baby on the way — Motherhood

The news is out! Mario and I are expecting our first bundle of joy. I consider myself to be a pretty open person and it was a difficult secret to keep. In celebration of hitting the 13-week mark, we finally shared the news with the world. I read mixed messages online whether the second trimester begins at 13 weeks or 14 weeks. I recently hit the 14-week mark and in lieu of wrapping up my first trimester, I wanted to share our story thus far.

I have been obsessed with babies and have wanted to be a mother ever since I can remember. When I was a kid, I envisioned myself being an OBGYN because I wanted to help birthers deliver babies. I watched TLC’s A Baby Story every single day after elementary and middle school. I even pretended that my Barbie dolls were pregnant by stuffing their stomachs. I was an only child for 10 years and I wanted a sibling so bad that in preschool I lied to my teachers that my mom was pregnant. When my siblings on my father’s side were finally born, I was over the moon! It’s safe to say I have always gravitated towards pregnancy, birth, and children.

I have yearned to be a mom for a long, long time. I turned 30 in March and had been telling Mario that I either wanted to be engaged, married, or pregnant by this time for a few years. I had no idea that Mario planned on proposing in August and felt like I couldn’t wait any longer to try for a baby. I had a fear that it was going to be difficult for me to become pregnant because it’s something I wanted so badly. A month before Mario popped the question, we decided to begin trying for a baby. I started tracking my cycles, taking prenatals, and checking my basal body temperature first thing when I woke up in the morning. For those who don’t know, your basal body temperature rises slightly when you are ovulating! I didn’t end up getting pregnant the first month and honestly, I was devastated. A few weeks later, Mario asked me to marry him during a vacation in Joshua Tree, and then I wasn’t sure if we should keep trying. After some debate, we decided to try until my cycle ended and if I wasn’t pregnant we would shift our focus to the wedding. Low and behold, the following month the pregnancy test was positive. I was very surprised and felt like it was meant to be.

Pregnancy begins the first day of your last cycle, so on the first day of your missed period, a pregnant person is considered 4 weeks along. Although I knew I was pregnant right away because of a missed period and positive pregnancy test, I didn’t feel any symptoms until I was 5 weeks and 5 days when mild nausea began. Thankfully, the nausea has been very manageable as long as I eat and stay hydrated. I also had an increase in hunger, fatigue, and gas (insert blushing emoji). I’m very grateful that my symptoms haven’t been extreme thus far.

Our first ultrasound was at 9 weeks. I decided to opt for a local birth center and Mario was able to come with me to see the baby for the first time. We got a basic ultrasound and weren’t able to hear the heartbeat at our confirmation appointment, but we saw the heart, and the baby was moving a lot! The following day, I had an appointment at a hospital to set up some blood tests. My hospital visit was vastly different from our birth center visit. I felt much more stressed and anxious. My appointment lasted over 2.5 hours and I had to go alone because of the COVID-19 restrictions which made me feel like I had to make important decisions on my own and under pressure. I felt like my hospital visit instilled a lot of fear and doubt rather than empowering me. It reinforced my decision to choose a birth center as my primary provider during this pregnancy because I feel the midwives allow parents to advocate for themselves and respect their decisions much more than traditional hospitals.

Although we are both in our 30’s, I was very nervous to share the news with our families and we waited until the week of Thanksgiving when I was around 11 weeks, going on 12 weeks. Mario and I have been together since 2016, but we are engaged and not married yet, so I wasn’t sure how they would feel. I was very relieved that they were very excited and equally surprised. We were even able to film some of our closest family member’s reactions which was so special. I’ll link the Pregnancy Announcement video here in case you missed it!

Overall, the first trimester was pretty easy going and I’m excited to share this journey with you all! If you want to learn more about the first part of my pregnancy story be sure to visit my First Trimester Q&A video. I will keep you updated on how the second trimester goes as well.