Weeks 4-8

I didn’t realize that when you find out your pregnant your Baby is already considered 4 weeks . Poof just like that one month in! I already felt so far behind, there is so much I did not know.

The first thing we did when we found out we were pregnant was to read up. We went to Barns and Nobel (because Amazon Prime one day shipping would be too long to wait) and picked up these books:

• What to Expect When You’re Expecting
• Dude, You’re Gonna be a Dad
• The Whole 9 Months
• Real Food for Pregnancy
• Expecting Better

By Sunday Joe and I both devoured the first two books. These are probably the most common books. I also googled a lot, there is so much conflicting information out there. I really like the recipes in The Whole 9 Months and loved reading the science in Real food for Pregnancy. All 3 books had different dietary advice. The more I read and researched the more confused I became on the “Rules” of pregnancy. I quickly decided that the number one rule is to just feel good about whatever I do and not worry. I would follow my own rules which included.

• Continue to work out – until I feel something/gain weight my typical workouts should be fine.
• Continue to Eat Healthy
  • Cheese/ Deli meat is fine – I don’t eat much of this anyways.
  • Alcohol, over 16oz of coffee, Soda are a no go.
  • No raw Sushi, or meat.
  • If Seafood – Low Mercury and Wild caught.
  • Start eating breakfast.
• No sports where I could fall, Horseback riding, snowboarding etc.
• Take the prenatal – I was already in this routine before conception.

And that about sums it up, all the rest of the information seemed to have mixed reviews and research.

Weight: 142lb. I did not see any weight change. I actually lost two pounds since I was working out and eating healthy. This Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator I found really useful.

Symptoms: NONE. I was not sleepy, I was not nauseous, I had no craving or food aversions. I tried to notice things but I didn’t feel anything at all.

Workouts: 2 x 45 minutes of active time a day. I was in the middle of a 75 day challenge. One workout would be a “Hard workout” – Kettle bells, Norah’s Weight’s, or Running. The second 45 minutes would be “Easy” – walking Zoey, Easy Yoga, or Zumba.

Food: My morning Smoothies were a staple. I got a well balanced, filling and veggie filled smoothie almost every morning. I felt really good knowing that this one meal right away in the morning was soo good for me and the Baby.

Doctors Visits: We called right away to set up an OB visit but they let us know that they do not see us the first time until 9 weeks pregnant. I was somewhat shocked by this. I hoped that my research was enough to get through before I was able to ask questions.

Money Spent: None really. I guess we spent a little on food we would have not have typically purchased otherwise.

Our To Do List:

• Figure out what we are doing/ need to do.
• Read Up – I devoured the whole What to Expect When your Expecting book in 2-3 days. I do not recommend this as its probably best to read along with your stage in pregnancy.
• Sign up for Pregnancy Apps.
• Buy food for nausea – Ginger things & Crackers just in case. We ended up not needing and throwing this all out since I never ended up with nausea.
• Schedule OB visit.
• Discuss with Joe who we would tell and when.
• Start a pregnancy journal.
• Start figuring out what we need for me, Baby B, and the nursery.

I want to know about what you did when you first found out your pregnant. What pregnancy rules did you follow? What symptoms did you have? Did anything in particular come as a shock to you? I was clueless that the first OB visit was not until 9 weeks out and that we were 4 weeks pregnant already. Everyone is so different and all are valid ways to approach pregnancy. What worked for you?