First Trimester Survival

Nothing in this world could have prepared me for the insane changes my body was going to undergo during the first few weeks/months of pregnancy. The thought of pregnancy always excited me; the cute baby bump, glowing skin, and the fact that life would be growing inside of me. Boy was I in for a surprise when I found myself glued to the bathroom floor from the moment I woke up until I finally passed out (literally because of dehydration). The doctors diagnosed me with hyperemesis gravidarum which basically means my body is sensitive to all the hormones and in turn I get sick AF; by sick I mean throwing up anything and everything ALL DAY (legit 10 times a day) and since I couldn't hold anything down I would get VERY weak due to the lack of nutrients. They pumped me up with nutrients, gave me some medication (Zofran), and put me on bed rest for an ENTIRE MONTH (the most torturous sentencing for Miss Independent); this episode repeated itself a few times throughout the first trimester. Also, I had NO IDEA that constipation during pregnancy was a thing...holy shit that is a killer! All the plans I had for adorable weekly photos went right out the window at week 5, mind you my pregnancy was confirmed at 4 weeks so those cute pics had a 1 week life span.

I struggled not only physically but emotionally as well. For starters, I felt completely useless; I could not do a thing around the house or for myself. Thank God blessed me with Jack as my partner; he took charge of everything without thinking twice (cleaning, cooking, working, bills, Charlie, hell he even had to bathe me),  he did all of it with such joy and pride, and constantly reminded me that my bed rest state was a much larger task than all the tasks he had..."you're growing our baby, you're Superwoman"! My biggest struggle was "mom guilt" (I didn't really know that was a thing let alone SO damn early in the game)! I felt bad that I had to take medication (you always hear pregnancy and medicine is a NO NO) and despite doctors telling me I HAD to I still felt uneasy; but I guess the doctors know a thing or two because without the medication I was back in the hospital causing harm to me and the baby. Part 2 of the "mom guilt" was the fact that a felt absolutely miserable; for a while I held in the truth when folks asked me how I was because I did not for one second want to seem that I was not beyond excited for this blessing.

All in all the first trimester (actually the first 4 months) was an absolute blur of very slow passing time but I survived (down 11 pounds) but now ready to make up for lost time for the rest of this pregnancy!

Holy Hormones

Jesus, what is happening to me? Oh yeah I'm pregnant! Everyday I'm looking up something new on the web: nipples on fire, super emotional, nausea, super emotional, non stop urination, super emotional, lack of appetite, super emotional, bloating, super emotional, mouth tastes like pennies, super emotional, exhausted. The answer I get for each search result: pregnancy symptom due to hormones; well fuck you hormones. I have a love hate relationship with these symptoms; I am excited to experience symptoms because I love the idea of pregnancy and they are a result of this beautiful miracle BUT holy shit they are hard on the body. What blows my mind is how quickly my body shifted to pregnant, like I feel "just pregnant" like I JUST got pregnant so how the hell can I be experiencing all this already?! Well according to the 8 pregnancy apps I've downloaded (no exaggeration) these first few weeks (aka the first trimester) is the most intense because the body is on hormone crack prepping for this little nugget. Physically it's the equivalent to a man mountain climbing 7 hours a day, which I 100% believe because I am insanely exhausted...I'm talking face and pillow full of drool exhausted! If there was one symptom I could give back it would be the hyper sensitivity and emotions, I am already a sensitive and emotional human being so throwing in all these extra hormones...JESUS! Last week was rough, I literally lost my shit because Jack spilled juice on the sofa...LOST.MY.SHIT!! I got so cray, Jack looked like a deer in headlights and I swear I saw the comic book thought bubble pop up "THIS BITCH IS FUCKING PSYCHO" (I sure was!). It took us a few days to regroup and simmer down so we could have an adult conversation to discuss what was up and I thank goodness that is behind us now. I'm so glad I can laugh about crying over spilled "milk". I guess this is pregnancy lol.

Cheers to the next 8 months! 

November 1

Holy Shit! I'm pregnant! Like the line is STRONG there is no second guessing if the test result is positive, that shit is positive. Holy Shit! I have major butterflies right now, actually I have had butterflies for about a week along with hot flashes now I'm wondering if those were symptoms? Ahh!! I feel really good vibes this time around (in case you didn't know I miscarried earlier this year after trying for about 2 years, read about it here) but I cannot help but be anxious until I see a doctor and he tells me all is good in there. 

My mind is going a million miles an hour, I wasn't obsessing this go around and actually almost put it on hold...well maybe not on hold but came to terms that what's meant to be will be and had it in my mind that NOW wasn't my time to be a (human) momma. I cannot believe how damn strong those positive lines were, does that mean high hormones? Jeez, I hope not I'm already too sensitive and emotional...oh my goodness poor Jack LMFAO!

Dear God, thank you for blessing me with such a wonderful partner.  We are the perfect balance; he's very calm and chill (which sometimes drives me crazy) while I'm outgoing and sassy. However; we both are warm, loving, and nurturing human beings who love family, friends, and children; we love hosting people in our home and showing them new things. While he knows how to handle me for the most part I ask you Lord to please watch over him and protect him from any of my potential wackiness...I'll need him to stick around, ha!

I honestly do not even know where to start: doctors, nutrition, fitness (I really want to attempt a fit pregnancy), names, a nursery, etc. In case you didn't get the memo I am a control freak yet we have decided not to find out the gender (we decided that a while back) because it doesn't matter to us, we just want a healthy baby and look forward to the surprise the day he/she is born. There are so many things going through my mind: nursery, names, baby shower, HOW THE HELL TO RAISE A DECENT HUMAN BEING!!! That right there is my biggest concern and focus, it is also my biggest fear; other than keeping this little being alive and healthy I have to ensure that he/she is a decent human being. 

