The first trimester

Pregnancy is something that moves so slow yet so fast at the same time.  This pregnancy is no exception to that- before I knew it we were at the 13 weeks mark. It was so exciting to be embarking on this journey a second time. 

Those first weeks where only you and your partner know are pretty special. My first trimester was predominately spent daydreaming about this new baby growing inside of me (same as the first time around) and how our family will be as four, how Jaime and this baby will be great friends.

I spent a lot of time researching hospitals and doctors and wishing I could go back to my doctor in Chicago. The practices here are quite different and I found selecting one a lot more stressful than it should have been but I have high expections.

During the first trimester I ran two races. I started my busy season at work. And I worked through not having child care for James. It was anything but slow. But I did find time for naps.

My symptoms for pregnancy in the first trimester were very similar to my first pregnancy.  I was totally and completely exhausted. So I started napping during Jaime's naps again.  I had an aversion to coffee but it moved on quickly.  The differences this time were that I actually lost weight in the early weeks even though I was hungry and eating more (with Jaime I started gaining day 1 and had a lower appetite in the begining). And while I didn't actually have full on morning sickness I did wake up feeling a tiny bit queasy.

I also had a random craving and interest in grapefruit juice.  I used to drink grapefruit juice in college but hadn't since... it became a daily thing.  I wasn't so interested in sweets early on but was more inclined to go for salty snacks like potato chips and popcorn. The interest in sweets returned soon enough.

So all in all, the first trimester was pretty easy going. I was excited to be started on this journey and was very curious about what our family would like in 2014.

But then right as we reached 13 weeks, I had a pretty big scare.  The three of us were at MoMA for a morning adventure and after lunch as we were headed home I thought I was starting to lose the baby.  I spent the afternoon at the doctors' office waiting to be seen.  After several stressful hours I saw the little one dancing around and heard the very strong heartbeat.  Everything looked great, which I could tell surprised the doctor given the signs of complications.  I was scheduled for a full scan at the hospital a few days later. Talk about a stressful couple of days.

At the ultrasound they confirmed that everything was okay and that baby was healthy.  The little one was again dancing around and seemed quite content.  I was so relieved and happy. I scheduled the 17 week ultrasound and left with a weight lifted but still a little shaken. We were headed to the second trimester.