First Trimester: The Ugly Truth

So here comes the previously mentioned post about my first trimester (well first trimester plus month 4 because there really wasn't any difference in the two).  Warning: it wasn't pretty or fun and I'm not going to hold back on the truth.  I think pregnancy is a wonderful and beautiful thing but I do think that women tend to sugar coat pregnancy and leave out the ugly, difficult, painful parts that you aren't sure you'll ever get through.  The good news is that you will get through them.  The bad news is that it won't be fun.

When we found out that I was pregnant, I was thrilled.  I knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park but I was expecting some morning sickness, sore boobs, aches and pains...you know, things that you hear about but that sound manageable.  What I got was my world rocked instead.

First and foremost - Morning sickness - who came up with this phrase?!?! There is nothing limited to the morning about it, and it is certainly not some slight sickness that is uncomfortable, it is flat out debilitating, exhausting and miserable.  I had nausea all day, every day for about 10 weeks straight.  I was throwing up every day for many of those weeks and, if I'm being completely honest, I still have nausea every day (although it has gotten significantly better).  I had to take days off work, didn't leave my house for days at a time and pretty much stopped living any semblance of a normal life. Luckily, Ryan was here for most of the worst weeks and, when he wasn't, my parents were kind enough to take me in and take care of me.  This has been BY FAR the worst part of pregnancy for me.  I was feeling miserable all the time, which led me to be a miserable human being and downright ugly to those trying to help the most. I lost 5 pounds in my first trimester and had a lot of fears that the baby wasn't getting the nutrients she needed since I couldn't keep much down and what I could keep down was mostly fried foods and crackers, not the healthiest of diets. I tried 3 different medicines that the doctor recommended, none of which worked.  I finally came to the conclusion that this was how my body was reacting to pregnancy and nothing was going to help or change that so I had to just push through it.  My doctors assured me that as long as I was getting my prenatal vitamin down, the baby was going to be just fine. Luckily, I am through the worst of it and the nausea that I experience at night now is much more manageable.

Exhaustion.  This was probably the most common thing I heard from my friends who are already Moms - just how tired they were during the first trimester but the burst of energy they got going into the second trimester.  I was definitely exhausted but I think a lot of that came from being so sick.  I definitely did not get any burst of energy in my second trimester.  Don't get me wrong, I certainly have more energy than I did but nothing close to what I had prior to pregnancy. I'm still optimistic that the "burst" will come!

Sensitive/Sore Boobs. This was one symptom that I am lucky to say was not bad for me.  Was I sore and extra sensitive? For sure! But it was nothing that I would even describe as uncomfortable day to day. This one I can't complain about for one second.

Urgency to use the Restroom.  This one has hit me pretty hard - I swear I pee every hour.  I know they say this gets worse as you get further into pregnancy but I'm not sure how.  I already get up 3-4 times a night and am constantly back and forth to the bathroom.  It's not painful or uncomfortable by any means but it sure is a pain in the you know what, especially when you are exhausted and trying to get a good night's sleep.

I have had some other stuff begin to pop up - back pain (one day last week I almost went to the ER because it was so bad but that has gotten better), heartburn has begun, my eyesight is all off and my gums bleed no matter how much I brush and floss.  All of these things are expected with pregnancy and they aren't too bad, nothing compared to the nausea.  I did get a really fun, bad case of a cold last week that knocked me out for a couple of days but I am on the mend from that too.

As you can tell, pregnancy has not been beautiful or a walk in the park by any means.  The reason I'm sharing this isn't to scare anyone or to get sympathy but to be honest.  While I was feeling so sick, one of the worst parts was that I felt completely alone.  I hadn't talked to anyone who had experienced what I was going through and I started to feel very depressed.  I would never wish that upon anyone and I want everyone to know they aren't alone.  Since I've openly talked about my symptoms, more and more people have opened up to me about the realities of their pregnancy or their friend who felt the same way.  I'm so glad they are sharing that with me now but I do wish I had heard one of those stories before I went through all of this. So, I'm hoping maybe someone will feel less alone because of my honesty.

Oh, and I can't leave out, almost every day I had a terrible, "whoa is me" attitude.  I felt sorry for myself, couldn't understand why I was the only person going through this, etc. etc.  So, if you're feeling that way, it's totally fine, you have every right.

There is no way I would have gotten through the first 4 months without Ryan and my family being there to support me, take care of me, let me scream and yell at them and be a general miserable person.  They listened and waited on me when I needed it most and for that, I am beyond appreciative!

Pregnancy IS wonderful and beautiful and the result is worth every ache, pain, nausea, throw up, etc. but that doesn't make the path easy or fun.  If you don't enjoy the process, that doesn't mean you aren't as grateful for the end result - it just means you're going through what so many other women out there are too!

Thanks for reading and for allowing me to be honest!

Carly

Baby Girl Baucom

Many of you have probably already heard the good news but Ryan and I are elated to announce that we are having a baby!!  A baby girl to be more specific (more on how we found that out so early in a later post).  We really could not be more thrilled!  I'm hoping to post monthly updates on my pregnancy - I'm already 16 weeks so I'm a little late on this, oops, but hopefully I will get better.  I'm going to start with a very honest post about my first trimester (warning: it wasn't pretty) soon.

Thanks to everyone who has already sent us many well wishes, thoughts and prayers!  We can't wait for this new journey in our life and to share it with our family and friends!

Much Love!

The Baucoms