RO: Sincera sa fiu, cu greu m-am adunat sa scriu acest articol despre primul trimestru 🙂 Si asta pentru ca am fost complet lipsita de vlaga in toata aceasta perioada. Am fost obosita, m-am simtit rau, nu am avut energie sa fac absolut nimic, nu am avut inspiratie si nici chef de… nimic. Nu a fost o sarcina atipica pana acum, ba dimpotriva, a fost fix o sarcina clasica (cu greturi, oboseala, foame) insa venind pe fondul unei perioade in care am fost extrem de obosita, nedormind foarte bine noaptea iar ziua find destul de solicitata de Alexei, nu am apucat sa ma odihnesc deloc asa cum am facut-o in sarcina cu Alexei. Nu mi-am permis niciodata in tot acest prim trimestru “luxul” de a ma culca la ora 7 seara si de a dormi pana a doua zi (cum faceam deseori la Alexei), nu am putut sa pic din picioare si sa atipesc la pranz (cum mi se intampla la Alexei :D) si nu am avut timp sa constientizez foarte mult ce se intampla (in vreme ce la Alexei despicam orice informatie in 7 si ma documentam excesiv despre absolut orice avea legatura cu sarcina). In aceasta a doua sarcina, la aproape 13 saptamani inca nu aveam instalata nicio aplicatie de urmarit sarcina si inca nu stiam care imi este due date-ul. La Alexei in schimb monitorizam obsesiv aplicatia, primul lucru pe care il faceam dimineata era sa citesc ce se intampla cu bebelusul, ce dimensiune are (ca e mar, para, avocado etc), ce se dezvolta la acea varsta, imi monitorizam greutatea (si turbam de suparare la fiecare urcare pe cantar) si imi analizam disperata burta.

EN: To be honest, it was quite hard for me to start writing this article 🙂 And that’s because I had absolutely no energy during this whole period of time. I’ve been tired, I didn’t feel well, I was not able to do anything, I had no inspiration and I wasn’t in the mood for doing… anything. It wasn’t an atypical pregnancy so far, actually on the contrary, it was a classical one (with nausea, tiredness, hunger) but because it came after a couple of months of being extremely tired, not sleeping very well during the night and having a demanding schedule with Alexei, I couldn’t properly relax as I did it in my previous pregnancy. I have never had the “luxury” of going to sleep at 7PM and wake up the next day (as I often did with Alexei), I could not have a nap at noon (as I often did with Alexei :D) and I wasn’t quite aware of what was going on (while in my previous pregnancy I was over documenting about absolutely anything related to my pregnancy). In this second pregnancy, at almost 13 weeks I still had no pregnancy tracing app and I still didn’t know my due date. When I was pregnant with Alexei I was obsessively monitoring the app, the first thing that I was doing in the morning was to read what was happening with the baby, what dimensions should he have (the size of an apple, pear, avocado etc), what was developing at that age, I was constantly monitoring my weight (I was always angry whenever I was using the scale) and I was desperately analyzing my belly.

RO: A doua sarcina este intr-adevar mult mai relaxata, oricat de cliseic suna. Nu ma mai preocupa atat de mult stadiul de dezvoltare al bebelusului, cata vreme stiu ca este in regula, nu simt nevoia sa ma documentez excesiv, sa citesc despre dezvoltarea fatului, despre probleme care pot sa apara, despre lucruri la care sa fiu atenta. De altfel… singurele momente in care imi aminteam ca sunt insarcinata erau momentele in care ma uitam in oglinda (vazand burtica crescand, muuuult mai rapid si mai evident decat la Alexei) si atunci cand mergeam la controale. Cred ca relaxarea vine in primul rand din faptul ca nu mai este totul complet nou si necunoscut. Stiu ce teste trebuie sa fac, stiu ce trebuie sa urmarim la controale, stiu unde sa merg, ce analize sa fac, cunosc clinica foarte bine, stiu discutiile pe care trebuie sa le port cu medicul care imi urmareste sarcina. Toate sunt familiare. Si chiar daca apar si necunoscute, sunt mult mai usor de gestionat decat au fost la prima sarcina, cand toate erau coplesitoare si nu reuseam sa le fac fata.

