In the beginning…

So, I found out I was pregnant when I was only 3 weeks along. Thank you Fertility Awareness Method. I didn’t feel different, I didn’t feel sick, I didn’t feel anything.

Then week 6 rolled in. Ha. Instant symptoms. Nausea, food aversions, cooking aversions, extreme fatigue. Let me tell you, trimester one, is super fun. I have to admit, I felt pretty hopeless, and despondent during this time. I likened it to having the flu, except that saltines and 7up didn’t make me feel better, and it didn’t go away in 48 hours, or 72 hours. It was here to stay for at LEAST six more weeks.

I remember during my sister-in-law’s pregnancy, thinking it was going by so quickly. Ha! To the pregnant person, while in the throes of morning sickness, those first 12, 13,14 weeks (no one is quite clear on when exactly the first trimester is over) seem INTERMINABLE.

Prior to my pregnancy I was a paleo eater. 90% of the time I didn’t eat grains, dairy, sugar, or legumes. I did eat lots of meat, fruit and veggies, and healthy fats.
I kissed ALL of that good bye during my first trimester when all I wanted was to not feel like crap, or gag on my food. I did think about the negative ways my body was reacting to the inflammatory foods that it was no longer used to, but when the only thing that didn’t make me dry heave was toast with butter, then toast with butter it was. Gotta have SOME nutrients for the cooking baby. The worst part of my pregnancy so far, has been my aversion to cooking. I LOVE to cook, and to cook interesting dishes with interesting spices. Right about week 6, I stopped being able to stomach the thought of cooking meat. I could microwave, and that is about it. I also, stopped being able to eat salad. I love salad. Prior to pregnancy I would eat a HUGE salad with delicious protein and fat every day for lunch. During the first tri? Looking at lettuce made me gag.

Interestingly enough, I think I only gained about 4 pounds in my first trimester. I did not lose 10 pounds like some plus size women, and I think that is because I actually was already a healthy eater, and eating was the ONLY thing that kept the nausea at bay. This pregnancy thing man, it’s a bear.

As for exercise in my first tri, I was still exercising almost every day. I walked my dog about 1.5 miles most mornings, although there were some mornings where .6 of a mile (1 loop in our subdivision) was all I could manage, before I had to come home and lay on the couch until it was time for me to take a shower. I continued to take Kettlebell class as my schedule allowed, and I found that around week 7, things just felt different. Lots of crazy things happen during pregnancy that affect you, did you know that you have double the amount of blood in your body while you are pregnant? And, man…I could feel those changes. I did not follow what seems to be the “typical” advice regarding exercise and pregnancy. I continued to lift as heavy as my body would allow (being careful to not lift ANY heavier than I had pre-pregnancy) but lots of days, I went down in weight, at least for my heaviest weight. I did not worry if my heart rate went above 140, I just worked out, to the best of my abilities. And the working out helped with the morning sickness, at least for those 50 minute spurts when I was working out, it would usually return immediately afterwards.

And now? Now I am 14 weeks pregnant, and I feel like I have turned the proverbial corner. I feel better, and I even managed to look at a pan of meat on the stove with out gagging.

So, we are all caught up in my timeline. From here on out I think I will probably do some sort of weekly update (undecided on the posting of “bump” pictures) and other posts about my eating, cooking, and working out.

Oh yeah, and sometime in the near future I’ll move to Wyoming. I’m sure that adventure will factor in here as well.