My pregnancy in review : )

My readership has drastically declined lately, which is fine because seriously, I get it. My posting has also drastically declined lately, because I feel icky about posting so much about pregnancy. But, since today marks 20 weeks and thus the halfway point for this baby’s gestation, I feel a bit of retrospect is in order because when it comes down to it I’ve done a pretty poor job of documenting my pregnancy.

So, we’ll do the cliffs notes version.

3w4d (also known as 6dp5dt)- this was the day I first took a HPT and saw two lines.

4-7 weeks- I lived in fear. I was happy but terrified, with terror outweighing happiness a lot of days. A couple of times I left work to cry in my car about how grateful I was to be pregnant. At 6 weeks we saw the heartbeat and my RE told us we were at 95% of everything being okay, but that wasn’t enough for me.

Side note: I ate a LOT of salt!! I’m not usually a salt girl but I dumped salt all over everything. I remember getting hash browns at McDonald’s on my way to work, and they looked like they had been snowed on once I was done with them. I also ate a lot of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips (classy, I know). This may have been more of a post-OHSS thing than a pregnancy thing. I had PMS like cramps the entire time, my nipples started darkening, and the blue veins popped out on my chest. I think I was dizzy a lot at this point, too.

8 weeks- We heard the heartbeat and saw something that looked a whole lot more like a baby than it had two weeks ago. My RE released me to my OB. We told my grandparents (one of the best moments of my life), and I slowly started telling friends. This is also when the nausea started, but it was minor, only lasted a couple of hours, and never bothered me all that much. I also felt like total garbage for a week because I had a bad cold.

9 weeks- I started feeling so bloated that jeans were almost impossible. I wore a bella band with my jeans. I think this was when the super pregnant nose kicked in. I remember hardly being able to open the refrigerator. I told work I was pregnant.

10 weeks- We had what is, to date, my favorite ultrasound. Baby looked so adorable and peanut-like. I finally felt able to relax a bit. I think this was when I started going to bed by 8pm every night.

11 weeks- I felt very, very bloated, but still didn’t feel like I was showing. This was around when the crazy weepiness started.

12 weeks- We announced on facebook, and it was the week of Thanksgiving. I met with my NP and we had another great ultrasound where baby was dancing around like CRAZY! It was so fun. 12 weeks made a huge difference in my outlook. I got another stinkin cold and felt pretty bad most of the week. I feel like my belly popped out this week and I went from being bloated to showing, although others disagree. Pregnant nose started to fade.

13 weeks- realized I had missed my chance for an NT scan : ( Still very tired, hormonal, and feeling fat. I believe this is when the vaginal discharge (luekorrhea) got really uncomfortable. There’s so much of it! This continues and I’ve been told it will only get worse.

14 weeks- this was a rough week. Halfway between my 12 week and 16 week ultrasounds, and I hardly felt pregnant at all, besides feeling tired. Pregnancy nose was gone. I wasn’t in a great mental state.

15 weeks- I started feeling a lot of tugging/pulling/tightening sensations down there. I thought I was preparing for a growth spurt, but figured out later that these were the first noticeable movements.

16 weeks- was sitting in a meeting with all of my management when I felt something very peculiar. It was the first kick! Or punch, or somersault, or whatever. I didn’t feel it again for several days but it was fun feeling the first one.

17 weeks- baby is kicking more frequently. Bump is more noticable. We found out it was a boy!!!

18-20 weeks- symptoms stay the same: blue veins, dark and sensitive nipples, both of which are the new normal. I’m starting to feel off balance because of my belly - though it’s still small, it’s growing. I’m still exhausted a lot. No nausea, some dizziness. I have days of raging hormones and days where I feel fine. Baby moves more and more every day it seems! No stretch marks. Very heavy vaginal discharge, which makes me feel self-conscious and very unsexy. Overall, I feel like my primary reason for being alive is to grow this baby, which keeps me from feeling any sex drive or interest in much else, including my friends and my appearance. And I’m okay with that.

Anatomy scan is on Friday!