I Wasn’t Traveling Alone
This is my first blog post in a few months because life has been a bit busy!
Austria Summer Experience
Back in May, I had that incredible opportunity to visit Austria as part of Franciscan University’s Austria Summer Experience program. My employer gives employees a 4-week sabbatical upon their 5-year work anniversary, so I decided to spend that time studying abroad in Gaming, Austria. This program wasn’t just for college students; the participants’ ages ranged from 15 to 76!
The program took place at the Kartause, which was a former Carthusian monastery. It was truly one of the most peaceful places I’ve been. I took the class Around the Catholic Table: A Theology of Food, Friends, and Hospitality taught by Emily Stimpson Chapman, my favorite writer. The class was really about how to be more human in an age of AI, and having a sacramental worldview. One of the ways to be more human is to practice hospitality, and we put this into practice by hosting risotto dinner parties for our class and staff members.
We also took day trips to Vienna, Salzburg, Mariazell, and Durnstein. Here are some of my highlights from each trip:
Vienna: Eating goulash, seeing the rose garden, and participating in Eucharistic Adoration at St. Stephen’s Cathedral
Salzburg: Touring Fortress Hohensalzburg
Mariazell: Having Mass at the basilica, browsing street vendors, and having the best gelato
Durnstein: Touring the abbey and hiking up to the castle ruins where Richard the Lionheart was once held
Being in this program helped me get out of my comfort zone (international travel!), get out of the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and grow closer to God.
What also made this trip special was that I wasn’t traveling alone — I was nine weeks pregnant at the start of the program.
My Pregnancy Journey: First Trimester
Being 9 weeks pregnant made international travel a bit interesting. Overall, I managed OK. We found out I was pregnant about a month before the program began, and my husband and doctor still encouraged me to go, so I went.
Even though we were trying to conceive for a couple of months, I was honestly surprised I got pregnant that cycle. My charts did not indicate a strong ovulation (no egg-white mucus and had trouble setting a peak day), and I was sick with bronchitis around ovulation. Since my body felt very run down, I wasn’t confident about getting pregnant that cycle (which was why I decided to sign up for the Austria trip).
What was nice about this mindset, though, is that I didn’t have to endure the “two week wait,” wondering during my luteal phase if I was pregnant. I didn’t think about it much and therefore didn’t stress about it. The previous cycle, however, I was kind of obsessive over finding out if I was pregnant, and wanting to take a pregnancy test as early as possible.
For this cycle, I felt certain that my period was going to start. I had all of the common signs: cramps, back pain, my weird leg pain. However, the next day came and went without a period, and I looked at my chart to find that it had been 17 days of high temperatures. Being an NFP instructor, I know that 18 high temperatures can indicate pregnancy.
That night, I told my husband that we should take a pregnancy test the next day. I naturally woke at 3 AM, so I of course woke my husband up and took the pregnancy test. How was I supposed to fall back asleep, knowing I’d take a pregnancy test in a couple of hours? So I figured I’d just take it then. It was positive! (I don’t think I fell back asleep after that!).
My husband and I were so happy. I, of course, started to get in my head about traveling and everything that would change over the next few weeks.
But that morning, when I stood in my kitchen preparing breakfast before work, I prayed. I thought a lot about Mary and how she must have felt when she found out she was pregnant. The Christmas song “Mary Did You Know” popped into my head, and that was the first inclination I felt that I might be having a boy.
I had the usual symptoms of nausea, food aversions, and extreme fatigue. I would nap in my car during my lunch break. The fatigue was unreal. I couldn’t stomach eating meat. I lived off of protein waffles, popsicles, and potato salad.
Symptoms were improving slightly by the time I was to fly to Austria. I was grateful I didn’t experience vomiting. Except for the night before my flight. I was brushing my teeth, which made me gag and throw up, which made me pee myself. Needless to say, a new fear was unlocked. What if I get sick on the flight and pee myself?! Luckily that did not happen, but I was more than prepared.
I got through the flight while feeling sick, but when I met up with others from the program at the Vienna airport, everyone was so kind and helpful. A program participant bought me mint tea. Another happened to be an OB-GYN, and she gave me OTC motion sickness medicine for every bus ride we had.
And one of the best things about being on my sabbatical during my first trimester was that I could take an afternoon nap every. single. day.
It was exciting knowing my baby was with me during my travels. Since we had Mass nearly every day, I took the opportunity to pray for my baby. I don’t think there is Church teaching on receiving the Eucharist during pregnancy, but I like to think that my baby could experience Jesus through me.
Coming back from Austria, I felt pure excitement. We had waited a while to tell our families the news because we didn’t want them to worry while I was abroad. The morning of the day we were able to tell our families in person felt like Christmas morning. This would be the first grandchild for both my parents and my in-laws.
Around this time, we also found out the gender through NIPT testing! It’s a BOY! I only have a sister and a female cousin, so I never grew up with boys. I’m excited to have the experience of raising a boy. My husband and I kind of had it in our heads that we’d be having a girl, only because we had a name picked out for a girl right away, and it took us some time to find a boy’s name we both loved.
Now that we have chosen a name, it’s so fun to call our baby by name.
Second Trimester
Things became very real during the second trimester. I was feeling better and had more energy, which meant that I had more bandwidth to worry. I got easily overwhelmed by everything I wanted to do before the baby arrived: recaulking our shower, creating the registry, talking to our financial planner, preparing the nursery, organizing every single room in our house…
Getting a few tasks knocked off the list did help, but I had to learn to be OK with not getting everything done. I was finding that I couldn’t get everything done. Even though I was experiencing less nausea and less fatigue, my body’s changes were starting to cause soreness. I experienced round ligament pain, sciatica, frequent urination, and being out of breath from climbing up the stairs. Power walking was no longer achievable! The strangest thing was my whole body feeling sore, probably from the aptly named relaxin hormone. Actually, I think the strangest symptom of this trimester was the bleeding gums. Chiropractic care, massage therapy, and doing physical therapy exercises are how I’ve been managing the discomfort. Sitting on a yoga ball at work has also been helpful at times. Hiring a doula has helped me calm my nerves, because I know I’ll have someone knowledgable by my side as I give birth. Surprisingly too, I’ve been doing generally well without caffeine. I probably drink ¼ of a cup of coffee per day.
The absolute best symptom is the baby kicks. I love feeling baby move around. Moms I’ve talked to always say that they miss that feeling. It also provides reassurance. My husband was able to feel the baby’s kicks shortly after I could myself. Many people would say that the early kicks feel like flutters. Not for me. I could just feel him move all of a sudden. The ultrasounds confirm that he is such an active boy!
I’m nearly 27 weeks pregnant as I write this. I have my glucose test in about a week. I did take a glucose test earlier in my first trimester because I have PCOS, and therefore have a higher chance of developing gestational diabetes. I’m happy that test came back OK, and I’m hoping this next one does as well. In the meantime, I’ve been enjoying desserts while I still can. This is the first time in my life that I’ve really craved chocolate.
Having the baby shower also made everything seem very exciting. It’s so heartwarming to see friends and family excited for the baby. And I feel so grateful for my mom and mother-in-law for throwing the shower. When I visited them the weekend of the shower, my mom and I went baby clothes shopping at Carter’s, and it was so joyous.
With all of that being said, I am still active with teaching NFP! I may not schedule as many group classes for the time being, but I am still accepting private clients. I am due in December, so around that time and for the first couple months of baby’s life, I may not be as responsive, but I fully intend to still support my clients! I’m excited to have the postpartum NFP experience to better understand my clients in that part of their lives as well. So, feel free to reach out to me via email with any NFP questions!
