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January 17, 2014 – 10 Weeks + 4 Days Pregnant

January 17, 2014 – 10 Weeks + 4 Days Pregnant

Here, I will recap my 1st trimester with #minivegan.  Every pregnancy is a different experience!  Here’s mine…

First of all, I didn’t take a pregnancy test until day 45.  Up until the test I really did NOT think I could be pregnant!  I just couldn’t see how it was possible based on my “data.”

Over the past year, I’d had some really long menstrual cycles…i.e. a 37 day cycle in June, 36 days in July, and 38 days in September.  My longest cycle ever in my life was 39 days.  But that was a long time ago.

I attributed the increasingly long cycles to peri-menopause.  I am 42!  Needless to say, at some point it seemed wise to take “the test.”

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2013

I did my volunteering at New Moon Farm Goat Rescue & Sanctuary in the afternoon.  I bought a pregnancy test at Safeway in Arlington, WA, and met Eric for dinner at the Shire Cafe Vegetarian Restaurant & Bar.  Eric had a delivery to do for work before he went home, so I beat him home by about 45 minutes.

I took the test right when I got home.  The double lines showed up instantly.  I didn’t have to wait 3 minutes like the instructions said.  My reaction was complete disbelief, shock, and denial.  No way could it be real!  I paced the house until Eric got home.  It seemed like it took him forever!

Once he got home, I brought him back to the bathroom where the positive test was sitting on the counter.  I said, “There’s something going on.”  I can’t speak for him, but needless to say he was shocked, too.  Our birth control method– though not foolproof (obviously!!)– had worked well for 20+ years.  Now this!

January 17, 2014 – 10 Weeks + 4 Days Pregnant

The next day, Eric described my pregnancy announcement to a friend on Facebook, like this:

“I got home from work and she said there is something going on as she led me back to the bathroom. I was thinking maybe we had a pipe burst or something like that. Fortunately it was just an unplanned pregnancy…”

Hahaha!

I didn’t sleep well Friday night.  On Saturday morning, December 7, I was still in denial and so I took the second pee test.  After the second positive test, I decided it had to be true.  Then, I informed my parents, sister and all of my Facebook friends.

I didn’t have any pregnancy symptoms for another week.  Starting in mid-December, my appetite started picking up.  Hunger has definitely been my #1 symptom, and it hasn’t let up.  Sometimes it is a *desperate* hunger!

January 17, 2014 – 10 Weeks + 4 Days Pregnant

If you have followed this blog, then you know that– prior to this pregnancy– I was eating a vegan diet that was largely NSNG (No Sugar No Grains).  Well, pregnancy changed all of that.  “Desperate Hunger” has meant that I’ve had no choice but to increase my consumption of grains and starches.

For one, I became turned off by some major “players” in my NSNG diet:  nuts and nut butters.  For two, I started craving things like toast, homemade muffins, rice, oatmeal, cold cereal, and baked potato.  For a time, I wanted hummus but I was turned off by tofu.  My food preferences seem to change by the day.  For now, I still can’t eat the lentil soup that I’d been eating for lunch for the past several years.

Remember my post about going 35 Days Without Coffee?  I loved my daily lattes!  Once I found out I was pregnant, I cut them out to avoid the caffeine.  I had one or two decaf soy lattes at first.  But now coffee is “meh.”  Pregnancy is goofy!

My nights should be sponsored by the PROBAR Superfood Slam.  This is what I’ve been eating when I wake up hungry every night between midnight and 3 a.m.  Yes, it contains more sugar than I’d like, but it does give me a substantial 380 calories, 20 grams of needed fat, and 10 grams of protein.

PROBAR Superfood Slam

The PROBAR delivers nuts to me in a palatable form.  I’ve found that I can tolerate nuts and nut butters as long as I don’t try to eat them “plain.”  I can eat peanut butter and almond butter IF I put them on toast or bake them into muffins.  I also blend them into banana smoothies.

The very worst of my 1st trimester symptoms was the PROFOUND lethargy I experienced, lasting about 3 weeks.  This phase covered the week before Christmas through New Years.  It was awful!  I never felt so tired in my life.  It was downright depressing because I’ve always been a super active person.  I felt so weak and inadequate.

Other symptoms:  bloating, heartburn, headaches.  Some days are better than others.  I’m VERY fortunate that I haven’t experienced any nausea or vomiting!!

My favorite symptom?  Bigger boobs!  I’ve never really had boobs, and now I have a little bit of fullness there.  Yippee!  It’s definitely worth the minor soreness.  They started growing around Christmas.  Thanks, Santa!  The soreness started out near my armpits and worked its way medially.

Christmas gift from my sister’s thoughtful mother-in-law.

Sunday, January 5, 2014 was the turning point for my lethargy.  It finally abated.  What a great relief that was!  I can’t say I feel completely “back to normal,” but the improvement was significant.  I can now function during the day.  Just as important, I’m starting to get back into an exercise schedule.  I do want to be a fit pregnant lady!

TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2014

I had my first midwife appointment at Cascade Birth Center.  We heard the heartbeat for the first time on Doppler.  It took a few minutes of probing my belly to locate our little person, but once the signal was picked up, the sound was UNmistakable!  Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!  That made it REAL.  So special.  I should have taken an audio recording with my phone.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2014

First ultrasound!  We went into the appointment thinking that I was about 12 weeks along (based on my last menstrual period).  My due date would have been July 30, 2014.  But, based on the ultrasound, my due date was adjusted to August 11, 2014.

Eric was able to join me for the appointment.  I was expecting to have a transvaginal ultrasound, but the technician was able to get all the views she needed via abdominal ultrasound.  Right when she put the transducer on my belly, the obvious image of a baby emerged on the screen.  “There’s a baby there,” she said!

The best part was seeing the little person start squirming around.  The little bug appeared to be turning over, doing ab crunches and making boxing moves with his or her arms.  TOO CUTE!!

I intended to include our ultrasound pics in this post, but the radiology clinic’s CD burner was not working.  We have to wait until next week to get a copy.  I’m going to do a separate post with all the pics.  Stay tuned!

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STATS…

Last Menstrual Period:  October 23, 2013
Probable Date of Conception:  November 17, 2013
Due Date:  August 11, 2014

1st Trimester Weight Gain (Weeks 0-13):

November 11, 2013 = 99.0 lb (pre-pregnancy weight)
December 16, 2013 = 99.8 lb
December 26, 2013 = 102.8 lb
December 31, 2013 = 104.8 lb
January 7, 2014 = 106.6 lb
January 14, 2014 = 108.0 lb
January 21, 2014 = 110.2 lb
January 28, 2014 = 110.4 lb
February 4, 2014 = 112.0 lb

Total Weight Gain = 13.0 lb

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“Before” Pics:

(My best “before” pics were taken almost exactly 1 year before #minivegan’s due date.)

Pre-Pregnancy Body- August 3, 2013

Pre-Pregnancy Body – August 3, 2013

Pre-Pregnancy Body – August 3, 2013