Since I've just entered my second trimester (on Monday), I thought I'd do a bit of a recap of the last 13 weeks, so I can remember it later on. I found out I was pregnant on November 1st, but had already been suspicious for a week or so before that. On a girls' trip to Orlando for my friend, Becky's, 30th birthday I had made a comment at one point about how strong the smell of smoke was in a convenience store. Later on, my friend Sally asked if I thought I might be pregnant because she really hadn't noticed the smell. I knew it was a possibility, but since we had just miscarried a month earlier, I didn't want to get my hopes up. Then, even when I was pretty sure that we had another little one growing, I still waited a few days to take a test. I had quite a bit of lower back pain early on in this pregnancy, and since I never experienced that with Liam but did have lots of back pain before and during the miscarriage, I was very nervous. As soon as I saw the positive sign on the test, my prayer became a) that this would be a healthy baby, and b) that I would have noticeable symptoms to help ease my mind.
I might want to think twice before I ever ask God for symptoms again, because two days later, at my birthday dinner with friends, I was barely able to eat because I was so nauseous. With Liam I really didn't experience any nausea until I was about 8 weeks along, and then I think it lasted until about 13 weeks. This pregnancy the nausea kicked in at 4.5 weeks and started to subside around 11 or 12, though I do still have waves of it from time to time. Gratefully, neither pregnancy has resulted in me throwing up more than once (so far), so I know I'm super blessed in that way.
Other than earlier and longer nausea and the back pain from weeks 4-7, this pregnancy has been very similar to my first. I'm so happy to have most of my energy back ... the fatigue and loss of ALL motivation that I experience in the first trimester is really frustrating. Our house needs a LOT of help :) I had thought that the beginning of pregnancy might be harder this time around, since I spend all day chasing a toddler; but actually I think it has been easier. When I was pregnant with Liam I was working full-time, so I had to be "on" from the time I got up at 6:30am until I got home from work around 5:30pm. I remember coming home most nights those first few months and just crashing on the couch, barely moving until bedtime. This time around, except for the two days a week that I work, I've been able to sleep until Liam wakes up, and then nap when he does if I feel like I need it.While this did not result in a sparkling house or lots of great home-cooked meals, at least I didn't feel as miserably tired as I remember with Liam. I've also noticed that in general I feel healthier this pregnancy. I worked out much more faithfully in the past year than I did before I was pregnant with Liam, and even though I've been too worn out for that the past few months, I still stay very active just being his mom.
A few other highlights from this pregnancy so far:
- Seeing our little one on an ultrasound at 9.5 weeks
- The nurse FINALLY finding the heartbeat after what seemed like forever at both of our last 2 appts.
- Feeling the first flutters of noticeable movement a few different times over the past week
- The way Liam pulls up my shirt & points to my belly button when I ask him about the baby
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