First, I have to say that I realize that the blog is getting a little "baby heavy." I feel like I need to state that this is not going to turn into a baby/parenting/mom blog. While some topics get a little weighted from time to time, this is still the Seinfeld of blogs and it is my intention to keep it that way. I have some eco topics I want to address soon, so hopefully that will mix it up.
But for now, in consideration of time I wanted to talk about my first trimester.
The Symptoms:
So when you first start telling people that you're pregnant they very often ask you about morning sickness. To me, this is kind of funny and even startling even though I am sure I have done this myself to every pregnant friend I have ever had. It's really a way of saying "How are you feeling?" which in reality is a caring question. But for me, I hear it as, "So, are you barfing?" Then I get kind of bashful and say no. I do not have a relationship with that sort of sickness for the most part in general. I am like Ted from
How I Met Your Mother, "Vomit Free Since '93" although for me it's more like 2003 (obviously there's the rare exception for the result of poor behavior if you know what I mean).
The reality is that if I did not know that I was pregnant as the result of 32 pregnancy tests (more on that later) and three blood tests, I would probably be seeing the doctor for what would be a self-diagnosed Vitamin B deficiency. This means that my only real symptom has been extreme fatigue. I mentioned this in my first baby blog post. I have never in my life experienced this type of exhaustion. The idea of sleeping all the time sounds kind of appealing and if you work from home like I do, that can be arranged. The problem is that you don't have the energy to do the things you love, or GET WORK DONE. I still have a dissertation to write, folks. That has made me feel like crud but fortunately I have been meeting my deadlines and I can answer student emails from my phone from the couch. Thank you, Mr. Jobs.
Pregnancy Tests Can Be Too Inexpensive:
The pregnancy tests you get at the pharmacy like Clear Blue or Error Proof Test and such are actually quite expensive, to me anyway. They are something like $10 a pop. However, I read on a friend's blog that you could buy these pregnancy test strips on Amazon where you can get 50 tests for something like $15. That comes out to $0.30 a piece. I can't think of any purchase I wanted to make that thirty cents would prohibit me from taking the plunge. So when we're talking about life changing information, I might go ahead and cure my curiosity a few times a day. It's not really fair for me to only tell you when I have good outcomes in life without being at least a little honest about when I am completely ridiculous. So I may have been a little anxious to find out if we were going to have a baby. And at the first sign of the faintest of lines I made a bee-line for my doctor's office to get a blood test. The conversation we had when she called to tell me the results was sort of hilarious. Now to be fair, I went in that moment because we were coming up on the Fourth of July weekend and there was no way I could wait 5 days to get confirmation and even though I had taken tons of tests, 500 tests wouldn't be enough to convince me until I got a doctor to confirm. I am an information intensive person (obviously) and I don't like to put myself through situations that I can't take. So she calls me and her tone is ... apprehensive. "Hi Shanna, we got your blood tests back. And well... well you're confirmed to be pregnant but I have to tell you.. I... I just have never actually seen numbers this low (If you're in the know about this sort of thing, my HCG was 15.6). So... yeah we close early tomorrow but I want you to come in first thing in the morning so we can test you again because... yeah wow these are low so lets see what your numbers do overnight." Shanna: "OKAY!!" So we went the next day and my numbers doubled and all felt right in the world.
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| The evidence of how absurd I am |
Would I recommend that you buy these super cheap pregnancy tests? Probably not. First, I didn't really get stressed about if the lines changed or not because I knew I was testing early. But Google told me that something like 0.6% of people find out as early as I was testing and I have always considered myself sort of lucky so maybe I was in that group! (I wasn't... obviously). Testing all the time will likely cause you to want more and more information which will cause you to Google. DON'T GOOGLE. FOR THE LOVE OF PISTOL PETE DO NOT GOOGLE. I am trying to keep advice to a minimum because it turns out advice is most circumstances is just annoying but listen to my words. Stay the heck away from Google.
