May 3rd, 2009 - One down, two to go!

Today marks our 13th week - the end of our first trimester! As we said, on Friday I ventured into prenatal yoga. Later that night, I ended up with a horrible muscle strain (might not have been from the yoga though - I'd been having trouble, I think it just aggravated it) and couldn't sleep. I also started thinking I had a fever, but my temperature was still normal. On Saturday, we went to the baby's first Capitals playoff game (3-2 CAPS!) and went afterwards to Leesburg outlets for some maternity clothes shopping. We trekked out there because they have a Motherhood Maternity Outlet. It ended up being worth the trip! We got a pair of Seven for All Mankind jeans for $28! They sell for $245 at Pea in the Pod and would have been $106 at the outlet, but the saleswoman was a sweetheart and cut us a deal since only designer jeans were long enough for me. They had a strap on pregger belly in the dressing room. Apparently most women hate the fake belly, but we got a kick out of it because it was our first preview of what I might look like in a few months.

Paul's Take: WOOO HOOO C A P S CAPS CAPS CAPS! What else did we do on Saturday?

Reflections on the first trimester:

Symptoms - Overall, I was lucky, but the worst symptom was definitely losing all of my energy. Especially in the first few months, getting through the day was sort of a struggle. I had mild nausea, but it usually went away if I ate something (hence, I ate virtually all of the time). I frequently got the hiccups and definitely had a heightened sense of smell. Overall, my emotions were pretty stable, but I definitely had a couple random crying spurts (usually preceded and interrupted by laughing at myself).

Paul's Take: I was shocked at Shonna's lack of symptoms throughout the trimester. As the guy during pregnancy, I definitely lucked out considering everything I've read regarding mood swings, sickness, and unreasonable requests. As a matter of fact, the biggest concern we had during the first 3 months was due to LACK of symptoms. "Is everything normal with the pregnancy?" "Is the baby still there?"

The only time I/we freaked out is when Shonna had a 100.3 degree fever for all of 45 minutes Saturday May 2nd. 2 Tylenol did the trick! Shonna's goal was to go the entire 3 months without any form of drug (including any medicine, caffeine, etc) and she missed out by less than 12 hours. Regardless, how great is that?!?!? Pretty amazing for someone who took Aleve/Tylenol and an occasional prescription drug for a bad back, and who consumed at least 2-4 servings of caffeine per day.

I'm so proud of her!