(me and my little guy / four months)
It’s shocking to me that I am already in my second trimester. The first seriously flew by! I am not complaining though, I much prefer the second. And not because I suffered extreme nausea during the first like so many women I know (I’ve actually experienced very little), but rather I feel safer in the second. I spent a lot of the first trimester worrying. I doubt this comes as a surprise. I’d swing between excitement (we’re having a baby!!) and worry on a daily basis. I worried I would miscarry. I worried about what I ate – there are so many random things on the “no” list! I worried about the tests they ran- all normal tests during the first trimester but still scary. I had one particularly horrible day when I experienced bad cramping around 10 weeks. I was terrified and spent most of the day in tears. I was so scared of loosing our baby. In the end they passed and our baby is happy and healthy. I’ve done my best to stay calm and relaxed. One…I want to enjoy my pregnancy, it’s such a magical time and I don’t want to spend it worrying. And two…I want my baby to enjoy the pregnancy. I don’t want him to spend his time growing in the belly of a person who’s feeling anxious all the time. I want it to be a calm and happy experience for all parties involved. Now that I am in my fourth month I am easing into it. There’s a definite bump, which I wasn’t expecting quite yet. I’m not sure what the norm for a bump is at four months though. I’m sure it varies!
The highlight of the first trimester was definitely finding out the baby’s gender. It’s crazy how early they can tell you now. They don’t even need to see it on an ultrasound. They took my blood to determine the baby’s gender- WILD. Both Brian and I wanted a boy. I’ve always imagined myself with a son so the idea of having a girl just seemed foreign. The fact that I wanted a boy left me convinced our baby was a girl. I’m not sure if I was preparing myself so I wouldn’t be disappointed? Waiting for the gender results proved hard for me. I am not known for my patience. When they took my blood they said it could take up to 14 business days to receive the results. Our results did not come back until the 14th business day. I mean, come on! By day 13 I had convinced myself our baby was a hermaphrodite and that was why it was taking so long. True story. When I finally did get the call from the doctor’s office and they said BOY I was in shock. A boy?!??! Still letting the news sink in- so happy about it though.
Monthly pregnancy update – December / four months
Baby’s Size- A navel orange (4 inches)
I’m feeling...calmer, even more connected to the baby now that I can refer to it as a “him”, hungry all the damn time, extremely tired by the end of the day (I go to bed most nights at 9pm), grateful & more present.
food loves…yogurt (all flavors! my love for yogurt knows no limits), meat (my low was eating chili for breakfast. chili! so weird) & carbs.
food hates…eggs. before becoming pregnant my breakfast most mornings consisted of scrambled eggs. now the idea of handling them and eating them makes me uncomfortable.
daydreaming about…the nursery. I have so many ideas and I can’t wait to start his room.
can’t wait to…feel him move
least favorite parts of pregnancy this month…saying goodbye to my skinny jeans (they were tight even before pregnancy!), the fact that I can’t sleep on my stomach anymore (that’s the only way I sleep!)
favorite parts of pregnancy this month…the arrival of a small bump. sharing the news with our loved ones.
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365til30.com 
Look absolutely adorable! I had a terrible first trimester. I had all sickness and had to go to the hospital twice because I was dehydrated from throwing up so much. I even pulled muscles in my chest from the amount of bending over to throw up I did. But the second day of the second trimester I felt amazing! It was weird!
I couldn’t eat pizza, Chinese food or chicken throughout the entire pregnancy. After I went back to everything except the chicken. My daughter is 9 and I still can’t eat it! I loved watermelon. I could eat a whole watermelon in one sitting!
As for finding out the sex, ugh…we wanted a boy. My husband and I each had a daughter from a previous marriage so we had really wanted a boy and had only picked out a boy name. When the technician said it was a girl we burst into tears. It took her a minute but eventually the technician realized they were tears of sadness and she got a little mad and walked out! Haha! My little girl is amazing so inam glad it worked out the way it did. I had hoped to have one more but my husband did not want to and sadly I went into an extremely early menopause so I couldn’t even trick him! Haha!
Can’t wait to hear about all your updates!
OMG….that gender revel story is hysterical. I can’t believe the technician took your reactions poorly. You’re allowed to feel however you want! I love your honesty about it. And of course you can’t imagine it working out any other way. You have a beautiful & perfect little girl. It all works out the way it should. 🙂
Thanks for your thoughtful, hysterical and honest comments. I ALWAYS love reading them.
Sounds like you had a pretty good first trimester! The anxiety never fully subsides but it lessens for a while. I found that prenatal yoga really put me in a good place emotionally and mentally. I can’t recommend it enough!! My food aversion was to meat at first, and then curry! Enjoy the nursery planning–so fun! Xo
Thank you for the prenatal yoga tip! I gotta get back to the mat. I know you’re right 🙂
I craved meat, too! It’s funny because I hadn’t eaten meat for two years prior to getting pregnant. After I found out the news, it was like a flip switched and I couldn’t get enough. Surprisingly enough I couldn’t stand the smell of coffee during my first trimester and couldn’t drink it without cream throughout the rest of my pregnancy. The morning after I delivered her, I drank a big cup of black coffee – it was delicious! So funny the way the body responds to pregnancy 🙂
You look beautiful and I look forward to more Baby updates!
YOU couldn’t drink coffee?! But you love coffee! So funny…it’s totally weird how the body responds. Thank you for your sweet words 🙂
The hermaphrodite comment made me laugh out loud because I had the same fears… plus we are keeping the gender a surprise so the fear continues to randomly creep in!
When I voiced that I was worried about the baby’s health with all of the testing going on, someone said, “Welcome to parenthood.” Worrying comes with the package! Trust your body.
Sleep- sigh. I miss it and the baby isn’t even here yet.
SO excited to stay tuned on your journey, Mama!
I cannot believe you had hermaphrodite fears too!!! HAHAHA. I’m so happy to know I’m not totally alone. Brian and my OBGYN looked at me like I was crazy. I can see how the worrying will be never ending. But you’re right…TRUST.
TRUST! You’ll need to repeat that as you watch your body change and grow into something somewhat unrecognizable! Enjoy it all.
Haha can they actually tell by a blood test if the baby is a hermaphrodite? It sounds like your first trimester went relatively smoothly, I hope the rest of the pregnancy goes the same as well and that there are no complications and that mom and baby stay healthy! Have you researched birth plans already and that kind of thing yet? I’m always interested in birth stories because everybody’s is SO different! I’ve never heard two that are alike.
I have no idea if they can actually tell that through a blood test. hahah. In my insane mind I had convinced myself that they could though! I have done a bit of research about birth plans. I’m on the fence about a lot of it. Three books that I ordered on the subject arrived today. Clearly, I’ve got some reading to do 🙂
All of this is heavenly to read. Your son is lucky to have a mother who sees the big picture- enjoying the glow of the process.
So much goodness, Kate! It’s just such a beautiful miracle and journey that you are experiencing. I cannot imagine the pure joy that you feel!
Kate this was such a great post! You will be so happy to have these memories written down in years to come. I also really wanted a boy and really didn’t want a girl, and I spent the whole pregnancy being sure I was having a girl! The ultrasound didn’t tell me the gender and there were no fancy blood tests offered 14 years ago. His heartbeat was high through the whole pregnancy which is supposed to indicate a girl. When he was born and they said “it’s a boy” I was beyond thrilled! I’m looking forward to reading your updates.