Our Journey through the 1st Trimester
I hadn’t missed my period yet, but I remember working on my laptop at the kitchen counter, and I would feel waves of nausea briefly wash over me. Hope started bubbling inside of me, and after it happened a few time, I told Casey…”I think I might be pregnant…”
Casey was suspicious of my prediction at first - knowing that it was too early to know if I’d missed my period or not, but fast forward three days later…he ran to Target for a pregnancy test.
It’s so funny - in movies and on Instagram people always talk about how they “reveal” that they are pregnant to their partner…the reality is that I couldn’t imagine doing it any other way than with Casey sitting on the bathtub ledge next to me while I peed on the stick. The suspense was too much to handle so I flipped the test upside down and we waited the 3 minutes to look together.
The excitement never wore off, but those brief little waves of nausea? About three weeks later (around week 7), it turned into full blown full body nausea. How long does the first trimester last you ask? 14 weeks. And from week 7 until week 14, I basically did nothing. I would wake up in the morning, struggle to eat breakfast, struggle to gather enough energy to take a shower… and then I would take a nap.
We would go on little walks around North Loop, but after about 20 minutes I would have to pee so badly and begin to feel sick again so we would head back home. As much as I wanted to be exercising and filling my body with healthy nutrients for our little Junebug, it felt more important to just survive.
There were a lot of challenges during the first trimester…the fear going into the first and second early ultrasounds (6 and 12 weeks), the intense emotions, the nausea being so constant and lasting for so long. I think one of the most challenging parts for me was that because it was lasting for so long, I began to worry if this was just the “new me” and that I wouldn’t ever have an appetite for food again and would struggle to ever have energy enough to even do basic tasks like cooking or going for a walk again. Of course, I was overjoyed and so incredibly thankful throughout all of this for our little baby, but that’s not to say it wasn’t challenging!!
The pregnancy apps, my midwives, and everything I read that things start to look up at 14 weeks. Every pregnancy is so different, but for me, things really did seem to turnaround almost exactly at 14 weeks! Around weeks 12 and 13, I began throwing up more but overall felt less nausea. At 14 weeks, my energy started picking up again, food started sounding good, and my overall mood improved. Thank goodness for second trimester!!
1st Trimester Questions & Answers
When is your Due Date?
Our little Junebug is due June 7th!
What has been the hardest thing to give up?
Oh man, nothing sounded good to me during the first trimester! I was living off of toast and….toast haha.
What prenatal are you using?
During the first trimester I took the Mega Food Baby & Me 2 prenatal with the goal to switch over to the Full Circle Prenatal when I could stomach it. I tried to do the Full Circle Prenatals during my 1st trimester, but sadly I gagged every time I tried to take one (and you are supposed to take 8 a day!). I am now able to take the Full Circle Prenatals and can’t recommend them enough!
What helped alleviate your nausea?
Long naps, sour gummy worms, and B12 prescribed to me by my doctor!
Favorite baby books?
Ohh there have been a few that I have just loved so far!
I haven’t finished reading this yet, but I love how empowering it is. It offers great information on advocating for yourself and thinking about the different options that you have throughout your pregnancy and when developing a birth plan.
This one I began reading as soon as I found out that I was pregnant. I felt very inspired, and then the nausea hit and I really couldn’t even look at the book. Just reading about food sounded awful! I know that sounds dramatic, but it really was awful. Reading it during weeks 4 and 5 set the foundation for me to learn about what type of prenatal vitamin I wanted to take, and to be somewhat thoughtful about picking foods when I could stomach them! Overall, a better read for 2nd and 3rd trimester :)
Great with Child: Letters to a Young Mother
This was such a sweet, wonderful book to read.
Bumpology: The Myth-Busting Pregnancy Book for Curious Parents to Be
I feel like this book explained so many things about pregnancy and birth that no one talks about! I’ve loved it.
What helped you get through the first semester?
100% Casey. Everyday I feel so thankful and lucky that I have such a wonderful husband. He took on cooking and dishes and cleaning our apartment throughout the entire first trimester, all on top of being in law school and working a full time job. Sometimes I would have a random sudden craving for a specific food at a specific restaurant, and Casey would hop in the car and pick it up. I’m really not sure how I could have done it without him, and it gives me a little knot in my stomach just thinking about it!
And of course, just realizing that I am feeling this way because Junebug was growing and to trust that my body knew what to do. During the first trimester your body is changing so much and growing entirely new infrastructure (a placenta!), so there is certainly a great reason why we feel so exhausted!!
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We are now in week 20 and are feeling Junebugs kicks and can see quite the baby bump (I will probably laugh at that comment 10 weeks from now…). We are so so excited and I will continue to share more along the way.