Every other week or so during the first trimester, I wrote a short update on how things were going. Below is the version that omits the repetitive and TMI stuff.

If this is tl;dr (too long; didn’t read), the main early pregnancy symptom that hit me was fatigue. I just wanted to sleep. I had mild nausea and vomiting, but it was pretty mild. I didn’t gain weight, but my body did change and my hair does look shinier. Also, flying cross country really sucked.

From the week 7 check-in (around December 7th):

I think I had my first wave of morning sickness today.

I’m feeling pretty tired these days. I slept a lot over the weekend, but I still felt sleepy and tired all day Sunday. I struggled a lot to get out of bed this morning after 8ish hours of sleep.

No food aversions, but I don’t feel like eating fresh fruit besides bananas.

Any chemical smell is a lot stronger, but doesn’t cause nausea just annoyance. For now.

(My morning sickness wasn’t that bad. I didn’t know what to expect, but I wasn’t surprised given that my mom claimed she never had morning sickness. I kept Saltines on hand at work and snacked on them late in the morning to ward off the nausea. I didn’t escape the vomiting, but it was about every other day and ended by Christmas. Well, it came back once or twice after.

The worse thing was feeling tired all the time. I called out sick one day just because I needed more sleep.)

From the week 9/10 update (around December 26th):

I’m a cup size bigger than normal. My pants still fit and I haven’t actually gained weight. I was starting off about 5 pounds greater than my normal weight for the past couple of years.

I actually tried running a little on Saturday. I was able to do 4-5 minutes at an easy jog on the downhill portion of my walk. It felt good, though the bigger breasts did make my sports bra feel pretty tight.

The nausea and vomiting is worst on an empty stomach and when I’ve made the mistake of not taking my prenatal with a meal. Otherwise I feel better with a couple of saltines and a few sips of ginger ale.

This did not work on the flight from LA to NY. I felt gross the entire time but never vomited.

From the week 11 check-in (around January 6th):

I’m feeling more back to normal these days. Aside from the flights to and from NY, the nausea and vomiting has pretty much gone away save for one episode a week ago. Sunday nights are not my friend.

I’ve had a bit of a cold since arriving in NY on Christmas Day. I’m just a little sniffly, it’s nothing as bad as what I got after ABRCMS in November.

Bad side effects: I broke out a little earlier in the week, as if I typically would around my period.

Good side effects: my hair looks really shiny and long.

I haven’t really gained any weight (we’ll see on Tuesday), but I figure there’s plenty of time for that. I’ve been advised to try to keep the weight gain to 15-20 lbs due to my BMI. This doesn’t mean all my clothes fit. I removed several items from my closet since they don’t fit and haven’t fit for a while. With pregnancy there’s no hope I’ll be getting in to them any time soon.

From the week 13 check-in (around January 18th):

First, I had my NT scan and second appointment on the 8th. I took off the morning and was surprised that both appointments plus waiting in the lab to get my blood drawn took 3+ hours. I’d like to complain, but then I remember that I have health insurance and so far have not had to pay a cent out of pocket. The only things we’ve bought health wise have been prenatal vitamins and the initial pregnancy test.

At my appointment I found out I hadn’t gained weight. This is fine considering my doctor things I have enough weight to make a baby and I have plenty of time to gain weight.

The nuchal translucency ultrasound scan was interesting. The tech showed us different parts of the baby, feet, head, profile, and then patiently waited for the baby to be in the right position before taking the measurements needed. That took a while since the baby was moving a lot. Sean joked that he/she was doing the robot and trolling us. I wouldn’t put it past our offspring to be like that. The measurements she gave us were in the normal range.

Afterward, I waited 30 minutes in the waiting area at the lab to get my blood drawn for the second part of the NT test. The latter part took less than 3 minutes. We’re still waiting for results. [We got them. Everything looks cool.]

As for first trimester symptoms, they’re pretty much gone. The nausea and vomiting (never that bad) haven’t made an appearance since the end of the year. I haven’t had a saltine or ginger ale in a couple of weeks. I have more energy. I could actually run — slowly and downhill — for 12 minutes. Before this week I could only do 5-6 minutes before going back for walk breaks. I sort of feel back to normal except for being ready for bed at 9:30/10 and having a few vivid dreams each night. It feels strange, but I know this is normal and I’m not going to complain.

I also started telling close friends and my boss. I told the rest of my co-workers a week or so later. Everyone has been very supportive and quite awesome.