I promise to get back into normal posts and discuss teaching, family, and every day things soon… but for today I want to talk Pregnancy Symptoms.  As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I checked out some of my favorite bloggers who have little ones, or little ones on the way (you can check them out here, here, here, here, and here).  Since I really enjoyed being able to read about pregnancy symptoms, I figured my readers might too!    If not, hang in there…. normal posting will be back soon .

Week 4 Symptoms:

Like I mentioned in my First Trimester Review, I just knew I was pregnant.  All week long I was having weird dreams (lot’s of donkeys were involved… wtf?) and light cramping on and off.  I also noticed that I got really dizzy if I stood up too fast, and I had a weird “full” feeling in my lower abdomen.  I can’t really describe it, but “full” would be the most accurate description that I can think of.  It was during the end of my 4th week that my suspicions were confirmed! 

Week 5 Symptoms:

Most of my symptoms kind of subsided this week… no cramping or anything…. except for my boobs.  To say they were “sore” wouldn’t do it justice.  Take the word “sore” and times it by 100, then add all the other painful words out there…. and then you might get it.  I wore a sports bra to sleep every night and that seemed to help a bit.

Week 6 Symptoms:

HUNGER.  My hunger kicked up this week into some sort of crazy mode.  I ate, and ate, and ate more…. yet I was still hungry.  I was also very emotional this week and had a few breakdowns while listening to Michael Buble in the car.  Bobby is still having nightmares….

This week was also when my all-day sickness began.  It started off slow…. and then hit like a tornado.  This was the week that vegetables lost ALL appeal to me.  Oh, and I was still wearing that sports bra 24/7.  SORE!

Week 7 Symptoms:

This was probably my worst week so far (hence, no picture – my energy was ZAPPED).  I was bloated (not just in my stomach…. everywhere), my face broke out, I was exhausted (huge bags under my eyes), and I was dry-heaving on (what seemed like) a constant basis.  Pregnancy was NOT a pretty look for me that week.  I couldn’t get up enough energy to blow dry my hair, let alone put on a stitch of makeup or care about what clothes I was wearing.

My poor students that week had no clue what hit them.  I gave them “busy work” galore, I gagged into my garbage can…. I yelled…. I cried…. it was NOT pretty.  This was also the week that I ended up telling my coworkers that I was pregnant.  I walked in to school one morning and one of them told me that I “didn’t look so good.”  Well, that was all I needed.  The waterworks started and the secret was out!

Week 8 Symptoms:

Well, this week was the week that Hurricane Sandy decided to hit (again, the reason for no picture).  To say that it was a tough week obviously wouldn’t do it justice…. luckily we had decided to wait out the storm at my family’s house down at the shore, so although we were still getting hit (very hard), we were out of Hoboken.

Either way, we had no power for almost a week… so it was interesting to find foods that I could eat without making my all-day sickness worse.  I was moody, emotional, cranky, cold and tired.  I’m not quite sure which symptoms had to do with Sandy, and which had to do with pregnancy, but either way, it was another “not so pretty” week.

Thankfully, for my students, we were off of school for a week so they got a little break from their hormonal, sick teacher.

Week 9 Symptoms:

The start of my “bump?”  This was when my all-day sickness started to let up a bit (THANK YOU GOD).  My boobs were still sore, and I was still feeling a little bloated, but for the most part, I felt a little more like my normal self.  I finally made it back to the gym and the exhaustion started to get a bit better.  I was able to do my hair (regardless of what the picture looks like, I did), put on makeup, and smile again!!   I also noticed that I got a little belly “pooch.” Of course, it could have been from all the bagels, crackers, and chocolate milk I was putting in my body…. but whatever, I’ll take it.

Week 10 Symptoms:

Whoa, belly.  Where the hell did that come from?  10 weeks, and a actual belly?  Is that even possible?  If we are being honest here… I think that “belly” had a little to do with baby, and a lot to do with the lack of bathroom visits.  That was a MAJOR symptom during weeks 8-10, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I don’t think I “went” once.  Thank you, pregnancy hormones.  Thank you.

Besides that, my boobs were still sore, but everything else seemed to be much more normal!

Week 11 Symptoms:

I feel like my “all over” bloating has subsided a little bit, which I am VERY happy about (p.s. can you tell I have stopped making sure I’m nicely dressed for my weekly pics?  Too much effort for this girl…).  My doctor gave me the “okay” to use Miralax to help with my bathroom issues, so thankfully that issue  has let up a bit.  That means the belly is real!    I can actually feel a hard bump right below my belly button that my doctor says is my uterus!  It’s crazy that you can actually feel it from the outside.  My old clothes are NOT fitting right, and I’ve been forced to buy a few maternity shirts and pants.  They are amazingly comfortable…. love them.  I’m a little concerned because I feel like most people aren’t “showing” just yet.  I know everyone is different, but still, it’s hard to stop myself from comparing!

I mean, yes, this means my baby is growing which is amazing… but does this also mean that I’m going to be large…. very large… as more time goes by?

…..anyway, here we are, in Week 12!!!! 

So far, it’s been a great week that’s involved the return of roasted veggies!  Yum.  I’ve also been hitting the gym every morning, which feels great!  More elaborate 12 week details to come….

Have a GREAT rest of the week!!!

Weirdest question ever:  If you HAD to have either extreme all-over bloating, extreme constipation, or all-day sickness, which would you choose?