All the Pregnancy Details You Wanted to Know (and maybe some you didn’t)

Thank you so much for all of the congratulations in our baby announcement. It is an exciting time for us, and we are appreciative of all of those who are celebrating with us during this time.

I’ve compiled a list of most commonly asked questions because I’m sure people like to know the details (I know I always do!), so here’s some details on my pregnancy thus far. And if you have any other questions, be sure to leave a comment.

This picture has nothing to do with my pregnancy, but I needed a picture to fill the space, and I really liked this picture Craig took of me in Hawaii. (Oh, by the way, I did not get pregnant while we were in Hawaii; I was already 2 months along. Although, the story is that Craig was conceived in Hawaii.)

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Was it planned?

Yes, this was no mistake—we were “trying” to get pregnant.

Were you trying?

This is always tricky for me to answer because “trying” has multiple meanings these days. We were “trying” but I was not “tracking.” I went off my birth control, but I did not count days, take my temp, or anything of that nature. I was going to let God decide when it would be best for me to get pregnant.

How long did it take for you to get pregnant?

About one month. We attribute it to Craig being the god of fertility (or so he says), my body knowing I have always wanted to be a mom, and the fertility-enhancing smoothies we made from our Smoothie Bible. I had never lost my period even when running high mileage (90-100 miles), so I had this inkling it wouldn’t take long.

How did you found out?

Well, you could pretty much say Craig called it and knew before me. The weekend went by without me getting my period and we bother kind of knew. I waited a few more days to pass and then took an at-home pregnancy test. The blue positive line showed up instantly, which confirmed what we thought. For several years, in the back of my head, I had been trying to come up with a fun way to tell Craig when that day did come, but I guess it was good I didn’t have my heart set on anything because I wouldn’t have been able to do it anyhow. Oh well, maybe for baby #2.

How far along are you?

14.43 weeks

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I felt like I had to wear a blue shirt this time so it didn’t appear I was playing favorites.

When are you due?

October 23, 2014 – Craig said I should hold out for another 11 days until his birthday. I said, “no way jose!”

How have you been feeling?

I know I need to count my blessings that I escaped the first trimester with very minimal side effects. There were three weeks where I had no appetite what-so-ever, and I had to force myself to eat. I did not enjoy that one bit. Nothing in particular made me nauseous, but the thought of food was not appealing at all. I also had a mild stomach ache for most of this time as well, which wasn’t fun. There was a period of about 5 days where I was extremely exhausted and fatigued. I didn’t necessarily feel sleepy-tired but rather that I had been running high mileage and doing a lot of hard workouts. Other than that, my energy levels have been good. I do tend to sleep a solid 9 hours each night.

Are you still running?

You bet I am! And I am going to continue to run as long as I can. I am going to be writing more about running during my pregnancy because I did not find a lot of good blog posts out there. (Or maybe I didn’t look hard enough.) Either way I will go into more detail about the first trimester in future posts, but in general the 1st trimester was a doozy to run through. I did not feel like running at all and had a really hard time getting myself out the door. I usually still ran 4-6 days per week but felt sluggish and awful most days. Even when I got done, I did not get my normal runner’s high but instead would think, “gosh, I’m not even sure it was worth all that effort.” It was a weird feeling and one that can be hard to describe; it was unlike any other feeling I’ve experienced. Thankfully, the second trimester has been going MUCH better.

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How much weight have you gained?

Only about 3 pounds. I know it takes a while for you to start showing in your first pregnancy, and I am definitely okay with this.

 Any food aversions?

I didn’t feel nauseous thinking/seeing anything during the first trimester. Food in general had no appeal but nothing made me nauseous. There were certain things I did crave—things that I never crave: burgers, pizza, and meat in general.

However, there are a few items that I ate during the first trimester that I would not be able to eat now: Pirates Booty, Cape Cod kettle chips, saltines, and my Homemade Granola. These things make me nauseous thinking about them. For a while I also had no desire to eat peanut butter and drink almond milk; I still don’t necessarily crave them like I used to.

Pirate's Booty, Aged White Cheddar (4oz)

 

Any food cravings?