As of now my symptoms are super minimal and really comparative to PMS (cramping, bloating, and tender boobies) with the exception of sleepiness, hot flashes, peeing nonstop, and constipation (I can't poop and it's pissing me off). I'm really looking forward to being pregnant (so far) and watching my body transform and perform the miracle of life. 

Ah I'm going to be a Mommy!

WEEK 4:

SEPTEMBER 15

Last night was rough man; I cried my little brown eyes dry...I woke in a similar fashion. Today, was my due date but instead of sitting here anxiously waiting the arrival of my baby I'm sitting here with insane cramps and emotions galore with my period. Back in January I found out the most amazing news of my life; "you're going to be a Mommy" after almost a year of trying with no success. I'll admit there were a ton of other emotions and questions that raced through my mind like "holy shit can we really do this?" but above all was excitement, gratitude, and pure joy. Prior to getting my blood tested by my doctor and getting that positive, I spent an insane amount of money on pregnancy test, ovulation test, apps etc trying to make our dreams come. I took 3 pregnancy test at work and they looked negative but when held to the light and tilted in the right angle there was the FAINTEST of blue lines so I called my doctor and rushed to his office after work only to find out he didn't accept my insurance anymore but I didn't care I paid in cash...I NEEDED ANSWERS. The nurse gave me a cup to tinkle in which was nearly impossible even though I couldn't stop going to the bathroom throughout the day but eventually I did and the doctor came in to tell me the result was negative. SIDE NOTE: That was the DAY OF my missed period but I just knew so being me I asked my doctor to take a blood test, he laughed at my persistence but agreed and told me my results would be ready in about 2 days. Again being the person I am I called his office the following morning to check on results...they weren't ready BUT I did get a call that evening from my good old doctor laughing yet again "Jacqueline, you were right...you're going to be a Mommy, congrats!" While I KNEW it I still couldn't BELIEVE it, like I said we had been trying for close to a year...tracking my ovulation on apps, with tests, having sex at the "right times", then facing the massive pain and disappoint monthly when my period would drop. Now that I had the news I was waiting for my excitement hit a million as I prepared myself to tell Jack; I couldn't wait!! I knew exactly how I wanted to do it (I had MONTHS to figure it out), I got a "Jack in the Box" (since we are both Jack/q) with little note "I LOVE YOU DADDY. LOVE BEBE. DUE 9/15/16". To avoid making myself and anyone reading this extra sad I won't post the video but let me tell you he couldn't believe it and his reaction was so freaking sweet, it was such a special moment. We shared the news with my mom, sister, and best friend because I needed females to talk to and they were all equally as happy; they knew our struggle and they knew our extreme love for children and starting a family of our own.

My many Pintrest boards now had a purpose and could finally come to life, ugh so freaking excited...I'm talking butterflies!! Now the hardest part was keeping it a secret from my friends ahhh I wanted to scream it to the freaking world "I'm going to be a Mommy". From the second I knew (not the doctor, me) I started documenting, making videos for the bebe so I continued doing that, also bringing my "Pregnancy Photos" Pintrest to life, and stalking my pregnancy apps to track the bebe. I had to find a new doctor since mine no longer took my insurance (bummer) and scheduled the 8 week appointment so we can get our first picture. The night before that appointment I experienced cramping but according to all sources that was completely normal (but my instincts told me otherwise), later on a had some spotting but again according to all the sources it was completely normal. Jack was doing extensive research and all the sources were telling us everything was totally normal and okay so we went to sleep; at 5amI woke up screaming because I fell myself bleeding and just knew! We rushed to the hospital where we spent 2-3 hours waiting until finally a doctor who just arrived for his shift came to my bedside with his coffee and told me I wasn't pregnant and just like that we both sat there and cried. In an attempt to console me the doctor said "It's okay, it's like you were never pregnant at all" clearly that didn't sit well with me; I was too numb and sad to respond but wtf dude we were two adults who wanted this we weren't sitting there like two HS kids praying it was a goof and that I wasn't actually pregnant. Jerk! That day was also the day of my 8 week check up and sonogram so I went because I was praying that the jerk of a doctor at the hospital was mixed up and made a mistake; but it was a no go...this time I found out with more compassion and got a little more information. I was told that I miscarried very hard, so hard that they didn't have to go in and scrape anything out, in hindsight I'm glad that it happened that way because I don't think I could have handled more.

We went home and I cried, cried, and cried...I was numb I couldn't believe it. Jack had to to be strong for me because I was down like really down I've never looked into what depression really is but I can only imagine I was suffering from some level of it...numb is the best word to describe my feeling. While I only told a handful of people I ended up telling my circle of friends eventually what happened it was bitter sweet. It was really hard at times too though; I got hit with "everything thing happens for a reason" A LOT and honestly I wanted to punch anyone and everyone who said that in the face, that is literally the LAST thing I wanted to hear and was in no emotional position to handle that! But at the end of the day I received the love and support I needed and how else would I get the support I needed if people didn't know. Also, everyone knew we were trying or if they didn't they wanted us to try because they saw our love for children so they would question us. Lastly, because I saw I wasn't alone...I was shocked at how many women and couples experienced what we just went through.

Well that's that! It's amazing how much better I'm feeling, I feel like I just got out of a therapy session...this is why I write. If you stumble upon this post THANK YOU for listening (by reading). If you've read this and you've experienced this, you're not alone! I'm sure I'll let a few more tears out along the way knowing what today was supposed to be, but 9 months later I have come to terms with "everything happens for a reason" and that "there is a plan in store for me". We'll keep trying and when the time finally comes we will cherish it that much more, in the mean time we will continue to enjoy our life together and smothering all the babies in our lives with lots of love.

Happy September 15th Bebe