first trimester report

Welcome to the Stellar Cycles Podcast! 

In this special episode, I'm sharing firsthand what pregnancy has been like for me, from discovering the news and telling loved ones to experiencing all the symptoms, changes, and challenges of this new journey. 

I’ll dive into the details of the first trimester, including what happens, the necessary medical appointments, lifestyle adjustments, and self-care practices. I'm really excited to share this personal journey with you, as apart from my close circle, this is the first time I'm sharing it with all of you. 

I hope you enjoy this episode and find it insightful! 

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Transcript

 Alina: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to this Stellar Cycle's podcast, your hot girl database for all things pertaining to your femininity, your cycle and wellness, and your walk in life. As a woman, I'm your host, Olena, and today we're talking about my first pregnancy and experiencing the first trimester. The goal of today's episode is to share with my sweet listeners firsthand what pregnancy has been like for me from finding out about it, sharing it with loved ones to all the symptoms, changes and challenges this new journey has brought. I'm going to go into detail about what exactly happens in the first trimester, what you're required to get done medically for your lifestyle, and how to adjust self-care practices and so much more. I'm really excited to share this episode with you because apart from the close people in my life, this is the first time I'll be putting it out for more of you to know about. I hope you enjoy. First a few updates. I am back in the gym and I am finally feeling strong enough to workout again after COVID. I was absolutely drained the last week, even though I was already negative. I was technically recovered from COVID, but The fatigue that it left behind was just otherworldly. I am still sticking to light weightlifting, but I do want to get back into Pilates again. And I'm going to talk a little bit more about my exercise routine, especially in the first trimester as we get into this episode. And we've been doing a few fun trips this summer. So recently we actually went out to Joshua Tree for a friend's birthday. Joshua Tree is in the desert about, I would say, about 3 hours inland from San Diego. It is very hot there right now. It's also very beautiful. And because there's not much light pollution is just a wonderful way to naturally just see the stars. And we actually happened to be there over the full moon. So we got some really cool pictures. There's a telescope in our Airbnb. So that was really, really neat to see the moon and all of its beautiful details all lit up perfectly round and full at that time. And yeah, it was just really fun to celebrate. Our friends Tanner and AJ, we used to be really close to them because when COVID hit, that's who Sam was living with. And we just kind of all four of us would spend a lot of time together at their house, just kind of, you know, hunkering down and experiencing quarantine together. And it was really nice to see them. They live in Loma Linda still, so we don't get to see them a lot. And we got to celebrate them this weekend and take Nova out to the desert, which Frenchies are not supposed to be in hot weather. She did stay inside the house most of the time, but she also broke free and just wanted to run around the yard and, you know, be a puppy. But it was really great. And our next trip coming up is for Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago this weekend. Chicago is such an amazing city, especially during the summertime, and it's really cool that we're going there for a specific event. There's going to be lots and lots of musicians. My top three that I want to see is Scissor, Sexy, Red and Future and Metro Boomin who are going to perform together. So that's going to be really fun. we're going with a bunch of our couple friends from San Diego here, and I think we're going to do a lot more fun stuff. Aside from just a music festival, I really want to try the air baths in Chicago, which is a really cool sauna spa type of situation, and also try lots and lots of good food as Chicago is known for that. And another thing is mine and Sam's birthdays are coming up, which is mid-August, and we're still deciding what place we'd like to go to, maybe somewhere tropical, somewhere, you know, that we can kind of get away from San Diego for a little bit. And I mean, this is a vacation town, so there's really no need to get away from it. But still fun to get out of town and take a little trip to celebrate our birthdays. And then I'm actually going back home to Spokane at the end of August to do my mom's hair extensions. I think the last time she did them was when she came up here and we went to L.A. at the end of May and it's coming up. The time is coming up for her to get them redone. And since I learned how to do it, I am going to help her out with that. And it's just going to be really nice to be home, eat the homemade food and just be around loved ones. Well, that's it for my updates so far. I want to get into this episode. So for those of you that don't know me, my name is Elina and I am the creator and host of the Stellar Cycles podcast. My background is in diagnostic medical ultrasound, which is the type of ultrasound that they mostly stick to in the hospitals and the imaging centers where our job is to look for disease, look for structural issues, and work with the radiologist to help diagnose patients. Of course, with my training and my work, I did see if a lot of pregnancies, but a lot of the time I wasn't really scanning normal pregnancies. It was people who are coming in through the E.R. or had something to be concerned about. But the reason why I started this podcast is because what really stood out to me in my ultrasound work was how many women were coming in with pelvic problems, period problems, PCOS, endometriosis, and how little they knew about their anatomy, their hormones and all of the things that make us work as women. So that's what inspired me to start