I don’t feel like I’ve had really intense food cravings that cause me to wake Craig up in the middle of the night and demand he goes to Golden Donuts to buy me a donut in the middle of the night. I would say I am more picky about what I want to eat when it comes to meal times though; there are less things that sound appeal. I do find myself craving more dairy products: milk and yogurt in particular; carbs; salty foods; and protein. In Hawaii I really wanted a burger. (I can’t tell you the last time I had that happen to me.) I also have found myself eating less vegetables and more unhealthy sweets such as pastries, ice cream, and chocolate. I am trying to allow myself to eat these things in moderation and not use the excuse that I’m eating for two.

Are you going to find out if it is a boy or girl?

Nope. We are going to wait until the baby is born. Craig and I really didn’t even discuss this; we pretty much both knew we wanted to wait. Craig will be doing a “split-the-pot” if you would like to bet on the gender and the date he/she will be born. Half of the money will go to the winner and the other half will go into the child’s college fund. We already have a girl’s and boy’s name picked out though. (We had the names picked out before I got pregnant.)

Tiny little hits in previous blog posts.

The fact I was craving savory breakfasts—that rarely happens.

I got heat exhaustion in Maui. Seriously, do you think I (the queen of always being cold) would get heat exhaustion on any other day? Sure I did run 8 miles mid-morning, but I ran just as much the last time we went to Maui and was completely fine. I know the pregnancy put me over the edge.

My running was nearly non-existent in March: low mileage, slow times, and NO motivation. I didn’t even mention the fact I only ran 8 miles for a “long” run on this particular Saturday.

Hi, I'm Michelle

I love running around the lakes of Minnesota, running after my two boys, and racing anything from the 5K to the marathon. I have been blogging here since 2010 when I ran my first marathon. I finally secured my sub-3 hour marathon after trying for 8 years.

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20 Comments

  1. 4.27.14
    Teena said:

    Congratulations!

  2. 4.27.14
    Heather said:

    Congratulations!!
    I thought of you when my friend announced that she was running the Boston Marathon at 27 weeks pregnant (she did it in 3:28) Even though I don’t know you, I thought, “That would be Michelle”. No, don’t stop running, everything will be fine, the baby will be super healthy too. Childbirth is stressful on infants, causing their heart rates to climb but a healthy baby will have a heart rate that is lower than an unhealthy baby. So, working out is like a workout for baby too, getting them ready for the big day!
    I stopped running early in my pregnancy partly because I felt like I couldn’t breathe any more (we were living at 7800 ft above sea level) so I just hiked a lot. I was sad to give up mountain biking because I was afraid I was going to have a wreck but I did go snowboarding once where I couldn’t buckle my bindings, I made my husband do it. That scared me mostly because of everyone else skiing too close to me. So, I was hiking and snowshoeing from September to April. It wasn’t bad, I just missed my other sports.
    Cravings for me were only for the San Pelligrino lemon soda and oranges.
    It took us so long to figure out I was pregnant, my doctor finally figured I was 11 weeks before we truly knew for sure.
    I never felt terrible, I was a little tired in the first trimester but I didn’t know why. I thought I was just lazy or something, more vitamins perhaps? I was glad that I was working part time due to a downturn in business at my old employer’s. I was able to sleep in every day through autumn until my winter job started which was 3-11 pm so I still got to sleep in!
    I remember that my husband and I did this hike to a 12,000 ft peak that we had done before (many times, we got engaged up there). I was going so slow, stopping a bunch, feeling weak and ill. I was probably at 8-9 weeks. I thought I just sucked at life that day. I had no idea I was pregnant!
    We found out we were having a girl, because we wanted to know. We kept the name a secret and I’m glad we did. A friend of mine told people her child’s name and she received a lot of criticism and comments she didn’t like, especially from family.
    I’m loving having a girl, she is three now and she’s my little snuggle bug! I also spend a month at home alone with her while my husband is at work so I enjoy girly stuff with her. I think that dynamic would be different with a boy.
    Oh, my delivery date was 11 days after my due date. I had my labor induced but I never had any pain medication. They say that endurance athletes are better able to handle the pain of childbirth.
    I should mention that I was 40 when I had my daughter, it’s a miracle for us because I never thought I would have children. She’s the only one, no more.
    Lastly, get a quality baby jogger, it makes all the difference!
    Enjoy your healthy pregnancy!

    • 4.28.14
      Michelle said:

      Thanks for the detailed comment. I am really hoping that the fact I am an endurance athlete will make labor go more smoothly. I’ve heard that when you share the name of the baby before it is born, it can have negative side effects. I think I’m just traditional and want to wait to share both the name and gender until the big day happens. Wow! I didn’t think they would even wait 11 days past your due date to induce; I thought they’d do it sooner. I guess only time will tell then.

