Surprise, internet void, I'm making a baby!
Right the beginning of lockdown my birth control prescription ran out of refills. It was early March when Things were just starting to get crazy, so I really didn't fancy going into my doctor's office if I didn't have to. While I'm sure they would have been able to see me safely, it gave us the perfect little nudge to consider if this was the right time to decide on having kids. I was 31 at the time (happy belated birthday to me) so I knew I needed to start thinking seriously at some point. In the end we decided just to see what happened if we "pulled the goalie." Turns out, about 3 months later, a baby happens!
Without thinking anything of it at the time, I started noticing how much more I was sweating after runs, and how long it was taking me to cool down. I thought it was just something to do with my hydration levels or something like that, but when I think back on it, nothing had really changed there. Then, and maybe this is completely crazy, but ones of my cats started to become obsessed with being near me. Normally he's not that interested in sitting on my lap, but for a few weeks he just wouldn't leave my side. Finally, a good week before I was due to get my really quick regular period, I had some spotting. I never have had spotting that early in my cycle so at that point I started to think something was up. I googled around and learned about implantation bleeding and just knew that was what was happening. Sure enough, four days later, one day after my period was due to start I got a positive pregnancy test result. I still can picture the look on my husband's face when he glanced at the test before he thought it would be showing a result, only to see it say 'Pregnant.' Definitely an amusing memory! 😂
At first I didn't feel too differently than I would have during a normal period. Everything just felt a little more intense. I had cramping for several days, maybe even a week or two, when normally I would have only had cramps for about a day. My boobs were sometimes slightly tender during a normal period, but now they were much more sore, especially on the sides, and for about a week or two. They also tend to get a little bit bigger around my period, but they definitely have grown quite a bit more than normal now. The only things that I didn't normally experience during a period that I definitely experienced during the first few weeks of pregnancy were bloating and constipation. For an avid once-daily pooper, that was quite a shock!
Luckily I haven't really had any of the stereotypical nausea or morning sickness. Apparently my mom and my husband's mom never had any either, so maybe I just got extraordinarily lucky! I would definitely feel a little weird if I didn't eat with regularity, so I started eating breakfast and having two snacks a day which I never did before, but that kept any strange feelings at bay. I did struggle to stay hydrated at first however because with all the extra eating and the bloating, I kept having this feeling like I was water logged even though I definitely was not. That was very strange and I still don't really know why I felt like that. The closest I've come to nausea or throwing up has been food aversions. I didn't have any problems at all until one day, when going to get the meal prepped lunch from the fridge that I had eaten for two days in a row prior to this day, I suddenly couldn't stand the idea of eating any more of the cabbage soup I had made and normally really like. For awhile thereafter I struggled to eat really spiced things like curries (aka half of my diet usually lol) or anything close to a vegetable. Even my beloved Chipotle order was gross to me -- a real tragedy.
The only other thing I can think of to note is that from week 6 and onwards for about 3 or 4 weeks I felt a little more tired than normal. Nothing that I noticed when I was working or staying busy, but if I sat down on the couch for long enough I was definitely taking a nap, something I never normally do. I also used it as an excuse to stop exercising, pretty much completely. I was mid couch to 5k program when I found out I was pregnant, so I definitely could have kept that same level of exercise up, but sometimes you just need to give in an rest for 6 weeks instead (apparently).
Now that I'm just on the other side of the first trimester pretty much every symptom I had is gone. I ate broccoli and curry today and didn't hate it. I feel back to my productive self, I'm exercising again, I can drink all the water I should and I don't end up every evening with a super bloated tummy! I definitely got off lucky compared to the average woman's first trimester, but regardless, I'm glad that the small symptoms I had seem to be gone. Now to get used to a growing belly!