this podcast. And it's a very interesting place to be because I have scanned so many pregnant women and at many different stages of pregnancy, seen so many different things and. Just my knowledge of what can go wrong is so, so much wider and more vast than the average individual. So I am excited to talk about my experience being pregnant as an ultrasound tech, and I just wanted to let you guys know why I decided to share my first trimester experience with you. I understand that many women keep it a secret in the first trimester, but that's not exactly a hard rule. I think that people can be scared that if something goes wrong, you know, they don't want everyone knowing about it. But now that I'm in my second trimester, I do feel like I'm open to discussing this experience with people that aren't necessarily in my life in proximity, but more so my listeners, my supporters, people who have been showing up for my podcast and listening to my episodes. I do want to share this with you now. And in general, I was pretty free with telling people around me during the first trimester, but also knowing that I would probably have to be okay with telling them if something went wrong or if I was not pregnant anymore And another layer on top of that is that as an ultrasound tech, I always wanted to be rather open about my first trimester, even though it can be a scary time and things can go whichever way. But I think it's important, at least to me, to normalize. Talking about it and talking about it early really helped me grow my support system. But a little more on that later. So let's start with finding out that I was pregnant. So how did I find out what led me to even taking the test? Well, as you guys know, if you've been listening to this podcast since I have not been on birth control in years, like maybe like five or six years, if not seven or eight. And I haven't been on birth control my entire marriage and just been tracking my ovulation and kind of using a physical barrier method whenever I was fertile. But I don't know what happened here, but I was about 10 to 14 days late for my period and I wasn't too alarmed yet because this had happened before where my period and my cycle kind of shift, that can be a week or two. This usually happens only once a year, but that could be a week or two of being late. And I would take a pregnancy test and it would be negative. So I was like, This is probably what's going on now. This usually happens around the spring time. So one morning I woke up and I really had to pee really, really badly. And I woke up. I found a plastic disposable cup that I use for, like, parties and stuff. And I peed in that cup, set it aside, and I ran to the pharmacy to buy the test. I did not have the tests at home. And just a little preface is that the days leading up to taking the test, I was really emotional, like not in a bad way, but just like reacting emotionally to just the slightest things. Like I was listening to a morgan Wallen song and I don't even like a country like that. And I was listening to one of his songs and I was just bawling, started bawling my eyes out and I was like, This is such a beautiful song and I can't believe like, this is touching me like this That should have been sign number one. But yeah, I came back from the pharmacy. I dipped the test into the pickup and just let it do its thing. Now, my initial reaction and emotions when I saw the positive, let me just say I have never seen a positive pregnancy test in my entire life, so I didn't even think to set up my phone or record my reaction or do any of those things that, you see everybody doing now where they like lift up the test and they're so shocked and they start crying. I didn't even get to capture that because I just didn't think that it was going to be positive. But when it was and I flipped it over and it had two lines, I was shocked. I was so shocked. And I didn't tell my husband that I was taking the test. He was in his bathroom getting ready for work. And I saw the first positive and I was like, okay, let me take another one. Like that could be that could be not real. So he was just leaving for work and I didn't really want to ambush him with this until I knew for sure. So I kind of like quietly took another one. The second one came out positive too, so I was like, okay, wow, okay, this is happening. This is happening to me. It's crazy. And yeah, he was just shocked for a little bit. And one thing about me was. I had always wanted to take one full day where only me and God knew about it. So I kind of went quietly about my day and errands with this delightful little secret. I just kept it to myself. And that evening, I told Sam and I went to hold foods, and I bought some macaroons, and I bought some, like, kind of frosting glaze. And I just wrote on the macaroons, baby on the way. And when he came home that night, I had never been more nervous to show him. I feel like I was experiencing the nervousness of that probably guys experience when they're about to propose to their girlfriend because I mean, they they probably know that she's going to say yes, but it's still so nerve wracking because it's such a big moment in your life, like nothing will ever be the same again. And I was kind of like buzzing around him a little bit. He was at the counter, like kind of going through mail, opening things up, not really like knowing what was about to happen. And I was just like, okay, you know, like it's time to get these macaroons out of the fridge. And I pull them out and I just kind of give them to him, put them down in front of him. And he was just kind of a little stunned. And he's like, wait, like this isn't a joke, this is serious. And I was like, Yeah, it's not a joke. This is it's for real. And then I started bawling my eyes out again and he just, you know, he hugged me and he was like, well, like, this is this is great. Like, this is something to be excited about. And of course, everyone was asking us, did we plan this? Where are we trying? And the honest answer is no. But we're really grateful to be in a place where we can handle something like this. And I don't ever think that