First Trimester "Pinks"...

Over 400 choices for Whisky - and I can't have any of it....

I'm not going to call them the "blues", because we're having a girl, AND because not all of them were THAT bad!  Now that I'm in my second trimester, I thought it would be safe for me to speak a little bit about how my first trimester went a few months ago.  We found out we were having a baby in the last week of October, which means the toughest part of my pregnancy was over quite a few large holidays.  I was pregnant for a work trip to Puerto Rico with my Bacardi Rum clients (ooof), I was pregnant in the land of whisky with my Mobley family in Scotland (Scotch is my lifeline, so for those of you who know me well, you understand my pain), and I was pregnant on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Years...meaning no cocktails for me.  But the hardest part WASN'T being the token sober friend or designated driver - it was keeping it from all of you!

The first question I always get when people find out we're having a baby is "how do you feel?"...I get that even before "do you know what you're having?!?"!  Thank you so much to everyone for checking on me and for your concern and caring of my health and well being.  We're a healthy 18 weeks now and I'm absolutely elated!  I may be in the early stages of my "honeymoon trimester" of the pregnancy now, but it's the most wonderful feeling in the world now that some of those 1st trimester "pinks" are out of the way.  And in speaking of these - I thought now would be a good time to share a little of my most frequent symptoms from the 1st trimester!

My first ever BUMPIE!  This was the best we could do
after 10 or 11 attempts that weren't up to par

1.  Heartburn - DEAR GOD HELP ME!  I'm like Smaug from Lord of the Rings every day, all day.  I had to cut back on some of my favorite treats that might worsen the heartburn - that means no buffalo wings, pizza or Tabasco for this momma, almost as bad as cutting the scotch.  While I'm not a big milk drinker, I've found that this and froyo are the only real remedies - but it's been a little to chilly for frozen treats these days.  So I've been known to snack on Tums Smoothies in my dire efforts to tame the fire-breathing dragon that has started growing in my tummy.

2. Nausea - I tried to salvage my nose from as many offensive smells as possible.  My sense of smell reached vampire or werewolf levels.  I could walk into a restaurant and smell everything every single person had on their plate for dinner.  And the smells were what caused the nausea.  If I could brace myself from any offensive smells, then I would have been in the clear.  But despite the 15 weeks of gagging my entire walk home from the office to my apartment, or covering my nose during lunchtime at work, and hiding my face in my scarves when I passed a cart full of New York street meat - that was it!  Just the nausea, no morning sickness.  No vomiting.

Right after we found out she was a girl!
Some hand knitted booties from my Gram!

3. Emotional - On a scale of 1-10, I'd say I was a face ripper.  Yes, that goes beyond the numerical scale...I would rip faces off (mostly Mike's).  My patience was non-existent.  Not so much the crying, but the face ripping...yes...definitely.  I'm glad (but I think Mike is probably more enthusiastic) that this symptom has subsided.  So your faces are safe from this preggo....for now!

4.  Appetite - My first 15 weeks I ate like a toddler.  My appetite consisted of bagels with cream cheese & jelly, some pretzels, cheerios & maybe some chicken fingers, if I was in need of protein.  It was excruciating.  I was so excited about the day I'd find out I was pregnant and become a human garbage disposal.  But I was the exact opposite.  It was a huge win if I was able to eat 3 full meals a day.  Just nothing was good.  It was frustrating for a person who usually has kale for at least 2 meals a day, who is used to a wealth of options for lunch in Manhattan, and who has is extremely liberal with fish-based meals.  I was also trying to do everything possible to provide my little baby with all the necessary nutrients to make sure that she's nice and healthy in my belly. So not being able to pump my body full of all those good leafy greens and all those rich proteins was hard to swallow (pun intended) and I felt a little bit like a failure to my little Miss.  But I am so relieved to report, that right at 16 weeks - I'm able to eat everything again!  I've ditched the bagels and toddler meal options!  My husband doesn't have to be worried about taking me out in public for dinner anymore!

5.  Baby Brain - Let's see...in my first 14 weeks, I succeeded in leaving my wallet in a hotel safe in Puerto Rico, I left my passport at the security check in on my way to Europe, I mailed about 5 Christmas cards without the actual CARDS IN THE ENVELOPE, I misplaced about $200 of Christmas gifts (that I never found), and I've committed countless acts at work.  I've officially lost my mind....I'm scared to see what I'm like when I'm sleeping for only 2 hour increments.  The thought of "mommy brain" being worse than "baby brain" terrifies me because I'm already out of control!

So so creepy - but check
out that pout!

6.  Anxiety - I'd say this was the biggest battle I had during my first 14 weeks.  Anxiety about getting ready for our little one's much anticipated arrival, anxiety about keeping a secret for so long, anxiety that she wasn't really there and I was just imagining the whole pregnancy, anxiety that I was going to lose control over everything in my life, anxiety that this little creature will be a stranger in my happy little family, hell...even anxiety about what I was going to have for breakfast that wouldn't give me heartburn!  These thoughts plagued me all night while I was trying to fall asleep, they haunted my dreams, and they were the first little notions that creeped into my brain as I was just starting to wake up in the morning.  But then something weird happened....at 14 weeks I was able to deal.  There is a lot to do before baby girl gets here, but we have the greatest support of family and friends to help us on our way.  So it's all going to be alright - and she's in there.  She's growing....she's a REAL thing.  I'm really pregnant!  The anxiety has turned into peace with the fact that I get 22 more weeks to prepare for our creature with the best people we could ever know.

So needless to say, I'm not sorry to say goodbye to some of those symptoms as I get deeper into my second trimester.  This is the good part.  This is the part all the mommies rave about.  I've said goodbye to some of those "pinks", I'm starting to see my belly grow with my little sweet potato (that's how big she is this week!), and it's all becoming more real to me.  I wake up every morning and it's like a blissful surprise when the first thing I think about every day is the little human I'm cooking in there! We got to see her in an anatomy scan a few weeks ago, and she is such a tiny, real person!  A moving, breathing, squirmy person (that already seems to have inherited some pretty luscious lips if I must say)!  I haven't been completely diligent about sharing bumpies, but mostly because it's not completely there yet, and because it's really hard to take a good bumpie!  But keep checking in because we'll have LOTS more to share!  Yay for the second trimester!