Thank you guys again for the incredible love and support last week when I announced Baby Hendrix is on the way! I told you guys that I was going to share more on my pregnancy and a first trimester update. I'm 17 weeks and feeling great so here's a little flashback...
FIRST TRIMESTERApril 12, 2017. This is a date I will never forget. EVER. Stevie and I were not planning this so it caught me by complete surprise when I was late and decided to take a pregnancy test - just for fun. I was almost certain I was going to get my period but figured I might as well take a test to be sure. Nothing prepared me for what I was about to see on that little white and blue stick. Within a minute of seeing the word PREGNANT pop up on that tiny little screen, I almost died. My heart dropped so fast, as my adrenaline raised the roof. I thought, "OMG! I'M GOING TO BE A MOM!" And then I thought, "OMG. I'm going to be a MOM????"I was 6 weeks pregnant and suddenly felt SO excited, nervous, scared, shocked and the list goes on. Nothing can really prepare you for pregnancy and all of the feelings that come with it...keep reading below!MORNING SICKNESSOnce the news finally settled in, I kept wondering if or when the morning sickness would kick in. I assumed by week 8 there was a good chance considering 70% of women get some form of morning sickness. Surprisingly, I didn't have ANY morning sickness in my first trimester. I actually always felt the BEST in the mornings (weird?). However, the evenings were the hardest for me until about week 11. By 7pm every night, I noticed I would feel extremely fatigue and sometimes queasy. The couch was my best friend. (Literally, Stevie would carry me to bed most nights.)FATIGUE & EXHAUSTIONI may have skipped the morning sickness phase, but boy did I get hit hard with exhaustion and fatigue at times. It's no joke. On the days when I did absolutely nothing, I felt like I ran a marathon. I guess that's semi-true considering my body is working overtime to BIRTH A CHILD. It's so crazy because mentally I wanted to go to my morning spin class, film 2 beauty tutorials, and clean the entire house, but physically my body was like nooooo. I literally had no choice but to rest (and for me that's really hard to do LOL). Like I said, I felt great in the mornings but even around 2pm everyday I felt like I had to stop whatever I was doing and go lay down on the couch or take a nap. I remember one time I was in the middle of blow drying my hair and that literally wiped me out. I had to stop and seriously go rest and come back to it later. I actually didn't take as many naps as I probably should have (not used to taking day naps) but laying down and not doing anything (but eating and watching TV) really helped my body get the rest it needed.CRAVINGSI started taking a prenatal pill as soon as I found out as I was pregnant. I also looked into my diet/routine to see what things I needed to add and/or avoid for the duration of this pregnancy. Among this list were deli meat, my pre-workout drink (miss it so much!), and some (not all) sushi! Something I noticed I started craving (that I never do!) is MILKSHAKES! It sucks though because dairy is not my best friend (or my hubby's - he's lactose intolerant!) so we've been making our own dairy-free version, which is pretty good! All milkshakes aside, I craved more CARBS than meat and some days I had more discipline than others. On those BLAH days, all my body craved was Ginger Beer (completely helped with the occassional queasy feeling), Jimmy Johns Veggie Sub (ate it 4 days in a row one time), Salt & Vinegar Chips (the big bag), Bubbies Pickles (like 4 at a time), Fruit that was drenched in Tajin seasoning, and cookies! The list goes on, but those were my top favorites.P.S. It's totally true when they say the THOUGHT of certain foods can make you nauseous! Smells haven't bothered me (yet!), but the thought of certain meats, sushi, wasabi (like flavored almonds!), Pizza, GARLIC (especially the after taste) - made me feel so nauseous. Ack! (Glad that's kind of over)WORKING OUTYou guys know I was a workout-aholic before this pregnancy. I loved high-intensity workouts like Kayla Itsines program and of course my advanced spin class. I honestly decided to take a break from both after I learned I was pregnant and to take it easy. I physically just couldn't keep up with those intense workouts when the exhaustion kicked in at about 7-8 weeks. I knew I needed to listen to my body more than anything and be patient. Being active when you're pregnant is really good but you can also injure yourself easier since your muscles and ligaments are softening up. However, I didn't want to quit working out cold turkey. Instead I've opted in for mild jogs/walks around my neighborhood and on the days when I have lots of energy I'll go on hikes (with water or a smoothie in hand!) Right now I'm actually looking into prenatal Barre and Pilates classes now that I feel like myself again. (If you know of any close to Glendale, California area let me know!)
