Sunday, February 26, 2012

Intro & Weeks 1-4

It's been awhile since my last blog post, but I assure you, I have a really good excuse.  My last entry here mentioned having a hangover of sorts after a hectic 2011.  I now have a new type of "hangover", which has lasted close to 3 months.  Extreme exhaustion, all-day nausea, inability to eat anything other than watermelon.  All caused by something smaller than the size of my fist.

Interwebs, I introduce you to our little meatball:
So while I'm not planning much in the way of races this year, I will be gearing up for one of the largest events of my life in just about 6 months.  I had grand ideas of being able to swim/bike/run during the entire pregnancy, however, after 3 solid weeks of barely being able to bathe myself, I've had a bit of a reality check.  I do still hope to remain active once the "morning" sickness passes and some of my energy returns, but I have certainly been forced into a different frame of mind.

So once I get my body moving again, I'll be using this blog as a way to document my training experiences while pregnant, recipes that are working for me, highlights and struggles during the journey, and yes, eventually, a "race report".  And now that the world knows our secret, I'll be adding in some week-by-week updates.  Starting with weeks 1-4.

Weeks 1&2
Modern medicine calcuates the weeks of pregnancy based on the day of your last menstrual period, so you aren't even actually pregnant for the first two weeks of your "pregnancy".  Since you all probably went through sex ed in grade school, I'll spare you the details about ovulation, conception, etc.  You're welcome.

Week 3
We don’t know we’re pregnant yet, but there are lots of amazing things that took place this week.  There were a few symptoms that made me go “hmmm” and I spent a lot of time overanalyzing every little thing (basal body temp, cervical position and mucus, symptoms, etc.).

Milestones:
Implantation!   Baby zygote is snuggling on in and making itself at home.

Size of Meatball:
Smaller than a pin prick.

Symptoms:
Everything smells like cigarette butts, including the gingerbread that I baked for the Kronholm Christmas party on Christmas Eve morning.  My breasts are feeling a bit ginormous and I’ve started nicknaming them “fire nips”.  I nodded off while driving home from running errands – very unusual for me, and thank goodness for rumble strips!

Food cravings: None.
Food aversions: None.
Exercise: A few short runs, but not much due to the holidays.
Weight gain: Just holiday pudge!

Week 4We’re officially pregnant!  I had the faintest of lines the day after Christmas at 8 dpo (days past ovulation), a more distinct line at 9 dpo, but the first “PREGNANT” reading on a digital test didn’t appear until 10 dpo.
Milestones: Little zygote is now an embryo.
Size of Meatball: No bigger than a poppy seed.
Symptoms: I have a stretchy, crampy feeling in my uterus and the fire nips continue.  I also feel a bit like I have the flu, sort of like PMS.
Food cravings: None.
Food aversions: None.
Exercise: 3 runs, a short swim, and a short trainer ride.
Weight gain: I have some good bloat going on, but no weight gain.