, it worked first go! and actually, maybe the only reason why it worked is because of my charting. i was easily able to see my temperature go up, and therefore able to figure out my most fertile time. those calendar apps on phones aren't really the best because they base your cycle off a 28-day cycle, and that is definitely not true for most women. so, when you are planning on trying for a baby, i HIGHLY recommend charting so you can be more in-tune with your body.

before our home pregnancy test, i started getting little clues here and there that i COULD be pregnant, but i didn't want to get my hopes up because so many early signs are the same as PMS signs. we ordered a pack of First Response Early Result pregnancy tests (the most reliable from what i've read) on amazon (cheaper than the stores), and waited for them to arrive. the next day i became too impatient because at this point i COULD have missed my period if it were super on time, and we went to the dollar store 2 minutes away to pick up a test. now, don't be fooled by "dollar store home pregnancy test" or the fact it's literally only $1 and called "BABY TEST" hahaha...these things are actually really accurate! so, off we went, spent $1, waited the 3 minutes or whatever the test directions were, and looked down together at this:

a super duper extremely faint positive double line!!! you see, when you get pregnant, you get this extra hormone (hCG) that shows up on pregnancy tests. so...you either have it, or you dont, and it will either show positive (if you have it in your system) or negative (if this hormone is non-existant). you can get false negatives on a test, but a false positive is uber rare.

we were really shocked and excited at the same time! it was actually just a really weird moment to see such a thing, and to think things are going to change! the ones we ordered from amazon came 2 days later, so i tested again, and yep, i'd say POSITIVE!

we told both sets of parents and siblings right away, but wanted to wait a little bit to tell extrended family because we of course knew things could happen and the baby doesn't always stick. seeing the baby (and heartbeat) for the first time at 7 weeks really helped us feel a lot better about it though!

we decided thanksgiving would be a good time to tell extended family, and it went over wonderfully. everyone was so surprised and excited for us (it was hard for us and our parents to even keep the secret this long!). then finally on december 8th we heard the heartbeat for the first time at our doctor's office. it was really so strange to think that that little thing is inside me!


a few random fun things from first tri:

cravings:
nothing too weird i guess. things i like, i want more of, or sometimes if i hear something, it sounds AMAZING and i NEED it right away. also, i'm finding i am craving textures in food, over flavor sometimes.

nausea:
from about week 6 to week 10, nausea was around. i never threw up, but i would get waves of nausea all day, and was turned-off to food completely. everything sounded bad.

mood swings:
the day after xmas we put together the fisher-price starlight papasan cradle swing because we got it as a present from erik's parents and we wanted to see how it looked in person (and when i say "we put together the swing", i mean "erik did, and i handed him stuff").

he gave me the tray part to hold while he put together another piece and i started to cry. "this is the first 'baby tray' we've gotten for our little baby!" i said. it was ridiculous hahaha...i guess the combination of the red fisher-price logo with the tray and the little plastic stars for baby to play with was just too much and out came the waterworks >_<

our kitties:
kahlua, our siamese, has always been a mama's boy. always cuddling with me, and wanting to be near me, but somehow now he has UPPED his time with me. i didn't think it was possible, but he rarely leaves my side anymore, and is a super-cuddler now. i swear he knows i'm pregnant. sadie, our other cat, has pretty much stayed her independant self. i think poor kahlua's heart is going to break when we come home from the hospital with our new little one...i'll have to make sure to give him a ton of attention still!


things i love so far in early pregnancy:


the bellaband - SO NICE. i got one for xmas, which was perfect timing because my jeans were starting to get a little snug

this little guy really helps out with that! my jeans can be unbuttoned and no one will know! it just looks like a cami underneath my normal shirts. love it!

the snoogle body pillow - my lower back had juuust started to hurt a bit around xmas time, so luckily i got one of these!

i slept with it the night after xmas, and i felt like i was in a little cocoon or something hahaha...i was in like a little ball of comfort. i know these explanations are weird, but if you ever get one, you will understand!


i think that pretty much wraps up 1st tri! i think i'll update this blog weekly with any interesting things that happen in the past week. by the way, baby right now is the size of a peach and it's forming it's teeth and vocal cords! :)