The Pregnancy Diary

I always thought I'd be one of those ladies who document their pregnancy with weekly pictures tracking growth and symptoms, either standing in the same spot with the same shirt, or maybe holding the fruit coordinating with the size of the baby. But that just never happened. I think having 3 pregnancies that didn't reach their second trimesters kinda took the wind out of my sails so to speak. When we found out we were pregnant the first time, we staged a cute little picture to send to everyone as an announcement, only to have to give the bad news just a few days later. After that, people just received normal texts, and I think this last time I even forgot to tell a couple people who surely should have been on the list!

 With this pregnancy even after the weeks passed and the baby stayed safe, I was honestly too sick to worry about snapping a weekly picture. The business of morning sickness (which I'm sure everyone knows by now does not limit itself to the morning) is quite an experience, and hard to explain unless you've dealt with it yourself. I have a dear friend who is right in the midst of it's clutches right now, and she texted me recently and said please tell me this does end! While I haven't forgotten about it, looking back it's all kinda fuzzy and makes me feel like it couldn't have been so bad - so I guess the good news is the awful feelings do fade and aren't as vivid as you always feel like will be. In the beginning when I started to feel kinda yucky I almost welcomed the feeling, because it was a new symptom that I hadn't had with my other pregnancies, and it seemed like a good sign. BUT, after a week or so, I was ready to feel well again! My first 16-18 weeks were loooong days of throwing up, or not throwing up but feeling car sick all day, with zero energy, and eating about 1 bite every 2 minutes just to make sure that one wasn't the one that would send you running to the bathroom, which results in you feeling like you are eating all. day. long. just to sustain yourself. Thank God for a patient husband who would bring me a protein shake first thing, and then come home from work and ask what he could do for me. We also were so blessed with friends and family bringing us meals through out those weeks. Slowly the days came when I didn't have to hold my breath when I opened the fridge, when I felt up to going to the grocery store, when I didn't have to hide in the kitchen at church until my stomach settled down, and when I finally felt up to visiting with friends for an hour or two.

Back tracking a little to "beginning", right after finding out I was pregnant our midwife began drawing my blood weekly to closely track my Progesterone and HCG levels. She also had me begin taking Progesterone immediately. The second week of blood work showed that my Progesterone was borderline lower than it should be, so we upped the dose, and the weeks to follow it leveled out to mid-range, praise the Lord! Of course the ideal situation is your body functioning properly + not needing anything extra to sustain a healthy pregnancy, but I am so thankful that a dedicated midwife and 4 pills a day (and possibly some extra pukiness) were able to give me the aid I needed! Around 12 weeks we started cutting back on the dose, until eventually I wasn't taking any and my numbers still looked good. I am curious to see how future pregnancies compare, if this will be an issue I will always face, or if my system will straight itself out and rise to the challenge all on it's own. :)

Excluding the morning sickness weeks, I'd say pregnancy has gone well! I felt like I played the "pregnant or fat" game for quite awhile (I guess due to a long torso?) but there isn't any hiding it now! I usually have a nap when there is one available for the taking (but I did that pre-pregnant too ;)), I potty about 849382 times a day #imgoodathydrating, I can't paint my toenails anymore (but that's a recent thing), and heartburn is a vicious animal when I don't have calcium on hand (but I'm believing for a HAIRY baby!!). That may look like a list of complaints, but it's more facts, and those facts can be pretty easily dealt with when you think of the end result. You really do give up your body when you are pregnant, and some routines/comforts you may be used to. Summer activities this year have been different for me (read: I don't get to participate), ultimate frisbee at campfires, slip'n'slide dodge ball at the family reunion, even laying on my tummy to tan my back. Those things just aren't happenin. While I do looooove those sports and being active, I wouldn't change my situation for the world. I consider being pregnant and carrying our child a huge privilege. Plus, what's 9 months in the grand scheme of things? I'd be pretty selfish to not wanna set aside some of my silly desires for that short length of time. There's always next summer...plus I'll have a little tiny cheerleader then. :)

I'm sure it would have been better to have done a post by month, or even trimester, but since I'm nearing the end now I thought I'd just compile my (scattered) thoughts into one. In 5 short weeks this pregnancy will (most likely) be behind me, and all my focus will be on the sweetest tiny human and all the things he/she will be doing! I promise I'll do more than just one post about that in the future ;)

10 weeks

15 weeks

18 weeks

20 weeks

23 weeks

27 weeks

29 weeks

32 weeks

34 weeks