there's really a right time to have kids. I think that they just come and you adjust to it and you improvise, adapt and overcome. So so that was that. We then told his family on Father's Day. And what I did for his parents was I got a little gift box. And I wrote on the front, What do you give a father who has everything? And then you open up the box and it says A grandbaby. And because we hadn't had our ultrasound yet, I had just printed off a picture of an ultrasound from Google and put it in a really cute frame. But yeah, they were absolutely the real like just so excited. And then we told my family, because they live up north in Washington State over 4th of July. And honestly, both sides were absolutely elated. They've been asking for grandkids since 5 seconds after we got married. So they've been ready, they've been waiting. And it's really something that's brought us closer to both sides of the family. Thankfully, it's actually the first grandchild for both sets of grandparents and the first great grandchild for both my grandma and Sam's grandma. So that's kind of crazy and mind blowing, but it's really cool. And then when it came to telling our friends, we just kind of told them situationally, like when we would see them and when the situation called for it pretty much. But they're also all very excited too. And yeah, so that was the finding out and telling people about it. Moving on to physical symptoms and changes, I'm going to talk about some common symptoms nausea, fatigue, food aversions and cravings. So something that really caught me off guard was urinating so much more than normal, even getting up in the middle of the night to pee, which I didn't expect to happen until the baby actually gets big and starts pressing down on your bladder. But as it turns out, the hormonal changes in your body is what leads to more of a need to urinate. And that's also why it's really important to stay hydrated to another thing as far as cravings, as I have never craved sweets in my life so much until now. Like I always want a sweet treat and I've been just frou frou, frou frou. I'm always guzzling fruit. And at this point I can actually understand how people can develop gestational diabetes, like if they don't keep it in check. I could see how easy it is to just eat ice cream and donuts and candy and all these things that satisfy your sweets cravings. And I think a common old wives tale is that, oh, if you're craving sweets and you're having a girl. But the reality of it is along with all the hormonal changes, your blood sugar levels are changing. So it's really important to keep your blood sugar sustained, but not with the wrong kind of sugar, another interesting craving of mine. Which is so, so weird as water. But not just water. Sparkling, cold, sparkling water over ice with salt sprinkled into it. I don't know what it is, but it's been so good. I'm actually going to take a sip right now. I don't know why I can't just drink flat water. I think my water needs to have like a bit of spice and some kick to it. But yeah, I remember me and Sam were in the airport and I was like, Please find me some sparkling water, get some salt and also some ice. So he was running around the airport. He managed to find all of those things. But yeah, that's been kind of my weird, interesting craving. Also, my hair and nails have been growing a little faster than normal, which is great because I hear all of your hair falls out after you give birth. Hopefully that doesn't happen to me. Another one is my gums hurt like they hurt so bad, as if there's like, food stuck between my teeth and my gums. And even this even happens when I'm eating softer foods. So it's, really irritating. I can actually barely talk right now because all the gums on my lower right side are just so tender, so swollen. We'll have to look into why that happens. Also, early in the first trimester, I was very sensitive to taste, so I needed to eat very simple food. I was snacking on uncrustables or just eating like bread and butter and yeah, so I don't know. I obviously wasn't trying to make my entire diet out of Uncrustables, but there was just something about the peanut butter and jelly and just the simple white bread that was really hitting the spot. Now, when it comes to nausea, I somehow avoided this and morning sickness. also because I didn't have nausea and I wasn't experiencing that. I didn't really feel any different. So I kept peeing on pregnancy tests for confirmation because I was like, Am I pregnant? Am I not? Am I pregnant? Am I not? I also found myself needing to eat more frequently. There was 1 to 2 times where I smelled something really Strong like some really strong smells in downtown, walking past, like a load of dumpsters that were being ready to be taken out by the garbage trucks. Or you know, we have a lot of unhoused people in San Diego, they can sometimes smell very strong. And there's just a few times where walking past and getting a whiff of these smells would send me into a dry heaving spell where I just couldn't stop driving. And I really had to breathe my way out of it. But I hate throwing up, so I'm so fortunate that I didn't have to deal with this, although I very much braced myself to experience morning sickness because every woman I know that's been pregnant was horrifically sick. when it comes to fatigue, the first trimester fatigue was so real. And because I had this new motivation and this new thing to be excited about being pregnant, having a baby on the way, I wanted to get as much done during the day as humanly possible, and my body humbled me right away by making me completely out of commission in the afternoons. I couldn't do anything in the afternoon even if I wanted to. But, afternoon naps became my sacred space. Can't touch an afternoon nap. That's my time where I clock in to gestate the baby. I started calling them my gestational naps and I really found myself surrendering to the reality that my body is literally building a human from scratch. And that's the most productive thing that I could be doing at this time. it still blew my mind. It's crazy how much energy it takes when the