This week we did something big, we finally publicly announced our pregnancy. Most of our family and friends already knew and it wasn’t some huge secret but I didn’t want to post anything on social media (or The Salty Exchange) until after we got to see our little girl on the 20 week anatomy ultrasound. This ultrasound was the first time we got to see our baby since the 6 week ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy. Why is it that women aren’t able to have ultrasounds once a month at their OB appointments, huh? There are quite a few issues I have surrounding medical care in regards to pregnancy but I will save that for another blog post and I am sure Kendall will gladly chime in, ha!
My first trimester (like most women) involved several weeks of nausea. The best way I could describe it was 24/7 flu but without throwing up, just nauseous and achy… ALL THE DAMN TIME! After 2 weeks of that I called my doctor to request some pregnancy safe anti-nausea medicine because I was starting to feel depressed by how awful I felt. The only words of comfort to me at the time were, “In most cases, sickness is directly correlated to good fetal health,” or, “Just take the anti-nausea medicine, if someone judges you they have their own issues.” Luckily this part only lasted four weeks for me (weeks 6 – 11 of pregnancy) which happened to be during Thanksgiving time. By Christmas I was almost in my second trimester and already feeling better. The aversions to certain foods persisted into my second trimester but not nearly as nauseous inducing as they had been. My poor husband couldn’t eat ANY meat around me, which was hard for him because he is still eating pretty clean and that includes a lot of meat and veggies.
Along those lines, I now understand why women eat fairly terribly during pregnancy and it is honestly because NOTHING sounds or looks or smells good. I had these lofty dreams of eating salads and smoothies and making nutritious meals but when my nausea hit, I could barely make toast, let alone think of something nutritious that didn’t make me queasy. All that to say, I am glad that part of pregnancy is behind me although some women say some nausea comes back in the third trimester, I am hoping that isn’t the case for me. Another thing I’ve realized is that pregnancy is so incredibly different from person to person. My experience could be relatable to some and not to others. Some women brag about their easy pregnancies and what they credit their lack of symptoms to but that isn’t fair because not everyone will have the same experience and every experience is valid. Kendall told me multiple times when I was in the thick of my nausea, she told me to remember this part of pregnancy because too often women forget how hard and awful those moments are because they don’t last forever. I think that was some of the best advice because I can now empathize with other women in their first trimester who are dealing with the sickness that can accompany major body changes and fetal development. It’s no joke and it was helpful for me to know that I wasn’t in it alone and that other women understood my discomfort.
Now I transition into the latter part of my pregnancy journey. The end of the second trimester and onto the third which will be followed by (drum roll please) the birth of our baby girl. I am trying to stay open and positive about birth but I am not going to lie, that part of the process is intimidating too. I keep reminding myself that women are created for this. This week, seeing baby in the ultrasound reminded me that we are made to create, grow, and give life. Women are amazing. I am amazing. My body is doing something I can’t even fathom, honestly. Baby had her little hands in her face during the ultrasound, opening and closing her mouth… I could envision her doing that outside the womb with cute coo’s and baby squeaks to accompany those precious movements. I cannot wait to meet her, hold her and watch her grow, but I am also stopping in this moment to enjoy the process happening inside me; so intricate, so beautiful, and so primal. Pregnancy is wild. What an adventure!
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