I am officially a third of the way through this pregnancy!!! There has been so much to document, but I’m trying my hardest to keep my weekly updates below short and sweet. I’ll try not to bore you too much! To sum it up: I’m constantly nauseous, have a superhero sense of smell (which only makes my nausea 10x worse), and tired ALL the time.

I’m so excited to take y’all on this journey with me! I’m sharing a little piece of my heart in a note at the bottom of this post, so be sure not to miss that if you skip over everything else!

I started taking weekly photos of my (still not-so-existent) bump as soon as I found out about our little nugget in there so that I could have these sweet memories of documenting my growing belly. ❤️

WEEKLY UPDATES

Weeks 3 & 4 (prior to finding out)
I had a few early signs of pregnancy, but I didn’t think much of them until I actually saw the positive pregnancy test.
Symptoms:
– Completely exhausted
– Hot flashes

Week 4: size of a poppy seed
Found out at 4 weeks + 5 days (on Halloween) and told Mason that night.
Symptoms:
– A little crampy at night
– Breaking out really bad (the “pregnancy glow” is a load of bologna at this point… and for the next 10 weeks)

Week 5: size of a grain of rice
Announced to both sets of parents and brothers this week. If I hadn’t known I was pregnant yet, I definitely would have found out by now due to my morning sickness.
Symptoms:
– Morning (ALL DAY) sickness
– Belly already starting to feel stiff
– Cramping every evening
Eating:
– Crackers, pretzels, chips. Just trying to stay alive.
– Preggy pop drops (these were my saving grace for a few weeks)

Week 6: size of a blueberry
I was actually able to eat a little more than just pretzels this week, but not for long!
Symptoms:
– Nausea went down a bit
Eating:
– Soup and mac & cheese
Craving:
– KFC chicken (haven’t had it since maybe middle school, so this was weird)

Week 7: size of a raspberry
At this point, I was having some good and some bad days. If I ate right when I woke up (and every hour) I didn’t feel as bad.
Symptoms:
– Extremely tired (falling asleep at 7 every night)
Eating:
– A little bit of Thanksgiving food
Aversions:
– Beef, tacos & lunch meat

Week 8: size of a strawberry
My jeans were a bit tighter, and I could definitely notice my itty bitty belly bump, but no one else would for a while.
Symptoms:
– Kept down more food
– Was able to eat a little healthier

Week 9: size of a cherry
My first prenatal appointment was this week (11/30), and I found out my due date was a week later than I had calculated (now July 4!!!). We got to see the baby moving in the ultrasound, with a heartbeat of 176 bpm. I also got close to passing out when they drew my blood, so that was pretty embarrassing.
Symptoms:
– Morning sickness went away for a few days, then came back full force.
Craving:
– Burgers, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep one down

Week 10: size of a kumquat
We had a long week of dinner plans with people since we’re moving soon, so I was exhausted at this point.
Symptoms:
– Still morning sickness
– More cramping
– Still exhausted
Craving:
– Sonic mozzarella sticks

Week 11: size of a brussel sprout
Second set of prenatal appointments were this week (12/18 & 12/19). The nurse tried to get the baby to lay horizontally on the ultrasound, and it would NOT budge. We’ve got a stubborn little thing in there (definitely Mason’s child)!
Symptoms:
– Morning sickness alllll day
– Extremely emotional
Craving:
– Pasta with just butter and salt
Aversions:
– Chicken quesadillas

Week 12: size of an apricot
Finally felt better this week (probably because I got a hold of some nausea medicine)
Eating:
– Peanut butter banana protein shakes
– Easing back into “normal” food
Aversions:
– The smell of onions

ONE LAST THING

If you couldn’t tell by the symptoms I listed, this first trimester was pretty hard on me — physically, mentally, and emotionally. I felt sick all the time, could barely keep anything down, and ended up losing 10 lbs between weeks 9 and 12. Some days I sat on the couch crying because I felt inadequate or scared that my body wasn’t working the way it was supposed to be, or because I literally couldn’t do anything but sleep all day.

That being said, I have always tried to make an effort to be thankful for a body capable of growing a baby, no matter what my circumstances were like, but honestly, it was extremely difficult some days. I’m looking forward to these next few weeks when (supposedly) my body will give me a little bit of a break, and I can enjoy our trip to Europe and move to St. Louis.

What was your first trimester like? Did you travel (or move) while pregnant? Let me know in the comments! 😊

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