11 weeks

I am 11 weeks pregnant today. While I know anything can still happen, I am settling into the role of “pregnant woman”. It still kind of blows my mind to think about it.

I think the best thing I did for my anxiety was to start telling people. In this case, people’s naivete came in handy. Once they found out I was pregnant, they treated me like I was truly going to have a baby…which was a novel approach for me (and anyone going through infertility/loss).

Overall, I have found that when people treat you like you’re pregnant, you start feeling more pregnant yourself.

The best response I’ve gotten from my pregnancy announcements was from a co-worker. We aren’t close, but you wouldn’t know from her reaction. She immediately asked me if I got pregnant naturally, and when I said we did in vitro, she asked if it was covered under our company’s insurance. I said our state has a mandate for it to be covered. Then she asked me how much I paid out of pocket for each attempt (!). The icing on the cake was when she said “Is that why you’ve been missing so much work lately?”

Physically, I am definitely getting a round tummy. I wouldn’t call it a baby bump - it could still look like a beer gut to strangers. But if I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in a while, she would probably suspect I’m pregnant.

As far as symptoms go, I’ve still been lucky. I’ve had a few fits of nausea that have made me ill, but they go away pretty quickly. No vomiting. I have discovered the tummy-settling magic of sprite with grenadine and I drink that all the time, even ordering it at restaurants (to my husband’s embarrassment). I have crazy blue veins on my chest and boobs. I feel tired and/or dizzy a lot. I have crazy mood swings and sometimes I’m convinced my husband hates me.

All in all, I’m enjoying this roller coaster, and thankful for every moment.