EN: Second pregnancy is indeed more relaxed, no matter how cliché does it sound. I am not so concerned about the baby’s stage of development anymore, as long as I know he is alright, I don’t feel the need to over document, to read about his development, about the problems that might occur, about things that I should be careful with. Actually… the only moments when I was remembering that I am pregnant where the ones when I was looking in the mirror (seeing my belly growing, so much faster than in my first pregnancy) and when I was going to the doctor for regular check ups. I think this relaxation comes from the fact that everything is completely new and unknown. I know what tests I should do, what needs to be checked, I know where to go, I know the clinic very well, I know the discussions that I must have with my doctor. Everything is familiar. And even though some new things might occur, these are so much easier to handle compared to the first pregnancy, when everything was overwhelming and I could barely cope with all of them.

RO: La Alexei, primul trimestru a fost greun din punct de vedere psihic. Nu voiam sa ma ingras, nu voiam sa ni se schimbe vietile, nu voiam sa nu mai putem calatori. Acestea erau principalele mele probleme si “drame” la acel moment, si da, ma copleseau. Acum nu mai am deloc aceste ingrijorari.

EN: In my first pregnancy, the first trimester was hard from a mental point of view. I did not want to gain weight, I did not want our lives to change, I did not want to stop travelling. These were my main issues at that time and yes, they were all overwhelming. Now I don’t have these concerns anymore.

RO: Ingrasatul… il iau ca atare. Oricum am pornit cu o greutate cu 5 kg mai mare decat la Alexei si chiar daca nu ma simt confortabil cu felul in care arat acum, nu mi se mai pare o “drama”. Insa la prima sarcina am reusit “performanta” de a ma ingrasa 7 kg in primul trimestru (7 din 14 in total), lucru care nu s-a mai intamplat la a doua sarcina (la aproape 13 saptamani aveam 3 kg in plus). Oricum, discutiile despre numarul de kilograme in sarcina mi se par destul de irelevante, fiecare corp e diferit si nu stiu daca e cu adevarat important cat se ingrasa o femeie in timpul sarcinii. Nu imi doresc sa ma ingras necontrolat, nu imi doresc sa nu imi pese cum arat, insa incerc si pare-se ca imi reuseste sa fiu mai detasata. Am vazut ca transformarile corpului sunt temporare, si ca usor, usor, ne revenim. Nu peste noapte, dar ne revenim. Asa ca acum incerc sa fiu rabdatoare, cu mine, cu timpul, cu tot. Si nu vreau sa intunec din nou bucuria unei sarcini dintr-un motiv atat de putin important. Insa ce pot sa observ inca de la inceputul sarcinii este ca se vede mult mai usor faptul ca ma rotunjesc, inca din primul trimestru.

EN: Gaining weight… I take it as it is. I started with 5 more kg than in my first pregnancy and even though I do not feel comfortable with the way I look now, this is not a “drama” anymore. But in my first pregnancy I managed the “performance” of gaining 7kg in the first trimester (7 out of 14 in total), which didn’t happen anymore in my second pregnancy (at almost 13 weeks I was having 3kg more). Anyways, I think that discussing about the number of kilograms gained during pregnancy is irrelevant, every body is different and I don’t think it’s quite important how much weight a women gains during her pregnancy. I do not want to gain too much weight, I care about the way I look but I also try and it seems that I’m succeeding to be a bit more relaxed. I’ve seen that our body transformation is temporary and that easily, we go back to normal. Not immediately, but it eventually happens. So I try to be patient with me, with the time, with everything. And I don’t want to miss the happiness of being pregnant due to such a reason. But what I can notice already is the fact that it can be easily seen that I’m growing, even from the first trimester.

