9 Month Pregnancy Journey

First Trimester - First 12 weeks 

How I discovered I that I was pregnant

My period was about to come but I was feeling really heavy cramps already for the last few days. It wasn't the same type of cramps I would usually feel. Then, what I thought was my period came out to be just a few spots. Something was really different. I decided to use my pregnancy test that I had lying around at home. It came out positive! The image above was my actual result. The first thing I thought was "wow, that has never happened before". I've taken many pregnancy tests in the past. Back then I was hoping to not get pregnant and they always came out negative. My husband and I have been married for 7 months at the time and we were ready so when we got the positive result, I was thrilled! I emailed my husband while he was at work. We were both so happy but also cautious. We decided that we're not going to tell anyone that I'm pregnant until my first trimester is over, when the most risky stage for miscarriages is over. 


Symptoms

For the first trimester, I was really sleepy and tired most of the time. I didn't work so it made it easier to rest and drink a lot of water. I was also not craving meat as much. The only thing I would really crave was cereal. I would have cereal for many dinners because I feel like any other meal would make me feel nauseated. 

I would also eat a lot of fruit like bananas, nectarines and oranges. 

When I was getting my 9 week check up at the doctor's office, I lost 2 lbs from my starting weight which is not a lot but I didn't gain weight during this period. 



Doctor Visits & Ultrasounds 

When I found out I was pregnant, I went to see a doctor the week after. At that point, I was assuming I was about a month along but my doctor thought I was 6 weeks along. We got an ultrasound scheduled for the following week and the only thing we could see was my egg sac and a little speck of something. It was still too early to see much. The bottom image was the actual ultrasound taken. The ultrasound tech said I was about 6 weeks along at this point so I was sort of right.  

I got a second ultrasound at 9 weeks and 2 days and we were able to see the heartbeat and the legs dancing! It was so exciting and it became real to me that something is really growing inside of me. The image below was the actual ultrasound taken that day. The little thing is just kicking back and relaxing. Heartbeat was 180 bpm at the time, which is super fast. The ultrasound tech that day told me that the heartbeat will decrease as the weeks go by. I'm glad we got a strong heartbeat. 
The ultrasound tech told us that we usually don't find out the sex of the baby until I'm about 4-5 months a long, during the second trimester.

During my first trimester, I confided in a few friends and told them over video chat that I was pregnant. They surprised me with this Congratulations gift basket.  It's so cute!


Second Trimester (Week 13 - 26)

Telling Others that I am pregnant


Originally, I didn't want to tell my parents that I was pregnant until after my 3 month mark, which is when I'm done with the first trimester. I didn't want to cause any heartbreaks if anything bad were to happen to the fetus. Now that I've started my second trimester, I feel that maybe I should wait another month. Recently, my close friend said her friend had a miscarriage at 4 months and that got me scared. I am thinking of waiting until we find out the sex of the baby to tell my parents. 

Yes, it is very hard to keep this a secret. So far I have only told a handful of close friends who I confide and trust that they won't tell others. My parents are old and are worry warts so the longer I can wait to tell them, the higher chance the fetus will be healthy and hit full term and the less chance that I have to tell them any sad news in the future. 

Finding out the gender of the baby

It's a boy! The ultrasound specialist took an ultrasound at 16 weeks and asked if I wanted to know the sex and I was surprised that she can already tell. She said it's a boy! However, we'll have to do another one at 20 weeks, just to make sure. 

I also finally told my parents that I was pregnant after I found out the gender of the baby. They are already starting to annoy me about what to do while I'm pregnant. I survived 4 months on my own, I think I can take it from here. I guess I should warn you now that if you were already annoyed by your parents before, they will annoy you big time now that you're about to have their grandchildren. Too bad I couldn't wait until after I gave birth to tell them that I was pregnant. 


Baby is moving after 17 weeks  

One night while I was attempting to sleep, I felt a little thud inside of my belly. I knew it was the baby. Yes, it did feel weird. It's like he's hiccuping inside or kicking around. I wasn't sure. About two weeks later, I started to feel the baby move even more. I can see why pregnant ladies touch their bellies a lot. It's because the baby is moving and we're just trying to feel it with our hands. 

My aunt in law said it would feel like butterflies when you first feel that baby move but it didn't feel like that for me. It just felt like some little creature is moving inside of me. It reminds me of something you would see in an alien movie where an alien uses a human body to host it's egg inside of and then starts moving around right before it enters into the world. 


Weight Gain and Maternity Clothes

At 25 weeks, 2 days I weighed 126 lbs. Before I got pregnant, I was 120 lbs so this was the first significant weight gain since I've been pregnant. I will grow more rapidly soon. I bought my first pair of stretchy pants from Ross around this time because none of my jeans fit anymore. 


It was alterations time because all of the pants in the maternity section are long and I am a short woman. I recently learned how to sew last month in October and in the last 4 weeks, I bought a sewing machine and hemmed 2 of my maternity jeans. It's the best hobby I've picked up during my maternity. 

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Third Semester (Week 27 and beyond)

Noticing a lot of body changes

Oh boy, does my stomach grow rapidly towards the end! Some of the more obvious things that changed besides a growing big belly is the pigment color and dark lines that are showing up. I noticed that my nipples are a lot bigger and darker now and that line down the middle of my belly is also getting darker.

Strangely, I think my underarms has some dark areas as well now. That is kind of annoying because I didn't have that before I got pregnant. It was all one skin color. I feel like it makes my underarms so unattractive.

To have a baby shower or no baby shower?

