My First Weekly Update: 8 WEEKS

By
Elena @ Every Avenue Life
-
27
1102

Hi, guys!
I’m finally at the stage where I can justify a weekly update and possibly a weekly belly picture. I don’t have a bump ( obviously), but I do have a BELL-A-Y.

Someone had the nerve to comment on my last post with “You’re ‘noticeable change’ is bloat, dear” (copied as is)!

Ha! Well, shit, Sherlock! No, I truly think that my 8 week pregnant belly is an actual baby trying to poke out. Come on!
Bloat or bump or intestines being pushed out- whatever it is, it’s there because of pregnancy and pregnancy alone. And therefore it’s a “noticeable change” 🙂

Please ignore my disgusting looks. I love how you can see the progression of nausea in my horrible pictures. Week 4- good and healthy, week 5- oh shit the nausea started, week 6 – ok I’m getting used to it, week 8- oh fuck! This shit sucks! ( don’t you love my forced smile haha)

So again, I almost didn’t post these because of how gross I look, but please remember, I’m preggo in the throws of 1st trimester 🙂 haha

My First Weekly Update: 8 Weeks

STATS:

How far along: 8 weeks.

How big is baby: It’s a yummy raspberry.

Total weight gain:Looks like 1-2 pounds, but it could be all water weight. I seem to fluctuate a lot. My goal for the first trimester is to NOT lose any weight and gain somewhere in the recommended 2-6 pounds. My maternal fat stores have exploded- WHOA! I might not be showing a big change on the scale but I feel my legs are a size of an island and my stomach…well my stomach is a separate story. Never ever in my life have I had a stomach even close to what I have now. It seems HUGE to me, considering my abs have always been awesome looking. It doesn’t freak me out, per se, but it feels so different, to be bending at your waist while sitting and actually feel my stomach lol I normally eat a lot of bloaty foods ( do healthy things have to be bloat inducing too???), and I’m used to being bloated once in a while, but this is beyond the normal range.

Maternity clothes:No way! Don’t want to, won’t go for it. I’ll wear sweats the whole pregnancy! Ahahahha Ok not really. But it’s too early for maternity. I’ll just pull out my fat jeans. I wasn’t always a size 2, there’ve been times where I was a size 4-6..so I’ll go back to that for the time being…and when I actually start showing we will see. It’s just all the maternity clothes I’ve seen are sooo….old-ladyish. Luckily, I’m working from home and not going many places, except for daily walks, so I don’t need a whole new wardrobe. Though I can’t wait to get some super baggy off the shoulder tops, but not from maternity stores.

Sleep: It’s been really good up until a few days ago. Since I drink so much water, I get up 3 times a night to pee, which doesn’t bother me as much as the body aches I seem to get in the morning… Oh well, hello the next 7 months of uncomfortable sleep.

Best moment of the week: This week has been pretty quiet but I loved writing the posts about how we found out and our doc’s visit, because it let me re-live it. And then reading your comments was awesome! Reading your comments,guys, is always the best part of my day! They make me feel such a connection with you all! reading about your experiences or hearing that you’ll soon be doing the same- it’s just awesome!

Food cravings:In the very beginning I was craving tomato sauce. Now it’s salt, tomato and cucumber salads, dough (and not whole grain but actual refined grain dough. I don’t normally eat refined grains, but that’s the only one you can buy ready made at the store and hubby refuses to make his own dough (and I can’t cuz I’m too nauseous). I honestly only ate a tiny bit of it. We make vegetable pizza with spinach and mushrooms, pepper, tomatoes, eggplant and tomato paste (no cheese)and we use the store bought dough. So the crust is my fave part. I’ve been salting the shit out of everything too 🙂 Hubby thinks I’m crazy.

Food aversions: Anything sweet! Pretty much anything is too sweet for me, except for fruit and organic no sugar added fruit juices. NUTS! OMG I cannot stand walnuts now. Just the thought of chewing on them-ew! Which is too bad, because that means I have to get my omega3s somewhere else. Anything oily and greasy, obviously. Meats, but that’s normal for me, I have an aversion when I’m not pregnant.

Symptoms: Mild occasional cramps, heartburn, nausea, fatigue, sore boobies that have grown so much that hubby’s eyes light up every time he sees me topless 🙂 Luckily, no gas or constipation so far because I eat a ton of fiber. I’ll be writing a separate post about all the symptoms and what i expected and didn’t expect and how it was different in real life. I thing preggo-to-be’s would be interested, because I was always curious what symptoms felt like and whether I’d get all of them.

Movement: just some muscle cramps and uterine cramping, which, if you think about it, is the baby’s housing growing and moving 🙂

Gender: I AM DYING TO KNOW! I think the best part of pregnancy is finding out the baby’s gender, because then you can picture him/her better, use his/her name, start preparing for him/her. 16-18 weeks cannot come soon enough! But up until then I’ll definitely take your votes on whether you think it’s a girl or a boy 🙂

What I’m looking forward to: Well, up until yesterday I was looking forward to getting our doppler…but now that I was nicely informed that doppler and ultrasound is essentially the same (less power and less damage but still), we’ll be mostly likely sending it back. If we’re careful during this pregnancy, we’re careful and we just can’t justify our somewhat selfish need to hear the baby’s heartbeat by “possibly” endangering it more than necessary. (I read that ultrasound can “scramble” brain cells in a fetus. Say what?) So now I’m looking forward to our next 12 week appointment and hearing the baby’s heartbeat on an ultrasound that I can justify ( diagnostic).

