Getting Pregnant While Breastfeeding + My First Symptoms of Pregnancy

If you’re reading this, then I guess I’m past the first trimester. I wanted to write about my prenatal experience from the beginning this time around so I started writing this after realizing I am 4 weeks pregnant.

Originally written 10/31/17 (updated parts 1/3/18)

I always wanted my children to be 2 years apart. Some people get back their fertility continuing to nurse while others have to completely stop. I was the later, even only nursing once a day for 4 months. We started trying for number 2 in April hoping my lack of a cycle didn’t matter.

When my period still hadn’t returned, I chose to stop nursing July 4th weekend in hopes that I would get back my fertility. Not even 3 weeks after I stopped nursing 100%, my “friend” had arrived. It was the first time since February 2015!

I started tracking my cycle using the apps Flo and Ovia. It was confusing at first with the lack of data I could provide since it has been so long. I remembered my cycle was around 30 or 31 days so I used that to help narrow down my fertile window.

Surprisingly, from the start my cycle was pretty regular. I also am lucky in that I get specific cramps related to ovulation that I can identify.

When I got my period for the third time in September, I booked a trip to Munich, Germany with Nick. We had always decided that if I was pregnant, I wouldn’t go but if I wasn’t, that I would! Hence, the Oktoberfest last minute plan.

Nick goes every year for work. I’ve always had the extended invite but the first year I was running the Chicago Marathon the following weekend, then I was 26 weeks pregnant with Tommy and then I had an infant. This was my year and I wasn’t going to pass it up.

So we went to Munich and I drank enough beer to last me a lifetime…

Once I got back from Germany, I started to get nervous that this time around it was going to be much harder and started to panic. We were blessed to have early success with trying to conceive Tommy but I started to realize that you can’t plan these things.

I kept seeing people announce their Winter and Spring due dates and while it made me feel anxious as I longed to be pregnant, it made me feel even worse that I had friends who were going through these feelings month after month, year after year with no baby. I already had Tommy.

Even though I only felt these emotions for 3-4 months, it has made me more cautious in announcing this pregnancy and chronicling my journey. Trying to conceive is such an emotional roller coaster and I know I am one of the lucky ones. However, if I complain about something, I know many people would gladly take my position here but I want to share my journey as open and candidly as I can. 

A few weeks later, I woke up in a panic. It was the day after I ovulated and I knew I was pregnant. I knew the due date was in July and I just started to stress out because I couldn’t stop envisioning going into labor on Cape Cod and getting stuck in horrendous traffic heading back to Boston. I had the urge to obsessively research Cape Cod Hospitals at 4 in the morning. While it way too early to know if I was actually pregnant, I knew right away that I was going to get a positive test in a few weeks time.

My first sign was a little heart burn. Then a week before I was supposed to get my period, I noticed how difficult my workouts had become. This would have been the same time frame that I ran the Boston Marathon with Tommy and it pains me to look back. I could barely finish a 30 minute spin class let alone run 26.2 miles at a 9 minute mile pace.

I started to get little pains that were not period or ovulation cramps and I started waking up in the middle of the night to pee. I already knew but these confirmed it for me. I just knew. I felt off. I felt tired and almost hungover but not morning sickness, yet at least!

All the pregnancy tests I took either said negative or were so faint I needed a flashlight but nevertheless a very faint line was there. Nick didn’t even see them and thought they were negative. But I knew I was pregnant so I kept taking them.

So here I am, 5 tests later and two days late and I finally got a darker line! I just know and my due date is July 9th, although the doctors say it’s the 6th. (Updated – My new OB/GYN agreed its July 9th! MGH insisted on going from LMP instead of date of Ovulation with Tommy which is why I think he was so late). 

I bought these cheap pregnancy strips from Amazon. I got a pack of like 20 for $8! Here is a link to buy them.

My instinct is that it’s a girl and I think she’s going to come 6-9 days late like her brother so I’m planning to be on the beach in Cape Cod celebrating the 4th of July, likely against my doctor’s recommendations. (<– Paragraph written in October… still planning on this even though I still have nightmares about cape traffic and labor hah)

Here are my before pictures then I’m going to use to compare with my bump progress:

Check out my latest vlog for a first trimester update.

If you have any questions that I didn’t answer here, let me know below in the comments section.

update 1/3/18: I no longer think it’s a girl haha…