Now that the news is OUT, I can finally share photos, stories, and random things I learned about the first trimester! ๐ As soon as I typed the title for the blog post, I thought… “Did I really just say that?!” Mentally, it hasn’t sunk in. Physically, though, it has in so many ways!! No bump to show yet, but definitely a good bloat … or what women like to call a “blump!” HAHA! This is a hefty post, but I don’t plan to spam you with a ton of pregnancy posts on the blog. ๐
How We Found Out
The Day Before Easter
I made my monthly online grocery order at Walmart with a pair of pregnancy tests to be picked up that evening. The deliverer came out and told us, “Guess what have been the two most popular items during the pandemic? 1. condoms 2. pregnancy tests. Sorry, we are out.” **Out of alllllll things…** HAHA! So Alex quickly ran into CVS for a test when the clerk advised him to grab more than one test because it was “buy one get one free!” He thought we only needed one test. When we got home, I avoided the test/didn’t have to pee. We obviously talked about starting a family, but it was a little frightening thinking that this test could change our lives…
When it eventually came time to take the test, I didn’t really pay attention to what it looked like on the screen beforehand, but I waited a couple of minutes for a negative or plus sign. I saw one very obvious line with another line, but very faint. I thought maybe the screen had faint lines initially and had to darken for it to be positive, so that meant… negative! *TOSS IN TRASH CAN.* (To be fair, the plus sign wasn’t as dark as what the directions indicated.)
I walked outside to find Alex casually hanging out on the hammock and said, “The test was negative … but I OPENED A BOTTLE OF WINE!!!” Ha! A few minutes later, Alex came inside and asked to see the test. I told him that I threw it away… He disregarded the wine and grabbed the test from the trash can. From the other room, he said, “STEPHANIE. THIS IS POSITIVE!” If you can only imagine… there was a lot of denial from both ends. HAHA!
After dinner, I did a little Google poking and found out that a faint line could still mean positive…. We grabbed our things and sprinted out the door to pick up not just one, but THREE more tests! HAHA! But again, the lines were very faint (not that faint-Alex) that evening. So we decided to save a test for the early morning.
Easter Morning
I woke up at 5 a.m. and took the dummy-proof test that read “pregnant” or “not pregnant.” Less than a minute of waiting, it said “PREGNANT.” I snuck back into bed and gently woke up Alex to share the news. We were both in disbelief hugging each other and couldn’t go back to sleep! I got up to start making our Easter morning breakfast and decided to surprise Alex with an Easter egg hunt. ๐ He ran around the house collecting chocolates and clues that led him to his favorite Dr. Sues book, “All the Places You’ll Go” with a letter inside saying he’s going to be a DAD! ๐ Now we are anticipating our baby’s big debut around Christmas and we couldn’t imagine a better gift to end this crazy year. <3
Since then…
I have to brag on my husband for a second! I never doubted his ability to be a great father figure in the future, but GOSH. The way he displays his love and care for our little one makes my heart EXPLODE. Every single day, Alex prays for him/her to grow big, strong, caring, compassionate, and most importantly love God. <3 I cannot wait to raise our babe with my best friend! Until then, we can wait for December because these months are going to FLY by so fast! ๐
What I Learned About the First Trimester…
You cannot be a superwoman and do it all. Dishes and laundry will pile up and this is just preparing you for what is to come nine months later… Ha! Andddd it doesn’t help when your home has a hot water leak under the slab of your home!! This pregnant mom had to take bucket showers for almost three weeks! YIKES!
Morning sickness is not a thing … It’s more like an ALL-DAY-SICKNESS. Like being hungover every day for weeks!! This started around the 6-week mark and slowed down by the 14-week mark with a few hiccups. My heart goes out to mommas who had it WAY worse than I did! I’ve had friends who even sick until the 30-week mark… Somehow, God allows us to forget this uncomfortable time!
Food aversions … I didn’t understand why my favorite foods like eggs, almonds, salads, and MEAT all made me queasy. I’m still battling through the aversions and constantly testing out the waters (while trying to not push myself too much) hoping I can get back on track soon. But my body is saying… GIVE ME ALL OF THE CARBS, FRUIT, and CHEESE! Haha!
My current favorite food? Dried mango and Starbucks egg bites!!! It’s the only type of egg I can stomach right now so… Starbucks, you might get rich … or I’ll go broke … by the time this pregnancy is done! Haha! Also, chocolate milk? YUM!
Fatigue … Holy cow. I was not a napper until pregnancy. Fortunately, now that I’m in the second trimester, my fatigue and morning sickness has mostly gone away! ๐ YAY!!!!!
Body changes. I don’t want to get too TMI here… but what comes with bloating? All of the bubbles in your tummy! Hopefully, it’s just music to the baby. ๐ HAHA! I’ve learned that I need to eat small meals to avoid this as much as possible. But there were weeks that this would be inevitable. And speaking of body changes… I guess I need to go bra shopping!
Despite the things that have caught me by surprise, I’m reminded on a daily basis to appreciate this experience. <3
The First Trimester
Appointments look a lot different than it probably should… #nothankyoucovid. I was feeling GREAT until this exact day when I started to feel superrrrr tired. But we also found out we were 5 1/2 weeks at this point too. ๐
After that first appointment, we had a tornado about a mile away from our home! Talk about TERRIFYING! Don’t let that smile fool you. ๐ But we celebrated our survival by indulging in some banana pancakes (Jack Johnson, anyone?)!
Somehow, I managed to bike 20-miles that weekend! So ice cream was obviously the finish line! ๐
After the symptoms came in full-force, even getting out to the beach was a struggle… It was quite unpredictable how I was going to feel, but I managed to even go on a boat ride (thanks to a little medicine)!
Some have asked how are Pixie and Ollie handling the news… Haha! Well, Ollie is still oblivious and not quite sure what is happening and Pixie is ATTACHED to my hip!
Memorial Day weekend, we finally got to share the news with our families!!! They were SO excited! <3 I was feeling pretty tired that day and managed to get through it! ๐
Alex surprised me on Mother’s Day with these fun treats. Haha! AND my sweet and thoughtful sister-in-law gave me one of my favorite gifts โ This MAMA Adornia necklace!!! ๐ ๐ ๐ I cannot wait to wear it!
I started taking “bump” … or should I say, “blump” photos!! I’m not that great or consistent, but I will try my best to document the progression! ๐ Right now, we have an orange on our hands, and soon, a PEAR!
Now that I’m feeling semi-back to normal, we hiked 5-miles over the weekend and took a day trip to Alabama for our one year anniversary! So much fun!!!
Lastly, we FINALLY made the big announcement!!! I have always loved Christmas, but it looks like Santa isn’t the only one coming to town this December!
BABY SCHLOE DUE DECEMBER 2020!!!!
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