We’re SO excited to welcome our first baby into this world in March! I’m 18 weeks along (entering month 5!) and this little child of ours has already given our lives new meaning.
We’ve been keeping this secret since early July (ah!) and I feel like I have so much to catch ya’ll up on! I’m going to share a bit about what the first trimester has looked like for us, and then there’s a Q&A section at the bottom!
How we found out:
On July 2nd I took a pregnancy test because I was a day late for my period! They’ve always been super on time, so when I was a day late I rushed to the grocery store to pick up a couple tests. I was by myself and took it right when I got home. I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the two lines! I started to cry immediately and I couldn’t wait to tell Bryce, yet I knew I needed to wait until he got home from work so I could tell him in person. I didn’t tell him in any fancy way (haha!) I just casually told him and showed him the tests! He couldn’t believe it at first and asked if I’d also take a digital version just to be sure (lol!). We went to sleep with huge smiles on our faces, so excited for this next chapter!
How we told our family:
Ah! It was so much fun to share the news with family and friends! So we actually headed to my family’s lake house the day after we found out and we couldn’t wait to tell them! We decided to hold off until everyone was in the kitchen that Friday night and we had William (my 2yo nephew) say, “Becca and Bryce are going to give me a cousin!” Haha! He basically whispered it so nobody heard except for my sister, Whitney, and she said, “WHAT??” and then luckily repeated what she heard to the rest of the family!!
Pregnancy Scare:
This is one of the reasons I wanted to wait a while to announce! I was 11 weeks pregnant and I woke up and bled what reminded me of first day period blood. My heart was pounding so hard and I busted into tears – I thought for sure I lost the baby. I called the nurses at my doctor’s office right away and they told me to come in as soon as I could. Thankfully, they got me in 20 minutes after I called! It truly felt like the longest 20 minutes of my life. I was crying in the waiting room – I felt so sad and worried for what this appointment might reveal. I just kept praying and praying and I kept talking to the baby (even though he/she couldn’t hear me yet!) to keep fighting in there. God truly provided me comfort during this experience! My older sister, Brianna, also left work to be with me at this appointment and just knowing she’d be there calmed my heart so much!
It turns out I had subchorionic bleeding, and the baby had no idea anything was going on!! The doctor told me to take it easy (activity restriction/bed rest) for a month and so I completely stopped my fitness routine and worked from the couch for those weeks!
Thankfully, at my 16 week appointment everything looked good! No hemorrhages had formed, the placenta had moved away from the cervix and baby’s heart beat was strong! It was such a roller coaster of emotions and that appointment lifted a weight off my heart! The more I shared my story with family and friends, the more I realized everyone has their own pregnancy story, each filled with blessings and trials.
Q&A
How we knew we were ready:
Bryce and I had been casually chatting about starting a family for a while, and we started to seriously discuss it during our trip to Italy. Also! Having two nephews whom I’m obsessed with definitely made me more ready and excited lol! We didn’t receive any pressure from friends or family – We just knew when we were ready to start trying.
How’d you hide your bump:
The people I see on a daily basis (family and friends) have known I’m pregnant for a while so I embrace the bump! Yet when I do try on sessions, photo shoots, or attend events, I wear larger and longer sweaters or flowy dresses. Yet some of ya’ll guessed I was pregnant!!! Especially after the apple orchard video lol!
First trimester cravings & symptoms:
The first trimester was the weirdest thing ever lol! Starting at week 7 and then through about week 10, I had morning sickness every day! It didn’t really bother me, as it didn’t feel like the stomach flu or anything. For me, the sickness came and went super quick without any lingering feelings of sickness. I think the hardest part of the first trimester was being so tired! It really hit me like a freight train and slowed me down a bit, which is tough when a long to-do list stares at you! As for cravings, I didn’t have a ton! I did have a lot of food aversions to some of my favorite meals, though – Which was a bummer! Bryce didn’t know what to do with me haha.
Working Out:
After I was told to rest so my body could heal after the subchorionic bleeding at week 11, I decided taking it easy is the best decision for me this pregnancy! I try to go on a walk in the morning or evening to get my body moving (anybody else work from a desk all day? lol) and I do Yoga stretches and prenatal Pilates which feel AMAZING!
Please let me know if I missed anything! And I always LOVE hearing your stories and receiving your recs for what to get baby and how to prepare for this next chapter! Your support and encouragement always means so so much to us. Love y’all!
Another q&a-
Did you find out about needing the colposcopy before or while you were pregnant? Can you get a colposcopy while pregnant? If not, what does that mean for the abnormal cells and health of the baby? A lot of medical questions- it’s okay if you don’t know the answers!
Hey there! I found out while I was pregnant and I was definitely a bottle of emotions! You can safely get a colposcopy while pregnant – They basically just spray a vinegar-like liquid on the outside of your cervix! Your doctor will decide if it’s safe to have a biopsy depending on where the abnormal cells are located — She took a biopsy of my Squamous Cells (which came back benign) yet is going to wait to test my Glandular Cells until after baby is here!
Luckily my abnormal cells won’t affect the baby. It only prolongs the testing on my end!
Hope that helps! XX