What I miss:SUSHI, smoked salmon! I would love to have some sushi. That is the first think I’ll be doing post-partum-I’m telling ya! Being able to walk on our golf course ( we live on a golf course, and used to take walks in the evening. Now that I’m preggo, hubby is super paranoid about all the pesticides, insecticides and fertilizer they continually spray on the green, so he has forbidden me to walk on it). We’ll probably buy a membership at a local sanctuary and take walks there instead. Not having boat trips and wave runner outings every weekend with our friends. Hearing the baby’s heartbeat!

Next appt: July 8th.

 

Oh and somehow I never mentioned, but my EDD is Jan. 24-26 ( depending on whether you calculate it based on my LMP or the actual conception date).

Also, my belly heart photo you saw in the last post got onto the 1st page of Flickr Explore. Not sure why, considering it was a quick snapshot. But am still honored. I’ve only had 2 other shots that ever hit the front page, and they’ve been a lot more artistic.

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27 COMMENTS

  1. Yay to the bellyyy!!!
    It’s not bloating, it’s an actual baby growing there. I can see it in the pictures. I am so, so happy for you!
    I can remember you talking about getting pregnant and the prepping for it when we did the Get Fit Challenge on Saturdays and it’s so amazing to know that the day has finally come.

    I look forward to seeing more updates from your wonderful pregnancy.
    Congratulations doll!

  2. Girl, I have not had a chance to say Congrats!! I am so happy for you! I am reading your blog and just ordered the books you suggested. I like reading about details that you mentioned in this post, it helps me to better understand what to expect when you are expecting, haha. But now I am trying to follow your steps with healthy eating. Please feel better soon! And you look great, in all four of those photos!

    ps. Jan 25 rocks as a delivery day 🙂 I was born that day and pretty happy with my personality and being an Aquarius 🙂

  3. Gosh, there are so many things about your posts to love! I’ve re-read the last few a couple of times, they’re so delightful. Love.

    Scott’s birthday is the 22nd of Jan.! Shoot for that and I will never forget your baby’s birthday. : ))))

    And don’t worry about those island-thighs. Some of us live with them every day and we’re still around to tell the story, so you’ll make it through. 😉 kidding.

  4. Cute, cute, cute!! I always get heartburn, right away, isn’t that so crazy? I never had heartburn until I got pregnant, then pretty much none at all after the baby, then again almost as soon as I got pregnant. Strange! Have you heard of the Intelligender test? We did it both times, and it was right both times. It says you can do it as early ast 10 or 12 weeks but I would wait until at least 14. Just my opinion. Even if it’s not right, it’s fun to do, I think.

    • heartburn is so annoying! I haven’t gotten it too too often, but often enough to be pretty mad at it 🙂 I’m totally surprised too, i was sure I won’t have a problem because of how I eat, but I guess the pregnancy hormones got the best of me.

      Not sure about Intelligender, cuz I’ve heard from some people they got wrong results, and I just wouldn’t want to be hopeful and then find out the opposite…. But we’ll see.

  5. Such a cute belly bump! :))))) )When I just saw the pictures of you, I thought “oh-oh, week 5 and 6 were hard on her” 🙂
    I’m def looking forward to reading the post about symptoms 🙂
    Oh, btw are you sure you’ll have sushi as the first thing post-partum, is it safe while breastfeeding?

    • hahahha yeah you know me 🙂

      As far as sushi, I’m pretty sure the reason for no sushi rule is because of listeria and other food born illnesses that your body is much more susceptable to when you’re pregnant due to a lowered immune system response. I don’t see why that would still be an issue when you’re normal healthy non-pregnant person. And i don’t think bacteria can cross through breastmilk. I can’t speak with 100% certainty, though, since I haven’t done the reading and research for post-partum and breastfeeding yet. So once I do, i’ll let you know.

  6. ????, ?? ??? ???? ????????????!!! ?? ???????????!!! ? ?????? ????? ??????????….? ??????? ????????? ?? ???!! ???? ???????? )) ??? ????????? ??????!

  9. I stumbled across your blog awhile ago, this is my first time commenting! First, CONGRATS! I’m sure you don’t feel it, but you truly DO look amazing! Second, I am so anxious to find out what you are having, because based on “old wives tales” (which I never really believed in too much until I had a boy, and then a girl, and the wives tales rang true for each of them) your pregnancy so far is going in both directions. For example, craving salty foods=boy, sweet foods= girl. But then it sounds like you have sickness really bad, which=girl. There is a crazy theory of mixing urine with boiled cabbage water that my friend swears by to determine the sex of the baby based on the color the water changes:http://www.whattoexpect.com/blogs/astudentatmamauniversity/baby-gender-prediction-using-cabbage A little crazy, but I was so anxious to find out what baby #2 was, I tried it. It said “girl”, and that’s what we got 😉 Then of course there is the Chinese Gender Predictor, which was right for both my babies. Also, we tried the Intelligender (http://www.intelligender.com/home.html) for baby #2, and it was WRONG for us. Said boy, but she was a girl 🙂 So, anyway! I’m looking forward to following your baby journey!

