My Pregnancy Journal

D and I hit the bookstores last weekend and bought three books on pregnancy. 

• Your Pregnancy Bible by Dr. Ann Deans
• Up The Duff by Kaz Cooke (D’s choice.  As well as being really informative, it is written in such a humorous way that totally appeals to him)
• My Pregnancy Planner by Dr. Miriam Stoppard

It is the last one that I am going to focus on in this blog.  The Pregnancy Planner is an informative book that encourages journalling the journey.  So what a better place to talk about the journey than here, in my blog!

First changes I noticed (in the first week after discovery):

• Sharp pains in lower abdomen both sides – feels muscular
• Dull pain on side of abdomen, mostly on the right side. Feels like either a cramp or stitch.
• Neither pains last for very long and are not severe.
• Really sore breasts for about a week.
• Bloated belly from time to time. Feels distended.
• Gas! Quite painful at times. And burping! Especially after eating.
• I can’t eat my usual serving sizes. I’m needing to eat smaller amounts at mealtimes. And I’m snacking more often. Really hungry!!!
• So far, only one difficult emotion. I woke up really sad and then kept changing from that emotion to wanting to hit something. I felt very volatile! But it didn’t last for very long.
• Really tired. Heavy legs.
• Having to pee more often! Which is in part a result of drinking more water. But last night, I had a bad night and had to get up to the toilet about 6 times! 3x in the first 30 minutes!

Changes in my lifestyle

• Immediately after finding out we were pregnant, I began eating so much more healthily. It’s fantastic. No empty calories at all! And no bad eating thoughts. No compulsions. And always and easily stopping when I’ve had enough. I love this change! Only good things for bubby!
• Being very conscious of exercise. I am watching my heart rate and not letting it get too high or letting myself get to the point of heavy breathing and not being able to talk. I am learning to slow down and not pushing myself as I normally would. I have also cut out two of the Curves machines at my gym workout. And I am walking slower up the hills that I usually like to power up. I know I must keep my body temperature from getting too high, especially at this stage (first trimester)
• Cutting out certain foods. I was most disappointed to find out I couldn’t eat hot chicken from the local store. It is a mainstay of my diet. And tuna only once a week – oh dear. They I what I live on with my salads and snacks! Replaced now with boiled egg and hard cheese so far. Trying to eat more calcium and green leafy vegetables.

Thoughts and feelings

• I am so excited, we are so excited. Everything is changing. Finally we got the result we have been waiting over two years for.
• I’m also a little scared. Scared of getting safely through the first trimester. And I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the health of our child.
• I am looking forward to all the experiences that are going to come with pregnancy. Yes, even morning sickness. Because it means I am pregnant!! I am excited for every little step of the way. Although, I must admit, I wasn’t too happy about the challenging emotion I had yesterday morning. Difficult emotions are always tough!
• Any wedding planning is going to be put on hold now. Not that we had really started!! We have been too busy putting our time and money into renovating our home. And I don’t want the stress of planning a wedding whilst pregnant. My goal for this pregnancy is to be stress-free, calm and happy. There is part of me that would really like us to be married when we have our child. But the other part of me knows it makes no difference to our relationship. We are fully committed to each other without needing to make it legal. Wedding planning can come later. Despite the subtle and not-so-subtle words from our parents. Subtle on my side, not-so-subtle on D’s side!
• Lots of thoughts about what will happen with work. But leaving any decisions until after the first trimester.
• I love D SO much and am so excited to be having a child with him. Grinning from ear to ear!! It was so amazing to find out we were pregnant on the night of our 3 year anniversary. And so incredible that we’d had a wonderful breakthrough in a challenging aspect of our relationship just three days beforehand. We are in such a good place. It is all meant to be. Perfect timing!