Try Me One

The first trimester...let's just say, was trying.  It started off, however, quiet well.  The week I found out I was pregnant, I weaned myself off of coffee with no headache.  I can't say the same for Sam.  He went through withdrawals.  I also ate very healthy (not that I don't normally, but I even more intentional and vigilant about it):  blueberries, avocados, salads, peanut butter. I was feeling good, but the following week, around week 6, the aversions set in shortly followed by all day nausea.  I didn't want anything to do with any of the healthy food that I had gorged on the previous week.  It was like my body associated my newly nauseous feeling with all the healthy stuff.  I ate bland: chicken, potatoes, broccoli.  It wasn't well balanced, but it was all I could stomach.  I also couldn't let my stomach get empty or there was this nagging feeling of sickness.  I lived on crackers, cheese, and yogurt for snacks.  I guess that is part of the reason prenatal vitamins are so important :)
Around week 11, I started to perk up and expand my food pallet again, reincorporating more color and flavor into my diet.  Like clockwork at week 12, the sickness resolved.  It definitely wasn't as bad as it could have been; I was able to keep stuff down, and only dry heaved twice:  once while brushing  my teeth and once while emptying the dishwasher (nobody likes emptying the dishwasher!).  I came through healthy and having only gained 4 pounds.

Baby Bump Tracker:

Week 5: 

Week 12:

I experienced other pregnancy symptoms like clockwork.  However, I wonder if it had anything to do with a placebo effect because we were religiously reading pregnancy week-by-week guides that tell you how big your baby is, what is developing, and what is happening to your body.  The most amazing thing that I learned and experienced is that your body begins producing 50% more blood; therefore, your heart begins to pump blood to the baby faster than blood is returned to you, which causes such awesome side effects as tiredness and shortness of breath.  I continued to run through my first trimester, and continue to do so, but I definitely felt the effects of this symptom on my jogging pace and stamina!  Sam had to start leaving me in the dust because my motto was slow and steady.  I  also continued going to my regular yoga classes, all part of my normal routine.  I think exercising really helped get me through some energy dips. Additionally, I experienced such pleasant symptoms as constipation and insomnia.  The sleepless nights were the worst!  Pregnancy hormones cause you to have to get up and go to the bathroom more, as well as stay awake more- at night.  Several nights a week, I would be up between the hours of 1 and 4 am tossing and turning, and sometimes studying or reading for school.  It was frustrating, but I tried to make it productive time. This, by far, took the biggest toll on me with class and clinic hours to complete.  Naps were my friend.

 

At week 7 we had our first ultrasound and were able to hear the baby's heartbeat.  Sam joined me for this appointment.  He was so excited when he arrived that he got out of his car and left it running.  He quickly realized, though, and turned it off.  This was also confirmation that I was really pregnant.  Up until this point, Sam thought I might have been faking it because I didn't throw up.  He thought I hadn't been sick enough.  But sure enough, there was a little peanut shaped thing with a heartbeat in my tummy!  For some reason, though, it still didn't feel real. 

At the end of the first trimester, we took a babymoon to Chattanooga!  We stayed in a cabin and indulged ourselves on s'mores each night.

 


When we first arrived in town, we were hungry and lookin'
for a raved about fried chicken place, Champy's.  The kind people at the visitor's center advised us to drive, but since we had just driven in a car for three hours, we were ready to stretch our legs and did not heed their advice.  Let's just say, that this restaurant was in the ethnic part of town on Martin Luther King Boulevard.  We walked by a liquor store and got harassed by a gentleman lingering outside with a forty in his jacket pocket.  When we didn't stop, he began to follow us.  With our hearts beating quickly, mine extra quickly due to the adrenaline and extra blood circulation, we put our heads down and continued to walk.  Luckily, our fried chicken destination was less than a block a way...and boy was if filled with cars...and surprisingly Caucasians.  That chicken sure was good.  We took the other side of the street back and experienced no problems.

While in Chattanooga, we did some store and art browsing downtown,






 saw the Chattanooga Choo Choo,

and Ruby Falls:

We went to the art museum, as well as went to the Haunted Market and indulged in an AMAZING piece of maple cake which we ate at the middle of our pedestrian bridge walk:


We brought 2 movies along:  The acclaimed Nine Months with Hugh Grant, and The Muppets movie. 

 It was a great get away and just what we needed to celebrate the end of the first trimester and the beginning of number two for the three of us!

Observations of a Soon-to-be-Dad:
The first trimester was really rough.  I didn't get much sleep.  I had to eat bland food, and for the first time, I was subjected to pre-made freezer meals from the grocery store.  "What is my life coming to?" I wondered.  I couldn't run as fast as I used to.  Oh, then there were the hormones.  Sometimes, I felt like crying.  Sometimes, I felt like yelling.  Sometimes, I felt like staying at work until 5:00 or later.  Of course, sometimes, I was joyous (usually when petting a chicken).  But for the most part I was skeptical.  I wasn't really sure there was an actual baby in the belly.  Huzzah!  There really is a baby in there!  Oh the overwhelming responsibility.  But honestly, it's a truly amazing process that is going on right now.  I'm really transforming.  Into what?  We shall see.  It really hasn't been as awful as I thought it would be.  And my wife?  Well, what a wonderful, beautiful, strong woman to go through all of this and put up with me!