FIRST TRIMESTER RECAP
I'M PREGNANT!!
I can't even believe I am actually writing a post on pregnancy! I am in complete awe of this entire experience especially over the grace the Lord has shown us. I am still in such shock! Today I am 15 weeks and 1 day baby is due on December 14, 2018. I wanted to do a post recapping my first trimester weeks 1-13, starting with my experience on Clomid.
CLOMID
3 weeks before I found out I was pregnant I took my first dose of Clomid. If you remember from my last post on infertility you read that I had taken my first round of Clomid back in March and found out I was pregnant on April 4th. I truly did not know what I was thinking of taking Clomid right in the midst of all of our renovations. I had heard and was warned that it would make you extremely moody/sensitive but for some reason I guess I didn't think it would be that bad. Well, I experienced every single side effect you could possibly have when taking it. It was the worst week/weeks of my life, my emotions were all over the place. I felt so depressed to the point of crying, I questioned/regretted every decision I made when it came to our renovations and I was sooo hungry all the time. It wasn't like cravings it was like true hunger pains, I would eat constantly! haha I put on about 5 pounds in just one week! The intensity of these symptoms lasted about one week but then after that week, I experienced normal menstrual cycle symptoms bloatedness, cravings, mood swings, etc. I had made up my mind that that was my last round–it wasn't worth it to me, especially because everyone around me that had a success story with Clomid had to go through about 8-12 rounds. I am humbled in writing this because just after one round the Lord showed us grace and I was pregnant!
WEEKS 4-6 : No Nausea. No Vomiting. No cravings. No Fatigue. But can you say BLOATED? Oh my, I thought I was gonna blow up. Everything felt so tight, muffin tops hanging out all over the place. I remember forcing my jeans to go up and thinking oh man I am gonna be one big pregnant momma at the rate I am going. I kept thinking about my sister and the unicorn she was not showing until week 20! hahaha Thankfully it only lasted two weeks, but it was not any fun. lol. During these weeks Mike and I still weren't 100% sure we were pregnant, we were convinced that it was a False Positive and were anxious for my doctors' appt at 6 weeks.
When I visited the doctor for the first time at 6 weeks and got to see the baby, it felt real, I cried. I couldn't believe I was actually seeing a baby inside of me! When I told Mike that the doctor confirmed my pregnancy is real, he was over the moon and his first response after asking, "how does she know it's real?" was, "When can we start trying for the next one!?" hahaha Little does he know how things works, but I felt the same way, oh man will it take this long for our second, third and/or fourth. As far as symptoms went, I still felt completely normal, everything felt the same. I was a little worried that because I didn't feel anything it was a sign of a potential miscarriage. (just doubts and worry)
WEEKS 7-9 : Still No Nausea. No Vomiting. No cravings. but now I was experiencing fatigue. At first, I was in denial, I didn't think the sleepiness I was feeling could be from pregnancy. I blamed it on cutting out coffee. Looking back during these weeks things still felt pretty normal, I was still working out consistently, working, and doing my normal activities. I did start incorporating more cardio in my workouts, prior to pregnancy I was doing Orange Theory pretty consistently but I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep up with it during my whole pregnancy. So I started to run every other day between 6-8 miles but by week 9ish I stopped Orange Theory and was strictly running/jogging 6 days a week. Looking back I am so thankful I started to run, one of my good friends recommended exercising when I needed a pick-me-up. At first, I thought she was crazy. But running has been my safe haven–giving me a boost of energy, lifting my emotions, not to mention, it is my favorite time with God.
HOW WE FOUND OUT THE GENDER AT 9 WEEKS!! So if you remember Mike was anxious to find out the gender ASAP, a friend of ours told us that you could find out the gender as early as 8 weeks through genetic testing. So we looked into it and found a laboratory that specifically conducted gender testing but it was done no earlier than 9 weeks. If you are interested click here. At first, we were extremely skeptical because no one we knew had taken the test but it was 100% worth it and now that I am 15 weeks we have a second confirmation that it's a boy!
WEEKS 10-13 : OK at this point, FATIGUE WAS IN FULL SWING AND SOOOO WERE THE CRAVINGS. Man oh man! These were probably the hardest weeks for me but comparing it to what other mommas went through during their first trimester this was a breeze. During these 3 weeks, my house was never cleaned, I had absolutely zero motivation to clean. I would go on my run and during it, I would make a mental list of all the things I would want to get done. I'd get home, shower and attempt to get some things done on my list, well after completing one task I was ready to crash. I would sit down for 20 minutes (attempting to regain motivation) and immediately want to crash. This was extremely frustrating for me, I would get down and feel so guilty for being so lazy. I remember reading Proverbs 6 and comparing myself to the sluggard, but these thoughts were so ungodly. If you are experiencing the same do not feel guilty for resting or feeling tired, God is knitting your baby in your womb and at the same time, all of His amazing work is causing you to feel tired. Because I was so fatigued the last thing I wanted to do was cook, which was amazing for my cravings haha it was the highlight of my day to think of what I wanted to eat that day and feed into my food desires. haha! I didn't crave anything weird just food. The worse it was the better, like Orange Chicken from Panda Express, a whopper from Burger King, the entire Chick-fil-A menu. I mean you name it, I wanted it. Let's just say during this time I really had to practice self-control not to give in to overindulging. But when I did, my 8 mile runs really helped burn those extra calories.
I can't wait to share week 14!! Let's just say I am loving my Second trimester!!
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17
Every week felt like a milestone, I was extremely apprehensive my entire first trimester. I knew that the Lord was the author of life and that it is He who gives and He takes away. I am so thankful for His grace in carrying us through this far and will continue to rely on it. I am so thankful for each of you and the encouragement you have shared with me. Please keep us in your prayers; for our baby's health, pregnancy, and for his salvation.
With so much Love, Nioby
