My Pregnancy Journey: First Trimester Recap

After Matt and I slowly snapped out of the shock of our BFP, the realities of the first trimester started to set in. By the time we found out, I was about  4 weeks pregnant…which, BTW, they calculate from the first day of your last period,  not from the date of actual conception. For the first week or so after finding out, I felt pretty good. I started getting more tired in the evening and my stomach felt a little bloated, but nothing dramatic.  My parents and their friends came down to visit us the weekend after we found out and we spent the whole weekend entertaining, walking around the city, dining out, etc. and I felt completely normal. I even tried my first “virgin mojito” (solid summer preggo drink choice, by the way) and I felt pretty good. THEN….like a bulldozer…week 6 came. At the risk of TMI: nausea, constipation, exhaustion (particularly in the late afternoon and evening), food aversions…you name it, I got it. For this first trimester recap, I’ll break it down for you.

My top 10 revelations during the first trimester:

Morning “Sickness” Is a Fallacy:

I actually felt by BEST in the morning. I would get up at my normal time (between 5 and 530), I’d workout, take care of my “Charlie duties,” get ready for work and head out the door. THEN, we’ll say around 11 AM…it started. It was typically a few hours after eating breakfast and the first wave of nausea would take over. Nothing sounded appetizing, even though I was hungry.  I’d even feel weird symptoms like minor chills and headaches. It was as if I was hungover or had the flu. This would last, on and off, throughout the day until the next morning. And we’d start all over again. I still experience a few waves of nausea now and then, but nothing like my experience during the first trimester.

Below are a few things that did seem to help:

1. Preggo drops: I don’t know what the heck is in these little drops from heaven, but they DEFINITELY helped ease my stomach when I felt pretty desperate. I highly, highly recommend them. And they taste like sour candies. YUM!
2. Walks: This was actually a little surprising to me, because the only time I formerly felt this awful was either while hungover or sick. And the thought of exercise during those times made me want to vomit. BUT, it really did help. Any bit of movement I could get, whether it was my actual workout in the morning or walks throughout the day, Movement seemed to calm my stomach, improve my mood, and give me more energy. I mean, you know what they say about endorphins…cue “Legally Blonde.”
3. Lying down and breathing deep: Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique I use when I feel an anxiety attack coming on. You can do it standing up, BUT you naturally breathe using your diaphragm when you lay down…so I typically opt for that. Clearly this was a “home-only” technique, because that would just be weird to do at work.
4. SOMETIMES water or diet Ginger Ale, made with real ginger: I know I’m going to get some flack for the “diet,” but it was very rare and I just didn’t want the sugar from regular soda. Sue me. Plus the “real ginger” was still there and the carbonation. Now, I say sometimes because there were quite a few times when both of these options made me feel more nauseous. Another lesson in listening to your body.

Your body will start to change, even without a real baby bump and it’s kind of annoying.

It’s true that you don’t need to run out and buy a whole slew of maternity clothes the minute you find out your pregnant. I made that mistake at Target and ended up returning a bunch of clothes that were way too big for me. Pistachio was so tiny during the first trimester, at that point and most of the “belly gain” I felt was bloat from raging hormones and IBS issues. However, I found that my body definitely started to shift around.

1. Hello ladies: For one, my chest grew almost immediately. The ladies felt sore and swollen, and a lot of my bras are taking a temporary leave of absence. New bras (specifically sports bras and a few maternity bras) were my first investment. I have a small band with a larger cup which makes it difficult to find good, supportive bras. I’m open to suggestions mamas and/or people out there who are like: “same.”
2. Loss of size in other areas: I did lose some weight in the first trimester because of my nausea AND I wasn’t lifting as heavy as I was prior to trimester one. My legs, arms, and shoulders definitely lost some size.
3. Bloat: My mid-section felt bloated most of the first trimester. Particularly, my lower abdomen. Most of this was water retention and related to my IBS-C (that’s constipation for anyone that doesn’t know) issues. The worst part: it’s not cute yet…it’s just uncomfortable. And relatively annoying when people try to touch it. No bump…just back up.

You’ll dream of mid-day naps at work

I am not a napper. I’ve never been a napper. Aside from that one time in high school when I had my wisdom teeth out and slept for like two weeks straight,  I literally cannot fall asleep during the day. But let me tell you,  there were days at work when all I wanted to do was curl up under my desk and get some shut eye. I contemplated it a few times. Then I ruled it out because it’s really hard to hide that in an open office with only seven other people.

ALL. THE. RULES. 

OMG the rules. SO MANY RULES. I mean, I knew about alcohol, lunch meat, and canned tuna…but bacon and smoked salmon? Pro tip: Download an app that gives you a food safety list. The Bump and Ovia Pregnancy both have pretty comprehensive lists. I found myself spending 13 dollars on an avocado toast with smoked salmon and having to throw it away because I didn’t check before. Worse than losing out on those precious 13 dollars, I was pregnant and starving.

Confession time: I’m about to admit something that will probably get a little bit of flack, but again, total transparency. I drank coffee throughout my first trimester. I usually had a cup in the morning and a cup in the afternoon. My doctor said it was totally fine for me to drink coffee, but to try and limit to 200-300 mg. a day. That’s basically 2, 8 ounce cups of coffee. Yes, caffeine content does vary based on how the coffee was brewed, it’s origins, etc. However, I’m confident that I’m staying in the approved range and, to be quite honest, this pregnancy would be far more difficult for both my husband and I If I was forced to remove my little cup of joy completely.

