1st Trimester Pregnancy Update

Wearing a Lake nightgown  and Piper is wearing a dress from Wheat

I’m excited to kick off my monthly pregnancy updates! When I feel up to it I may share some weekly but I won’t overwhelm you each week with an update (just yet anyway)! One of the most popular questions I’ve had is if we are finding out the sex of the baby. We are on the fence! At first I really wanted it to be a surprise, I thought it would be fun and exciting for both of our families to not know until the baby is born. I also really want to keep the nursery more gender neutral this time around and I knew that would help. However since I got the referral to make the ultrasound appointment last week I keep thinking I can’t wait 6 more months and it would be such a great halfway-through-pregnancy treat to find out at our 20wk ultrasound! I’ll keep you posted on what we decide…..

If there’s anything else you want to know, feel free to leave a comment or send a message my way!

How I’m feeling:

My first trimester went by so quickly. I feel fortunate that overall I felt pretty good and didn’t have awful morning sickness, though I was pretty nauseous around week 7-9, more so than when I was pregnant with Piper. I was also extremely stressed and overwhelmed with work which coupled with my exhaustion made most of my 1st trimester pretty miserable. We found out I was pregnant right when we got back from Italy and from then it has been non-stop with work trips, 2 weddings (one 3hrs from my home) oh and our huge bedroom makeover. I was emotionally such a wreck and feel so bad for what my husband and Piper had to endure! Thankfully work is back to a normal pace, I don’t have any trips planned and I have a bit more energy, so things are looking up! I feel a little bit guilty because I honestly didn’t have the opportunity to be excited about being pregnant since I had no free time for myself. I’m not saying we aren’t OVER the moon grateful and beyond excited to be growing our family but I’m just now having the opportunity to crack open my pregnancy books ( I love this part) and download an app to track baby’s growth and give the time and attention this growing baby deserves!

How I’m sleeping:

I’m sleeping GREAT right now and soaking it up while I can! For the first 10 weeks I was in bed by 9pm (8:30 on some nights) but I’ve been managing to stay up until 10pm recently, no later though. Piper’s been waking up extra early so I really should be trying to get to bed earlier since I know my body needs as much rest as it can get right now. I haven’t started sleeping with my body pillow yet, but I have a feeling this bump is about to pop out and I’ll be needing it much earlier than last time around!

What I’m eating:

Besides craving a plain bagel with butter when I wake up I’ve been sticking to my regular diet. Though, I’m really missing my nightly glass of wine (it’s rosé season after all)! I’ve been enjoying much more ice cream than normal :) Overall I’ve been trying to eat more vegetables and fruit and up my water intake. This time around I’m using this Corksicle cup that keeps water really cold ALL day. I’ve been drinking 1 cup of 1/2 caf coffee every morning and wouldn’t survive without it! I’m taking the Rainbow Light Prenatal 1-A-Day and the DHA supplement. I haven’t had any stomach issues with them at all.

The past week I’ve started craving fruity treats (usually I prefer creamy chocolate ones) like Italian ice and ice cream with chunks of fruit!

I’ve been cooking a lot of carbs lately, but that’s nothing new around here but otherwise haven’t had any real cravings yet. Though I will say I’ve gotten into baking again and just wanting to be in the kitchen more than normal.

Exercise:

So I haven’t really been exercising to speak of the past year. I was walking but that trickled off over the winter. I’m really hoping to get back into a good exercise routine like I did in my first pregnancy. I did start my 2 mile morning walks again at least 3x a week and I feel really good about that. I’m going to try and make it to a gym class once a week and hopefully take Pre-Natal Yoga a few times a month when my husband’s work schedule allows. Hopefully next month I have a better report here :)

Weight gain:

I’ve gained 2lbs so far. I think I gained 30 with Piper but I’m going to check at my next visit, I feel like I can’t remember a single thing from my first pregnancy. Must have been all those sleepless nights.

What I’m wearing:

Right now I’m wearing my normal wardrobe with the exception of jeans. Most of my jeans still fit and will button but they just aren’t comfortable. I’ll wear them out for a short period of time but I opt for dresses, shorts or leggings most days. I just got out my belly band which I plan on using shortly (it’s amazing and greatly extends how long you can wear jeans & shorts that are non-maternity) and have been on the look out for easy summer dresses that aren’t maternity that will work for the next few months.

Changes this month:

As I mentioned already, I was pretty exhausted my first trimester — partly due to the fact that I’m pregnant but also because my work load and travel schedule were just way too much. I’ll never be taking on that many projects, assignments or trips again at one time!

This month I definietly got my energy back and am feeling almost completely like myself again — hooray! My stomach definietly seems to be a little bloated and I’m eager to have a little bump! I don’t think I really showed until around 4/5 months last time (I can’t even remember) but everyone says you show much earlier with your second baby!

What I bought:

I haven’t bought too much yet but did start switching to as many natural and organic beauty products as I could. I have a whole post planned to go up later this week that details everything I’m using right now but here are a few of my purchases:

Mother Love Belly Salve – I treated myself to new belly butter and have been using this daily on my stomach, hips and breasts.

Nightgown– I only sleep in nightgowns and got this soft white one with pretty crocheted straps. Target has so many pretty ones right now! I also have been wearing the Lake nightgown in these photos non-stop, it’s made from the softest cotton and I love all the colors from their Citrus Collection.

The Mama Natural: Week By Week Guide To Pregnancy + Childbirth: I had to add a new pregnancy book to my collection and can’t wait to read this!

9 Months: A month to month guide to pregnancy for the family to share: I’ve had this book on my wishlist since it was available for pre-order as I love the author, Courtney Adamo and thought it would be fun for our family. It just arrived but I haven’t opened it yet!

Plus tons of Grapefruit Lacroix , Chamomile tea and crackers!

I didn’t buy this but my friend gave me a gift basket of her favorite things while she was pregnant, it was so thoughtful and I love each and every item but right now I’ve been wearing this Medela bra non-stop around the house and think I’ll soon be sleeping in it because my breasts are already so sore.

How Piper’s Acting:

It’s so funny because everyone asks if Piper understands she’s going to be a big sister or that I’m pregnant — and the answer is for the most part no. She understands the concept that there is a baby in mama’s belly and she’ll kiss and hug it but I don’t think she has any idea that baby is coming out in 6 months! I think as my stomach grows she’ll have more of a clue, but I don’t think she’ll fully grasp it until our baby arrives!

Images by Anna Reynal