RO: Si la prima sarcina am avut o tentativa de a lua sedinte de consultanta in nutritie (de fapt faceam deja de ceva vreme), insa persoana cu care lucram atunci nu era specializata pe sarcini, era si extrem de ocupata si foarte greu ajungeam sa prind o programare, asa ca am renuntat. Am mancat destul de haotic in sarcina cu Alexei (nu neaparat nesanatos, dar fara sa stiu pe ce ar trebui sa ma axez in fiecare etapa a sarcina), asa ca la aceasta a doua sarcina am inceput sedintele de consultanta inca cu 6 luni inainte de a ramane insarcinata. De data aceasta am ales o persoana specializata pe nutritia pentru femei insarcinate (este vorba chiar de o buna prietena care m-a ajutat foarte mult in perioada aceasta – @wombnutrition), care mi-a spus exact ce ar trebui sa mananc ca sa ma asigur ca am toti nutrientii de care are nevoie sarcina. Focusul nu a fost deloc pe a nu ma ingrasa, pe a tine o dieta sau a slabi. Nu, dimpotriva chiar, scopul era sa mananc cat mai variat si mai potrivit varstei sarcinii. Nu am vrut sa iau vitamine de sarcina (la Alexei am luat si imi dadeau o pofta de mancare greu de potolit), am luat doar suplimente de acid folic (Acifol de 5mg) si dupa jumatatea primului trimestru, magneziu (am vrut sa combat un pic starea de oboseala cu magneziu). Insa am incercat sa consum cat mai multe alimente bogate in folat (acidul folic fiind totusi forma sintetica a folatului, folatul forma naturala) la fiecare masa din primul trimestru, stiind de la consultantul in nutritie ca folatul in forma naturala se absoarbe mult mai bine de organism. Aveam grija sa mananc foarte des avocado, naut (normal sau humus), linte, broccoli, cartofi, nuci de tot felul, banane sau portocale. Mai sunt si alte alimente bogate in folat care mi-au fost recomandate insa pentru ca nu sunt pe placul meu, nu le-am prea consumat. Acesta a fost singurul meu focus in primul trimestru de altfel. Fiindu-mi destul de rau, nu am vrut sa fiu foarte stricta cu mancarea, am mancat orice mi-am dorit sau orice ma facea sa ma simt mai bine. Am renuntat aproape complet la cafea, pe care inainte de sarcina o adoram, dar care apoi imi producea o stare groaznica de greata, am incercat sa nu mananc foarte multe dulciuri insa am preferat deseori “mizerii” sarate (grisine sau alti carbohidrati sarati). Nu am baut deloc alcool (nu voi bea pe tot parcursul sarcinii), iar obiceiul de a bea un pahar de vin seara l-am inlocuit cu obiceiul de a-mi face o limonada mai speciala seara. Sau in serile in care chiar nu aveam deloc chef de limonada sau apa, imi faceam un “gin fals”: un pahar de apa tonica cu ingredientele unui gin tonic fancy, fara gin 🙂 Nu am putut sa beau alt tip de bauturi nealcoolice pentru ca imi faceau greata (vin fara alcool, bere fara alcool, bere cu ghimbir). In orice caz, sunt atat de multe de povestit despre acest subiect, ca voi detalia mai multe intr-un articol separat 🙂

