The Pregnancy

Boy let me just tell you nothing, and I mean nothing can actually prepare you for being pregnant. Every pregnancy is so different that even reading tons of books and hearing all those personal stories, you'll still have an experience that is all your own!

My experience for my first trimester was this: From the moment I thought I might be pregnant I had to pee constantly, and while they say that subsides with the 2nd trimester, that didn't happen for me. My little peanut was as low as she could get in my pelvis from the get go. At my 10 week appointment they couldn't find her heartbeat so we had to get an ultrasound all because she was hiding behind my pelvic bone.

Oh and the nausea was no joke. I highly recommend pregnancy pops, they are basically this little candy that helps tremendously. I legit had my head in a trash can every chance I got. I was also napping daily and sleeping tons at night.

The second trimester brought on cravings for hamburgers, and lots of back aches. I also spent my 2nd trimester during the summer of the cicadas, so that was fun. I could hear them all the time. Let me just say it's so hot being pregnant, and adding summer heat makes everything worse. On top of it all, my works air was broken almost the whole summer, so I was sticky all the time. Maternity pants are pretty legit, but they are like wearing a second layer under your shirt since they go over your belly, so it made it even hotter. 

My anatomy scan was a rough one. It took over 30 mins of poking and prodding to find out the gender. It's a girl. I already knew she is a lady too. She refused to uncross her legs to die us what she was. But we did find out, thankfully, since I had 4 dozen cupcakes at home waiting to be filled for my works gender reveal. We also found out she was measuring small at only the 18th percentile. So I'd need another scan at 35 weeks.

Not too long after that scan I actually switched from an OBGYN to a midwife practice. I had read a lot and knew they'd be better suited for my birth plan. This was very important to me since I wanted a very natural birth. If I could have, I'd have done it at home!

Third trimester brought on a serious lack of energy, not only was I tired all the time, I was also always winded and just dead. I was about 32 weeks when I felt sudden pressure pains that were so intense, I had to stop moving and usually hold onto something. The midwives told me to take it easy and make sure I was getting my breaks, that I was risking preterm labor if I kept pushing myself too hard. I was scared and honestly at my job it was hard to get breaks since I was the solo person in my area and my job is time based. 

So eventually I switched positions to make sure I didn't have her too early since they couldn't help me get my breaks.

I got my 2nd scan around 36 weeks to measure baby, and make sure she was growing okay. She was now in the 32nd percentile. So everything was good and she was growing great. She was measuring about 5 lbs 13oz. So I was predicting a 7lbs baby.

So now we are nearing the end of my pregnancy, I had gained 70 lbs, which I'm not proud of at all. Honestly for the first three months I ate all whole foods, and everything was about health but after that I didn't do as well. But because of this extra weight my body was extra tired, my back was sore, and my feet were super swollen. By 38 weeks I was done. I was convinced this baby was gonna pop any second. My work was so convinced they stopped scheduling me. 

Unfortunately for me those two weeks extra off didn't help my case. Suddenly my tiny peanut had no intention of leaving, and I just kept waiting for her to make a move. I finally saw some sign of her coming when I lost my mucus plug. Which I would say is actually pretty gross feeling. At the next appointment I was measuring 3-4 centimeters dialated and I was determined she was coming. That was at almost 41 weeks. I got my first membrane sweep that day. Then I strarted walking at the park every morning trying to get her along, but nothing. 

By my last offical appointment which was two days before they were forcing me into an induction, my blood pressure spiked. To be fair I understand I was almost 2 weeks over due and I was huge, tired, and my body knew I needed to be done. So they sent me early to be induced. But first my midwife did a final membrane sweep. 

So before the trip to the hospital me and my husband went home, ate, cleaned up, and got everything together we might need that wasn't already packed. By the time we arrived at the hospital it had been a good 2-3 hours. So by the time we arrived I was having big time contractions and no longer needed to be induced! So here we were, at the hospital about to have our baby. Finally.