baby is still so small, like we're talking. Mm. Two centimeters, right? So, yeah, that was quite a surprise. I did not think that I would find myself so tired in the first trimester. when it comes to aversions, for me, the biggest aversions, of course, was smells. My sense of smell got so sensitive and so intense. If men would come into the elevator, or even just anyone who smelled musty or even slightly like not good, I'd be feeling like, sir, please get out. Like, it was crazy. And and I just have had an aversion to men in general. I don't know what it is. I think it's like nature's way of being like, well, you're already pregnant. You really don't need to be around them. But there is even some foods that even Sam would eat and proximity to me. And he is not a stinky or pungent food lover. He eats pretty much very normal food, but still having that close to me and having those smells waft over to me. It would just be like. let's just, you know, maybe sit a little bit further apart or if the dog was chewing on her bone or something really stinky, Sam would have to switch me spots. I wouldn't be as close to the dog because it was just, it was too much, too much for me. So, yeah, I really have not been able to tolerate or even desire spicy or pungent foods. And I know we need protein in pregnancy, but meat hasn't exactly been a favorite. I just have not been wanting me at all, I've been looking for other ways to get protein in. And we'll talk about that in a little bit. When I talk about my diet changes, what was really surprising, really surprising, even though I didn't experience morning sickness or nausea. Prenatal vitamins were the only thing that made me even remotely sick. I actually would not want to take them because I knew that they would just make my stomach feel really, really icky. So I ended up switching to gummies, which I hear is what a lot of women do because the prenatal can kind of mess with your tummy. since then, taking the gummies has been wonderful. So how I manage these symptoms, first off, was obviously staying hydrated, especially with my sparkling water and salt. I'm just going to assume that gave me electrolytes and made me feel better. And the other thing was eating more often than I'm used to. What I was used to is intermittent fasting. And you can't exactly do that while pregnant because your stomach will scream at you to eat. another thing was to curb my sweets cravings. I'm always stocked up on fruit. I go through so much fruit every day and I think that's good too, because fruit has a lot of vitamins too, for the baby. And of course, making time in my afternoons for those guilt free naps. unexpected symptoms were challenges. Was that gum pain that I talked about earlier that was completely unexpected? I'm just like, what do my gums have to do with, what's happening inside my uterus? But it's so sensitive and floss and brush, as you might, is still feels like something is stuck in there and causing them to swell and it hurt. So, yeah, now that I'm in the second trimester, I can actually go in and maybe get a checkup, maybe see if I have, I don't know any cavities that need to be filled or whatever. I know that's gross, but some of us have them. And another thing, too, is I didn't think I'd be reacting so strongly to smells, that's subsiding as well now. leading it now into the emotional journey, I wouldn't really say I went through very much emotional highs or lows. I will say that pregnancy rage has been real, especially at people who do stupid things. My tolerance for bias has dropped below the baseboards. Like I have no time, no tolerance for anyone. That's just doing something that they know they shouldn't be doing. And I have been calling people out on it and I don't know, maybe I should just keep those things to myself, but it's just like, I don't know. It's kind of like mom energy where you're just like, Listen, you're not about to get away with this. what do you think you're doing? So that's been that's been pretty interesting. The emotional highs for me was definitely getting to see the baby move around inside me and hearing the heartbeat and of course, telling our loved ones in person. We actually decided not to do a pregnancy announcement on social media or like a pregnancy reveal, photo dump, drop, whatever, for many, many reasons. But mainly the biggest reason has been it's just been so sweet, so delightful and so fun to tell people in real life and see their reaction in real life and just really experience that moment together. you know, it can bring you a lot of dopamine, I guess, for a moment to read all the congratulatory messages and comments. But at the same time, a lot of it's from people who have nothing to do with your life and wouldn't interact with your content otherwise. I have not really been experiencing pregnancy anxiety. Praise God, I'm already not an anxious person, but especially in this case when everything is normal and there's nothing to worry about which I'm so, so grateful for. I'm just very happy to be pregnant. And because I'm not showing yet, I just feel like a normal sense of excitement and optimism, but nothing over the top, it's just kind of like taking it day by day. This is what's happening and we'll just take it, as it comes. How did I maintain my mental health throughout it? Because, yes, when women are going through pregnancy, their mental health can really be affected. And the way I maintained mine was by, first of all, having conversations with my partner instead of keeping everything to myself and thinking that I have to be the problem solver and I have to be the fixer. But it's like, no, I'm literally in the most vulnerable position of my life right now. And I have this supportive, amazing, incredible partner who wants to help, who wants to be involved. So just really taking him up on that has made a huge difference. Also voicing my concerns about the future and how we're going to deal with this change and trying not to, do too much putting out fires before the fires actually start and just kind of being like, okay, if this becomes a problem, then we'll deal with it in the moment. But