Now that I’ve shared the news that we’re expecting our first baby this June, I wanted to share a bit more about the journey to get here.
MM and I have always known we wanted kids and have discussed timing for a while. We knew pretty far in advance that we’d be moving to Barcelona and this meant being careful with our timing. I didn’t want to be pregnant the entire time I was living abroad, I didn’t want to give birth in Spain and I also didn’t want to get stuck in Spain, unable to fly back to the US when MM’s assignment ended. So because of all of this, we decided that the ideal time to get pregnant would be right in the middle of our 8 months abroad.
I know you can’t decide exactly when to get pregnant. It’s always been a worry in the back of my mind. What if I can’t get pregnant naturally or what if it takes a really long time? It’s one of those things that you won’t know until you try, which is scary. But also, not a lot you can do about it.
Our Pregnancy Journey
Since I had a timeline of when we wanted to start trying, I did a few things to prepare. About 6 months prior I started taking prenatal vitamins. I also starting tracking my period and ovulation via the Clue App. And then once we officially were in the middle of our time being abroad, I cut way back on alcohol (wine is a pretty standard part of life in Spain!). I more or less stopped drinking, only having a glass on occasion, or taking sips of MM’s wine or beer. I also cut down on my caffeine consumption.
It’s not necessary to do these things in preparation for pregnancy (except taking the prenatal vitamin, that is recommended). I don’t know if drinking less had any impact on getting pregnant but I wanted to do what felt in my control to strengthen my chances.
In my experience, once we decided to start trying, I wanted it to happen immediately. And part of me thought it would happen immediately. And each month that it didn’t, it was pretty upsetting, more so than I would have anticipated. I knew the basic odds of getting pregnant each month so the logical side of me understood that it’s not a given, but the emotional side definitely took over.
Fortunately, it was only a few months of this before I got pregnant. I know we are very lucky and it takes some couples much longer. I thought it would be fun if our baby was conceived while we were living in Barcelona because it was such a cool time in our lives. So when we left Spain to move back to America and I still wasn’t pregnant, I was a little upset but knew it was still early in the process of trying to get pregnant. I was still holding out hope that in that last month something happened.
And it did! We left Spain mid-September and shortly after arrived in Portland. On October 1st I took a pregnancy test and got the exciting positive news, which meant our baby was conceived the last week we were living in Spain!
First Trimester Recap
I love reading pregnancy recaps from other bloggers so I’ll be sharing mine in the hopes this is helpful to others.
General Feelings
The first few weeks of pregnancy are a rollercoaster. I found out when I was about 4 weeks pregnant but most doctors won’t book your first appointment until 8-10 weeks, so you’re just sort of waiting around for that real confirmation. I wasn’t telling anyone that I was pregnant and it can feel isolating trying to figure it all out. Basically I spent the entire first trimester googling a million things (literally anytime I was about to eat something, ha). It was a huge relief when we went in for the first appointment and had an ultrasound at 8 weeks, it made everything feel more real. And now that everyone knows, I have so many friends that I can go to for advice.
Exhaustion & Nausea
I would say that during the first trimester I felt pretty much myself. I’ll consider myself lucky as I didn’t experience any morning sickness. Though to be honest, it felt strange to feel so normal that part of me was hoping for morning sickness as a reassurance that I was actually pregnant. I’m sure any mama who has/had morning sickness would punch me for saying that.
In terms of exhaustion, it was hard for me to tell if I felt different. I was not in a normal routine and during the first trimester we moved from Spain to Portland, moved into a townhouse, unpacked, got settled, and so on. Since I wasn’t going about a typical routine I’m not sure if I felt any different. Though I did take things much slower than normal and my energy levels felt a bit off at times.
Cravings
I was expecting some really wild cravings, like how in commercials/movies pregnant women in the middle of the night are like I NEED A PIZZA RIGHT NOW. Does this actually happen to anyone? I did have some cravings though– mostly salty foods, I was really into salt and vinegar chips, pickles and pizza (or anything with melty cheese, yum). I also was really into crispy fruit and couldn’t get enough (grapes, watermelon and really crisp apples).
Aversions
My big unexpected aversion was La Croix! This was pretty shocking as I was so excited to return to the US and consume my weight in La Croix. When we moved into our house I ordered 6 boxes of La Croix and proceeded to drink none of it. I also was not interested in squash, formerly one of my favorite fall foods. I know some people gag when they see certain foods during pregnancy and I didn’t have that feeling, I just avoided certain things. There were some pretty significant eating changes that I made and I’m going to write a full post on this.
Body
I didn’t see or feel many changes in the first trimester. At times I thought maybe I could see the beginning of the baby bump, but pretty sure I was just imaging it 🙂 My clothes fit but pants got a tad tight at the end of the first trimester.
Me searching for that bump!
Fitness
Most doctors will say you can go about your normal routine as you did prior to pregnancy. My doctor said I was cleared to do most things the same since I was already working out. Though she did recommend avoiding excessive jumping/bouncing and to stop doing any sports that could cause stomach trauma (like skiing). I was nervous and extra cautious so I cut back on jumping moves and slowed my running pace. I ran a 5k race right at the end of my first trimester and went at an 11 minute pace when normally I’d be in the 8s/9s. It didn’t feel necessary to push myself. I continued with Lagree classes but skipped some of the intense twisting moves. Again, my doctor didn’t say I had to do this but I didn’t want to do anything that I wasn’t totally comfortable with.
Overall, I’d say the first trimester was pretty good! Again, I know I’m lucky as the first trimester can be really rough. If you have any questions about my experience so far, please ask below. I’ll continue to share trimester updates along the way!
