The First 3 Months

While I am so happy to be able to get pregnant, and cannot wait to meet our little one, the actuality of being pregnant, I'm not the biggest fan of. I'm writing this more to my future self, for preparation when you want to start trying to have another kid. A few survival tips for the first three months to remember for if / when you get pregnant again!

Stay hydrated. Keep a nalagene on you at all times. I've never been a water drinker, but my throat would get so dry if I wasn't basically constantly drinking water. Now, in week 17, it has subsided a bit, but I think this was my only real craving.

Ginger all the things. Ginger ale, ginger tea, ginger snaps (these were the best, thanks mom! And thank you to Lou's Aunt Kristen for the suggestion of ginger snaps), pickled ginger, saltines, lots of water, mint tea, and mints. I personally found ginger chews to be the most effective (though, a little gross), and now I never go anywhere without one or two. Those chews totally zapped my nausea. Another Trader Joe's find from my fantastic mom, but you can always order them from www.gingerpeople.com.

Prepare to stock up on carbs! And prepare for what that does to your body / skin.

Acclimate yourself with every bathroom at work. Try to find the least used one. Getting sick at work, or in any public area, is gross.

Stay well rested

Try to ignore the bloating, which will make you freak out and feel like you area already five months pregnant. Wear some dresses and don't bother touching the skinny jeans. This went away for me around week 10.

Be wary of your girls. Your guy will probably be very excited because your girls are about to look GREAT. But it'll be more of a look but don't touch thing. Luckily this goes away pretty quickly (At least it did for me) and was gone by the end of the first trimester.

Keep mints on you always, the copper metallic taste is awful! Also, having hard candies kept me slightly less nauseated. Slightly.

Prepare for your Superhero sense of Smell. Cat left a present in his litter box on the other side of the house? You will be the first to know.

Acne. Welcome back to what was 7th grade hell. Except you can't use salicylic acid. Witch hazel worked well, using isopropyl alcohol worked alright, and a 50/50 Apple Cider Vinegar/Water solution.  And good concealer.

Other than that I didn't really get cravings, though I did have taste aversions. Specifically to black coffee, the smell of chicken, and spicy food. I miss liking spicy food and black coffee (I could take or leave the chicken). Is that weird to miss something you don't even like the taste of currently?

Now for some pictures!

The first sonogram was done to determine how far along I was (my cycles are not regular) and also to confirm pregnancy. This was at 5 weeks 4 days and was just a gestational sac at that point. My dad said it looked like a rabbit - do you see it?

I couldn't figure out how to move this one. But this was taken at 8 weeks 4 days, and the little one is on it's head! This was taken because I started with a new doctor.

The 12 week sonogram was taken to see how I was progressing and was taken at 12 weeks 2 days. This was the first one Lou got to see live (I didn't know I was going to have the 8 week one done ahead of time.) The heart beat was 176bpm and it measured 5 cm.

The view of it's underside. He/she was being very modest and covering up. Hopefully it won't be that shy next week!

Low neck fluid and presence of nasal bone development were both good signs.

This last picture they don't normally give because at 12 weeks the skull hasn't fully developed and it looks a bit... not human! Lou thought it looked a bit like Frieza... I see what he means haha!

image via

The next appointment we'll find out the gender and check the anatomy. I just hope everything looks alright. Louis and I (and most of our families) are convinced it's a boy. Fingers crossed everything looks alright :-)