you can't foresee and project everything because that will just make you more stressed out than you need to be. Another thing has been journaling. Not every day, but when I do feel inspired to, I will sit down and just kind of write about my experience. am not documenting every single breath and every single step of this pregnancy, but again, one that inspiration strikes and I'm like, Oh, this is something I really want to Remember down the line, I'll sit down and journal about it. talking to loved ones has really helped with my mental health too. Like, if I run into a problem, I'll either text or call my mom or even my mother in law. She's been super duper helpful because, you know, I am also having a baby that's going to be part of her family and her lineage. And she has very valuable wisdom and knowledge, too, that I can tap into. So that's just been a huge resource for me is my moms and just my loved ones in general, especially my friends who have been through pregnancy and very recently to like my friend Rasheen. then meditations too. There's some that I've been doing specifically for pregnancy, or there's just some general ones that I do just to get into a good vibe in the morning. Like when I'm getting ready in the bathroom to go to the gym, I'll put on a meditation and just kind of let it run while I'm mindfully like doing my skin care and putting on my workout clothes and just getting ready for my day. Another thing that's going to help your mental health regardless of if you're pregnant or whatever you're going through. And for me has been being more active, moving, not really allowing pregnancy to be an excuse to just shalabh on the couch and just be a potato. But taking the blessing that I do feel really, really good physically and just staying moving and keeping the momentum going. And like I said a little bit earlier, not seeing myself as a victim of pregnancy, but as an empowered woman, doing exactly what I've been created to do. That mindset has been I think that's made all the difference, too. So what about doctor visits and tests? Well, a lot of this was new for me, too, because even though I did ultrasounds on people, I didn't really know how the other end of it works. So when it comes to scheduling your first appointment, unless there is something to be concerned about, something in your prior history, like maybe you've had a miscarriage or you've had an ectopic pregnancy, or you've had a high risk pregnancy of some sort. There's just been something that caused concern in your prior pregnancies. They usually won't see you till at the earliest eight weeks. And there is also an ultrasound reason for that, because at eight weeks we can dependably, if everything is right, then we can dependently see the little fetus, we can see a heartbeat, and we can give the parents some sort of information to go home with. Whereas something as early as like 4 to 6 weeks, you might see a little gestational sac, you might see a little fluid bubble where the baby's going to be growing, but it's just not going to the ultrasound can't really pick up much imagery to dependably give you a lot of information to go home with. And that can cause people a lot of stress and be like, Oh, well, what if something's not there? But it's like now it's just like, give it a little time to show up where the machine can actually capture it and give you your photos. so I scheduled my ultrasound for as early as I could, about eight weeks. the very first visit that I had was with a midwife. I decided to go with a midwife rather than an OBGYN because again, I have no complications with my first pregnancy. I'm young. I have no health history or health problems, so I'm not really seeing my pregnancy as a disease. That's something that a doctor needs to diagnose and work with. So I was just like, I think a midwife is going to be just fine. Now, if we need doctors intervention down the line, I'm not against it. But for the time being, I'd probably feel more comfortable with a midwife. getting into the appointment with her, she actually let us record everything on my camera, which was so nice, and I'm going to be posting these vlogs on YouTube to just kind of capture my pregnancy journey and let you guys see what I've been going through. So that was really, really nice. And I think that me being an ultrasound tech definitely gave us a special end with the medical professionals. it was crazy. Now, being the patient on the other side of the ultrasound, not doing the ultrasound on people, not sticking the probe into them, but like having that be done to me. So first she did a pelvic exam and kind of felt around and confirmed that my uterus was a little bit bigger and you guys would be surprised how little the uterus actually is. It's Maybe like five centimeters or so when you're not pregnant. But she then continued to do the ultrasound first, putting the probe over my abdomen. And then she did the interventional one where they put the probe into you. And the intra vaginal one is really good, especially in the first trimester, especially at the very first scan when the baby is so, so tiny that the interventional probe actually goes up inside you, up against your cervix, and it can see much closer and much more detailed than that over abdominal one. To be honest, the probe part wasn't as uncomfortable as when her fingers were on me. I was not a fan of that. The probe, even though it seems really huge and massive, it actually just kind of feels like a tampon going inside. we got the very first pictures of our little being and she dated me at eight weeks pregnant, and then she went ahead and ordered a lot of labs to check my levels as well as to screen me for being a carrier of any sort of genetic mutations. And because this was my first pregnancy, my first time going through this, like they wanted to do a lot of labs just to kind of rule anything out. Another one that she ordered is the NIPT, which is the noninvasive prenatal test, and that one just is an overall genetic test that looks for any genetic abnormalities and can kind of catch any deficiencies or defects that the baby might have before they are