As you can see from the lack of pictures, I was not feeling myself throughout the entirety of the first trimester. These were probably the only three days in 3 months that I put on make-up…not an exaggeration I promise. (Countdown Calendar from BATZkids Milestone Blankets.)

6 Weeks: We had our first ultrasound on Sept. 17th at our fertility clinic in San Antonio. We couldn’t really see much, but we did hear a heartbeat which is probably the most reassuring sound I’ve heard in my life. This was out last appointment at the clinic and we are officially graduated! The nausea has become constant although thankfully no vomiting yet. I am also beyond tired and it takes every ounce of energy to just function at work. I have begun taking a nap during lunch and a nap before rehearsals and I am still in bed by 8:00p.m.

At this point we decided to tell our family, because we were so excited but also because it was getting harder to hide the nausea and blame it on the injections. We found a special way to tell each of them (most of which came from Etsy). 

• Diana (Krystal’s Mom) always the cowboy fan we  used cool beer labels. 
• For the wine lovers in my family (Kim & Mom we used these wine bottle labels.
• For both of our Dads we got these rocks glasses with their respective names and dates.
• Krystal’s sisters each got a shirt that said “Tia Vibes” and Geneva got a shirt that said “Gigi Vibes” all of which were made by Krytal’s cousin who did fantastic work!
• I told Tyson with a fun t-shirt and Korey with this one. CJ our little fisherman got a keychain.  
• The Sampsons we told with these lottery tickets. (let me tell you Mama Sampson did not see that coming.)

9 weeks: At 9 weeks were were able to go to our OBGYN in Corpus and have another ultrasound. Its amazing how much the baby grows in just a few short weeks. I heard on a TED talk the other day that if the baby grew at this rate the whole pregnancy it would weigh one ton. Yikes! It looked like a  gummy bear. At this point I am still on my daily progesterone injections and the lumps and bruises have only gotten worse. I only have 6 more days left and most of them fall where I have to give them to myself. URGG! Needless to say I am so ready to be done shooting up in public restrooms or being not being able to walk afterwards because my ass hurts too much to move. In addition, to the injections I am in full fledged morning sickness mode. All I want is the blandest food possible; I think I am surviving on saltines, apples, and popcorn (the only things I haven’t thrown up yet). 

Around this time we decided to tell my students because it was getting harder to explain away the naps, frequent bathroom breaks to throw-up, and respirator I wore while painting. Our fall show was “Odd Couple” (female version) and towards the end there an, “I’m pregnant!” line. Salena and I thought we would change it to “O’Brien’s pregnant” and see how the kids responded. (Just another teaching moment to ‘active listening’ while acting on stage.) It took a minute to sink in but their reactions were pretty priceless. I wish I could post the video here. 

12 weeks:  We had our third ultrasound and doctors visit today. At this visit they measured the nuchal thickness of the fetus along with my blood work for risk of down syndrome, trisomy 18 & 13, and other chromosomal abnormalities. All (THANKFULLY) came back within normal ranges. My doctor found that I had also lost two pounds since my last visit and put me one two medications to help with the morning sickness. Let me just tell you those are miracle drugs. I feel like a new person!

To sum up the first trimester was rough, from not eating, exhaustion and morning sickness I had energy for absolutely nothing and for those who know my personality can get why this part I really struggle with. But I hear that after the first trimester energy starts to come back as well as an appetite, so fingers crossed!

First Trimester Must Haves: Peppermint candies, Naps, Burts Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter (gotta start early to prevent those stretch marks, Airplane vomit bags (stolen out of each seat on my travels), Sprite, and  Sea-Bands,

First Trimester Reading: A very quick read. I recommend reading later in the trimester, simply because it was more relate-able for me at that point. After each chapter, I wanted to say, “Preach!” while also laughing out loud.

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