Okay guys, I have literally not been on here since December! That’s insanity!! By now those of you that follow me know I’m pregnant & am due the first few weeks in May with a sweet baby boy!
Honestly life’s been so crazy since finding out and getting used to all that comes along with it, that I’ve been a little distracted! I figured before I’m officially enter the 3rd trimester this week, I should post about the 1st and 2nd!
First and foremost before we get to that – to every single person out there who has sent congratulations our way, has kept us + baby in their prayers, and has sent their warm wishes and advice, I want to say THANK YOU!! Your love is felt and is so appreciated! Also, to any mommas out there that are trying to conceive and are struggling, you are in my thoughts and prayers. Keep the faith that it will happen, even when times are so unbelievably tough, god has a plan!! XoXo
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1st Trimester
In September of 2019 as me and Ryan left for our honeymoon I mentioned while at the airport that I was a few days late, Ryan mentioned that it probably didn’t happen that quickly and I figured he was right and told myself not to get my hopes up. (The month before our honeymoon we realized after using ovulation sticks, linking here, for two months before to get my cycle planned out that I wouldn’t be ovulating on the honeymoon which is when we wanted to start trying so we said screw it, it won’t happen before we leave! SIKE) We landed in Italy spent a few days there and went on to Greece. After about 3 days in Greece I realized I was over a week late and I took a pregnancy test. Not having anything cute planned I literally handed it to him while he was mid-bite at breakfast. He was like noooo wayyyy! I can’t believe that happened that fast! And I can’t lie although I was so excited I started to get some major anxiety. All the sudden by just looking at that little line my whole life had changed. It was crazy.
We went on to take 3 more GREEK pregnancy tests before coming home and I saw my OBYN Amy grace at Tulane lakeside at about 6 weeks pregnant! This is kind of early on to see most OBGYNS but I know her and she knows I’m crazy so, I went early!
Up until about 13 weeks I did pregnancy test strips every few days that I got from amazon because I was paranoid. I don’t recommend driving yourself crazy like that but if your already a lost cause like me, I’m linking them HERE! It’s a box of 30 strips!
I also used a heart Doppler up until I could start feeling the baby move weeks into the second trimester. I would listen to his heartbeat every few days just to check, because again, I’m crazy! Linking HERE.
Heart Dopper | $54
These first few months I also purchased the 3 types of stretch mark lotions and oils I would use as well as my prenatals! (I did take prenatals two months prior to trying to conceive).
For the first trimester …..
[ PHYSICALLY ] I was a absolutely exhausted. Like alllll the time. I would get home from work and take naps, which if you know me, that’s absolutely crazy! I was nauseous constantly, don’t know why they call it morning sickness, it’s more like all day sickness! But, I only threw up a handful of times, which I am grateful for because that like my least favorite thing ever! At this point me going to the gym every morning was out the window. I went every now and then when I felt like I had the energy to! I also wasn’t seeing too many changes in my body other then my boobs becoming gigantic, but at least here the rest of me wasn’t yet haha!!
[ FOOD ] I’m normally a good girl all week and treat myself on the weekends. Mostly trying to stay away from carbs but indulging in them once or twice on Saturday/Sunday’s. Well that ALL went out the window with how nauseous I was! All I wanted was food with substance! Sandwiches! And a good hearty meal! I had some major aversions, I LOVE fish and the thought or looking at it completely grossed me out, I couldn’t touch it at all! Salads were a no go as well and some veggies that I normally love were grossing me out! I wanted lots of chicken soup with crackers or Ryans delicious grilled cheeses!! Basically I ate whatever tasted good and made me feel better that I could stomach at this point! And eating was the only thing that helped me not feel nauseous, so I gained about 10 pounds in the first trimester! I like to attribute a lot of that to the pasta in Italy before I even knew I was pregnant though!
[ MENTALLY ] I went through all the fears I feel like most newly pregnant woman have. I was petrified of loosing the baby and worried about it frequently. I constantly prayed. I also had a little bit of anxiety about everything and thinking about how much our lives will change (all in good ways, but still anxiety lol!) the first trimester really was the toughest mentally for me and I thank god for Ryan, he was my rock and was constantly positive even if I was scared and worried about a number of things! These first few months I also read the book EXPECTING BETTER, which was a great fit for me as it cut to the chase with explaining the ins & outs / dos & don’ts of pregnancy in a more up to date type of way! It also EXPLAINED why these things are the way they are and I really liked that! And how serious some of the do’s and dont’s were, which again, I liked!