seen on ultrasound. So when you're pregnant, you're supposed to have a prenatal visit with your doctor or midwife every four weeks until you hit 32 weeks, and then you're going every two weeks at that point. So right now, I'm just supposed to be going every four weeks for a checkup. And then we had our next ultrasound at 12 weeks, which is a very specific ultrasound. It's called the new cold test. And it's very hard to do. It takes a very skilled technician. I remember doing these in school and it's it's like very, very specific. And there's a lot of requirements for the types of images you're supposed to get. But essentially what this ultrasound is for is to measure the skin at the back of the baby's neck to rule out Down's syndrome. And you can really only do this between 11 weeks and 14 weeks because then that little skin fold kind of goes away. So in order to really visualize and check on the ultrasound to see if the baby might have a trisomy of any kind or just any sort of chromosomal abnormality, and they measure the skin at the back of the baby's neck. And it was a really cool ultrasound because by this point, the baby had changed so much at eight weeks, it just looked like a little gummy bear floating around. But this time, four weeks later, it looked just like a tiny human. the ultrasound tech that was doing my scan was literally so good at it and so knowledgeable. I could just tell she was so skilled and she was mentioning that they had just gotten new machines. So it gave us super detailed images of anatomy, the baby's palate. And they could already at this point, with such good quality check for a cleft lip, they could also see the blood flow. They could see the little arteries going into the kidneys. And this is just so insane to see at just 12 weeks. that was a really fun appointment for me and Sam. then at my most recent appointment, they just kind of checked how I'm doing. Do you have any pain? Are you bleeding? No. And then scanned for the baby's heartbeat. They also took 15 vials of blood for all those labs that they had ordered for me, like I told you guys was going to be a lot because they're checking for everything the first time around. But yeah, I was actually surprised that they did really, really well. I barely felt a thing and I mean, I was staring at them literally filling up 15 vials of blood and I was completely fine. was there any concerns or important discussions with my doctor? The only like really weird thing was that the midwife asked if I had had an eating disorder and told me that she'd like to see me gain £40 during this pregnancy. And I'm just like like where honestly, no matter how much I try, no matter how much I eat, I lift. I can never break past a certain weight. And I've just made peace with the fact that that's my body type. And I was just so shocked that she brought up an eating disorder because I had never been diagnosed by a doctor nor treated for an eating disorder or body dysmorphia of any kind. And I said, You guys, this is completely inaccurate to my medical history. Please remove that from my records. And they did, which is really great because I don't want them watching me like a hawk and being like, Oh, she's starving herself and whatever. And I, I just said, as long as the baby is growing on time, don't worry about me and my weight. Like I'm I'm eating three times a day, sometimes four times a day, sometimes five times a day. And this is just how it's going to be. So that was kind of the only weird thing, my lifestyle adjustments. So changes to my diet and exercise. As far as exercise, I've been doing lots of walking, getting lots of fresh air was as fresh as it can get in downtown San Diego, but walking by the harbor quite a lot. I'll do a morning walk and evening walk. So I'm easily getting over ten steps, 10,000 steps per day. And like I mentioned a little earlier, I'm doing light weightlifting. So that means I'm in the gym for 15 to 30 minutes at the most. I'm not really overexerting or overtaxing myself or like really trying to push it, but just doing enough to keep my muscles toned and my pelvic floor strong during pregnancy. And I don't know, there's just like nothing. It feels better than like being in the gym and being like, Wow, I have a healthy, capable body and I'm able to do these things. And like, that's just such a good reset for me in the morning. I'm also looking for a Polaris studio that's close to me that I can walk back and forth to, that I don't really have to like get in the car and. Drive to. And I think Pilates will also be really helpful during pregnancy. And I'm going to be starting to swim a little bit more in the rooftop pool that we have when it comes to diet. I have been cooking 80% of my meals at home, which is a big deal for me because it used to be, quote unquote, easier for me to just run out and grab something from a cafe or a restaurant. But you just never know what they're putting in there. And I didn't always feel great after eating that food. So cooking at home has become such a treat for me. Looking up recipes online or just going through all the saved things that I've saved over time on my Instagram, saved or tick tock, and just excitedly planning for that and going out and getting my groceries. And it just feels really good to know that I'm putting effort into nourishing myself. I'm been having simple but nutritious meals and again, snacking on fruit and nuts throughout the day how I've been managing work or daily routines. So pregnancy has actually spurred me into doing so much more than I've ever done before. I've been traveling, taking classes. I have all sorts of plans that were a little bit stalled based on like the fact that I would have to take another a whole afternoon out during the day to sleep. But now I feel like I have more juice and more steam to get on with it. My morning routine looks a little bit like I'll get out of bed. I usually get up. Once the sun is kind of hitting through the windows, I'll go into the bathroom and I'll wash my skin and do my skin care, and then I'll have a banana and head to the gym. And once I'm done with the gym, which I don't take