One down...

Well my first trimester is over and done with. It was filled with so many unexpected feelings, ideas, and experiences, but I've really enjoyed it so far.

The greatest feelings came from getting to tell our family and friends in such creative ways, and none of them catching on until just the right time, and getting to feel their excitement and love for us.

I had no idea the wide range of emotions that come with the idea of becoming a parent and taking on the responsibility that lay ahead of us, but luckily I have some great friends to settle my nerves and re-spark my excitement every time I need it.

We found our midwife early on, and I'm so thankful that I did some research on the kind of birth I wanted beforehand so that I wouldn't be starting from scratch. I really feel like my midwife can offer me the best chance I have at the birth I want and I'm so excited to see how that will play out.

We had two ultrasounds in the 7th and 8th week, and it's amazing to look at them and think of how developed the baby is now. It's quite astounding that in a measley 6 weeks, the baby has grown from the size of a lentil to a lime! We heard its heartbeat for the first time on February 28th and that was an amazing feeling. I keep convincing myself that I'm not really pregnant, so I end up reliving the "I'm pregnant!" realization each opportunity I get to hear or see it live.

The constant nausea and fatigue ended on the sunniest day of my ninth week. This was the biggest blessing and I feel so lucky to have not gone the full trimester feeling like I had been. We also made our first baby purchase, and started moving things around to make room for this little lady (or fella).
 [we both think it'll be a girl]

In my tenth week, I started showing. While I understand it was probably only noticeable to me, I was so stunned because of how quickly I felt my body was already changing.

The eleventh week came and I started feeling flutters in my stomach. Now, I'm not saying for sure this is necessarily the baby since I've never known what that feels like, but it doesn't seem like it could be anything else. That, or I'm crazy. We also started a little library and record collection for this baby and I'm getting very excited of the possibilities with introducing it to the things we love.

Yesterday was 12 weeks and I feel like I'm well into "the fat stage" of pregnancy. However, I'm trying to enjoy each moment of this little roller coaster, instead of wishing for things to speed up or slow down, and that includes feeling like I'm trying to fit into clothes made for a little girl. I will certainly never take this stage for granted.

I'm now onto my second trimester and I hope it's filled with as much joy, adventure, and love as the first.

 I'll try to keep this updated as best as I can, but these next two months will be a ringer with school.