I can’t believe I am already through the first trimester! Everyone is right when they say that time flies! I thought it would be fun to do “bumpdates” each trimester to let everyone know what’s going on with me and babe!
Morning Sickness
I did not throw up AT ALL during the first trimester. I had quite a bit of nausea in the morning, but it would get better throughout the day. I found it best to eat small meals or snacks every 2 hours or so. The key is to NEVER get hungry! The hungrier you are, the worse your nausea is going to be. I was also hungry ALL THE TIME. I tried not to worry too much about calories or weight gain at this point. I was mostly focused on keeping myself full and feeling well. This meant a lot of cereal and bagels sometimes!
I liked to have a caffeine-free regular coke or Powerade. It felt good on my stomach for some reason. I tried various ginger remedies (including these ginger chews) and realized that I really don’t care for ginger all that much! I really liked these Preggie Pop Drops that I found at Target. They are all natural and seemed to help.
Sleep
I was SO tired during the first trimester. The good news is that I had very little trouble falling asleep (which has been an issue for me in the past). I have been diffusing lavender when I go to bed each night. This is not pregnancy related, but just a new thing I am trying. It’s also a great natural remedy for insomnia. It’s also very relaxing and smells great! Once I am asleep, I sleep through the night probably half the time. The other half of the time I am getting up to go to the bathroom or waking up hungry!
Food Aversions and Cravings
Food aversions and cravings started for me in the first trimester but are still around in the second. I really want anything bland or sweet. I love cereal, waffles, ice cream, yogurt, fruit, and bagels. Besides bagels (which I am always obsessed with!) these foods are really uncharacteristic of me. Supposedly… craving sweets is an indication that the baby is a girl. We will see come August!
I am having a strong aversion to pretty much all meats (specifically chicken). The nurse at my OB said that the best thing I can do for my baby is to eat animal protein and I am trying! I like to eat bacon and beef more than other meats, so I am trying to work those in every day. I don’t like anything with a lot of taste (onions, garlic, spicy, etc.) This is very odd because one of my favorite things to eat are tacos and I can’t stand the thought of that most of the time. I ate Chipotle once (at about week 7) and it scarred me and now I literally can’t eat it.
Pregnancy Restrictions
I really don’t mind the caffeine or alcohol restrictions at this point. I am still drinking coffee and pop but only 200 mg of caffeine a day. To be honest, I don’t enjoy coffee as much pregnant as I used to. Sometimes the thought of it makes my stomach turn a bit. As far as alcohol, it’s fun to enjoy a mocktail when I’m out somewhere, but I really miss having a glass of wine. If you have any recommendations on non-alcoholic wine, send them over!
For me, the foods restrictions are much more difficult. There are the obvious ones: no raw food (eggs, meat, fish), no unpasteurized cheeses, and no deli meats. I was pretty prepared for that. I wasn’t anticipating all of the warnings from my nurse on foodborne illness. She suggested not eating anything from salad bars or anything that has sat out for very long. Working in a Corporate environment, the cafeteria doesn’t have many options that aren’t sitting out. I’ve tried to have mostly hot foods (so you know the bacteria is gone) like soups and grilled sandwiches.
Body Changes
The first sign of pregnancy (in hindsight) was that my boobs were MASSIVE and they also hurt. I look back on our photos from the Bahamas and I’m like whoa! I also was having twinges near my ovaries whenever I sneezed or made sudden movements. I (of course) didn’t know that I was pregnant, and because I’ve never been pregnant, did not realize that these were going to be my telltale symptoms.
I gained almost 10 pounds in the first trimester (oops!) because I literally was so hungry and could not stop eating. The OB was not worried about my weight, she thought it was good that I was able to keep so much food down. Because my first trimester was literally the entire Holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, etc.) I think people probably just thought I had put on a bunch of Holiday weight! I started to get a small bump right about week 12. The bump photo I posted here was right at 12 weeks!
I really haven’t had any other symptoms that people talk about. My skin has literally never looked better. I don’t have any pregnancy acne and I had melasma on my cheeks pre-pregnancy and it doesn’t seem to be any worse. I haven’t been having headaches, hot flashes, pain, or really anything else.
Appointments
My schedule of appointments in the first trimester was probably a little different than most. We were patients at the infertility clinic when we found out we were pregnant. Because of that, the infertility clinic wanted to confirm the pregnancy (and make sure baby was healthy and everything) before releasing us to a regular OBGYN. They did a blood test at about 5 weeks and then an ultrasound at about 7 weeks. The 7-week ultrasound would typically be with your regular OBGYN.
Everything looked good, so they released us to the OBGYN. The OBGYN of course wanted to have me in for an appointment to do their own ultrasound, but also do lots of tests, an exam, etc. Thus, we also had an 11-week ultrasound at the OBGYN. Tony and I were both concerned about having too many ultrasounds (artificial light like this isn’t great for the babe!) but we were assured that we would only have to have one more (at 20 weeks).
Keeping the Secret
As previously mentioned, the timing of our first trimester was literally the entire Holiday season. It was hard to keep it a secret around the Holidays because there is a lot of drinking and you’re also just around people so much more. We ended up telling the family and friends that we saw during the Holidays. This was around the 8-week mark of our pregnancy, so we felt comfortable telling those closest to us.
After the holidays we’re over, Tony and I pretty much tried to stay home and avoid people as much as possible! We had horrendous weather, so it wasn’t difficult! Being newly pregnant in the frigid North is honestly kind of easy. I got to wear big cozy sweaters and scarves, and people mostly had no idea! I think at work they were getting a few hints just due to the number of doctor’s appointments I had (both with infertility and then pregnancy). I went to happy hour a few times and obviously didn’t drink. There are people that I work with that don’t drink for various reasons (Dry January, work out after, Whole 30, etc.) so it really wasn’t hard to fake my way out of that.
Onto the Second Trimester!
Overall, I had a smooth first trimester! Personally, I think I am thriving at being pregnant (lol). I am now 16 weeks and excited to see what the second trimester holds! Tony has been reading What To Expect When You’re Expecting and keeping us updated on everything that is going to happen! I also got Tony this book called Praying Through Your Pregnancy and I’d like to to start reading that together.