I feel that the whole “pregnancy journey” has been romanticised way too much. The process is not as easy as some moms make it look. I see it online and hear it from people, being pregnant is a glorious time and that it’s a journey that every woman should enjoy. But it’s hard to enjoy this journey when you feel like puking your fucking guts out every five minutes or as if a hot knife is jabbing at your boobs/stomach at the dead of the night, okay?
No, this website won’t turn into a parenting blog. I’ll get to the fun part (makeup, designer bags, food, etc.,) once I get my groove back, I promise! This whole pregnancy thing has taken over my life, guys. It’s what I think about constantly because I get awful morning sickness all day and night as a reminder that there’s a baby in here somewhere. This is basically the reason why I wanted to write this post, documenting the experience helps me cope, hahaha!
Observations at 9 Weeks
When you’re pregnant, everything feels uncomfortable. You get nauseous if you eat too much, if you ate too little, or if you ate the wrong combination of foods. You get nauseous if you lean too far back, nauseous if you bend a little too forward. In my case, I couldn’t eat too many fruits, can’t have meat, fish, or chicken. I’m actually semi-vegetarian right now because veggies are the only food that I can stomach. Just the thought of stewing meats makes my stomach churn, guys. I get these weird pain in my lower abdomen and it comes in waves.
Also, I had to eat rice twice daily now because I’m eating for two. I kinda like that except I have the metabolic rate of a menopausal woman so my face is as big as a plate right now. I know I’m being all vain and stuff but I’m at the biggest I’ve ever been and I guess it’s hard to see myself grow this big. My only comfort is that it’s all for the baby.
My mom, the excited gwamma that she is, bought several clothes for Little Peach. I wanted to buy these myself but I suppose having her first grandchild, she couldn’t help herself. Since it’s still a long way to go, I forced my cat, Jelly Bean, to wear the baby clothes! Isn’t she cute (she was too fat to fit into it, tbh)?
Observations at 13 Weeks
The last time I had an ultrasound was at 6 weeks so you can imagine how positively paranoid I am at this point. Since the morning sickness has eased up considerably, I feel like my old self again. Naturally, this made me a little suspicious… is the baby okay? Is it still alive? Should I get another ultrasound just to check? Why can’t I get a monthly ultrasound? Ano kaya ulam mamaya? So many thoughts spinning in my head right now.
Since my morning sickness is almost gone, my appetite is back, at least some of it. I still dislike eating pork and beef and prefer eating fish, chicken, and vegetables. No cravings still although I have the tendency to want all the dishes I see on Instagram so there’s that, hahaha!
I gained a lot of weight, actually. I feel as big as a whale because I’ve been eating, like, a little over a cup of rice during lunch and dinner + having mid-afternoon snacks. I try not to overindulge but we’ve been ordering takeouts lately because, again, I kept seeing stuff online and I’m compelled to eat out, lol
My baby bump is showing quite a bit. It’s still petite but my belly became rounder, not sure if it’s that noticeable. It’s funny because when I took the first picture (9 weeks), I felt so freakin’ fat guys. I felt so sorry for myself. Seeing my belly balloon at 13 weeks, I wished I was more appreciative of my body then, hahahaha!
Speaking of my body, it went through a lot of changes. While I appreciate how amazing the human body is and how magical it is to see Little Peach grow this big within such short period of time, most times I feel like I lost control of my body, you know? It’s like, it’s out there doing all sorts of new things and my consciousness is here, just dealing with all these changes. I feel like I’m just a vessel creating life.
Observations at 14/15 Weeks
I’m seeing the end of the first trimester and I feel great! So we had our first official pre-natal check-up and it went surprisingly well. Since I haven’t had an ultrasound in a while, I was anticipating problems. A couple of days before our checkup, I’ve had these weird cramps in the lower abdomen that came in waves. The cramps were not painful but they were bothersome. At some point in the night, I woke up because of the cramps.
Thankfully, I was told by my doctor that the cramps were normal. Little Peach is still there, active and healthy.
I’m adding 15 weeks here because the doctor said the baby is at 15 weeks. My husband corrected her saying the baby just turned 14 weeks but she said, and the explanation was a little hazy to me right now, calculations differ between her own and the many apps that we were using. Since it’s virtually impossible to pinpoint the exact day of conception at a glance, the countdown is basically just an estimate. So basically, that’s her estimate based on the appearance of my womb.
Little Peach is growing at the right size and developing well. Quite literally, she’s as big as a peach right now! As you can see, she looks like a baby, no longer a blob. While taking the ultrasound, the doctor realized that the baby was asleep! Little Peach was not moving at first (but with a strong heartbeat, as she pointed out). She talked to the baby and then gave my belly a gentle poke. Little Peach moved his or her legs then sorta bobbed his or her little head!
She also used a doppler because I requested it. We couldn’t find the heartbeat the last time I went for a freak out appointment and I wanted to check if the heartbeat can be detected by the doppler at this point. We heard the heartbeat and it was strong and stable.
Not sure if it’s showing in the image above but Little Peach was lying on its stomach during the ultrasound. This is one sleepy baby and I can already tell our mutual love for afternoon naps.
Check out the bump! I gained more weight than anticipated (6 pounds instead of 2, oops!) but this didn’t surprise me. I know what happens when I start eating white rice twice daily guys… or making late-night runs at Jollibee. Good thing I didn’t get any warning from the doc.
I noticed that I get these intense hunger pangs, more intense than any I’ve experienced before. Usually, the hunger pangs set in an hour before I sleep so it’s hard to sleep sometimes. Also, I still get this weird throat tightness, which was actually the first pregnancy symptom I’ve experienced. Sometimes I get nauseous at night but it goes away on its own quickly.
My doctor said I will gain more weight from here onwards and I should keep tabs on my blood sugar level and weight. I got the green light for light workouts (my pregnancy is considered delicate because of my age) so the hubs and I will start our afternoon walks next week. Hopefully, the weather improves next week because the monsoon season is here. Ending this post with a bump comparison: 9, 13, and 14/15 weeks!
