Ashly Brady

Long time no see, everyone!

I hope you all are living your best life. The last time I checked in was seven months ago, talking about preparing for our sweet and simple civil wedding, which was perfect, might I add. We had a surprise guest join us at our wedding—our little boy, whose arrival is happening in just 14 short weeks. We found out we were pregnant the day before our wedding, and it was such a sweet moment that made our wedding day even more special.

The beginning of the pregnancy felt like it was moving astronomically slowly, but now it feels like the days are just flying by, and he’ll be here before we know it. Speaking of the beginning of my pregnancy, the first trimester was way different than I expected. I didn’t really experience symptoms until about 12 weeks in, and they only lasted for about a month. The biggest symptom for me during that time was fatigue. You know the tiredness you feel when you’re recovering from being sick? That’s the easiest way to describe it. At times, certain food smells gave me the ick for a bit, and my body refused to accept Taco Bell. Aside from those few symptoms, I feel like I was really fortunate not to experience anything super intense.

I also didn’t expect to feel such anxiety during the first trimester, especially around appointment times. I think the first few appointments were nerve-wracking because you’re just hoping your body is doing what it’s supposed to in creating this new life. There’s not a ton of reassurance during this time since you only have 1-3 appointments that happen once a month. You don’t feel your baby move at this point, so aside from the appointments, you just have to trust your body to do its thing.

As I moved into the second trimester and got closer to the halfway mark, my anxiety eased up tremendously. My symptoms have been minimal. The tiredness is still around, but it reminds me of being tired when I was a student-athlete—much more manageable. The second trimester is when you get to experience movement, and I started feeling him around 18 weeks. Those first few movements make you unsure if that’s really what you’re feeling, but eventually, you realize it’s your baby moving around, and it’s such a surreal experience.

Around 20 weeks, we had our anatomy scan, and I loved seeing how much he’d developed and getting a glimpse of his side profile. He’s got the cutest shaped head and nose. He moved a lot during the scan, and being able to see and feel him move was another surreal experience. I was definitely on a high that week following the scan. I keep wondering what he looks like, and I can’t wait until I can actually see him and find out if he’s as cute as I think he will be.

Since then, my belly has really started to grow, and my body is starting to feel some discomfort. We are also slowly (very slowly) working on getting things ready for his arrival in the next few months. For us, that means finishing the nursery, getting our stroller and car seat, having the baby shower, and purchasing any last-minute items we might need before he’s here. Some other important things we still need to figure out are insurance for the baby, finding a pediatrician, scheduling a hospital tour of the birth center, starting our leave applications, and—probably the most overdue—I really should change my last name (bets on whether this will happen before I go into labor).

I’m starting to feel the need to nest and get our house ready, but there’s also a part of me that’s not quite ready yet because the holidays are approaching, and I want to soak them in one last time, just the two of us, before our family grows. So, for the next few months, you’ll catch me knee-deep in the holiday spirit while also doing little house projects here and there.

I’ll keep you updated as we finally start checking things off our to-do list and as I head into the third trimester soon. Stay tuned! I hope to write more often and eventually share my experience as a new mom, since motherhood is such a unique journey for all of us.

Until next time!