  3. 4.28.14
    2 Cups 'N Run said:

    Even though I’m most likely done with being pregnant, I’d love to read how running goes for you. I ran for a bit during my first pregnancy, and then switched to walking. I didn’t work out at all during my second pregnancy but that’s another story…

    • 4.28.14
      Michelle said:

      Prior to getting pregnant (and really paying attention to pregnancy details), I never knew that each pregnancy could be so different for the same person.

  4. 4.28.14
    Janis said:

    Congratulations!!! From reading previous posts, it could only be a matter of time as you always said you wanted to be a stay at home mom. I also craved burgers and meat when I was pregnant with my twin boys, but I also ended up having iron deficiency anemia. I stopped running when I was pregnant, because I felt out of breath all the time. Sadly enough, they are 2 and with working full time, I have still have difficulties being consistent with my runs. Enjoy your pregnancy and don’t forget to take another baby-moon!

    • 4.28.14
      Michelle said:

      I would love to take a babymoon, but I’m not sure it will happen. :/ Our summer is already filling up with other things!

  5. 4.28.14
    Jen said:

    Congrats!!! I look forward to reading more about your running and pregnancy together. It’s one of the things I’m most concerned about when the time comes for me. Wishing you an easy pregnancy and best of luck! Keep us posted!

    • 4.28.14
      Michelle said:

      It was also a concern of mine before getting pregnant–and still is as a lot could change!

  6. 4.28.14
    Amy said:

    Congratulations on getting pregnant and I appreciated your answers and details here. I’m single and haven’t had a child, but I always enjoy hearing the stories of Mother’s to Be (and current mother’s). By the way, I’ve heard it’s really normal and good to crave and eat higher fat foods b/c the develpment of the baby really needs that (brain development). So, I know you are super athletic, but I hope you won’t be afraid to allow yourself them. Your cravings are “signals” to you.
    Oh! And…finally…I was born on Oct 25th, so if you could “hold out” 2 days, then your baby would share my B-Day! Ha ha!
    ~Amy 🙂

    • 4.28.14
      Michelle said:

      I always enjoyed reading stories of moms and moms-to-be before I was pregnant as well. I have definitely allowed myself more unhealthy fats (ice cream, cookies, scones, etc.) than usual. I just don’t want to go overboard either.

  7. 4.28.14
    Sarah said:

    i look forward to reading more about running while pregnant too!

  8. 4.28.14
    Kelly G said:

    Great details Michelle!! I know you’ll keep yourself active because you are determined! I gave up too quickly and allowed myself to just say I was too tired. I hope everything is uneventful and can’t wait for the day we get to meet the little lady or mister!

  9. 4.28.14
    dawn @ running the dawn said:

    yay! i’m still super excited for you 🙂 can’t wait to see how things go. at 14 weeks i had already gained 10 pounds and was SUPER showing. but then…i ended up having a 10 pound baby so there’s that…

  10. 4.28.14

    Congratulations! A little Runner’s Plate! How awesome.

    I was an athlete when I had my son, years and years ago, and had a home birth and loved (loved!) my labor. It was the biggest spiritual experience of my life. I absolutely loved how I lost awareness (and lost my ego) and became one with my body, much as I do while running. It was quite the high.

    Also, check this out if you have the inclination. “Runner’s World Guide to Running and Pregnancy.” It’s written by our very own Eagle River runner Chris Lundgren. I just interviewed her for another book she’s written and she is lovely and wonderful. The book is available on Amazon, if you’re interested.

    Cheers and congrats again,

    P.S. Eat ice cream and diary! Live it up!

    P.S.S. I guess your “clone” will have to have a baby now too, lol.

    • 4.29.14
      Michelle said:

      Thanks for the book recommendation. I do need to start doing some reading!

      Oh, I’ve already been eating the ice cream for sure. As much as I would love for my kids to have cousins close in age, my sister can wait a few years until she is married. But hopefully one day!

  11. 4.29.14
    Taner said:

    What an article… Simpy great and very useful too! My wife showed me this post.

    I want to share one more detail with all of you. I read a post where it says that chocolate helps give birth to a happy child! 🙂 I read it, and was very interesting, that’s why I would recommend you to read too… here is the link: http://www.kidsarelovely.com/chocolate-and-pregnancy-how-chocolate-helps-give-birth-to-a-happy-child/

    Enjoy!