First 20 Weeks Pregnant

Dress | Sunglasses | Shoes (similar) | Necklace | Bag (vintage)

I’m currently almost 26 weeks, heading into my sixth month (WHAT?!), but I’ve been wanting to write a post reflecting on my first 20 weeks pregnant. There are a lot of articles and message boards out there that can be scary to read, so I hope first time moms can find some comfort in reading this post.

Overall Insight

Pregnancy and becoming a mother is truly an incredible experience that’s both equally amazing and scary. As someone who’s prone to anxiety, there have been numerous moments where I’m worrying over a feeling or symptom getting myself worked up (some of them warranted). However, in many cases these feelings were a normal part of the process and it was just my body changing and responding. Anxieties aside, this experience has been the most amazing of my life. Watching my body change and adapt, reading the weekly facts around baby’s development and just knowing that a tiny human is literally hanging out in there with me at all times, is unbelievable. And when you feel that first flutter of baby’s movement, it takes the experience to a whole new level and is beyond any feeling of happiness you’ve ever known.

Finding Out and the First Trimester

Sometimes it’s funny how life happens. I found out I was pregnant at around four weeks, on Pete’s second day at his new job. He had already made the move out to Kansas City and I was hanging back in New Jersey for a couple of weeks working and finishing packing up the house. I Facetimed him sitting in my car in the parking lot outside my office and told him our lives were about to change even more than we had already thought. I think pure joy and nervousness are the two words that best describe that moment. For the next two-three weeks, it was pretty chaotic with the move and all I felt was pure and utter exhaustion. You’ve never been tired until you experience first trimester tired. Then…..the nausea started. It really should be called “all day sickness,” because I was pretty much nauseous from mid-morning until bedtime every single day. I tried anything and everything that was recommended to help, but what seemed to work best were Saltine crackers and tortilla chips all day everyday. Beyond the nausea, I experienced food aversions, heightened smell, and severe heartburn. Pretty on par for the first trimester, but damn they still suck. Most issues faded around week twelve, but the nausea stuck around until at least week sixteen. I was SO happy when there was nausea relief because I felt mostly like myself again and could really focus on enjoying this special time.

Second Trimester

When I started feeling like myself again at sixteen weeks, I got back into exercising and doing what I could to get my blood flowing. There were some complications with my pregnancy so the doctor asked I keep to light exercise. [I’m happy to go into detail on this in a future post if anyone’s interested.] With that, I have been keeping my exercise mostly to walking and the elliptical which really has been working fine. My belly really popped at around week 18 and at that point, regular clothes (pants and dresses mostly) were no longer an option. I really did not want to spend a lot of money on a brand new wardrobe, so thank goodness for Target and Old Navy for providing me with some cute, affordable options. And then, two amazing things happened: I felt baby kick for the first time, and we found out the gender. I started feeling what I’d call flutters in my stomach around week 19 which then became more pronounced and I realized was movement. It really is the most incredible, wonderful feeling and makes you bond even more with your little babe. Then, at our 20 week ultrasound, we found out we were having a little GIRL and I nearly choked from shock. I was convinced we were having a boy – don’t know why, but I just had such a strong feeling. Pete thought girl the whole time, and as usual, he was right! We really didn’t care either way, but this was a totally fun surprise and we got even more excited. Since then, I’ve been feeling great and have put together a nice stock of clothes for our little girl (I just couldn’t help myself!). Gifts from our registry have been trickling in, so it’s really starting to feel real over at our place and becoming baby central.

Our baby girl graduates to the size of a head of kale today, so things have progressed fast from the time she was an apple seed! Even though the first trimester was a bit rough, I can’t believe how fast the time is flying. In the remaining 14 weeks, I really want to focus on living in the moment and enjoying the rest of my pregnancy as our girl will be here before we know it. More to come on the journey in my next pregnancy update post. In the meantime, you can follow my growing bump on Insta!

PS – My dress is on sale right now for under $10!