long in there, like I said, 15 to 30 minutes, I'll come back upstairs, I'll grab Nova and we'll go and walk outside together. I have been very used to going and getting coffee, but now I've kind of switched to a matcha or a tea latte, like the London fog or sometimes chai tea, something like that. Then we come home and I'll get breakfast going. I'll usually have cream of wheat or some toast with grass fed butter and a few eggs and some sauerkraut. So yeah, super simple, but gets me full, gets me going. And you know what's actually been crazy is that, like, if I want to get all the way done up, a full getting ready routine will have me absolutely out of gas at this point because I've already had done so much in the morning. So I haven't really been getting fully ready because sometimes I have to prioritize. Okay, like do I still need to do more things after this or am I going to get ready and immediately want to take a nap and ruin all of my hair and makeup? So that's been it's been interesting to juggle, as you guys can tell, I'm kind of running out of breath, which is kind of been another pregnancy symptom that I did not expect. But yeah, after breakfast, I will do some morning things which could be errands, housework, computer work. Just get those types of things out of the way. Then I'll nap and then I'll get a second burst of energy in the evening to do some other things, usually some more creative things like this podcast, or just planning for stuff and yeah. And in the evening my routine looks a little bit more like I'll tidy up from dinner or just from the day in general, things laying around the house, Nova's toys spread out all over. I'll take her down to party one last time before bed. I'll make myself some tea and some fruit to nibble on. And I've been trying to do more books than TV, but sometimes me and Sam just like to hang out and watch a little bit of TV together. I'll then do my skin care, give it some time to absorb before getting into bed. And I haven't been very consistent about this, but I've been getting back into stretching before bed with yoga. It just really helps kind of tense my muscles and really, really relaxes me before bed. And I've been going to bed around 10 to 11 p.m.. The goal is to always go a little bit earlier, but sometimes I'm just not finished with everything in time. So yeah, that's kind of what my daily routines have been looking like. Moving on to the support system. in pregnancy, the importance of having a support system is so massively huge and I didn't realize it until I actually started going to prenatal yoga, which was so unexpectedly helpful. Not even the yoga itself, because it's very gentle, but just to be around women who are going through the. Same thing who get a chance to speak at every single class what their name is. You know, if they're having a boy or a girl, how many weeks pregnant they are, what have been their challenges? What happened, their triumphs? What are they looking forward to? What are their is scared of? And this is just been such a sacred space for me, because as supportive as your family and friends can be, it's a different type of support to be in a group with women who are also going through that and how my partner, family and friends have helped. My husband has obviously been my biggest support by giving me the privilege of staying home and doing what I need to do to take care of myself and the baby. Just giving me the time and space to go out and get the best kind of groceries that I can get and make my little food at home and have my naps. And just I really just wish this on every woman. I feel like this is how pregnancy should be. women shouldn't have to, you know, be out and toiling and just struggling through their pregnancy because pregnancy is already such a big toll on your body as far as my family. Like I said earlier, very good advice from the moms. Great food, amazing support. Lots of encouragement from them, my friends have just been very sweet. They've been checking on me, asking me how I'm doing and not really, allowing me to fall by the wayside just because I'm in a different condition, different time in my life than they are. But a big surprise for me was the friends that absolutely dropped off since hearing the news, maybe realizing I'm no good to them now that I can't do certain things with them anymore. So people always say that big life events like maybe losing someone or moving or getting married and then especially getting pregnant and having a baby will really highlight people in your life who are really there for you and want to love you and support you versus the people who are just kind of having the connection with you for selfish reasons. So that's been pretty interesting. How did I handle difficult moments whenever I run into a difficult moment? I understand that even with the incredible people and support system that I have, this is sometimes a very isolating journey. Only I know what it feels like to go through my very own experience. So I've just been very okay with, like I said, not seeing myself as a victim and becoming okay with walking the tightrope alone, so to speak. So yeah. And also just looking for help when I need it and not not relying completely on myself, which I definitely have a tendency to do as the older daughter, and especially in an immigrant family. Like I've always had to be very resourceful and very independent, but that's masculine energy. And when you are in this vulnerable state of pregnancy, that's the most feminine energy you're ever going to have. So, yeah, just surrendering to that. the next trimester, which is the one that I'm in now, second trimester, that's what they call the magic medal. And I'm actually very excited to start showing with my baby bump a little bit more and just kind of seeing the changes that are coming with that. Hopefully we'll get to feel the baby move soon. Well, not like that soon, but in the second trimester. I really have not started setting up the baby registry or planning anything like that. I think that will come in a few weeks time down the line. We still don't know who we're having, so probably once