13 Weeks

Welcome to the last week of the first trimester! I would like to put together an update of my first trimester soon, I just need to find the time to sort through all of our pics and find good belly shots to share, as I didn’t start taking purposeful pics of my belly until this week.

This week I can feel my energy levels increasing and nausea subsiding. We spent part of week 13 in Gulf Shores, Alabama, visiting my mother- and father-in-law, who are vacationing there this winter. It was so nice to get away for a week and spend a lot of quality time as a family.

Matthew loved swimming in the pool every morning and walking the beach when the weather was warm. He loved finding sea shells and playing in the sand. Allan and I were able to sneak away for several dates, including seeing The Descendants and watching a live band at Lulu’s. Flying and the consequent extended time spent sitting was taxing on my changing body. I felt sore all over upon our return, but it was nothing that a little yoga and a massage from Allan couldn’t remedy.

When I was pregnant with Matthew I suffered from an incarcerated uterus, caused by a tipped uterus trying to descend up and out of my pelvis. With Matthew the situation remedied itself within a few days with the help of lots of cat/cow, downward dog and modified head to knee poses.

Image source.

At my 9 week midwife appointment, my practitioner noticed that my uterus was again pretty severely tilted. I immediately thought back to my previous discomfort and late nights trying to empty my bladder to no avail and knew that sometime around 13/14 weeks I would most likely experience these same symptoms. In an attempt to remedy the situation I started practicing the recommended yoga poses and avoiding sleeping on my back.

I really hoped that my uterus would not become incarcerated during our vacation. However, timing was not on my side this time around. Half way though our vacation, my uterus became incarcerated. I spoke with one of the midwives at my practice and she suggested that I empty my bladder at least every two hours around the clock to reduce my symptoms. This worked tremendously! Within a few days my symptoms were gone and my uterus became unstuck.

Early on this week, I started to feel baby move. It feels like tiny bits of pressure on my cervix from within. It reminds me of a tiny paint brush or butterfly kisses. I can only feel it when I am completely still and focus, since the pressure is very subtle.

What Baby Peters is up to this week

Fingerprints have formed on your baby’s tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you’re having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce. (Source)

Energy level and mood

I am feeling more ambitious every day. I find that my body tires quicker than my brain and, as always, my to do list is more than what Matthew and I can accomplish each day. I cleaned and organized the house this week and it felt wonderful to see everything neat and tidy after unpacking and putting away our suitcases. Although, there are now mountains of laundry waiting to be folded and put away.

Exercise

I went to Zumba class on Tuesday night and did prenatal yoga during nap time on Tuesday. Matthew and I went on two walks to the park and Lake Nokomis. We also went on two walks as a family on Tuesday and Wednesday.

All things food

I am loving scones right now. I had to stop at the French Meadow store at the airport after our plane landed in Minneapolis to pick one up. As I write this post (at 14 weeks pregnant) I just finished a currant scone from Patisserie 46.

I started feeling the itch to bake this week. I made Irish Soda bread from Tosca Reno‘s Eat Clean Cookbook and baked rhubarb muffins based on a recipe in the The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook 2. My taste for coffee completely disappeared during my first trimester; however, it seems to be back. I have been enjoying one glass of organic coffee each morning with a splash of milk. I also picked up a pound of Newman’s Own Organic Decaf coffee to enjoy if the mood strikes later in the day.

Nesting

When I am pregnant I am a huge nester. So, I thought that it might be fun to give you an update on nesting thoughts or activities that I am doing each week.

This week I met with a consultant from Granite Transformations to discuss replacing the countertops in our kitchen and we looked at new stainless steel appliances from the Warner’s Stallion Outlet. While browsing for appliances Matthew kept running through the countless aisles of unsecured appliances and trying to open each and every one of them. I was afraid one would topple over onto him. He ended up figuring out how to open an oven door. He hasn’t tried this trick at home, but did open the bottom freezer door of our fridge this week. No bueno. No purchases have been made yet.

Matthew

I also don’t want to leave Matthew out of the equation, as he is (obviously) a huge part of this journey. I know that as my pregnancy progresses and I ultimately give birth to his new sibling, he will be significantly impacted.

Transition from vacation to home has been difficult. The first few days Matthew seemed comforted by being back at home; however, with many things to catch up on (grocery shopping, unpacking, cleaning, errands, etc.) our schedule got a bit off and we were late for nap time on more than one occasion, causing Matthew to fall asleep in the car on the way home. Matthew does not transition well from the car to his crib anymore. When he wakes up from a car nap, he will not fall back asleep at home. Consequently, he has not been napping well this week and has needed extra mommy attention because he is tired. This is why I didn’t blog much this week or get in much organized exercise.