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?

Second, I know I’ve lost many readers because of my break, but to those of you who are still checking my blog, and still interested in what’s going on in my part of the world, I am humbled and so appreciative.  I can’t promise that I’m back for good, and that I’ll keep up with blogging as much as I was, but I’m here, and I’ve missed my readers…. I’m going to do what I can, when I can, for as long as it makes me happy. 

Now, on to the fun stuff….

BABY!!!!!

When/how we found out…. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I will be 12 weeks pregnant on Monday!  To say that I am excited to be out of the first trimester would be a HUGE understatement.  Bobby and I actually decided this summer that we were ready to start trying for a baby, so this wasn’t a huge surprise.  Regardless of how well prepared you think you are going to be though, I think the moment that a pregnancy test comes out positive is always a huge shock. 

September 28th was a Friday night, and Bobby came home from work with a big bottle of wine for the two of us to enjoy.  I was exhausted and just not feeling right, so I had a few sips before claiming that I was pregnant, and wouldn’t be partaking in our Friday night wine/DVR ritual.  Bobby looked at me like I was crazy, but even though I hadn’t taken a test, I was sure.  I just knew it.  I hit the hay pretty early and crossed my fingers that the next morning would confirm what I already knew.

Well, Saturday morning came and brought the happiest news we had ever received.  I’ll never forget the look of pure excitement and happiness on Bobby’s face when I jumped and squealed climbed back in bed to tell him the news. 

Of course, after about 5 minutes of laying in bed, we drove to the nearest pharmacy to confirm with more tests.  I needed to see more than two lines, I needed the confirmation of a big “YES.” 

A big “YES” I got! 

(Sorry to show you a pee stick again, but I just love how happy I was at that moment)

How my workouts changed….My normal workouts continued until about a month into pregnancy.  I was keeping up with my spin classes and Bodypump, and feeling pretty good.  Then the 5th week of pregnancy hit…. and it hit hard.  The constant nausea that took over my life forced me to spend any extra time I had sleeping, laying on the couch crying, or eating saltines.  There was no making it to the gym.  I would occasionally have a day when I felt somewhat okay, so I took a few walks and did some light elliptical, but nothing intense. 

It was a sick few months… a very sick few months! 

I’ve made it back though.  The nausea has subsided for the most part, and my energy has picked up a lot over the past 3 weeks. I am loving the feeling of being back at the gym so much.  Although my gym clothes are fitting a bit differently than they were before, it feels amazing!

How my food choices changed….  Right after we found out I was pregnant, I kept telling Bobby how excited I was to make the healthiest baby ever.  I had all these amazing plans for my nutrition, and thought about how big and strong my little one would get as I crammed in veggies, fruits, protein, healthy fats, and whole grains into my diet. 

And then, the lovely little thing called “morning sickness” (which, by the way, is the stupidest name ever.  It’s all-day, every-day sickness) hit me.  Suddenly, the very thought of vegetables and salads made me gag.  I couldn’t even think about putting anything green and colorful into my body without dry-heaving (sorry).  For a week, I lived off chicken fingers…. until the smell of cooking protein sent me into a crazy pregnant gagging fit. 

Little by little, every single healthy food that I previously loved became my enemy.  My diet consisted of saltines, bagels, buttered toast, ginger ale, chocolate milk, and ginger candy.  It was a pleasant month, lemme tell ya.

Slowly but surely, vegetables, salads and protein have been making a comeback into my life though.  There are some foods that still make me gag… (avocado, strawberries, almond butter, coconut oil, arugula, and yes…. chicken fingers), but for the most part, I’m feeling much better! 

How I’ve been feeling…. elated.  We are so excited for June to get here! 

I will take the exhaustion, nausea, mood swings, sore boobs, etc. any day for this little nugget that is growing healthy in my belly.  Hearing his/her strong heartbeat and seeing him/her jumping around on the ultrasound screen like a little dancing gummy bear changed my life.  It’s truly the most amazing feeling ever. 

If you’ve been pregnant… what was your first trimester like?