The anxiety didn’t end when we got the BFP, but there’s strength in information.

How much weight should I be gaining? If I drank before I knew I was pregnant, is that going to harm the baby?  I think that was a cramp.  Am I having a miscarriage? I can’t count how many times we said “it’s still early” to family and friends after sharing the news. It’s really sad, but it’s a reality that miscarriage is still a very real possibility, specifically in the earliest days of pregnancy. I was SHOCKED when I called the doctor after our positive test and found out that we couldn’t get an appointment for another four weeks! I had so many questions, including this lingering mistrust of a home pregnancy test. Admittedly, I continued to test for days (ok…weeks) after we got a positive,  just to confirm that the line was “getting darker.”   Those felt like the longest four weeks of my life…but when I saw that heart beat, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted up. Also, I highly recommend reading the book, Expecting Better. Overwhelmed by all of the contrasting information, the author set out on her own journey to gather research from thousands of research studies and medical papers, so that she could feel confident in the choices she made during pregnancy. I found that this book really helped ease a lot of my anxiety. I’m going to write a whole post about dealing with first trimester anxiety. So hang tight.

Most of your friends will probably know before you tell them.

I had the wedding of one of my BEST friends a few weeks after we found out. The wedding was at a vineyard. It was HIGHLY unlikely that I would be able to mask the fact that I wasn’t drinking wine without people suspecting. Most of our friends knew at that point that we were trying. So, Matt and I made the choice not to say anything, but if someone were to ask, we’d be honest about it. I didn’t want to waste my, very small reserve of, energy worrying about whether or not “people knew.” We did make it a point to tell our parents before saying anything to friends. My mom cried when she opened up her Strega Nona book.

Don’t ask your mother to keep things quiet and assume everyone else you do tell will also tell at least one other person

This makes me laugh. I love my mother…she is one of the kindest, most giving ladies I’ve ever known. And I’m not just saying that because she’s my mother. But I’m going to blame pregnancy brain here when I say that I thought my mother could keep the fact that she is going to be a grandmother a secret for 2-3 months. Not. Happening. Which leads me to this expectation…most people will probably tell someone else. So unless you want to keep things COMPLETELY under wraps, you should probably come to that realization and be ok with it.

Commitment to eating strictly “healthy” foods will take a back seat

Another laughable one. I take health and nutrition seriously. So, you better believe that prior to even getting pregnant, I was researching every possible “pregnancy diet” and “the right things to eat while pregnant.” As an Integrative Health Coach, I paid special attention to lectures on nutrition during pregnancy. I saw meals full of greens, fresh protein, smoothies, and whole grains garnishing my plate. Ha. It was more like saltines, oyster crackers (but only the Premium brand), dry toast, cereal, and the occasional serving of egg whites that became my norm. Salads were still OK.  I forced down vegetables and lean sources of protein because I felt like I had to…but typically ended up feeling like garbage after. It was rough. I had aversions to many of my staples including, but not limited to: brussell sprouts, broccoli, chicken and basically all other lean proteins. I could still eat fish, but only if we ate out because the smell of cooking it made me nauseous. When I spoke to my midwife about this, she basically said “eat whatever stays down and keep up with your prenatal vitamins.” Pregnancy is weird, man.

Your skin gets as a dry as the Sahara Desert

Knock on wood, but I haven’t really experienced “acne,” at least bad acne. I’ve had a few zits pop up, but that’s not abnormal. My skin has been SUPER dry though. Dryer than it’s ever been. I’ve had to lotion every morning and night. I drink at least a gallon of water a day. I’m still trying to find a top notch moisturizer..so any skin care tips are more than welcome.

There are a lot of really happy moments, and your pregnant so you’re even THAT much more emotional

Hearing and/or seeing that first heart beat. Watching the baby flip around on the 12 week ultrasound. Telling your parents, family, and friends the big news while smiling so hard, it hurts. Despite all of the nasty symptoms that accompany the first trimester, there is so much joy to be had. The hugs; the tears; the laughter; Grammy telling you “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time…” All of these moments are priceless and I would take all the morning sickness, headaches, mood swings, exhaustion, bloating, and body changes over and over again for these precious days.

A few quick first trimester facts:

• When did we tell our parents? 1-2 weeks after finding out. Timing worked out on our side, as both sets aren’t local and there were planned trips already in the works.
• When did I tell work? Most of my office found out after our twelve week appointment. It was important for me to tell work before announcing publicly,
• Did I crave anything? I had one craving for chicken nuggets, and Matt offered to make them for me. I insisted that he make them healthy…then I complained that they were too bland. He still loves me.
• Did I work out? Yes, but not as intensely. Physical activity helped me battle a lot of my symptoms, so it remained a staple. I did a lot of walking, Beachbody workouts, and a few Tone-It-Up workouts. I didn’t lift heavy, mainly because I didn’t have the sustained energy for it.

I know this blog post was a bit long,  but I’m trying to cover one trimester in 1-2 weeks so we can pick up real time. Have questions? Awesome. Shoot me a comment or message either here or on social media.

 

Until next time,

 

-Xtina