I also think this is a tricky approach if you've been trying a long time. Like I said, I was testing but really just shrugged my shoulders at a negative and thought, well I can always test again tomorrow. However, if you've been trying a long time that could lead to daily disappointment when in reality you're probably just testing too early. Let your body start telling you if you're pregnant before testing. But that sounds like advice and I'm not giving advice so do what you want. Just some food for thought.
Cravings:
I had some strong cravings to macaroni and cheese (which I could eat every day anyway) and protein. One day I had a burger for lunch and a steak for dinner. I felt great about it.
Products:
Two products I have found especially helpful in the first trimester:
The Belly Band:
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| HAHA No this is not a picture of me |
You can get these at Target for something like $16. These things are nice for when your pants are getting tight so you can unbutton them and they still stay on, but you're still too small for maternity pants. Probably about 6-7 weeks in I was wearing the belly band for some pants/shorts. I obviously wasn't showing but any pressure on my abdomen since that early has been really uncomfortable. So for me, these were a yes.
The Snoogle Pillow:
I bought mine on Amazon, it was about $50. This early into the pregnancy I have mixed feelings. It's great for the couch and taking naps. In our bed it's a lot less comfortable because I turn a lot in my sleep so I have to move this whole thing and I am under the covers and it becomes heavy and right now it's more trouble than help. However, as I grow I think this will be extremely helpful for extra support so I am good with the purchase. I'll try to address this at the 3rd trimester wrap up.
Birthing Class:
We are going the natural birth route. I think as women our bodies were made for this experience and if billions of other women can have a baby naturally, then I can too (I hope!). I don't have judgments about the choices of others, how you birth your baby is between you, your partner, and your doctor (or midwife). So we signed up for a 12 week birthing class. Matt and I go together and it's about an hour and a half. It's pretty interesting. The method we are following is called The Bradley Method. I am glad we are taking the class. There's so much to learn and I like to feel in control of situations so this is a much better approach for me (remember, information intensive).
The Bump:
So... a picture!! Well I meant to have Matt take a picture but I forgot. I refuse to take a picture of myself in the bathroom mirror. It goes against my code. Plus there is a big difference between morning and night time in "the bump." Or at least I think so. Now I am just about 17 weeks so the bump is there for sure. I am not convinced that I look pregnant to others, but rather a strangely proportioned chunky person. That's not like self hate or anything, I just think I look kind of funny right now. I have an app that tells you how big the baby is based on fruit and vegetables but they must have a strange produce section because it seems like over time the vegetables will be smaller than the last. So I looked up the specs on an iPhone 5 and that's about the length and weight of our baby right now (again, thank you, Mr. Jobs).
Matt's mom bought me a tshirt that says something about the bump being a football fan. I think I am going to wear it tomorrow so if you follow me on Instragram I'll try to post a pic.
Being Touched:
I think I am a pretty loving person, especially verbally or in actions (like gifts or random acts of kindness) but being touched is probably last on my list of Love Languages. I don't necessarily dislike being touched but I typically only initiate touching (like hugging) someone else if we are pretty close or the situation calls for it (like happy or sad news) but I am happy to return a hug. But be warned if you hug me, I am going to hug you back like I mean it because life is too short for insincere hugs. Like when people pat you on the back during a hug. Get out of here with that. So, if you would have asked me pre-pregnancy or even early pregnancy if it would bother me if people touched my bump I would have said yes. Keep yo hands to yo self. Well a few brave souls have taken the plunge and reached out. It turns out it doesn't bother me at all. There's nothing to feel right now but I think it's like their little way of hugging the baby. I don't know. So if we are friends, it's okay. But strangers beware. I have really fast reflexes and I will not be held responsible for perhaps slapping you away a little too hard for putting your hands me. That's just a survival instinct, right?
The Things People Say:
I actually deleted this whole section. Just tread lightly when talking to pregnant people. Try to lean towards supportive and away from authoritative.
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