made it to week 5 as of today! the embryo is apparently the size of a sesame seed at this point :)
i told 5 friends, the donor, and 3 people i've been seeing. and my physiotherapist lol. (he was the best one. a few minutes after i told him, he stopped in the middle of what he was saying and asked, "wait, am i the ONLY one who knows????" total panic lol). debating whether to tell my mom and stepmom but i have a feeling that it would be less troublesome to wait a bit. i won't tell my dad until i've reached the 2nd trimester.
physically, things are already quite different. i was cramping a few days leading up until implantation, which ended up happening 3 days before i took the test. there was just a faint hint of blood which i thought was my period starting early, but was actually the little clump of cells burrowing into my uterine wall. the day after implantation, i got chills which lasted on and off for a few days. i had sniffles and a bit of a sore throat, but apparently this could have just been the pregnancy and not an actual cold.
the cramping has been consistent. kinda like my uterus is super tender, and so even regular digestive processes seem to cause a bit of pain and discomfort. i feel like i need to pee all the time too. my boobs are SO sore.
already nauseous. that started pretty quickly after the positive test last week. mostly it's been really mild, almost like a constant calming sensation in the background. but today it got a tad more intense. i tried to have some ginger candies, which seem to get me through the more intense moments. i couldn't finish the decaf coffee a date had made me, but i made it through a martial arts class just fine (i've switched to a less intense one now. this one doesn't involve taking multiple blows to the abdomen every. single. class. lol. and no more free sparring which i feel is just too risky). sometimes the nausea goes away for a bit when i eat.
i've been trying to eat more protein with each meal. last week i found i was really craving dairy products. past couple of days i've been craving blueberries. orange juice has folate so i'm trying to drink some daily. also trying to have (cooked) leafy greens more often. and of course been taking my vitamins daily!
whatever hormones are surging through me right now, they feel like they have a stabilizing effect on my emotions and mood. i feel very steady!! i'm so relieved about this, because of my history of horrid PMS i was worried i'd react badly (though i'm fairly certain i will have some sort of postpartum mental health issue). i also am naturally waking up earlier everyday for some reason. sometimes it's as if i can feel my blood flow increasing, like a warm rushing through my body.
at this stage, there is more than a 1 in 10 chance of miscarriage. but i'm feeling happy and optimistic! i have a bunch of tasks planned out per trimester, and i'm already worried i'm not starting soon enough! but i did sign up to the birthing centre made an appointment with a midwife. i started the process of putting myself on the subsidized daycare waitlist but it was annoying so i stopped. my friend will help me finish tomorrow! oh, and that friend (who is also a smbc) offered to be present at the birth which is soooooo touching and honestly a huge relief!!! with all the stuff i have to buy to prepare my apartment, i don't think i can afford the few thousand dollars (!!!) it would cost for a doula (and would it be redundant if i have a midwife?? but what if there's complications and i get transferred to a hospital anyway. etc etc.) and i would prefer that my friend and major inspiration for this project be there with me :)