10 weeks

A pregnancy test.  When you think about it, it is just a really expensive piece of soggy paper... simply a urine-soaked combination of antibodies, indicator, and glycoproteins.  But, those two little lines.  When you see them appear before your eyes, you realize that thin strip means so much more than that.

It is the first moment in your life that you go from thinking of yourself, not just as one person, but two.  You realize that your life will change in many ways in the coming months.  A small piece of reality sets in… in just 2 minutes, you realize you are going to be a mom.

The morning that I saw that positive result, I remember just sitting in the bathroom and staring at those two lines.  Starting a week before, I had had an inkling that I might be pregnant.  I had been feeling more tired than usual and terribly bloated.  I had even seen a (maybe) slightly positive result 2 days before that test (which Tony and I still go back and forth on)  

But, nothing really had prepared me for that moment.  I couldn’t stop those happy tears from coming as I saw those double lines appear.  I tiptoed into the bedroom, pregnancy test in hand,  and whispered to my sleeping husband, “You are going to be a Daddy.”  I have never seen him jump out of bed so quickly, as he also confirmed, "Yup, looks like a positive to me!"

Baby Bump

Over the last several weeks, it has felt like living in another person’s body.  I have been roughly the same size since high school, so it has been strange watching even the subtle aspects of my body change.  My flat belly now is starting to round out just a bit.  Not too many people really notice that I am pregnant yet.  I am sure it will be an even bigger change in the next 10 weeks!

“Morning Sickness”

The “morning sickness” was not something I had fully anticipated, as it has been more of an all-day affair since the beginning.  The nausea is unlike anything I had before pregnancy… not the kind where you vomit and feel better!  It has been a constant, queezy, sick-to-my stomach feeling that persists from sunrise to sunset!  Thankfully, I only had one episode of vomiting during these first few weeks.  Now the symptoms are starting to scale off a bit!  

Food

Ladies always talk about the cravings.  But, I have noticed more of the food aversions!  Foods I used to enjoy, including steaks, salads, grilled chicken breasts, calzones, and creamy sauces, now make my stomach turn!  A few of my “cravings,” or rather foods that don’t seem to make me want to hurl, include salt and vinegar chips, ice cream, and Lunchables Pizzas (yes, all healthy options, I know).

Change

The best way to really sum up the first 10 weeks is… change.  Those first few weeks, you start to feel the transformation from a woman into a mom.  You sacrifice foods, your body, and comfort for the little life growing inside of you.  And, you remember those first moments… the positive result on the pregnancy test, the first time you see the baby on ultrasound, and that first time you really notice that little baby bump.