First Trimester of my first Pregnancy
This is my very first pregnancy. So everything is a little new. In some ways, it's actually worse than I could have ever imagined. But in other ways, it's actually not that bad. Today I'm talking about what my first trimester was really like.
Before I found out I was pregnant, I actually had no idea I was pregnant. I wanted to be pregnant, but I wasn't expecting anything to happen for a few months. I knew my period was supposed to be starting, and to be honest, a lot of the early symptoms of pregnancy, kind of feel like PMS. I had only been off birth control for a month, so I expected that my usually clockwork cycle would be a little off, and that there would be a few other adjustments as my body got used to working naturally on its own after 3 years on the pill. So yeah, my boobs were super sore and tender, I was bloated and constipated, and my face was breaking out. But there were a few things that kind of tipped me off that maybe this was more than just a late period.
For one thing, I was experience abdominal pain like I have never felt before, to the point where I actually went to the doctor to make sure nothing was wrong. Like me, the doctor didn't suspect pregnancy right away because again, only one month of no hormonal birth control to prevent any pregnancy. The likelihood of me being pregnant was very slim. So we did a few other tests and everything came back normal.
But I was still feeling a little off. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew I had never felt this way before. When I finally took an at home pregnancy test a few days later, I didn't believe it. I actually went to the doctor to get a blood test to make sure I hadn't gotten a false positive. My husband and I were so shocked and happy when we found out I really was pregnant.
After the first few weeks of my pregnancy things started feeling less like PMS and more like the classic pregnancy symptoms everyone talks about. Except that no one told me how tired I would be! This was a whole new level of exhaustion. I went to college, I know how to get by on very little sleep, but this was different. No matter how many hours of sleep I was getting, it still didn't feel like enough. I was in bed by 9 PM or earlier. I took 2-4 hour naps almost every day. I was sleeping 10+ hours at night. And I definitely was not waking up early for anything or anyone.
I was also nauseous. Like super nauseous. All. Day. Long. Thankfully, I never threw up, which is a huge blessing because I hate throwing up more than anything in the world. But I felt like no matter what I did, or what I ate, the nausea was a constant companion. The frustrating part was that I would find a remedy and it would work for like a week or so, and then it wouldn't work anymore.
Also, I didn't know it was possible to be nauseous and hungry at the same time. But I was constantly hungry. I felt like I could never eat enough. I've had hypoglycemia for years, but it came back full force when I became pregnant. So not only am I hungry 24/7, but if I don't eat every 2 hours, my blood sugar drops dramatically.
Food cravings when you are pregnant are a real thing. Like sure I get that sometimes you crave chocolate cake or whatever when your period is about to start, but you can survive. There are times when I am craving something so intently that I actually think I might die without it. You know what food doesn't get enough credit? Potatoes. Ever since I became pregnant, they are literally the greatest food known to man. Especially during the early part of my first trimester. I loved them mashed, baked, sauteed, hashed, and fried. And I craved them in all their glorious forms. Towards the end of my first trimester it shifted to tomatoes with lots of salt, or on a salad with lots of dressing. But my cravings were so intense that it would literally ruin my day if my salad didn't have any tomatoes on it.
Everyone is a little different and every pregnancy is a little different too. Yours might be totally different than mine. I know my pregnancy has been way different than anything I was expecting it to be. If you've been pregnant before, what was your first trimester like?
For one thing, I was experience abdominal pain like I have never felt before, to the point where I actually went to the doctor to make sure nothing was wrong. Like me, the doctor didn't suspect pregnancy right away because again, only one month of no hormonal birth control to prevent any pregnancy. The likelihood of me being pregnant was very slim. So we did a few other tests and everything came back normal.
But I was still feeling a little off. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew I had never felt this way before. When I finally took an at home pregnancy test a few days later, I didn't believe it. I actually went to the doctor to get a blood test to make sure I hadn't gotten a false positive. My husband and I were so shocked and happy when we found out I really was pregnant.
I was also nauseous. Like super nauseous. All. Day. Long. Thankfully, I never threw up, which is a huge blessing because I hate throwing up more than anything in the world. But I felt like no matter what I did, or what I ate, the nausea was a constant companion. The frustrating part was that I would find a remedy and it would work for like a week or so, and then it wouldn't work anymore.
Also, I didn't know it was possible to be nauseous and hungry at the same time. But I was constantly hungry. I felt like I could never eat enough. I've had hypoglycemia for years, but it came back full force when I became pregnant. So not only am I hungry 24/7, but if I don't eat every 2 hours, my blood sugar drops dramatically.
Food cravings when you are pregnant are a real thing. Like sure I get that sometimes you crave chocolate cake or whatever when your period is about to start, but you can survive. There are times when I am craving something so intently that I actually think I might die without it. You know what food doesn't get enough credit? Potatoes. Ever since I became pregnant, they are literally the greatest food known to man. Especially during the early part of my first trimester. I loved them mashed, baked, sauteed, hashed, and fried. And I craved them in all their glorious forms. Towards the end of my first trimester it shifted to tomatoes with lots of salt, or on a salad with lots of dressing. But my cravings were so intense that it would literally ruin my day if my salad didn't have any tomatoes on it.
My first trimester went the exact same! No throw up, nauseous ALL DAY, tired all the time, having to eat constantly to battle nausea, LOVING potatoes, extreme anxiety about body image because of the eating. It’s a sea of experiences. But now the second trimester is such a blessing, it feels so amazing in comparison and is making the experience much more positive!
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