Surprise, we are expecting a little one in September 2020! As a first-time mom, I’m excited to share my journey with you, and today, I’ll be recapping my first trimester.
How I Found Out
I found out I was pregnant on January 13th, 2020. I took the pregnancy test with my husband, Kurt. After taking a couple of days of negative tests, we were thrilled to see that it finally read positive! Kurt and I had been trying for the past three years, with two failed pregnancies. I’ll go into our fertility journey in another post. After all that we’ve been through, we were happy but with hesitation. I had my first ob-gyn appointment five weeks later, and thankfully, everything was looking good. Since I was still so early in my pregnancy, my doctor recommended that I come back in two weeks to see if there was a heartbeat. When we returned, we were ecstatic to see the flutter of our baby’s heart.
First Trimester Symptoms
Nausea
Yikes did I have a rough first trimester…and second. I’m currently 21 weeks and still sick. Morning sickness started when I was about five weeks and four days. For the next couple of months, I was dry heaving and throwing up all day. Not sure why they call it morning sickness when it can strike at any time of the day or night! I couldn’t leave my bed, watch TV, read, basically anything besides resting made me sick. My doctor prescribed Diclegis, but after some research, I decided to go the all-natural route.
I found a couple of things that helped like ginger ale, toast, and sour patch kids. Sour candies seemed to soothe my stomach the most. I also never let my stomach get empty. It may sound counter-intuitive to eat when nauseous, but eating small frequent meals throughout the day helped. As I reached my 19th week, the vomiting and dry heaving eased up a bit. I went from being sick all day to once a day or once every couple of days. Now at week 21, as soon as I feel nausea coming on, I immediately eat something small like crackers or have a glass of cranberry juice, which usually stops it. Check out my post with must-haves to survive the first trimester.
Exhaustion
Another fun symptom is extreme fatigue, and insomnia at night doesn’t help the situation. When I managed to catch some zzz’s, I had the most intense vivid dreams. Every day around two or three, I have to take a nap. Simple everyday tasks like doing the laundry and walking the dogs would make me feel like I ran a 10k. Growing a human is hard work, so give yourself a break if you feel like a zombie.
Dizziness and Fainting
I also experienced dizziness. One day I fainted in Costco at the checkout line. Luckily my husband was there to catch me before I fell to the ground. My doctor recommends to either sit with your head between your legs or lie down if you start to feel faint.
Acne
As I got further along in my pregnancy, I developed breakouts in spots I have never had pimples before. I did some research and found some pregnancy safe products that helped:
Breast Growth
My boobs went up a full cup size in the first couple of weeks. I had to immediately go bra shopping and opted for a wire-free bra. Comfy clothes are a must, and when you feel bloated, the last thing you want is wire poking into your sides.
Food Aversions and Cravings
I wanted to be the healthiest pregnant mama, but when I was nauseated, the last thing I wanted was a salad or a smoothie. My diet consisted of:
I ended up losing a pound or two in my first trimester. I never thought the carb-loading would end, but slowly in my second trimester, my appetite for other foods returned. When I did give in to the occasional craving for fatty foods like McDonald’s, it made me puke. My food aversions were:
- foods with a strong odor
- rich foods like lasagna
- dairy
- seafood
- avocado
- salads
- smoothies
- vegetables
Doctors Appointments
As with any pregnancy, each doctor’s appointment can be exciting but also terrifying. We left each appointment feeling like we reached a milestone. We had our first scare at our 12-week ultrasound. The nuchal translucency, which is the fluid behind the baby’s neck, was found to be on the higher side but still under the limit to be overly concerned. We performed a genetic blood test, and thankfully, there were no genetic abnormalities. Soon after that covid-19 hit, and our appointment experiences dramatically changed. Kurt was no longer allowed into the hospital, and my appointments were spaced out further. We relied on face-time to enable Kurt to see and hear what was going on with our baby.
The first trimester seemed like the slowest moving 13 weeks of my life, mostly because I felt extremely sick and was keeping my pregnancy a secret from everyone except our parents. But looking back, I feel stronger and proud that I made it through! This pregnancy has reminded me that every great experience in life has positives and negatives. But in the end, it is ALL worth it. We are beyond excited and looking forward to meeting our little one in 4 months!
If you guys have any tips or advice, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
