The fun and games are OVER people. Pregnancy symptoms including nausea and food aversions are in full force. Admittedly, I’m not nauseous all day long, but when it comes, it is intense. It’s a mix of cramping and just feeling yucky. I still find myself checking to make sure I’m not bleeding every time I go to the bathroom. I’m hoping once this trimester is done, I can relax a little more. Right now, trying to eat vegetables is very difficult. I’ve had several times I’ve tried to take a bite of a salad and started gagging. I really believe that what you put in your body, especially early in pregnancy is SUPER important, so I can’t understand why my body doesn’t want to eat anything nutritious!! And to make matters worse, I am hungry all the time and I’m able to eat a ton, just not the right type of food. Before I got pregnant with Lily I was eating exceptionally well, including 6-8 cups of greens PER DAY, now I’m lucky if I can get 1 or 2 down. I decided after a really bad week of eating, if I can’t stomach veggies one day, I will put some in a smoothie or eat more fruit or whole foods that I can stomach. All I want is plain spaghetti with marinara! I’m actually a little nervous to check my weight because I feel like I’ve already gained a ton in these last 4 weeks from not wanting healthy food but continuing to eat a ton. The last 3 days I started noticing my jeans getting tight. I can still get them on, but I’m wanting to unbutton them when I sit down. I can’t believe this is starting this early! I don’t notice a bump yet but I do feel my lower tummy being a little harder/ more swollen than usual.
In other news, we headed out of town away from Lily for the first time this weekend! We went to Napa while my parents watched her at our home in California. It was difficult leaving and I was terrified about what would happen to my milk supply if I left. I’ve been told you shouldn’t pump while you’re pregnant, but my IBCLC said I could as long as I’m sticking to the same schedule Lily usually nurses on & that I pump for no more than 15 minutes. She said if I feel any cramping to stop immediately, but I seemed to be fine. Pumping wasn’t great, I could get a let-down in the morning, but none for the afternoon or evening feed. We kept the milk in the hotel fridge and packed it in a Yeti cooler on the drive back to our house.
Image By Molly Lou Photo
When I got home my milk supply seemed okay but the second day I couldn’t get a letdown at night. I was feeling SUPER nauseous, so having Lily nurse for 20 minutes without a letdown was awful. Plus, lately, it feels like her mouth has broken glass in it every time she latches on. I thought it was because I had a plugged duct, but then I read that hormonal changes in pregnancy can make your nipples really sensitive and painful. I can’t believe how bad they hurt. She’s a distracted nurser so she can latch on and off 20 times in a feeding. SO painful.
I’m planning on taking my “monthly” pregnancy progress photo this week before my bump really starts to emerge. I have a feeling in 2 more weeks, something will definitely be there!
Did any of you mommies nurse while you were pregnant? Did you have a crazy amount of pain, too?