EN: In my first pregnancy I tried to take some nutrition consultations (I was already taking some for a while) but the person I was working with was not specialized on pregnancies, was extremely busy and I could hardly get an appointment, so I gave up. I ate quite chaotic when I was pregnant with Alexei (not necessarily unhealthy but without knowing what should I focus on in each stage of the pregnancy) so in my second pregnancy I started the nutrition consultations 6 months before getting pregnant. This time I have chosen a consultant that was specialized on pregnant women (actually a good friend that helped me a lot during this time – @wombnutrition), and told me exactly what I should eat in order to be sure that I have all the nutrients needed in pregnancy. Our focus wasn’t not gaining weight, dieting or loosing weight. No, actually on the contrary, our aim was to eat as diverse as possible and suitable for the stage of my pregnancy. I didn’t want to take vitamins (in my first pregnancy I did and they increased my appetite), I just took some folic acid supplements (5mg Acifol) and after the first half of the first trimester, Magnesium (for the tiredness I felt). But I also tried to consume as much folate as possible, at each meal of the day, from natural sources (folic acid is the synthetic form of the folate, the folate is the natural form), knowing from my consultant that the natural form of folate is so much easily absorbed by our body. I tried to often eat avocado, chickpeas (normal or hummus), lentils, broccoli, potatoes, all sort of nuts, bananas and oranges. There are plenty of other rich in folate foods which have been recommended to me but because I don’t enjoy eating them, I did not include them in my diet. Actually this was my only focus during this first trimester of pregnancy. I didn’t feel too well so I didn’t want to be strict with what I was eating, I tried to eat whatever I wanted or whatever made me feel better. I gave up almost completely to coffee, which I adored before the pregnancy, but I felt nausea every time I was trying to drink it, I tried to limit the consumption of sweets but I often preferred eating salty junk food (grissini or other salted carbs). I did not drink alcohol at all (I will not drink during my entire pregnancy) and I replaced the habit of drinking a glass of wine in the evening with the habit of making myself a special lemonade. Or when I was not in the mood for lemonades or water I just made a false tonic: a glass of tonic water with the ingredients of a fancy tonic gin but without the actual gin 🙂 I couldn’t drink other types of non-alcoholic beverages because they made me feel nausea (alcohol free wine or beer or even ginger beer). Anyways, there are so many things to talk about this subject, I will probably write a separate article about it 🙂

RO: Schimbatul vietii… ei bine, cred ca asta ar putea fi cea mai relevanta ingrijorare. Cred ca orice cuplu se loveste de problema aceasta atunci cand afla ca vor avea un copil. Vietile ni s-au schimbat, da. Cel putin in primele luni cu Alexei, ne-a fost data peste cap intreaga lume. Insa… ne-am reluat mare parte din activitatile pe care le aveam inainte de a-l avea pe Alexei, atata doar ca il aveam si pe el cu noi pretutindeni. Si in plus, s-a intamplat ceva ce nu am preconizat vreodata ca se va intampla. Ni s-au schimbat prioritatile (in special mie) si modul de a gandi. Am reconsiderat tot ce consideram important pentru mine inainte, insa fara sa imi impun sa o fac. Pur si simplu nu ma mai supara ideea ca imi pun jobul (sau viata in general) on hold, nu ma mai deranjau intalnirile cu prietenii la care nu mai reuseam sa ajung, nu imi mai doream petreceri sau nopti pierdute. Lucrurile s-au asezat in asa fel incat schimbarea vietii a venit ca ceva firesc, de care aveam nevoie. Bineinteles ca viata cu doi copii e diferita de cea cu unul singur, si ma astept sa avem o perioada grea la inceput, insa diferenta de la viata de cuplu la viata de parinti cu un copil mi se pare infinit mai mare decat trecerea de la un copil la doi. Deci nu vom mai avea nici socul schimbarii acum, asa cum am avut la Alexei.

EN: Fear of having our lives changed… well, I think this is the most relevant fear that we might have. I think every couple has this problem when finding that they will have a baby. Our lives have changed, they really did. At least in the first few months with Alexei, our entire world was messed up. But… we slowly recovered all our activities we had before having Alexei, just that now we had him all over with us. Besides, something that we did not predict happened. Our priorities changed (at least for me) and the way we were thinking. I reconsidered everything I thought it was important for me before, without pushing myself to do this. I am no longer suffering that my job (or my life in general) is on hold for a while, I was no longer upset that I couldn’t reach our dates with our friends, I no longer wanted parties and lost nights. Things have settled so that this change of lives seemed normal, something that we needed. Of course life with two children is different than the one with only one child, but the difference from the couple live to parenthood (with one child) seems so much drastic than going from one child to two. So the shock of change that we had with Alexei will no longer be present now.

RO: Calatoritul… ne-a domolit pandemia atat de mult referitor la acest aspect, ca nu mai prezinta deloc o problema sau o ingrijorare. Vom calatori cand va fi cazul, acum cel putin stim ca a calatori cu copii nu e imposibil. Am vazut-o, am experimentat-o, nu avem niciun dubiu ca atunci cand va fi cazul, ii vom urca pe amandoi in avion si vom merge unde ne vom dori.

