I can't believe I'm even writing this post! There is so much to share!
First, Adam and I are so thrilled and grateful to be expecting! When we shared the news officially on Instagram, I got the same questions from everyone, so I wanted to put all the answers in one place to live, as opposed to answering them on Stories.
If you've followed me for a while, you know I'm not a "fluffy" writer...I'm usually pretty to the point! I was putting off writing this post because I thought it would take a really long time, but as I'm starting to organize questions, it's really not bad ;) I think there is one other reason that I've procrastinated writing this post...I know that pregnancy is such a sensitive topic and many of you may be in a season of waiting or longing for a baby. I just want to acknowledge you and that season before I move forward. I hope that my news encourages you and gives you hope.
Feel free to DM me any other questions and I'm happy to share, but these were the most common that I got! I hope they help you if you're on a pregnancy journey of your own :)
When are you due?
Officially July 8, 2023!
When we first went to the doctor, we thought we were 8 weeks along, but they said it looked like we were only 6 weeks and to come back in 2 weeks for an official measurement and due date. The first date they gave us was July 10th!! That's MY birthday, so I wasn't pleased. Yes, I'm one of those people who loves their birthday. And yes, I'm sure I have *a lot* to learn before becoming a mom. Ha! We'll see what happens, of course!
So the official date is 7/8. but I'm really pushing for June 30th. Literally I have 6/30 on my baby vision board.
How far along are you?
I'm about 15 weeks right now...and pants are starting to get tight! ;)
Is it a boy or girl?
We don't know yet, but YES, we plan to find out soon. I think I *need* to know...
Do you want a boy or a girl?
I've been shocked at how frequently we are getting this question, but we both have ZERO preference. We would like to have more kids, and ideally one of each, so maybe we'll have a preference for the next child depending on what this one is.
Were you trying?
I was hesitant to share this, but I want to try to be as helpful as possible, so here we go. We knew that we wanted kids, but didn't know when we wanted to have them. It's never "the right time," right? We have been married about 2 years, and we knew that it could take a while to get pregnant.
I have never been on hormonal birth control except for about a 6 month period right before/after we got married. I hated so switched to a natural method early in our marriage. I know it takes a lot of women time for their bodies to regulate after stopping hormonal birth control, so I think that's worth mentioning.
We decided that while we were on a trip we should just "see what happens" and stop using our natural birth control method. We think that's when I conceived.
How did you know you were pregnant/when did you find out?
When we went to the Grand Prix Formula One race in Austin back in September, that was the weekend I should have started my period. I was super tired and was feeling so bloated. As in, we missed the Ed Sheeran concert on the first night because I felt dead. Adam was so supportive and we had a low key dinner instead. Bless him! I didn't think much of it until the last day there and I realized I should have started that day. I'm not usually late, but those symptoms also could have been my normal period symptoms.
That week, Adam was traveling for work and I knew I should take a pregnancy test. I wasn't really in a rush tbh! I was running errands one day and starting *balling* at a worship song on the radio. I love a good worship song, but that was very odd for me! I rerouted to CVS immediately.
The only tests they had were store brand...I went home and took a test. There was a FAINT line. FAINT. I was like are you joking, how am I supposed to be able to see this?! So I took another one - another faint line.
So then I got serious and ordered the First Response *digital* test online and it was delivered that night. Bless for Amazon.
So I took the new test and it said "pregnant"....so clear. At that point, I thought I was, but it was kind of shocking to see it in writing! I'm pretty sure I starting laughing like a crazy lady, then cried, then was like omg this is real.
How did you tell Adam?
Adam was out of town, but he knew that I should have started my period. We talked on the phone that night and he hinted at wanting to ask me about it but I changed the subject and moved on. I didn't want to tell him on the phone and I didn't want to lie to him!
The next night, we talked on the phone again and he *straight up* asked me! (ahhh!) I played it veryyy cool and was like ohhh shoot, yeah I started, sorry didn't mention it to you, no big deal. Moving right along! (felt so bad!!)
He was getting home the next day and there wasn't time for anything cutesy, so I ordered a book called "dude, you're gonna be a dad!" (again, thank you Amazon!) and wrapped it, along with some polaroids I had taken of the pregnancy tests.
When he got home, he unwrapped it and knew right away and then he was IN SHOCK. At that point, I had had a few days to soak it in, so I knew he would need a few days to wrap his head around it!
He was shocked, excited, terrified...lol all of the emotions.
How are you feeling?
MUCH better now that I'm out of the first trimester! Honestly, it was a tough few weeks because I didn't feel good and I couldn't really share about it yet. So that turned into me just being absent on Instagram....which was kind of nice ;)
During the first trimester I felt so PUNY. I was tired all the time and had to gear myself up for the simplest activities. My workouts definitelyyy took a back seat. Most days I was staying in lounge clothes or workout clothes, and taking naps everyday. Adam had no clue I was napping during the day! He would get home and I would have pulled it together a little bit. Ha!
I felt nauseous and bloated all the time. I was never actually sick (huge huge praise!) but I basically ate carbs all day long to keep myself from dying. I normally eat pretty healthy during the week and then we eat out a few times on the weekend, but WOW that changed. I went from working out first thing and eating an egg/veggie/protein scramble to getting up, eating toast, going back to bed, eating a bagel, then maybe would go for a 10 minute walk. Ha! It was quite a shift.
I was so thankful for the day when I felt like I no longer needed to keep graham crackers on my nightstand! Woo!
What foods have you been able to eat?
Nothing tasted gross necessarily, but I definitely changed my diet in the first trimester. I ate anything that sounded appetizing and like it would help my nausea. For me, that meant a lot of toast, crackers, pretzels, bagels, frozen sweet potato french fries, etc.
I stopped drinking coffee because that didn't sound great. Now I have maybe 1/4 cup of coffee in the morning and I'm good.
This week I've been able to start having eggs for breakfast again, but I still have a piece of toast at some point during most mornings (toast is so good!) I actually am so thankful for a brand I found called Dave's Killer Bread (great story, too!) but each slice has like 5 grams of protein, and his cinnamon bagels ahve 12 grams of protein! A huge win for someone trying to eat 100g of protein each day.
Are you still working out?
I'm back to working out more consistently now. Probably week 13 I started feeling good enough to get back to workouts. I still eat before working out and just listen to my body for what feels good.
I had a meeting with myself very early in my pregnancy; I told myself that I wasn't going to get hung up on food, workouts, or body image, and that the only thing that matters is that I'm growing a healthy baby and feeling my best! Easier said than done, of course, but I think working on that mindset from very early on has helped me. I've got my baby vision board full of inspiring images to keep me on track. :)
Have you picked a name yet?
LOL no. We are so far away from this. I was never that girl who had a list of baby names ready for her future children. So I'm waiting for one to "speak to me" haha ;)
What's been the biggest adjustment?
For me, it's been all about embracing my limits. As someone who is self-employed and super independent, that's been a little tough! Like I said, I had a meeting with myself and set some pregnancy expectations...if my house is a mess, it's cool. If I'm not cooking dinner, it's cool. I'm glad to have a little energy back now though!
I'm so thankful for Adam because he has been a SAINT. He tries to be very understanding and definitely picked up some slack during the first trimester. He's the most supportive and I know he'll be such a great dad! He made a hilarious comment a few days ago and said something about how I can be the most helpless or the most independent in a matter of minutes. It's true. Ha!
I hope some of these have been helpful and/or entertaining! It's such a wild journey and I know it will continue to be! Thanks for reading!