I’m officially 18 weeks pregnant, and am on the very tail end of my Covid quarantine. Let me tell you — these last 10 days have been quite the exercise in mental fortitude. I am not the type of person that “get sick” often — in fact, I’m more a “mind over matter” kind of gal where, unless I’m actually physically vomiting or running a fever that has me sweating and under the covers with my teeth chattering…I’m going to muscle through it.
But this time, I was knocked on my butt. Not because it was particularly severe…in fact it was quite mild. But the FATIGUE…now that was another story entirely.
Which leads me to the point of tonight’s post. I’m almost halfway through this beautiful journey of becoming a mother, and I’ve got to admit: pregnancy is not at all what I thought it would be.
Granted, I have been blessed with an incredibly easy go of it so far: literally not a lick of morning sickness, no food aversions, no nausea, no acne. Nothing like that. So in that sense, I am very fortunate.
But then, I never really thought that I would be knocked off my feet by any of those things. Again…mind over matter.
But what I WAS SHOCKED by was….the tiredness.
I’m telling you…once dinner is made, eaten and cleaned up…I am ready to call it a day!
I typically wake up around 6:45am: have a very active morning: I do some yoga and go for an hour power walk. And then we’re off on the daily grind by 9am.
But wow – now, after a long day, we sit down to watch a TV show around 7:00pm, and by 7:30 I’m out cold.
During the first month, I’d just fall asleep on the couch downstairs, but after about week 4, we just would go straight upstairs and watch TV from bed! Steven would bring his laptop and putz on the computer, and I would watch about 10 minutes and then be out like a light.
I didn’t realize how exhausted I would be!
I was chatting with one of my friends who has three children, and she said: Caralyn, you’re growing a human. Even when you’re sitting down, your body is climbing a mountain!
So there you go: I was exhausted from the mountain climbing I participated in that day. đ
But other than that — pregnancy is going pretty swimmingly.
I had fun the other day doing one of those âwhat will my baby look likeâ AI generatorsâŠhereâs what AI came up with! I personally think — especially the boy — could be spot on đ
I have officially outgrown my clothes, but the truth of the matter is that I’m okay with that. Sure, this week was a little tough with a) Covid and b) I got a sty in my eye, so I couldn’t wear makeup all week and had this unsightly eye — I was looking a little rough….and I definitely broke down in tears feeling like an ogre…BUT for the most part, I have been loving my changing body, and have embraced all the new curves.
If I had ONE piece of advice: okay…well two…
- Buy new workout tops immediately.
- I waited too long, thinking I could still squeeze into my XS sports tops, and this was problematic for two reasons:
- 1) I developed terrible chaffing in my underarms from the “spillage”, thanks to my increasing bust. This was because I was power walking and swinging my arms for an hour. But dang — chafing is dang near impossible to get rid of once it’s started. New sports bras, not shaving (đ«) and taking two weeks off (thanks to Covid) really helped with the healing!
- 2) It was really bad for my body image to see myself literally poured into tops — and shorts, for that matter — that were too small. I felt like I was a sausage in sausage casing. Everything got so much better when I finally bought clothes that fit. This was the set I got on Amazon in several colors.
- I waited too long, thinking I could still squeeze into my XS sports tops, and this was problematic for two reasons:
2. My second piece of advice: don’t schedule many evening social engagements during your first trimester: you’re going to be just way too tired come the end of the day to get all dressed up (and find clothes that fit) and have to be “on.” Save your socializing for the second trimester when you’ll have much more energy.
Now that it’s the second trimester, we’ve got things scheduled every Friday and Saturday for six weeks out. Yes, I still get tired every night at 7:30, BUT at least now, the thought of going out and socializing after 8pm doesn’t put me in the fetal position.
Oh — and one more little tip: which really is for any time of life, not just during pregnancy: don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry. Write a list and stick to it! Otherwise, you’ll end up buying so many impulse purchases just because dried mangoes or macadamia nut butter sounded good when your stomach was doing the shopping!
LASTLY: I just ordered these books and I’m really excited for them to arrive!:
Nine Months with God and your Baby
So there you go! That’s all for tonight! Thank you so much for stopping by and journeying with me on this exciting chapter!