Most of my family and friends live on the other side of the country so I've decided to not have a baby shower. If our loved ones want to send gifts, they may but I don't want to host a party and make them feel obligated. My mother in law will be getting the baby's crib and my mom wants to pitch in towards a year long supply of diapers. Are any of you not having a baby shower like me? 


Gestational Diabetes Test

Some women get gestational diabetes when they're pregnant and the doctors have you take a blood test during your third trimester to make sure you don't have it. I didn't pass my first sugar test so I had to come back to do a 3-hour one. The thing that is tricky is I have to be on a high carb, high sugar diet for 3 days before the test. I love that I have to eat a lot of sweets like cake and chocolate bars but my stomach didn't take it well for the first couple of days. I eventually passed this 3 hour test but it is quite a long process waiting in the lobby. Basically the 3-hour glucose test starts with you drinking this sugar syrup that the nurse gives you and then they take your blood test every hour to see how you break down your sugar to determine if you have gestational diabetes or not. It's not fun one bit so hopefully you pass your preliminary test so you don't have to do this 3-hour one like I did.


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Baby Hiccups Inside of the Womb at 33 weeks


Starting at 33 weeks, I started getting rhythmic movements in my belly while I was sleeping and then my husband and I realized he's having the hiccups, after doing some research on the internet.

Well, the baby started hiccuping more often at 34 weeks. It became an every day occurrence. It's consider a good sign because his central nervous system and lungs have developed enough for this to happen. So don't be too alarmed if this starts happening to you, unless you sense something is abnormal.


Childbirth Classes  & Pregnancy Related Classes

I really recommend taking these classes if your hospital offers them. Thankfully mine were free because I'll be giving birth at their hospital. My husband and I both went to our childbirth classes. Some came with their moms instead. The instructor had us practice our breathing and lectured about the many options and risks of childbirth. Some would need a C-section, while others prefer to not use the epidural. They were all very helpful information especially since this was our first pregnancy. 

The big thing I learned about is the placenta. I had no idea what a placenta looked like and their main function until this class started. The instructor also showed us videos of women giving birth and then what comes out right after the baby is eventually the placenta. It was very fascinating. 

They also gave us warnings about pooping while you push during child birth. Don't worry, most people poop when they give birth. The hospital staff is used to it.


Weight gain progress at 34 weeks


So far, I've gained 18.5 pounds since I've gotten pregnant when I had my weigh in at 33 weeks and 6 days at the doctor's office. Keep in mind that I did lose 3 lbs in the first trimester and that I didn't start gaining any weight until my second semester. Some women start gaining weight immediately in their first trimester and some like me lost some weight because of all of the nausea.

I'm thinking I'll gain at least another 10 pounds in the next 6 weeks before the baby is born because they said you gain the most weight between 34-40 weeks, towards the end.

Growing Moles & Skin Tags

During week 35 on my pregnancy, my neck was starting to itch a bit so I looked in the mirror to see what was going on and realized that I have skin tags growing on my neck. That is so gross! It was also during this time while I'm pregnant that my syringomas around my eyes were growing more too. Syringomas are small bumps that look like milia but they are cholesterol deposits. They are supper unattractive. Read more about my syringoma struggle.

Several weeks before that, I noticed that a mole I had on one of my butt cheeks for a long time has grown significantly as well. I was really worried about it being melanoma so I started digging around the internet to look up these things and it turns out that it's normal for moles and skin tags to appear or grow even bigger during pregnancy.

Beware of these growths if you're starting to notice them too. They said that it's better to get it treated after you've given birth so that is what I'm going to do too. Hopefully I won't need to get treatments on these after my initial check up because I did read somewhere that it does go away for some people after some time afterwards. I'm going to schedule to see a dermatologist to get these checked out though.


Decorating the Baby Room

During our third trimester, we started getting gifts from family and friends. This is also the time when you realize how much you are loved. Even though I requested to not have a baby shower, a family member and a friend planned 2 separate surprise baby showers for me. I feel so blessed.

I didn't have a theme for the baby room or anything but about 3.5 weeks before my due date, I decided to do a DIY project and sewed 2 baby pillows out of fabric with robot designs. It matched the name tag that I also created myself for the baby, surprisingly.

Most of the things in our room are blue though.


36 weeks, 4 days and my Belly is Huge

Here's a picture of me at 36 weeks and 4 days along. Depending on who you ask, when you have reached 37 or 39 weeks, you are considered full term. It's like a waiting game at this point but I want the baby to come when he is ready so I will not ask to be induced or get a C-section unless it is medically necessary.

Note about picture below: I don't dress like this in public.



39 Weeks Pregnant with Swelling Hands


At 39 weeks, I am definitely at full term of my pregnancy. The swelling of my hands have been getting worse as I get closer to the due date. My feet have been swelling up as well but they are not as bad as my hands. With my hands, I feel a tingling numbness constantly. They get more numb at night when I am sleeping. Just 1 more week until my due date!

Baby was born on 39 weeks and 2 days!


My baby boy was born 5 days before the due date and contractions were excruciating after 4 cm dilation. My labor was about 18 hours long, starting with the first cm dilation. I was actually ready after 15 hours but my doctor had a lot of emergencies that came up and since I was healthy, I was delayed. I got the epidural at 6 cm, even though I asked for it at 4cm. It took awhile for them to get it to me because it was a busy day on the delivery floor.  After 45 minutes of pushing, I gave birth to a healthy 6 lb, 15 oz, 20 in baby boy via normal vaginal birth. Hooray! 

See my blog section to read more about what new things I'm up to lately.

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