Six Weeks

Ah, the first trimester. Even though I've blogged about it before, I'd forgotten about how "yucky" it can make you feel. The past few days I've woken up feeling still sort of bloated but more nauseous. Not like I need to barf every second kind of nauseous, but this kind of uncomfortable stomach/body mild nausea feeling that sometimes goes away with eating and sometimes doesn't. At first the feeling went away after morning was over (hence the term "morning sickness") but just today it pretty much lasted all day, which is not fun when you're also facing pregnancy fatigue and also chasing an almost 2-year-old. I guess it's some relief that Baby #1 slept in so I could sleep in a bit (even though I was up at least three times in the night feeling icky and having to pee), and then skipped his nap but went to bed early so we could have some evening time to rest. I want to say the babies were kicking my butt this weekend, but I know the kicking part will come later....

The good news is that 1) pregnancy symptoms are a good sign that I'm still pregnant and 2) I've gotten a little relief from the acne that had been plaguing me in prior weeks. Now my biggest symptom besides nausea and fatigue is hunger. It comes and goes but I am certainly eating a lot more than I usually do. On Friday I was surprised I woke up without feeling hungry at all since I had been a little hungry in bed despite eating a normal dinner. Then after eating two eggs and two rolls for breakfast at 8:30am I was hungry for lunch at 11:15. That's not even three hours later. After lunch around 11:30 I was hungry for dinner at almost 2:00 on the dot. I ate an especially big dinner that night and listened to whatever my body wanted the next day too: Noodles. Grilled cheese. Meat. Like with my first baby, I still mostly want proteins and carbs, salty and not sweet, though I don't mind a little sweet treat here and there.

Surprisingly, it feels like I've made it to six weeks pretty quickly, though I still have three more weeks before my first doctor's appointment. I'm compiling questions in the meantime to be prepared. There's a lot I remember from his answers to my questions with my first baby, but others that are a little new. What was the reason for light spotting? Is it okay to keep breastfeeding while pregnant? How safe is road travel in the first trimester? How safe is plane travel in November? How long can I keep lifting my toddler or sleep on my stomach? Do I need any additional prenatal testing because of my age (still 34 but 35 in August)? And how has he been during the pandemic?

Six weeks is still early, and still nerve wracking (I'll feel better once we at least make it to the 9 or 10 week mark and have our first ultrasound). But it's also exciting to know that Baby 2 is no longer microscopic. The size of a sweet pea or a blueberry, depending on which fruit and veggie chart you use, Baby 2 is starting to form eyes, ear buds, and maybe even the start of arms and legs! Best of all, it's heart is likely beating now, and should definitely be visible and audible at my upcoming doctor's appointment. The images online show a six week baby looking kind of like a curled up dinosaur, which is a big improvement over last week's alien.

Now we're on to more waiting, pushing through the yucky feelings with the assurance that the first trimester doesn't last forever. Before I know it the time to announce will arrive, the sex will be revealed, and I'll discover what life is like as a mom of two in a family of four!