we find out the gender, we will start planning a little bit more. And as far as educating myself about pregnancy and childbirth, I am reluctant to read into it too much. Obviously, I want to be educated. I want to know what the options are. But at the same time, I fully trust that whatever medical professionals are helping me and my body which was made to do this, is going to know what to do. So as big of a planner as I am, I don't want to plan too much because I don't want to be disappointed or upset when things don't go my way, just surrendering to this experience. Some books, apps and websites that have been helpful to me at this point was pre mom. That's how I've been tracking the pregnancy, getting updates. That's where it'll tell you like, okay, your baby is the size of a lemon or this is what the changes in your body are happening and this is what the baby's developing. So that has been really cool. Another best friend of mine has been chat GPT. It's been answering all of my questions. Gives me a lot more comprehensive answer than I feel like Google would and then I can always go off of that and research that. But sometimes Google can kind of get you lost in all of the results that it'll pull up A book that I've been loving is nine golden months nourishing the mother to be. And it's kind of written from the Chinese perspective Eastern Medicine. And it's really interesting because it talks a lot about how we kind of ignore pregnancy in this Western world. Like we'll see a pregnant woman will be like, Yeah, I mean, that's just what it is like. Nothing to see here. So it talks a lot about supporting the mother and paying attention to her, not making it all about the baby. Because once the baby gets here, it will be all about the baby. But yeah, nine golden months has been really good, really interesting to read. The vitamins that I've been taking have been the bird and bee gummies. They're this sour mango flavor. They've been really, really yummy. I take about four every day and they have all of the things that your body needs to build the baby and stay healthy. Maternity clothes? I don't know. I know I'm still going to be dressing like a baby. That's my promise to you all. And then, of course, the classes that I found really helpful so far have been the prenatal yoga. What do I wish I knew before? Mm. I wish I would have been prepared that there's going to be people that drop out of your life as soon as you told them that you're pregnant. People that you thought were going to be in it forever. But that's okay. There's no need to, like, hold on to people who don't want to be there anymore and don't want to be along for the journey. I also wish I knew to kind of keep some information to myself because not everyone's going to be happy for you. And that's that's literally so real. And like, privacy goes such a long way in pregnancy. It's actually so sweet to just kind of keep it to yourself and not have all this on unsolicited advice. And trust me, the unsolicited advice is going to come more and more as soon as you start showing people recognize just out in broad daylight that you're pregnant. So yeah. And for that reason alone, like I, I haven't really been very specific about how many weeks along I am or one my due date is because I just don't want people like making certain statements like, oh well, like you don't look pregnant at all or Oh well, you just wait, you know, so, so that's kind of I wish I would have known that before, but I do know that now and it's been really helpful. So my advice for other expectant parents, expectant moms is don't resist the process, just give in to it. You don't know and you're not going to know a lot. And then this this age of the Internet, it feels like we can never learn or know enough. And guess what? That's okay. We are gifted with this intuition that's going to come just naturally surrender to the process and trust that intuition. So in conclusion of this episode, it's been so fun to share with you guys what I've been going through and just kind of loop you in on this journey and. I just want to say that I never expected that pregnancy would help me become the person I always wanted to be. I know that sounds very corny, but it's actually made me much better at having boundaries, holding to those boundaries, saying no when I need to, not feeling guilty about it. It's made me motivated in such a different way, and it's literally put me into my most creative era of my life. Like I said, I've been cooking mostly at home. That's been so good. I've been wanting to do that for years. I've just never had the motivation. But now I do. And of course, the consistent working out routine has just been feeling so good. And as well as connecting with important but sometimes put on the back burner people. So that can be our family. You know, we forget and we take for granted how much they're really there for us until something like this happens. And it just brings us so much closer together. And also shedding friends that we're not supposed to be in my life. I can have a really hard time recognizing that someone's not in my life for the right reasons. But something like this and them just naturally falling away has kind of been the biggest blessing in disguise. So I really want to encourage my listeners to also share your own stories of what you're going through, especially if you're pregnant. And in the future, we're going to be talking a little bit more. Let me know what you guys want to know more about pregnancy. If you got any questions about this episode, be sure to me or comment under the post and for the time being, make sure that you follow on Instagram at Stellar Cycles pod. I'm working on getting that free grocery guide back up and running for you guys. I'm in communication with the website right now so you will know I'll post it on the story and I'll be posting it weekly so that you guys know that you can get it. I would like to ask that you please give us a five star rating if you enjoy this podcast and if you're feeling extra generous. I love reading the reviews that you girls leave for me. Till next time. Stellar cycles out.