Pregnancy #2: Weeks 4-6
So...I’ve been meaning to document this pregnancy here. But, like most pregnant women, I’ve generally elected to sleep instead of write. Whoops!
In an effort to catch up, I’ve rolled up the entire first trimester + 2 weeks into a post!
Week 4: I found out I was pregnant on Monday, September 25th, the day after Grace’s birthday! We went to brunch with friends on the 24th, and I took a two hour nap when we got home. That NEVER happens! So I suspected that night that I was pregnant, but didn’t have any tests at home. We went to Grace’s 1-year Well Baby, and afterward I dropped her with the babysitter and swung by the Post Exchnage (picture: the military base’s Wal Mart). I bought a test and went to the public bathroom to take it.
Sure enough — two pink lines! And not the super faint line I remember from my first test with Grace. A SOLID positive!
I didn’t tell anyone all day. I was so excited, but wanted to tell Casey in person. I contemplated dropping into his office, but he had a really packed schedule. Instead, I got a box of Krispy Kreme donuts on the ride home and left them for him on the counter.
He was SO EXCITED!
I still couldn’t believe how dark the line was. By my estimate, I was about 3 weeks, 4 days pregnant with a due date of June 6th. At our 12-week appointment, my midwife did a scan and moved my due date to May 31st — so really, I was past 4 weeks at this point.
Week 5: I was pretty fortunate to find out I was pregnant during my taper for the Army 10 Miler. I could still run fast, but having lower mileage made me feel a little more comfortable. It can be so nerve wracking running hard in early pregnancy, when the risk for miscarriage is still high. However, I had been running hard for the last two month, including peaking the intensity the week I got pregnant.
At this point, I didn’t really see any changes. I was starting to get tired more quickly, which could have also been from cutting back caffeine.
Week 6: Army 10-Miler week. We drove to DC the day I hit 6 weeks pregnant and thank goodness for Casey. I was SO EXHAUSTED and not at all helpful on the 10-hour overnight drive.
I knew the weather would be working against me — the forecast predicted temps in the high 70’s and full humidity for race day. I spent Friday and Saturday relaxing, and focusing on nutrition and hydration. Sleep was starting to get terrible, and unfortunately our AirBnB had a pretty crappy bed and bad air conditioning. I did spend the night before the race in the team hotel, which gave me a much better sleep.
On race day, the weather was just as predicted. At 6:30am, it was almost 80° with high humidity. My goal time for this race was 1:09. In ideal, not pregnant conditions, it was probably attainable. But with the heat and the baby on board, I knew it wasn’t worth pushing myself overboard.
Four miles in, my body said no. I was maintaining a 7:00 pace at that point, but I couldn’t hold it. I started slowing down, and walking through water stops. Toward the end, I walked some hills, too. I finished in 1:22. Not my goal. But it was okay, because I kept baby boy healthy.
After the race, we saw my entire family at my sister in law’s baby shower in Maryland. I had a good excuse not to drink (rehydrating post race) so no one suspected anything when I turned down the mimosas! Despite having half our family there in person, we decided not to share our news yet. It was my SIL’s day, and Casey and I didn’t want to detract from her celebration. So this baby continued to be our little secret as we drove home to Tennessee the next morning!
Stay tuned for weeks 7-16 as I slowly get my act together!