As most of y’all probably know by now, Alex and I are expecting a baby this March! Woop! We’re super excited and have been busy getting life in order so that we can focus on our new family member without many other distractions this Spring.
When we found out in the summer that we were expecting a baby, Alex immediately wanted me to start blogging about it (on a top secret blog just for us), but as anyone who has ever been pregnant would know, you get tired a little more often and the couch seems like a cozier place to hang out than the laptop, so I just didn’t have the energy to do so. However, lucky for you, I have the memory of an elephant and I told Alex I would do a “pregnancy in a nutshell” (from zero to 7 months) post for our newly branded blog: Team Rainert!
So here’s my overview of how the last seven months have been going:
First Month (June):
The baby is the size of a poppy seed (4 weeks).
I didn’t realize for about a month that I was pregnant and it wasn’t until late June that I thought, “hmm, maybe I should take a test.” and sure enough it was positive. I believe my first words to Alex were “Dude, look at this.”
The next week was spent reviewing all the information on the internet about what you should and shouldn’t do when you’re pregnant. Especially things you cannot consume: alcohol (of course) soft cheese (really? but I just had some goat cheese…), deli meats, especially smoked meats and fish (oh, like the lox I just consumed?). The thing about the internet is that it will lead you to believe that everything is bad for you, and then on another site, it’s fine for you: like mayonnaise, or kimchi. I quickly learned it was best to consult a printed source or my doctor.
Second Month (July):
The baby is the size of a kidney bean (8 weeks).
This is the month in which you try to keep your exciting news a secret from everyone you know as a precaution. But guess what, it’s not easy to keep this a secret when your friends know you as a boozehound. I drank so many pretend gin and tonics and did everything in my power at my best friend’s bachelorette party to not out myself, but it took her no fewer than two bars to determine what was up. So much for secrets! Now someone get me another fake cocktail!
I didn’t have morning sickness (very, very lucky) during my first trimester, but I suddenly had an insane sense of smell and was learning I was no longer friends with several foods I used to love. Take garlic for example. We couldn’t even say garlic in our house without me dry heaving. We ultimately referred to it as “G” for many months and I only recently (5 months later) started eating garlic again.
Once I met with my doctor and she told me I could run, I got back on the running trail in the mornings, because I surprisingly had energy to do so. But soon after, when I’d get home from work, I’d have energy to do but one thing: pass out on the couch. I also found I would have insane waves of hunger that would come on in seconds without warning.
We also bought a ton of books: The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, What to Expect the First Year, You Having a Baby, Birth Partner, Eating for Pregnancy, What’s Going on in There: How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years, The Baby Owner’s Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance, The Expectant Father ; and Nurture Shock.
Third Month (August)
The baby is the size of a lime (12 weeks).
This is a month were you continue to tell people at work that you’re skipping drinks tonight, because you’re too hungover from the night before (or taking antibiotics or some other ridiculous fake excuse that no one will buy). I could have just passed on drinks, but I always felt I needed to tell a bigger story to make it more convincing. As though everyone was sitting around at work analyzing about my happy hour habits?
By the end of August, we were finally at 12 weeks and were ready to start telling people! Phew! Thankfully that all coincided with Marisa and Vinny’s wedding so I didn’t have to create some insane story to all my OU friends about how I wasn’t drinking at my best friend’s wedding.
It’s fun to tell people, especially your close friends and family. Everyone was of course very excited, but I think the best response came from our friend Daya who immediately started bawling. It probably had less to do with us having a kid, and everything to do with her moving away from NY to LA that week, but it was fun all the same. Thanks, Daya!
Fourth Month (September)
The baby is the size of an avocado (16 weeks).
I can finally tell work people the news! No more hiding the fact that all I want to do is unbutton my jeans!
When we told our friends Robb and Sarah at their going away BBQ that I’m expecting, we learned that Sarah is pregnant too— and only two weeks behind us! But sadly they were moving too North Carolina the next week. So sad! The nice thing is that Sarah and I have become pregnant pen pals and are always writing to discuss how we’re feeling and what’s next for us, so even though she’s not around the block anymore, I still feel like we’re going through this time together.
