Since I am now solidly into my second trimester I figured I better write about my first trimester before I forgot.
After our initial blood work to confirm the pregnancy at 4 weeks pregnant I had to go get more blood work done again two days later to make sure my levels were going up like they should. All the levels more than doubled so all was good.
At around 6 weeks pregnant I went in to the doctor for my first official prenatal appointment. They did more blood work and an ultrasound. I knew we were having an ultrasound so would be able to see the baby but I wasn't sure if we would be able to hear the heart rate quite this early so I didn't tell my husband that it was a possibility. We heard the heart beat loud and clear and it was the best sound ever. I cried when we heard it and my husband just had the biggest smile on his face. 
During all this time I was still taking 3 pills, 2 suppositories and 1 shot in the lower back a day to help my body keep the pregnancy. At 8 weeks I went to my final appointment with the IVF doctor. I had another ultrasound and more blood work to determine when I would stop my medications. It was determined I would start weening off the medication later that week and would be done with them by a little over 9 weeks pregnant.
I didn't actually take a picture of it but by the end my back was quite a sight with the shots. Between the actual shots, the numbing cream, the alcohol wipes and the massaging the oil once it was in to prevent it from clumping my back was really red, peeling and just plain angry. It took weeks after stopping the shots for my back to heal and even now if you look closely you can see the skin is still slightly discolored.
After my 8 week appointment with my IVF doctor I was cleared to go back to my regular OBGYN at Kaiser. Since Kaiser usually sees pregnant patients at 8 weeks to confirm the pregnancy and run all the first trimester tests I actually saw her the same week as my last IVF appointment. It was A OK with me to see the baby twice in one week! The made me run a bunch of blood tests, a urine test and the ever fun pre-test glucose test. The glucose test wasn't fun but I passed everything with flying colors so I can't complain too much.
At 10 weeks I decided I had enough of a bump to warrant taking weekly pictures and have managed to remember to take them most weeks.
Now let's talk about all those fun first trimester side effects. From about week 6 to about week 10 of the pregnancy I was nauseous pretty much 24 hours a day. I was never actually throwing up but it still wasn't fun. The only things that I could stomach eating were carbs. I pretty much lived on mac and cheese, bean and cheese burritos and various crackers for about a month. I was super sensitive to smells with the smell of curry and spices being the worst.
The IVF medications can have similar side effects to early pregnancy so when I started stopping those around 8 weeks I hoped it would help with the nausea but the nausea didn't really stop being a 24/7 thing until around 10 weeks. Somewhere around 10 weeks I started being nauseous only if I was hungry or smelled something the baby didn't like.
Somewhere around 11 weeks I went back to the doctor for a checkup and everything was still all good with me and the baby. This was my first appointment since I had stopped all the drugs so I was nervous but at this point I was officially just a pregnant woman not an IVF patient anymore which was very exciting and reliving. I was cleared to do whatever physical exercise felt comfortable which I have taken full advantage of. While quite a few people already knew we were pregnant this was when we started telling more than just our family and my work since I was just about done with my first trimester.
While the nausea was no fun it was actually less than it could have been but what took me by surprise a bit in the first trimester was the level of exhaustion. I knew I would be tired but didn't expect quite the level of exhaustion I had. Since eating wasn't really high on my priority list often I would come home from work and immediately get in bed. Slowly by week 12 or 13 I started to notice while I was still tired I didn't need to get in bed at 6 PM.
Random Thoughts:
The only craving I had in the first trimester was one day I really wanted pancakes. My husband and I went out to dinner at IHOP and after that meal I wasn't nauseous for the rest of the day. Lesson learned: listen to baby and all will be fine.
By the end of the first trimester I wasn't able to wear any of the pants I had but could still fit most of my dresses. I am planning to do a full post on what maternity clothes have been my favorite but most of my everyday work clothes are just the dresses already have.
I feel like I got a bump earlier than a lot of people I know but I think that was partially due to being already puffy from all the IVF meds and the fact that I have a very very short torso. There was nowhere for the baby to go except out.
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