The first trimester of pregnancy is a crazy time, or at least it was for me. When we found out we were expecting, Jimmy and I felt so incredibly humbled and blessed that God chose us as parents for this child. It’s just wild to think about.

For about two weeks after finding out we were expecting, I felt fairly normal… and then I didn’t. When people say that pregnancy is intense, they aren’t lying!

The nausea and food aversions have been so strong, and (I still have some aversions and waves of nausea now in my second trimester) I think I subsisted off of toast with jam, baked potatoes, and oatmeal for a few weeks. The smell of Jimmy’s body wash, coffee, chewing gum, meat, and pretty much anything with a smell would make my stomach churn.

The tiredness knocked me off of my feet, too. Napping for an hour or more was almost mandatory to get through the day, and pet sitting wore me out like never before.

And the emotions. Poor Jimmy. He came home from work quite a few times to me crying or upset because “Malcolm was mean to me today” and “Mavis just wouldn’t listen” and “Lola walked too loudly on the floor” (<– what does that even mean?! I don’t know).

But among all the crazy symptoms and fears (Is there really a baby in there? Will it be okay? Will we be good parents?), there is so much gratitude and joy. I don’t know if it has fully sunk in for Jimmy and I that our child is growing inside me, but we are cherishing every single moment with him or her and thanking God for this life.

Seeing the baby kick and punch during an ultrasound around 12 weeks was simply amazing, and hearing the baby’s heartbeat for the first time was truly one of the sweetest sounds I’ve ever heard.

We had so much fun telling our families and friends the big news, and even managed to catch some of their reactions on film. I put together a video that still makes me smile from ear-to-ear and tear up at the same time.

The video kind of needs some explaining, though. I gave my mom a box with a bib with monkeys on it that said “I love hanging with Grandma” and a positive pregnancy test underneath. Later on, my dad came over we had him open the box.

We told my sister  and brother-in-law by giving Hannah a necklace that said “Aunt” and told my brother and sister-in-law by asking them to look at an investment property we were considering (they’re real estate agents), but instead the papers said “You’re going to be an Aunt and Uncle in September!”

I think that’s everything I wanted to mention for the first trimester. Basically, it was hard at times, but the best hard thing ever and such a huge blessing.