The First Trimester of Pregnancy

When you are pregnant so many people will give you advice and ask you inappropriate questions. Men, women, kids, etc. Suggestions do help, especially if it is your first child, like mine, but those who said it in a certain way were the ones who really made an impact. So if you’re reading this and trying to figure out how to talk to a pregnant women start with something like, “This helped me...” or “My wife used this or ate this to help her, try it, it might help you.” Instead of things like, “This is going to happen...” or “You need to do this because of this...” I had many cousins try saying that I will be like this or like this and then I had many who said this helped me and some of things they suggested did and it was so great to get advice from women who have had this experience.

I will go over what happened each month of the first trimester and hope the advice I give might be helpful to you. When you are vomiting almost everyday, twice a day you will honestly be grateful for any advice that will give you relief.

And just as a side note, cut your husband some slack. I know you might be thinking, I am the one having the baby he should be cutting me some slack. If your husband has sympathy for you he will be very helpful in leaving you be with the throwing up, but getting you what you need and going to the store to help you. But your sex drive might be at an all time low and you might not want to touch him at all four a couple months and men get anxious when they don’t have those things, so just be sympathetic back, and create a relationship with one another in a different way. It has definitely strengthened our marriage!

Month One

So I didn’t even know I was pregnant until six weeks. The pregnancy tests I took were from the dollar store and read negative until six weeks. It was kind of a bummer, but it all works out.

This first month though, I didn’t notice much of a difference in my daily routine. I was still working out like usual and going to work. After my work days though, I noticed I was really tired. More tired than usual. My husband thought that was very strange and I would take random naps at like 8 PM. When you’re pregnant you are literally so exhausted. Even if you get a normal amount of hours of sleep you wake up dazed and tired. And you stay that way all day. I would recommend keeping your mind active and try to stay active. It’s very exhausting and will wipe you out, but you will sleep better at night if you don’t take naps during the day.

So if you don’t know you’re pregnant the first month, but you are trying, just be aware of how tired you are and the signs your body is displaying, because you might be pregnant!

Month Two

So once we found out, we told both our parents and I made an appointment with the OB. My husband has a hard time keeping a secret so we told our immediate families pretty quickly and having someone else know was fun and the advice given was well needed.

At the appointment I got an ultrasound and the little one was literally the size of a pea/blueberry. It was so weird to see and it’s kind of an out of body experience. I know I have a child inside of me, but it doesn’t feel like they are in there. It’s very surreal.

We went in knowing nothing and very unsure about what to do. We are still kind of that way, but we have learned from experience. But you go in and they do a bunch of tests to make sure you are healthy and the baby is going to be growing in a safe environment. Then the ultrasound. The OB measures the babe and the progress. We were doing good and I hadn’t thrown up yet.

Boy did I have wishful thinking. After I jinxed myself I threw up almost everyday. My work was wondering what was wrong with me and I ended up working from home three days a week because I kept throwing up everything I was eating. It was a tiring experience because I had to drive through traffic there and back to get to work and home.

Some suggestions to help with the nausea. Call your doctor to get some pills to take morning and night. They will make you tired, but better tired than throwing up. You might also have a had time swallowing pills. I would be careful because when I tried to swallow my big supplement pills, every time I would throw them up. Not pleasant having that come up.

Things to eat: very bland foods. If you can swallow these eat- bread, rice, soup, crackers, pretzels, and whatever has been making you feel good and you can keep down. Also, make sure that you are drinking a lot! If you don’t drink enough and your pee turns brown you need to see the doctor. Sometimes my pee would get dark, but my husband was so sweet and kept me drinking at least small sips throughout the day. Literally anything could help you though. Essential oils, sucking on certain flavors of candies (peppermint or lemon), nausea bracelets, etc. try it all and see what works.

And another huge thing that effected me was smells, literally anything. The only thing that was helpful was fruit smells. Natural fruit smells. Fragrances and candle smells (except for certain citrus') were the WORST! I could not stand any smells, except for like apples and grapefruit. It was so weird. So make sure to surround yourself with either no smells or the ones that make you feel good.

Month Three

This was probably the worst month of all. I couldn’t keep food down for 24 hours and had to go into the OB and get fluids. It’s not a great experience in that you hadn’t been able to eat anything, but you are able to get some nutrients in your body and you feel better. Try not to get to this stage.

I still kept throwing up and having bad days where I couldn’t eat, but nothing like that day above. Once you throw up a certain food, as well it’s kind of hard to eat it again, so try to eat foods that are bland with no seasoning so if it does come back up you won’t be bothered by it.

During the first trimester I lost about 10 pounds and haven’t been able to get it back. Babies will take everything from you. You might not even realize, but I try to eat so much food, but every morning I weigh myself and I haven’t gained any weight at all. It’s the weirdest experience and I wish I was like this normally, but try not to worry and just do what makes you feel good.

Some of my families suggestions that have helped that could work for you; eat protein in the morning in some form whether it be eggs, a shake, etc. having this for or after breakfast could be a huge game changer. Eat green apples in the morning and night. Apparently cruise lines recommend this for sea sickness and man does it work for nausea! It’s a nice, healthy way of eating well and it could help with your nausea.

Honestly, when you are throwing up everything and anything even if it’s something you’ve eaten before during your pregnancy, just eat whatever you can and drink whatever you can. It is a hard, trying experience, but I hear it’s worth it so I am just waiting!

I will continue to write about the other trimesters, so stay tuned!

If you have questions and can’t find the answers online or from family, call your doctor. You’re probably thinking well why wouldn’t I do that first? I am the type of person who hates asking for help, so I’ve always gone to my mom first and asked her what to do before I call my doctor. Your mom will literally become your best friend during this time because if you had my experience you will be scared, alone, and exhausted from exerting energy from throwing up, trying to eat something, then throwing it up again. But call your doctor because they obviously know what’s best! And trust your gut! I haven’t really had cravings, but you might have all the cravings and you need to eat what your body craves.