I remember feeling the normal symptoms of my menstrual cycle. Cramping, fatigue, slight nausea, nothing out of the ordinary. What was out of the ordinary was my period was 4 days late. To calm my husbands suspicions I took a pregnancy test, set it on the counter and walked away. Little did I know I would return to an unfamiliar symbol rapidly appearing on the stick. The thing is I’ve been wanting to be a mom since I can remember playing house as a little girl. But I don’t think anything could prepare me for what I felt that day. I remember sitting on the ground staring at 3 pregnancy tests in disbelief. We knew we wanted to start a family but truly didn’t expect it to happen as soon as it did.
Our story was a little different then all the YouTube videos I had spent close to hundreds of hours watching. You know the ones where the wife finds a clever way to reveal her pregnancy to her partner and both of them start crying and kiss and live happily ever after? Wellll. Let’s just say I won’t be watching my attempt to film Jordan’s reaction anytime soon.
LIFE HACK: Give him space. Now…..if you are the type of couple that has been planning and trying to get pregnant for months to come….chances are both your reactions are going to end in excitement. If you fall within my group which is throwing caution to the wind but not really expecting anything to happen, give him space. It’s okay if he has no words or says the wrong thing. Know that his excitement will come with time but he’ll probably need to process the news.
What They Didn’t Tell Me
I’ll fast forward to week 7 of pregnancy since in between was filled with overwhelming excitement, fear, tears (mostly from fear) prayer, and really trusting in God and believing that this happened in his perfect timing. Let me tell you something. PREGNANCY LOOKS DIFFERENT ON EVERYONE. I found myself reading articles and listening to so many moms about what symptoms were normal, but it never ended up looking the same for me. About week 5 of pregnancy, I remember Jordan slaving all day over (I can barely get the words out without getting nauseous) pulled pork…. The second he set it down on our table, I bolted to my porcelain throne and remained there for the rest of the night. Along with constipation and constant vomiting, I battled with extreme insomnia. I was getting about 1-2 hours of sleep a night. I eventually had to kick Jordan out into our spare bedroom because I suddenly had super sonic hearing and would wake up at the drop of a needle.
I wish I could say that I woke up one day and I had energy and was working out like all of the social media pregnant moms I saw. However, I found myself not gaining any weight, keeping any food down, and sleeping my days away to not feel sick.
What I Would Have Done Differently….
To clear the air, I am by no means an expert at being pregnant. But if you experience any of these symptoms like me, I would like to provide a couple of tips that I wish I came across sooner. Had I known some of these things I probably would have felt a lot better.
- It is never to early to ask your OB for some type of nausea prevention medication. I thought I had to wait until my first prenatal appointment (which is typically around your 8-10 week mark) NOT THE CASE! If you are suffering, don’t wait! They can usually provide you with some samples to hold you over. They prescribed Bonjesta to me and it worked great.
- Let me tell you bout my besttttt friend. GINGER PILLS. When I approached 13 weeks I noticed that my nausea would still linger here and there. I started taking ginger pills and it was almost an immediate cure. Wish I would have found those sooner.
- Eat regularly. I’m not a heavy eater in general and when I felt sick it was hard to want to eat anything. Make a protein smoothie first thing in the morning as a meal replacement. Fruits, yogurts and string cheese have been a constant friend to me throughout these past weeks. This is something I didn’t get the hang of until I started to feel better.
- Sleep whenever you can. If you are like me and work full time, the first thing I would do when I came home was sleep. You need to know that it’s okay. You will have plenty of time to start planning and be active, but just let your body do it’s thing…after all it is creating life.
- It’s okay to not be okay. I think the hardest thing for me was feeling disconnected. I had been dreaming of being a mom since I was a little girl playing house with my baby dolls. Let me just say that expectations are extremely deceiving. I remember breaking down and crying because I felt so exhausted, sick and honestly….depressed. I didn’t feel myself nor did I feel how I had always “expected” to feel. Of course it’s 100% worth it because you get your little squishy in the end, but the process isn’t always picture perfect. Find a community of people that will be able to encourage you, pray for you and listen to all of your excitements and fears.
4 months in and I’m still learning every day. I will say, we both have absolutely no idea what we are doing, but who does? The truth is no one has a clue what to do with their first child, but you will figure it out, roll with the punches and in the end I believe it’s one of the greatest adventures you’ll ever encounter. Know that you were chosen to be this little peanut’s parents and you are the perfect match! I can’t wait to continue to share our journey with you all and some fun finds along the way. 161 days to go!
