We’re Pregnant! First Trimester Recap + Gender Reveal!

Surprise: We’re pregnant! Follow along as I take you on the journey through my first trimester and of course, reveal the gender of our precious little one! 

Oh hey, hi and hello! If you didn’t know and if you don’t follow me on Instagram (which you totally should by the way…) you might have missed a pretty big announcement – I’m PREGNANT! 

We found out at the very beginning of June and I announced it on social media in August. Gosh, those were a hard few months keeping that secret to ourselves! Of course we told our immediate family and a few close friends…but it was hard! 

Journey to Getting Pregnant: 

I just want to preface this section by saying that I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. I’m simply sharing my experience and journey. Every single person’s body and journey is different.

I also want you to acknowledge all of the couples who are currently in the trenches trying to conceive or might be having fertility issues – please know that I’m here for you and I’d love the opportunity to pray for you or talk with you! I appreciate you reading my story. 

Wow – what a wild ride it has been to get here. For reference, Ben and I have been together for 6.5 years and married for 5 years in November. 

We always knew that we wanted a family but we also wanted to travel extensively before we did as well as enjoy time with just the two of us. 5 years was always a goal for us to begin “trying” as they say. 

I have personally struggled with irregular cycles my entire life. Sometimes going months without a period and just feeling incredibly hopeless. I really clung to both the Word and Ben during those times. 

For years I worried if I would ever even get pregnant because every woman told me it would probably be a struggle due to my cycle. For reference, the average woman’s menstrual cycle is 28 days. Mine was about 50 days. So yeah…big difference. 

A couple years ago, I read the book The Period Repair Manual by Dr. Lara Briden. I highly recommend this book! It really helped open my eyes to how I could try and begin to heal my body naturally. 

Randomly, one of the ways was to eat MORE carbs. You guys know my weight loss journey – and although I never deprived myself after I recovered from my eating disorder, I did have a more strict lifestyle. For example, I hardly *ever* ate pasta. 

So, my New Year’s Resolution in 2019 was to eat more carbs. Pretty easy! I also started intensely tracking my cycle using my Flo app as well as started taking daily supplements – I really love My Binto. By the way, when I talk about them on here or on my Instagram, it’s not at all sponsored, I just truly love them and have been using them (and paying for them lol) since October 2019. 

Slowly my cycle got more regular – it was still long, but it was now an average of anywhere from 35-37 days. but then the stress of the pandemic happened! Fun times! So my cycle was still fluctuating. There were times when I would literally be crying out to God – like, literally *crying* asking and begging Him to help me to start my cycle again. 

So, when the pandemic began, I started reading a book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility, which was an awesome book! I learned SO much about the female body and the changes we go through and how they correlate directly to your overall health. Super fascinating. 

I started to track my basal body temperature each morning and record that to try and confirm if I was ovulating during each cycle, no matter how long they might have been, the most important thing to me is that I was ovulating! I also started to take prenatals in December 2020.

Then, at the beginning of 2021, we knew it was the year that we wanted to start trying for a baby. 

Mind you, for the past 3 years (I’m serious – 3 YEARS) I have been praying almost every single day that The Lord would help us to easily conceive a healthy baby. I prayed this prayer because I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to have children. 

And…well, long story short, The Lord blessed us. I don’t want to go into detail about *how long* it took us to conceive because every person differs…but, He truly blessed us. I was shocked when I took the positive test because I had been testing every day for 2 WHOLE WEEKS prior and they were all negative. 

Turns out, due to some stressful things happening in our life, I ovulated late that month. So it was a shock! The happiest kind of shock! 

First Trimester Feels: 

Looking back, the first trimester felt like it flew by. But in the moment, it dragged on like you wouldn’t believe. 

I was very blessed in that I didn’t have a *terrible* first trimester. The worst symptoms for me were: 

• Intense fatigue 
• Nausea 
• Heartburn 
• Cramps (here and there) 
• Anxiety

The fatigue was nothing like I could have ever expected. It’s like you wake up from a 10 hour sleep at night and I felt like my bones were literally like SLUDGE. I felt like I could hardly move them! I would take at least one nap a day. Below you’ll see what most of my days looked like! 

The nausea hit me pretty much every day and I’m not sure why they call it morning sickness when it seems to last all day! These Preggie Pop Drops were a lifesaver! Also, plain club crackers. 

I had never experienced heartburn before but now I’m best friends with Tums. I love anything and everything spicy and acidic so the heartburn was tough for me! 

Of course I had anxiety because you’re just hoping that you can make it through the first trimester. I had to actively remind myself NOT to make getting to the second trimester an idol in my life – but instead focus on trusting in God and take it day by day, walking with Him. 

Since it was early in the Summer, Ben actually got to go to a few doctors appointments with me – we heard and saw the heartbeat together on the ultrasound which was incredibly special. 

Soon after my doctor’s office changed their policies so I can’t have anyone attend appointments with me. Whomp whomp. 

We ended up finding out the gender early through genetic testing….and speaking of gender!

Gender?

Ahhhh….so this is what you’re really here for, right?! Well, I won’t keep you waiting any longer. Drum roll pleaseeeee…..

Benjamin and I are so happy to announce that we are having a baby BOY! 

Ben thought that we were having a boy the entire time and he was right! 

I hope he has Ben’s curly dark hair and blue eyes and oh my word my heart just about bursts thinking about him and how much we love him already! 

Due Date? 

Our due date is February 19, 2022! So who knows, we could have a Valentine’s baby on our hands if he is early! 

How I’m Feeling Now:

When I’m writing this, I’m currently 18 and a half weeks along. We just had our anatomy scan and I’m so thankful to report that we have a very HEALTHY baby boy! We are so grateful! 

It was so amazing to be able to see him so BIG! He was moving around so much in there which was crazy because I still haven’t felt him move yet. 

My bump hasn’t “popped” yet by any means but my doctor said it could at any time! 

My energy levels have increased a LOT – they aren’t back to what they used to be but still, much better. 

For exercise, I’ve been loving going on walks and Ben and I have been really into pickleball lately! It’s such a fun sport that keeps me and our baby boy active. 

Any Weird Cravings? 

The old midwives tale is true when they say that when you are pregnant with a boy you will crave more salty and savory foods. Give me all of the salty things! 

My favorites have been: dill pickles in bulk, jalapeno kettle chips, spicy chicken sandwiches from Chic-Fil-A and all salty french fries. Anything cheesy as well! 

Also – in LOVE with any and every type of cereal. 

How I’m Feeling Now:

Overall…I’m feeling so thankful, grateful and happy that after all these years, this random guy I met on Tinder who turned out to be the love of my life is going to be the father of our children.

Benjamin is so special, kind, caring, and he has truly waited on me hand and foot during this entire pregnancy. I can’t wait to see what he is like as a father! 

In the meantime, I’m working on our registry and we have made a commitment to get the nursery done by Thanksgiving. Do you think we can do it?! I’ll update you in a couple of months! 😉 

In the meantime, we would love your prayers for a continued healthy pregnancy and healthy baby! Thank you for being here for us these past several years. We are excited to bring a new member of the OBB team into the world! 

XO – Haylie