Bumpdate: First Trimester

If you don’t follow me on social media, this may be a surprise to you, but… WE ARE HAVING A BABY! We cannot wrap our heads around how much love and support has been poured over our little growing family and we are so grateful for this privilege to become parents. In this post I will answer some FAQ I was getting after we announced, how we found out and how we told family and friends. Plus I will go into a general recap of how the first trimester has been (which ends tomorrow for us! YEY!)

I wanted to start by explaining a little bit about our family. This baby has been prayed for, longed for, and is already loved beyond their wildest dreams. We got married almost 7 months ago, and knew from the moment we said “I DO” that we wanted to start trying to grow our family but we have been dreaming up this moment for years. We were granted the privilege of a positive pregnancy test within 6 months of trying, and for that we are so grateful. This is not something we take lightly, because we know the heartache that comes from only seeing one line on that test. We have been ready (if you are ever realllllly ready) to be parents for a long time now, so we are so excited it is coming true.

When is your due date? We are due August 7, 2021. We are excited to bring this baby earth side in the sunny times of summer and be able to transition with the season of fall, though you should probably check back with me in July and see how I like being 9 months pregnant in the summer months! When we originally calculated the due date, we had it set at August 9th, but with the first ultrasound our little babe was measuring two days ahead so they bumped us up a little bit! This may fluctuate as the months go by, and we know babies are on no ones schedule but their own, but we expect our miracle to make their entrance sometime around early August!

Did you and Brandon find out together or did you tell him in a special way? I woke up and had a “feeling” that I should take a test. I wasn’t yet late, but usually I had this “feeling” every month and let my anxious tendencies take over from there. So, I took one expecting to see a negative like the months prior, and to my surprise, it was actually positive this time! I crumbled to the ground with joy and disbelief, trying not to wake up Brandon who was sleeping in the other room (he works overnights so he had JUST went to bed when I woke up!) and I cried and cried the happiest tears. Then I waited 4 hours and took another to be sure! I purchased some white onesies a few months prior, so I grabbed one of them and used my cricut to make a “Biggest Adventure Yet” iron on for the onesie. When he woke up later that afternoon I asked him to come downstairs to help me with something, and I had the onesie and positive tests sitting under the Christmas tree! Honestly, he had just woken up and was half asleep so it took him a second to get his head around it (I was too excited to wait another minute) but it was the sweetest moment between us two. We could not be more excited!

How did we tell our family and friends? Brandon and I found out right at the end of November, so we waited until Christmas to share the news with my mom and his dad when we were able to see them next in person. It was a hard secret to keep for four weeks and my mom even said “that’s why you were ignoring me!” because I almost let it slip MULTIPLE times while talking to her, so I just began talking less and less (whoops!). We got “lottery” tickets for our parents to scratch off together, and they were so surprised being that we mixed in real ones too! It was the happiest moment and they are SO exited to be grandparents. As far as other family and friends go, because of covid we didn’t get the chance to see everyone in person to share the good news, so we FaceTimed almost everyone else. I would be lying if I said they didn’t almost all see it coming. Everyone knew we were trying, and everyone was hopeful for us month after month, so it was not a big surprise I don’t think, but it was a big blessing and filled with excitement for everyone! *insert my best friends squealing here* We recorded just some of the reactions and will share those on Instagram sometime I am sure!

How have you been feeling? When I really think about it, I am pretty sure I got off easy for the first trimester. I was very nauseated most days (all day too) but only actually got sick one time (sorry TMI). Other than that I was and still am so very exhausted and tired. A few other symptoms were food aversions to mostly everything, and I believe I could enter and win a contest for extreme smelling at this point. My symptoms fluctuated each week, so here and there I would get a “break” from feeling really sick which I think kept me sane. I stuck to a very strict routine in the morning which seemed to help. (wake up, slowly sit up over a 20 minute timeframe, slowly drink a glass of juice with a piece of peanut butter GF toast while I relaxed on the couch, and then I was able to get ready and on with my day).

Do you know or will you find out the gender? We don’t know yet but we plan to find out at the 20+ week anatomy ultrasound! We have had a “feeling” that baby is a girl, so we will see if we are right! We will also do the old wives tales prior to announcing so we can see if they were correct…just for fun! I am excited to see what you all predict!

What do you like most about pregnancy so far? I am so lucky to say, I love being pregnant. Although it is exhausting and physically and emotionally challenging at times, I would do this over and over again just to meet my little mini someday. There is no feeling like knowing they are with you 24/7, growing and changing right inside. I truly feel that being a mom is my calling, and I cannot wait to see how this pregnancy evolves and even better yet, meeting our sweet baby!

What appointments have you had this far? We had our initial ultrasound at 8w5d and got to see baby for the first time. They had a strong 178 heartbeat and were so little reminding me of a gummy bear lol! I then had a follow up with my OBGYN to go over any questions. We then decided to do a private ultrasound at week 12 to see baby and hear the heartbeat one more time before announcing. Brandon got to join this ultrasound (he couldn’t at the doctors office due to covid) so it was really special being able to see our squirmy baby together on the screen. They were moving and grooving in there and it was truly incredible to see. It is amazing to see how much change there was in just 3 short weeks.

In the end, the first trimester was a test… but we made it! We welcome the second trimester with open arms! Thank you for being here and supporting our growing family. I hope I can be a resource for you as you navigate motherhood yourself now or someday! Follow along on Instagram (@monica.croatt) and let me know if you have any questions!

xoxo, M

Amazing Photos by: Amber Holte (http://amberholtephoto.com)