  10. This is so fun. I’m glad it’s finally here and we can see how your expectations and the real thing add up. If that makes any sense. I had a noticeable change early like you too. It’s kind of brutal at the beginning because you just feel fat instead of preggo! It’s nice when you pop enough to really feel like a preg belly and not like you just ate too much. 🙂 You look adorable tho, even with a little tummy! Sorry you are so nauseous. I had that too and it really is no fun. Hopefully you will be one of those people where it goes away after the first trimester. Mine ended at 13 weeks each time. BTW our dr was able to guess and was right about gender at 12 weeks so maybe you will get a hint! Oh and you mentioned maternal fat stores…don’t be worried if you get cellulite in weird places, it will go away after baby. It is strange how that happens and can start right at the beginning!

    • That’s what I’m hoping for- that our doctor would at least try to guess the gender at 12 weeks 🙂 It’d be soooo much fun!
      It’s just so weird to see your body transform from a sleek and slender no fat one to a pudgy thicker body without seeing the same change on the scale 🙂

  11. Aww look at that little belly!

    I started showing early too, and carried about the same as you are starting to.

    OWT are true! Carry low, and your having a boy!

    • I carried low both pregnancies and I have two girls! I also had horrible morning sickness with the first and none with the second. All pregnancies are different 🙂

      Elena, you look amazing! Congrats! Oh and don’t buy into the intelligender thing— you cannot tell your babies gender from pee! Get a 3d4d ultrasound in about 8 more weeks– much more fun than peeing into a $30 cup that is probably wrong!

  12. you know my mom told me the other day that when i was born she didn’t show me to anyone for 6 months (except for the family members of course). Haha she would take me out in a stroller and out a veil over me and when other ppl asked her to show me to them she would be like “No, not yet, sorry” 🙂 she thinks it’s crazy when people take out their newborns in public! But my mom is Ukrainian and a little superstitious if you can tell lol

  14. Can’t believe someone was rude enough to leave the “bloating” comment. You’re PREGNANT. And like you said, whatever is causing it is being caused by a baby. And the fact that you are so stinkin’ tiny? That just means more than likely what you’re seeing already IS baby. People are stupid. You cracked me up talking about your “fat jeans.” I’m a size 7, so I guess that makes me a whale. LOL Totally kidding. Love reading these baby bump updates from people.

    • Thanks, Courtney! We might be seeing my uterus. Not the baby for sure, but my uterus is supposed to be around the size of grapefruit now, so thus the “bloating” lol…and I’m sure half of it is bloating too… But it’s just rude to say. I’ve always hated when I’d see a girl all excited about her growing belly and there will be like 10 people telling her “it’s bloat”. Well, duh, it’s bloat, but baby related bloat, let the girl be excited lol… Or the same thing happens with newborns and smiles. Someone will say their baby smiled and everyone thinks it’s their job to inform her “it’s just gas” 🙂 People are so thick.

      And hey, size 7 looks good on you. It wouldn’t look as good on me, because with my height I’d look huge… 🙂 The only way I can pass as small being 5’11” is if I’m really skinny 🙂

  15. Yay belly bumps! I didn’t get mine for the longest time! *I did go 6 weeks without knowing i was pregnant* lol! I am so excited for you!

    And you look fine in your photos so kindle shut up i think its impossible for you to look bad! Plus being pregnant makes you glow… even with the horrible morning (all day long) sickness.

  16. My husband makes sushi rolls at home, it’s not quite the same, but with some practice he’s gotten pretty good. When I’m pregnant he makes a variety of veggie rolls, some of which he adds a touch of cream cheese…it’s a good fix to get me through 🙂

    I hope the first trimester symptoms pass quickly for you, I’m rapidly approaching 15 weeks and…although it’s MUCH better…it’s still hanging in there!!

    As for maternity clothes, I hear you, but Motherhood has tank tops (which I live in during the summer) and the extra length for when the baby bump gets bigger makes them very comfy!

    • Ohhhhh you’re so lucky! I guess I need to order a sushi kit and do the same. Is it a lot of work?

      My nausea seemed to have almost disappeared now, I hope it doesn’t come back. If it doesn’t I’ll consider myself very lucky.

      And maternity tank tops I can do… I think those are really cute. As long as it looks like normal clothes.

      P.s.: will be subscribing to you to track your progress. 😉

  18. So glad to hear what’s happening to my legs is normal! The scale hasn’t moved a ton but I feel like my legs are getting ginormous! I’ve been a bikini competitor, in super good shape and it’s so frustrating to have the nausea and food aversions for my normal healthy foods. I’m in good company 🙂

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