BIGGEST SCAREIt was a Wednesday when I had my 12 week check up and everything looked healthy and perfect. I went home that day thinking, "YES everything is cool. I should get some things done around the house." For some reason that day, I felt really tired (like more tired than usual) and it didn't feel completely normal considering I was 12 weeks and feeling (almost) like myself again. I remember going to bathroom and seeing a light brown color on my napkin and called my doctor immediately. It looked like spotting to me, but why was it dark brown? Of course, I googled and got lost in a thousand forums. According to Jane from Utah and Sally from Kansas, it was completely normal and some call it "old blood" shedding from your Uterus. My doctor told me to keep an eye on it over the weekend and if at any point it turned red to call her immediately. The brown spotting continued but it was really light at this point. By Saturday, I felt pretty good so I started packing up some of our stuff (we were in the process of moving into the new house) and by packing, I mean very light and easy but I was definitely on my feet all day. Stevie was painting at our new house and when he got home at 9pm, I was still bubble wrapping China and sorting through things. He told me to give it a rest and so I did. We were ready to order in and watch some Netflix when I felt a tiny rush of blood (TMI) on my panties. I instantly checked and naturally FREAKED out. We immediately did what my doctor said and went to the nearest emergency room to get checked out. I didn't know how or when this could have happened? I was having the EASIEST pregnancy up until that point. I still felt fine (the bleeding even stopped), but in that moment, my faith was being tested. I literally remember myself just saying the word, "Jesus" over again. Like literally calling out to Him. I was so afraid but I knew God was going to protect us that night. I knew seeing blood was never a good thing but I also knew how big God was. After waiting and praying, I got examined and discovered that Baby Hendrix was just fine. We actually got to see the baby on the ultra sound and instantly I felt relieved that the baby was happily hanging out (literally doing somersaults in my belly!). I remember looking over at Stevie when we were checking out and for the first time in our pregnancy journey really feeling like this child was our everything. Life was no longer about us. I was relieved this wasn't the onset of a miscarriage and in fact just a small tear under my sac (harmless to the baby) and would heal on its own. #PraiseGod
HORMONESI should let my hubby Stevie write this part. lol! What an emotional roller coaster my first trimester was. There were days I was so excited about this pregnancy, there were also days when I was depressed about it (wondering, am I going to be a good mom?), there were calm days on the couch, some days when I suddenly started crying and didn't know why, days when I wasn't attracted to myself, days when I wondered if my life would ever be the same again, days when I wasn't attracted to my husband (too queasy!), and of course days when I felt alone. Like I said earlier, nothing can prepare you for pregnancy and all of the feelings. It was also really hard not being able to share the news with you guys or friends - I had to keep it a secret (for the baby's sake) and some days I felt like I was living in a fog. I felt off a lot and I know it was all those hormones in my body that were raging to the max. Part of me feels guilty even sharing all of this because pregnancy is such a blessing and some warrior women out there are praying for a chance to conceive. Please do not get me wrong - I felt extremely blessed most days, but I'm also human and there were a lot of humanly days of being selfish. I had to learn to get comfortable with my new routine and prepare myself for what's ahead.PHYSCIAL CHANGESI think the gaining weight part really scared me at first. I was healthy but a little underweight before I got pregnant (I was about 99 lbs) and right now I am 114 at 17 weeks. Honestly I don't know where this pregnancy will take me on the scale but as long as my doctor isn't concerned, I'm trying not to worry about it. I just have to remind myself that every pound that I gain is more LIFE being pumped into my baby. It's also the double blood volume and fluids my body has produced to keep this child and myself alive. For that reason, it's totally worth it :) I've definitely been keeping an eye on things to make sure I stay on track with my weight plan for this pregnancy and so far so good. I haven't seen any stretch marks yet, but it's still early. As for my girls (aka the cha-chas, chi-ches as 'Rodrigo would say') the boobies have grown from a B cup to a DOUBLE D! I still think that's the most shocking part of my pregnancy so far. I'm only 5'2 Gina! lol!WORK CHANGESI really had to take a break from some of my day to day tasks during my first trimester. I'm lucky to have a job where I work from home, but that also has its own challenges. I realized there were going to be days when I couldn't create content for you guys so I tried my best to work with what I had. I even turned down a hand full of opportunities, including an amazing opportunity in THAILAND. I was super bummed to walk away from that amongst other cool gigs, but I realized this isn't just about me anymore. I have to consider the little life growing inside of me and realized if I'm not at peace about something than it's not worth it. Even going through airport security now is a total field trip - I don't feel comfortable walking through the X-ray machine so I opt in for a full pat down! Sometimes this means waiting around until a female TSA officer is available. lol. Better safe than sorry.
The biggest thing I looked forward to in my first trimester was hearing the heartbeat (it was so sweet!). Now, in my second trimester, I'm looking forward to feeling those tiny baby kicks that will happen any day now! Stevie and I will continue vlogging as best as we can (somedays we forget!) but more than anything this is already becoming an unforgettable journey. We're exciting to soak up our second trimester together and really enjoy the fun times before we become a trio.If any mom's out there have any advice for me, and especially book recommendations, please let me know! I've been bored of the apps lately and want to read a more personal pregnancy book. Please share your faves!Gender reveal is coming soon....... so keep a look out here on my blog! Any guesses? Love you guys! xoxo