Expecting Better | $13
– MUST HAVES OF THE FIRST TRI –
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SECOND TRIMESTER
I end the second trimester this Saturday, so far this has been the easiest and me feeling most like myself (mentally), more relaxed, feeling good about baby’s health and I’ve had enough energy to get back to me doing the things I love + eating my (somewhat) normal foods! Other then the body changes which in the last 3 weeks have weighed on me heavily, no pun intended pahahah!
In the second trimester having you anatomy scan is a big deal to make sure the baby is developing right, it’s nerve racking and of course can’t catch everything but when you get back news of good results, you can take a breath and rest somewhat easier.
Sleeping has also became a issue, but I find THIS pregnancy pillow has helped me with being able to put it in different positions and getting comfy. I am a back and stomach sleeper so getting used to sleeping on my side (and only the left if were playing by the rules) has been tough! After touching on some research on this subject – you’d know if sleeping on your back was cutting off major circulation to yourself and the baby and this can be fixed by propping a pillow under some of your back, which is what I resort to sometimes.
Snoogle maternity pillow | $59
[ PHYSICALLY ] this has been the trimester that my body has changed the most. I started to develop somewhat of a belly in December and while that was a bay for a little while, the last few weeks I feel like it’s been growing uncontrollably haha! I was definitely able to get back into the gym at the begging of the trimester, almost everyday like I typically would, just to do some light cardio!! Then within the past 3 weeks I started experiencing round ligament pain after a trip to Disney with my mom so I find that the walking can irritate it if I don’t keep it under 45 mins and do a slower pace. I also have had to get THIS belly band because I am carrying low. Ultimately this trimester I’ve had my normally energy back, which was a nice break from the first!
[ FOOD ] I was finally able to start stomaching some of my normals again! Fish, lots of veggies and a good salad aren’t grossing me out!! Of course when I say normals that doesn’t mean favorites, which I’ve definitely been indulging in, but more like my normal self, trying to keep that to the weekends. Except king cake – it’s Mardi Gras and I’m taking advantage of eating that absolutely wheneverrrrr this year. This trimester though I also have started experiencing major heartburn, so, I eat tums like candy some day’s! It doesn’t even matter if it’s something that would normally cause heartburn at this point! Which is so weird!
[ MENTALLY ] I feel less stressed about all the changes coming and more like well, I’ll figure it out along the way like everyone else does. I also feel more at ease about the baby because I can feel him moving around in there constantly! Now, how I’m feeling mentally with my body is a totally different story, I struggle with obsessing over these changes to the point where I was crying almost every time I had to get dressed in something other then for work or yoga leggings. I commend women who are comfortable with this and who say they absolutely love being pregnant and it’s the most comfortable they have ever been in their body. I on the other hand have no words for how disturbing it is to me to have what it feels like is no control over your own body or the number on the scale. Before I was pregnant a day full of protein drinks would get the scale down a good two pounds the next day (probably just from having nothing major in your system) now if I try to have a day full of shakes I get on the scale and it’s the same or goes up a ounce! I was told that my body will get to whatever weight it wants to be regardless of if it’s shakes all day or food. But, it’s still all so frustrating! Obviously what matters most here is a healthy baby and I’m clearly putting on the pounds, so it’s all good, I just need a therapist pahahah!! I remind myself that if so many awesome women can get back to looking and feeling like themselves after baby, that I can too! And again I’m thankful here for Ryan too because he hugs me when I cry on the floor in piles of clothes in the closet, tells me I’m beautiful and that I’m not fat I’m pregnant lol!!! #goodtimes
The books I’ve read so far during this trimester have been mostly baby sleeping books! We are trying to find the best plan for us linking the two below I’ve read and we will also be purchasing a taking cara babies course, which is online.
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So, that’s allllll folks! I definitely can say I do not love being pregnant, I love that I’m growing my sweet boy and honestly could lay around for hours just feeling him kick (the BEST part) but other then that I give it a thumbs down haha! I can say, I can’t complain though because thus far, I have been blessed enough to have had a very easy pregnancy with no sort of complications – hopefully I won’t be eating those words by the end haha!! Stay away gestational diabetes and all the other fun stuff!! I just want my little man to get here healthy happy and on time – or maybe a week before! lol!!!
XoXo, Chelsey Rae
– OTHER BABY GOODIES IVE USED –