17 responses to “Pregnancy is WAY DIFFERENT Than I Thought it Would Be…Here’s Why! (Plus: What AI Thinks our Baby will Look Like!)”
All i can say is get plenty of rest, Caralyn! That fatigued state is terrible but I was never pregnant… đđ€â€ïž
Anticipation is exciting, but when you take that baby in your arms for the first time it will be a moment never to be forgotten. Hope you are over the covid scourge soon.
Love the item: Shop with a LISTâŒïž I never used to do that and wound up eating the same thing for weeks at a time. But Anita ALWAYS had a list and buys three time the groceries for less!đ
Oh yes, the exhaustion… I remember that first time around coming as a complete shock. But you are nourishing a very complex and miraculous process, so sleep while you can!!
Oh how I remember. Sleepy, tired, and exhausted. đ„±Well done, though, itâs impressive that youâre keeping up with everything. We moms have superpowers, youâll find when the babyâs born you can do things you never imagined. Thanks for the great read. Keep feeling better!
Wishing the 3 of you every blessing
Whatever go have itâs going to be good looking – genes will out!
I think the picture of the girl has your eyesđ
I was so tired, I felt physically ill if I couldn’t go to sleep! Remember about fit when you buy nursing bras. Once your milk comes in, it is kinda crazy how big you get. I had one that was too tight and I got mastitis. Lesson learned!
Baby, I hate to be the one to break the bad news to you, but you gonna be exhausted for the next 21 years!đđđ It’s a good tired though. God bless you!
Oh my goodness! Your baby will be beautiful. I love those AI images. What fun to imagine what s/he may look like! Hang in there, Caralyn! The fatigue is to be expected… and you just need to give in to it and rest when your body tells you to do so! This time is a blink of an eye compared to the rest of your life with your dear growing family! God bless you and Steven… and that sweet baby!
I’m with you there–no one told me how utterly exhausting pregnancy was! But your friend is right: your body is working overtime to build a human from scratch, and it’s amazing. My first is 7 months old and although I didn’t enjoy pregnancy even a little bit, I still want another one because it’s all worth it <3
Congratulations on the new baby!!!! You are going to be such a good mom!
Two more books that might be helpful (and which are also available now on iTunes) are Tedd Tripp’s “Shepherding A Child’s Heart”; and Ginger Hubbard’s “I Can’t Believe You Just Said That!” I am reading these books now while wishing I had been able to read them as my children, now your age, were growing up.
Anyway, praying all goes well for you. May God bless you and your new family!
Wow, 2nd trimester already. All I can say is get all that rest you can get now cause when your child arrives into this world, sleep will be nonexistent. You are so lucky, my wife had morning sickness, was nauseous when she smell certain types of food as well as being very, very fatigued after a normal day but we enjoyed every minute of it. For us, we were just so anxious as to when we could see our unborn child. It’s great to experience pregnancy again through your life.
I am certain âeye-sty & allâ – you still looked adorable! I did not have a chance to comment when you asked for pregnancy tips on a previous post; however, I did want to quickly mention one of my personal favorites. Listening to lullabies as often as possible!! I always found it very calming & therapuetic for myself and the babies in my womb seemed to, also. Some of my fondest memories were sitting with these songs as I read or cooked or then as I played them for my ânew arrivalsâ when they napped. Even driving in the car I would often put one of my favorite âCDâsâ in and listen during a drive to the grocery store, etc. My most favorite collections are by the artist JJ Heller. You MUST check out her music, especially her lullabies. She and her husband are delightful artists who perform together. I love all her albums; however, for a preview check-out her I Dream Of You Album Volume II. Itâs one of mine (and my grandchildrenâs) favorites. I often play JJ when they are in my home for them, as they drift off to sleep. They too love her and the older oneâs even call out âPlay JJ, Oma!â May God continue to guard and guide you throughout your pregnancy. And Big hugs to you for all the joy you are sharing with us!
Congratulations on your pregnancy!
Thank you so much Amanda! I’m loving being pregnant!! Hugs and love xox