EN: Traveling… this pandemic calmed us so much regarding this and now we do not consider it at all a problem or something to be worried about. We will travel again when it will be the case, at least we now know that traveling with children is not impossible. We’ve seen it, we tried it, we have no doubts that when it will be the case, we will go on a plane with both of them and travel where we will want.

RO: In primele 13 saptamani am avut destul de multe controale la medic, nu pentru ca ar fi fost vreo problema ci pentru ca am depistat sarcina foarte devreme si am tot mers pentru diverse confirmari. Pana cand nu am trecut de 10 saptamani nu am avut curajul sa ma bucur ca sunt insarcinata, insa apoi am inceput sa ma relaxez si sa constientizez ca da, se intampla 🙂 Pe 21 decembrie am avut prima morfologie (de trimestru 1), la 12 saptamani si 4 zile de sarcina, in care mi s-a confirmat ca bebe este ok si ca sunt sanse mari sa fie fetita. Tot atunci mi s-a spus si care ar fi termenul sarcinii, posibil 1 iulie 2021. Exista o singura mica problema cu rezistenta la flux a arterelor uterine (foarte incipienta problema) motiv pentru care ar trebui ca pana in saptamana 36 sa iau Aspenter, pentru fluidizarea sangelui (mi s-au recomandat doua pastile cu concentratie de 75mg). Nu am luat Aspenter pana in saptamana 14, pentru ca pe prospect scria ca este interzis in alaptare (inca il alaptez pe Alexei ziua). Am discutat pe perioada sarbatorilor cu doctorita mea, ne-am consultat si am ajuns la concluzia ca nu ar trebui sa fie deloc o problema sa il iau in alaptare, lucru pe care l-am confirmat si pe siteul elactancia.org. Am verificat care este substanta activa din Aspenter (acidul acetilsalicilic) si am vazut ca ar fi un risc foarte mic pentru alaptare. Legat de costuri, morfologia de trimestru 1 a intrat pe abonamentul de la Regina Maria, din pacate nu stiu cat ar fi costat.

EN: In the first 13 weeks I had quite a lot of doctor appointments, not because I was having a problem but because I found out that I was pregnant pretty soon and I’ve been to the doctor for different confirmations. Up until 10 weeks I did not have the courage to enjoy the pregnancy too much but then I started to relax and to be aware of the fact that yes, it is happening 🙂 On 21st of December I had my first morphology scan (first trimester morphology), at 12 weeks and 4 days of pregnancy, which confirmed that the baby was fine and that she might be a girl. Also, I’ve been told that the due date might be 1st of July 2021. There was a slight issue with the uterine arteries nd the blood flow (incipient phase) so I’ve been told to take some medicine until week 36 of pregnancy (Aspenter) to liquefy the blood (it was recommended to take 2 pills of 75mg concentration). I did not take Aspenter until 14th week as I read that it was prohibited in breastfeeding (I still breastfeed Alexei during the day). During the holidays I discussed this matter with my doctor and in the end we got to the conclusion that it should be fine even in breastfeeding, and we confirmed this on elactancia.org website as well. We checked the active substance from Aspenter (acetylsalicylic acid) and we’ve seen that there is a very low risk in breastfeeding. As for the costs, the first trimester morphology was included in the monthly subscription, so unfortunately I do not know how much it costs.

RO: Spre deosebire de sarcina cu Alexei, de data aceasta am decis sa fac si un test genetic. In principal pentru ca ma apropii de varsta de 35 de ani si vreau sa fim siguri ca este totul in regula. La Alexei nu am simtit nevoia sa fac test genetic si nici nu am luat in calcul vreun moment sa il fac, insa acum simt nevoia sa fim siguri ca este totul in regula si ca nu exista probleme genetice. Sunt atat de multe variante de teste genetice, a fost putin coplesitoare toata aceasta documentare. Insa in final am decis sa fac cel mai renumit test, Panorama Extins (un test non invaziv care depisteaza bolile cromozomiale). Am ales testul acesta petru ca este unul dintre putinele care analizeaza ADN-ul fatului din sangele mamei. Sunt multe clinici care fac acest test si difera laboratorul cu care lucreaza, insa noi am ales sa il facem la Regina Maria (pretul testului este 3400 lei si nu este acoperit deloc de abonamentul la clinica, nici macar cu reducere). Nu este recomandarea medicului sa fac aceasta testare genetica, insa imi doresc sa o fac. As fi vrut sa fac recoltarea la 12 saptamani de sarcina (cand teoretic avea sa fie suficient din ADN-ul bebelui in sangele meu) insa am nimerit fix perioada sarbatorilor, asa ca a trebuit sa aman pana la 15 saptamani intrucat toate laboratoarele erau inchise.

