This is going to be long I am sure because real life episodes always are. They’re a reflection of sorts for me, and I am long winded. So, bare with me on this pregnancy episode.

In full transparency, this comes out a month after my due date but was batched recorded at least one month before my due date, so we’re really getting through week 35 in this episode. I am spilling the whole pot of unfiltered tea on my experience through each phase.

If you missed episodes 162 and 163 those were part 1 and 2 of pregnancy real talk from the physical, spiritual and business/logistic standpoint - we covered things like expectations, my personal beliefs and experiences, as well as insurance and us not having it, so on and so forth. Check those out if you need to.

This is like a cliff notes episode of my pregnancy for those who want to know. I have been fascinated by the process so far and how it has advanced and evolved. The feelings in each trimester and how each kind of had it’s own theme.

That’s the take for today’s little recap.

Weeks 1-14 are technically the first trimester. And I felt like trash, I was in survival mode, never puked besides having the stomach bug one day, but was nauseous, fatigued but actually tired (I didn’t take a single nap because I couldn’t), lifted maybe 1 time a week from weeks 7-14 or 16, ate exclusively mochas, bean and cheese burritos, grapes, sour patch kids, and bagels and cream cheese, was never satisfied by any of it and felt like food was constantly stuck in my esophagus. I did this thing where I took or felt the need to take really deep breaths or long, drawn out exhales. It annoyed Nate and I both. It was like a reflex. I don’t know. My GI tract was just all off, constipation, diarrhea, anything but normal was pretty much game. The brain fog was so real, I felt like forming sentences was hard at times, and I poured creamer in my water more than once - I never thought pregnancy brain was real until on more than one occasion something like that happened. I had days were my watch let me know I had 3% of my daily movement, I watched 7 seasons of MTV the challenge, was a complete and utter waste, and planned NOTHING for my maternity leave, the baby registry, my birthing plan etc. It was 14 weeks I really felt you just never get back haha. Your body is building a new organ (the placenta) and it just generally sucks. Oh and on a physical note, I was not a fan of the physical changes happening in pregnancy. I was amazed by my body, yes, but def did not like the changes. I am fully open about that. It can be both.

With that, I consider my first trimester pretty mild. Not puking was really lovely. If everything I listed was the worst that was going to happen, I could take it.

Then, we entered the second trimester. Which in my opinion should really start at week 16. Because that’s when I and many women I spoke to actually started to feel different than the first trimester.

Slowly my brain started working, eggs sounded good, I didn’t feel like everything was going to come back up, I pooped normally, and I had a desire to workout and move my body. I could see the light.

I wouldn’t call it bliss - bliss for me is not being pregnant. But yes, in comparison to the first trimester, the second was starting off significantly better. Those three things were the biggest joys for me - wanting to lift again, enjoying and desiring food, and feeling like I wanted to work/gain some clarity and direction in that area. These were huge.

That’s when I started lifting pretty regularly again and quickly realized I needed to buy a pregnancy specific program. So I did.