And wow, looking around Park Slope, I realize I am SURROUNDED by pregnant women. Like I can’t even walk down the street without running into a pregnant woman or a child. Have they always been here? And with that I realize, Moms are invisible to everyone except other Moms. That sort of sucks…
I am also starting to wonder, with all these pregnant people everywhere, how come we have no close friends with kids in Brooklyn? Does everyone move away once they have kids? I hope not.
Fifth Month (October)
The baby is the length of a banana (16 weeks).
20 week sonogram happened this month! We got to see so much—feet! toes! heart! brain! We could have opted to find out the gender, but we decided to be surprised. However, the technician dropped a pronoun half way through the scan, so we keep wondering if the professionals are just trained to use the pronouns interchangeably or if she just slipped? We’ll let you know in March.
I also decided to attend a Brooklyn Moms class with my upstairs neighbor one night—I learned quite a bit, like—you pay more for a nanny who speaks English. No joke.
We usually take a trip every fall, but as soon as we told people we’re headed away for a week this year, everyone kept calling it a “babymoon” What?! Can’t a fat girl go on vacation without being told she is taking a babymoon? Ugh. I hate phrases like that. Anyway, we headed to the UK and Paris for a fall vacation. We had a great time seeing Edinburgh, catching up with friends in London and eating our way through Paris (check out karen’s photos here and Alex’s photos here). The one strange thing for us (and I swear pregnancy isn’t all about how I can’t drink) was not enjoying local beers and wines when you’re away, so Alex (proudly) took on the role of drinking for two.
The fifth month was also strange because I wasn’t really showing yet—not enough for someone to comfortably say congratulations, but I was starting to pack on pounds, so I kept worrying people who didn’t know me well thought I was just becoming a heifer with a seltzer addiction.
Six Month (November)
The baby is the length of an ear of corn (24 weeks).
Wait, we’re at six months already? When did that happen? This time has flown by. We’re gonna have a baby in March! We better start planning some stuff. Like take some classes and order some furniture and finish all the projects we’ve been planning to do for three years. We made a list on backpackit and have been slowly making our way through the list over the last few weeks.
Kicks! Lots of kicks, suddenly out of nowhere this baby has lots of movement, which is awesome even though it feels like I have an alien moving around in there. There are some days one half of my stomach is a good inch higher than the other side, because I’ve got a little person’s tiny back against my left side. It’s so strange.
I also started taking prenatal Yoga at a place in our neighborhood called Bend and Bloom. It’s great—the instructors are wonderful, but it’s not an intense workout by any means. I think the breathing and relaxation we do in class will help come delivery time though. Breathe through the pain…
Seventh Month (December)
The baby is the size of a Chinese cabbage (28 weeks).
As every December in our household is, this is the month of the Christmas cookie. But the thing about being pregnant is that you suddenly feel entitled to eat twice as many Christmas cookies as you have in years past. However, a pregnant girl needs to keep in mind that every pound she gains while pregnant needs to be lost later on, so this cookie eating business is probably going to cause me much unhappiness come March/April when I am interested in getting back to my usual size and I can no longer pretend weight gain is due to a baby. But goddammit, these cookies are delicious!
By now I’m definitely big enough that it is no longer a question if I am pregnant. While wearing my giant winter coat in the park one day, a woman asked me if I was expecting. I wasn’t shocked she could tell, but I was shocked she asked. Maybe she just has a keen eye for belly bumps? Also what comes with the giant bump is people being really nice to you. Everyone offers to get up and get things for you, though I have only been offered one subway seat so far, but I think that’s a result of my giant winter coat covering up the bump.
Things have also become more difficult as I have become bigger. It’s harder for me to tie my shoes easily and rolling over in bed is a three step process. I can tell I am starting to lose some of my confidence with doing physical things; I am a little more careful walking down the stairs and often avoid very excited Great Danes in the park, as they sometimes don’t realize they’re charging into you as they play with your (comparatively) mini Vizsla. But overall I feel good even if things are getting a little more congested inside my body.
Today
The baby is the size of a squash (31 weeks).
So that brings us to now—31 weeks! I’ll definitely keep updating this blog as the weeks go on, so that I have all these thoughts in one place. And we’ll certainly let you know when the little Rainert makes an appearance.