EN: Unlike the first pregnancy, this time I decided to do a genetic test. Mainly because I’m getting close to 35 years and I want to be sure that everything is alright. At my first pregnancy I did not feel the need to do this genetic test and I never even considered taking it, but now I feel the need to have a confirmation that everything is fine and that there are no genetic issues. There are so many genetic tests, all this research was a bit overwhelming. But in the end I decided to take the most famous test, Panorama Extended (a non invasive screening test that detects chromosomal issues). We have chosen this test because is one of the few ones that analysis the fetal DNA from the mother’s blood. There are many clinics that do this kind of tests and the laboratory they work with might be different, but we have chosen to make this test at Regina Maria (the price was 3400 ron and it was not covered at all by the monthly subscription, not even with a discount). My doctor did not recommend to have this testing done but I wanted to do it. I would have normally made it at 12 weeks of pregnancy (when there would have been enough fetal DNA in my blood) but it was exactly during the holiday season so I had to postpone until 15 weeks of pregnancy as all the laboratories were closed.

RO: Chiar daca nu mai era necesar, am ales sa fac si dublu testul. Stiam ca in unele tari nici macar nu se mai face acest test, nefiind relevant pentru bolilele genetice (doar niste statistici, nu se analizeaza ADN-ul ca la Panorama) insa medicul meu mi-a spus ca ar prefera sa vada niste indicatori legati de placenta si de arterele uterine. Nu ma deranja deloc sa fac acest control, asa ca l-am facut, atat analiza de sange, cat si ecografia morfo fetala. Oricum, voiam sa am o a doua opinie legata de arterele uterinere si de nevoia de a lua sau nu Aspenter, insa din cauza sarbatorilor a trebuit sa il mut si pe acesta pentru inceputul de trimestru 2.

EN: Even though it was not necessary, I made the double market test as well. I already knew that some countries do not even accept this test anymore as it is not relevant for genetic diseases (just some statistics, the DNA is not analyzed as it happens with Panorama) but my doctor wanted to check some indicators related to the placenta and the uterine artery. I made this test and also the ultrasound as I wanted a second opinion regarding the uterine artery and the need to take the Aspenter, but due to the holiday season I also had to postpone this for the beginning of the second trimester.

RO: Spre surprinderea mea, primul trimestru a trecut de parca nici nu ar fi fost. Nu m-am simtit foarte bine, nu am avut cea mai buna stare si nu pot sa spun ca m-am bucurat extrem de mult de aceasta perioada, insa a trecut. Inca mai spun ca am o sarcina micuta si ca asteptam sa mai treaca timpul ca sa anuntam, insa… iata ca am depasit termenul de 13 saptamani, pe care il consideram eu critic 🙂 Si lucrurile devin din ce in ce mai bune, chiar daca greturile si starea de oboseala sunt in continuare prezente. Voi continua acest jurnal cu un nou articol, in care voi povesti despre cel de-al doilea trimestru.

EN: To my surprise, I did not feel when the first trimester passed. I did not feel too well, I wasn’t in the best shape and I can’t say that I truly enjoyed this period, but it is now gone. I still keep saying that I have an early pregnancy and that we should wait until we will announce everyone that I am pregnant again, but… here I am, at over 13 weeks now, the deadline that I considered critical 🙂 And things are getting better and better even though I still have some nausea and tiredness. I will continue this journal with a new article, where I will talk about the second trimester.