FINDING OUT
As hard as it is to wait for the day of your expected period or even after, I try my very best to do so before taking a pregnancy test. I knew pregnancy was possible as we’d been trying to conceive for a few months. And while there were small things I noticed that could be early pregnancy symptoms and compared them to previous times being pregnant, I was going to wait it out as long as I could stand it to take a test.
On a Sunday night I had dinner out with friends and after coming home my stomach felt upset and gassy. I blamed this on what I ate and continued to all the next day when I felt bad and had some on and off nausea. Three days later I found myself at the grocery store for a quick trip and decided to get a cheap, generic brand pregnancy test to have just “in case.” And because waiting isn’t my strong suit, I immediately took the test when I got home, which was one day before my period was due.
It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen a positive result come up, it’s simply a miracle and such a blessing. I stood over that test with my head and heart racing! And I prayed! Prayed for our family and this precious baby that was forming.
EATING
Eating is always hard during the first trimester. It’s important to eat every few hours to keep from having blood sugar lows and keep up some energy when you’re feeling so drained. I always like to have easy snacks on hand that are high in protein and good fat.
I’ve never experienced strong aversions to particular foods or smells during pregnancy. There have been a few things like onions, garlic, salsa, and red sauces like spaghetti sauce that haven’t seemed appealing from time to time. And oddly, those have been the same through each pregnancy.
In the past I would say I’ve also never had many strong food cravings. However, with this pregnancy and looking back on the others, I’ve noticed salty things have definitely been something I prefer. I’ve always loved cheese and salty meats and antipasto spreads. Desiring those type foods seems to be more amplified during pregnancy for me.
I have always felt that eating during the first trimester is more about eating what seems appealing and not forcing things that don’t. I always love a big salad for lunches piled high with lots of yummy things. But the thought of vegetables in general when you’re battling nausea all day has never been appealing to me. If I was going to get any greens, it usually came from smoothies. That was always a win because cold things always seemed appealing as well as fruits of all kinds. Especially cantaloupe! Thankfully, we had planted some in our garden this year!
I was able to continue with our meal plans for dinner, adjusting based on what appealed to me during each week. I think only once or twice we had to make a last minute takeout run when I absolutely didn’t feel up to cooking or what we had planned didn’t seem appealing.
SLEEPING
There were a handful of nights where I battled insomnia in the very early weeks. I blame this on the shifting hormones. Also to blame on the hormones were the crazy dreams. Somewhere in the 7th or 8th week these peaked. There were times I would wake in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back to sleep depending on the dream.
For the most part, though, sleep has been easy to come by. I changed up my routine of preferring to rise a little before the boys to start the day and enjoyed getting to sleep in until they woke up since we were still in the summer break. We had plenty of lazy mornings all piled in the bed watching cartoons.
WORKOUTS
Workouts are an evolving thing throughout pregnancy. I believe in listening to the cues your body is sending you and following them. For the first couple weeks, workouts and lifting resumed as normal, and I was happy to continue with what I had previously been doing. And then the nausea set in! Suddenly my energy was zapped from nausea coupled with how hard the body is working during the first trimester. I started to modify what workouts looked like and waited until I started feeling better to see how workouts would change again in the second trimester.
I still continued with some low impact HITT workouts at home and yoga. My favorite thing I added back to the routine was swimming laps. I always love the solitude and refreshing aspects of swimming laps. It made me feel so good to have a break in the day outside in the sun with some time completely to myself.
MORNING SICKNESS
Like many articles on morning sickness, I tend to agree it would be better termed “all day” sickness. For the most part the nausea would strike at almost the same general times of the day, peaking in the evening hours. This holds true for all four pregnancies for me. After dinner would be the worst time of the day and often it was rough just getting through the nighttime routine. Often the worst would strike about the time I would normally go to bed. I would stay up reading later than normal waiting for it to pass so I could fall asleep. Another reason I was thankful for the summer time just knowing we didn’t have to be up super early.
We ended up telling the older boys the news of the new baby shortly after my first appointment in the first trimester. This was earlier than we’d planned or done in the past, but they’re a little older now and were starting to catch on that something was different. There were some mornings Thomas and Artur would come bouncing in our room and immediately ask, “Why is that garbage can by your bed?” “Why do you have crackers on your table?” “Do you have a stomach virus?” And then there were many times I would have to say, “Mommy needs to take a break. I’m not feeling well.”
A few products I’ve relied on that helped ease the nausea:
Peppermint Oil This is one essential oil that we use all the time in our home. I always have it on hand for headaches, upset tummies, or an energy boost. I especially love this roller version. It’s so convenient to carry when you’re out and about.
Sparkling Water I don’t know why I never discovered this before now. But it made a world of difference. I started to notice the nausea seemed to be a result of reflux to some extent. Not the burning type reflux, just a trapped gas feeling. I noticed the carbonation in the water would help break up the trapped gas and nausea feeling pretty quickly.
I ordered a sample pack of bubly sparkling water to try. It was a good way to test out the flavors. I ended up liking the lime the best. I’ve still got some in the fridge for times when my belly might feel unsettled or the reflux creeps up.
A friend also gave me some leftover packets she had of a newer product called Sparkling Mama. I tried it mixed in water and in Pellegrino sparking water and noticed a drastic difference. I also really liked that these had added benefits of magnesium along with folic acid and vitamin B6.
Preggo Pop Drops These little drops came in so handy. Again, I’m not sure why I had never given these a try in previous pregnancies. I had a recent dental cleaning, and I joked they would tell me I had a cavity because I used these so much! I would always use one after a larger meal, especially after dinner. They really did help take the edge off the tummy discomfort. Now even out of the first trimester, I still keep some in my purse just in case I need them.
EMOTIONS
The way the fluctuating hormones affect your emotions and mood, especially in the first trimester, varies so much from person to person and even pregnancy to pregnancy in the same person. Everyone’s experience is unique for sure. I had anxiety as usual peaking around the 7th and 8th week that lessened to some degree after seeing the baby’s heartbeat on our first ultrasound. No matter if it’s your first pregnancy or one of many, the fear and anxiety of the possibility of miscarrying or something going wrong is always a heightened feeling for the majority of the first trimester.
I definitely struggled with some irritability during the early weeks that leveled off near the end of the first trimester. I’m not an extremely emotional person to begin with and for the most part have felt pretty calm after the first trimesters in the past. I also had never experienced the Jekyll and Hyde pregnancy feeling until this go round. There were a few times Tom and I were watching a movie or show and something would trigger some tears followed by laughing because I had no idea why I was crying. Thankfully, those episodes were few!
