I’m a little over half way through my pregnancy and am sharing how things have been going. Pregnancy is this crazy mix of a glowy, magical time mixed with humbling physical and emotional moments. It’s as beautiful as it is terrifying and I think that’s why people find it so fascinating.

First Trimester

Looking back, physically I absolutely cannot complain about my first trimester. For a lot of women this is when they are at their absolute sickest.

For me, I felt occasional nausea but was able to keep it at bay so long as I ate a steady stream of carbs. If I went too long without eating I would then start to feel ill and terribly nauseous. My two main cravings were fresh fruit and McDonalds chicken nuggets with barbeque sauce. I needed them all the time I’m not ashamed to say that I indulged.

The most obvious symptom I’d say was fatigue. Oh my word, everyone talks about first trimester fatigue and it’s exhaustion on a whole other level. I would go to bed almost every night at 7pm and still need a nap during the day. I salute every single woman on earth who has endured this level of fatigue.

For me the most stressful part of the first trimester was the unknown and the thought of miscarriage. If it happened I’d have to do IVF all over again, and I didn’t know if I could mentally handle that. A small silver lining that helped me through the uncertainty is that because of IVF I got to go in for way more ultrasounds than women typically do during their first trimester. Your fertility clinic will monitor you closely and have you come in each week for the first 9 weeks to make sure everything is developing properly.

Because of how often I went in for ultrasounds, I got to see my baby from the very early beginnings and I know just about when his heart first started beating. It’s something I’m grateful for and that helped me cope.

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Second Trimester

My second trimester started a little rough since I kept having mini “fainting” spells in the early weeks. Luckily I never actually fainted, but came close a few times. But once my body adjusted to the new hormone levels and my energy came back I began to see why they call the second trimester the “pregnancy honeymoon period.”

This is where you start to get a small little bump and a little later on (around 18 weeks for me) feel those precious kicks that I’ve been waiting to feel for so long. The most noticeable symptoms of compliant are the constant lower back pain, heart palpitations, and heart burn but these are normal from what I’m told and so far manageable.

But, overall I have felt healthier in my second trimester, which is not something I anticipated experiencing. I’ve always suffered from weekly headaches and I have had hardly any while pregnant. I love it. I also used to regularly suffer from physical panic attacks and those have disappeared as well. My body literally feels calmer, like it’s in a steady state. The mental worries are still there, but I’m able to physically handle them in a healthier way. From what I’m told I have the pregnancy hormones to thank for this. I hope it’s a feeling that doesn’t go away.

Grateful

I’m know I’m not the first woman to be awed by their bodies during this time. Because of a mix of hormones, cell division, and biology our bodies know how to grow complex anatomical parts like a heart and lungs. It’s mind boggling. And while I still have a bit of a ways to go, I’m so grateful for this experience.