Comparing Pregnancies {The First Trimester}

Let me preface this post with this: you are technically not supposed to compare stuff like this. Every pregnancy is different, just like every child is different, and each should be approached and loved for its unique qualities.

Am I off the hook now? Great! So let me be real with you… I compare ev.er.y.thing. Anything I truly love and care for means I have a genuine opinion about. I sincerely try not to judge those things/people I am unfamiliar with…but if I got a few years on ya, I’m gonna have an opinion. And that most definetly includes the 40 week duration in which my children are growing into a the person I am destined to meet. I am an over thinker of the worst kind {the woman kind} and that tends to get me into trouble. But I can’t help it.

I recently got an email from a reader telling me she was pregnant and was experiencing anxiety over her symptoms and/or lack thereof. She’s a new mom, and I instantly had the “been there, done that” feeling while reading her email. She noted a post where I had briefly compared my pregnancy experiences thus far, and I suppose just wanted to hear her experience was normal {which it totally is and I cannot be more excited for this adorable couple!}. Her email made me start thinking in more detail how absolutely different my two pregnancies have been. Let me elaborate… {let me also say that these photos were taken long before the conception of this blog… I can’t believe I’m putting them out there. Oh well! Ha!}

Alina’s First Trimester {0-13 weeks}:
I would describe my first trimester experience with Alina as: easy, easy, with a side of easy. Maybe one single bout of nausea at about 8 weeks, but nothing that actually made me vomit. I got tired through the initial 3 months, but nothing compared to the exhaustion I’ve felt with this pregnancy. The surge of energy I mentioned previously did not come until after the first trimester. My girls upstairs were SO so.so.so. sore. Like really, I know ya’ll are there… I don’t need a reminder. I didn’t gain much weight, although I am not a skinny girl and didn’t need to. I was not wearing maternity clothes. I exercised and coached a high school soccer team five days a week. I ate super healthy, including lots of green stuff. I took my prenatal with DHA religiously. Never missing a single day. Nothing else to report with Alina… she was an amazing little embryo and was very nice to me from the start.

Baby Boy’s First Trimester {0-13 weeks}:
This little booger has been a pain in my uterus from minute one. Seriously, no joke. The nausea has been insanity. But this is coming from a total whiner who very much dislikes vomiting. Lets just say I’m used to it now. I shot a 1st birthday party two weekends ago, and immediately came home and vomited. I’m hoping that was the last of it. The exhaustion is insanity. Maybe its the toddler that runs me ragged during the day coupled with the pregnancy insomnia that I suffered with both pregnancies….but I’m tired. All the time. And it sucks. Anyway, to be fair and not blame my precious little man entirely, I am not in the same shape I was with Alina. No working out. No soccer. I would hardly classify my diet as healthy, and I am way less religious about the prenatal {Daddy D is usually the one stuffing it down my throat}. I’ve gained maybe 3 lbs in the 3 months, but c’mon… I don’t need the extra weight. I wear maternity clothes {as seen above} and have no shame in it. Those jeans are AAmazing. My pouch is popping, not like its hot though. More like its a big belly, so I feel extra sexy these days.

So that’s it, my friends… my two kids’ first trimesters in more detail. Totally differenet, but my prayer is that my second results in the healthy child that my first did. Which brings me to my final thought for this post, and what I also told my reader who emailed me:

A healthy pregnancy which results in a healthy baby is 100% the most beautiful miracle on earth. There are a zillion things that can go wrong, especially in the very beginning, but why dwell on it? The most profound emotions I had when getting pregnant with Alina was strength and positivity. Whatever negative thinking existed in my head beforehand was violently evicted. And I mean violent… I wanted NOTHING to do with negative thinking. Nothing. From deep down in my soul I rejected the opposite of healthy for my child. I took care of myself, stayed healthy and believed my body knew what it was doing. I was not prepared for unhealthy or miscarriage, but c’mon… what mother is?  

And listen up New Moms: unhealthy and miscarriage is a reality for many women. Its not a joke… some Moms really go through the worst and live to tell about it. They LIVE it, not dwell on the possibility of it. My advice for newly pregnant Moms is this: Yes, there are tons of risks. But let go of negative, be eternally grateful for the positive, because losing a child is not something you can prepare for {at any stage of pregnancy}. I personally know too many Moms that have dealt with loss one way or another, but one of my amazing readers blogs first hand about her experiences. Jin’s blog is beautifully captured, striking written, poignantly honest and I love her for that. If you visit her, make sure to share some love:

The BrownBerry by Jin

And sincere wishes to anyone reading this {including Daddies} that are expecting a baby… its the coolest thing in the whole wide world!