First Trimester Update

Hi friends!

I am mostly writing this so that I can document this time and look back on it later for sweet memories of my first pregnancy, and maybe to give you some ideas if you’re pregnant too or trying. Overall my first trimester was good, and by good I mean really rough but that’s normal so it was good (LOL). I am so grateful to be healthy and that our baby is healthy too. The symptoms that I felt in the first trimester are completely normal and although it was incredibly hard for me I knew that it was all a good sign.

I was feeling great until week 6 when the morning sickness hit. My nausea would take everything out of me. I was so nauseous all day every day and threw up everyday too. I know women that have had the worse morning sickness so the entire time I knew that although I felt gross it could be a lot worse. I was also very exhausted after week 6, to the point where I would feel like I could fall asleep at my desk. Once 4:30pm hit I was a completely different person. The nausea got more intense and I was drained. When I got home from work I would sit on the couch just for a second and I could not get up again, I was so tired! I also stopped running after week 6 because of the nausea and exhaustion so I took it easy and went on lots of walks when I felt up for it. At that point, I really only cared about being able to work and function during the day so I gave myself a lot of grace with my exercise routine and as much as I wanted to workout I simply couldn’t. So I made it a goal to walk 10 miles a week and I did most weeks up until around week 10 when the morning sickness peaked. After that I was not able to go on walks anymore. I just took it easy and reminded myself that I needed to rest and chill out for a bit. “This too shall pass”, I thought.

I am 16 weeks as I’m writing this and to be honest I do feel better but I’m still nauseous all the time and have not felt that shift everyone talks about when you get into your second trimester *sigh*. Hopefully soon!

How I fought the nausea: I am not used to eating breakfast since I’ve been doing intermittent fasting for almost a year now but I definitely needed something in my stomach at all times. I basically lived off of crackers, toast, fruit smoothies, fruits, oatmeal, popcorn, pasta, and cold chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-A (Ha, I have no idea why). I put peppermint oil in a roller and would put some on the back of my neck. I diffused it in my office too and it helped a bit. I also got these candies and this magnesium spray. The candies helped a lot for sure, until I couldn’t stand them anymore! I kept lots of snacks around me at all times and carbs and cold food seemed to give me the most relief.

Cravings: Cold food and drinks! Lots of fruit smoothies, cold fruit and juices that were not green. My favorite was carrot, orange, ginger, tumeric and lemon. Towards the end of my first trimester I craved…wait for it…hot dogs! I have no idea why because I have never craved a hot dog in my life and could not remember the last time I ate one. I had 3 dreams of me eating a hot dog but I wanted to remain strong and not give in haha. I finally had a hot dog at our gender reveal party and it was delicious. Other than that I have had no specific cravings at all.

Food Aversions: Ugh, everything I love I could not even think about without getting queasy! Avocado, eggs, sweet potatoes, coffee, green smoothies, salads, sweets…I hated it all. The smell of coffee is still repulsive, I wonder when I’ll crave it again.

Supplements: All of these have been approved by my doctor, so I would check with yours before trying any of these. Honestly, I haven’t been good at staying consistent with these, only with my prenatal but this is what I’ve taken during the first trimester.

Gender Reveal: We had a get together with our church and our moms were able to be here. It was so fun and the best moment to find out our baby is a little girl. Ahh we are so excited!

Baby things purchased: An adorable baby blue and gold dress. That’s it. Haha, honestly I haven’t been in the mood to shop or research things I might need because I’ve been so sick and exhausted. I hope that kicks in soon but I don’t really know how much I’ll buy honestly. I really don’t want to spend a fortune and buy every single thing I “think” I may need. Now that we know the gender, our friends and family have offered to give us so many hand-me downs and I’m so thankful for that!

Birth plan: I have definitely thought about this a lot since way before I was pregnant. I would like to have a natural un-medicated birth. We decided we are using an OB and giving birth at a local hospital. We hired a doula and I’m very excited about the help she will provide. I have also been seeing a chiropractor since January for my hips after I ran my marathon in December, and I will continue seeing him throughout my pregnancy. I will say this though, at the end of the day all we want is for me to be healthy and to get the baby out safely. I can plan all I want but I have no idea how things will go down the day of so I am mentally preparing myself to be ok with that. At the same time, I’m doing everything that I can do to prep my body for a natural delivery.

Weight gain: I actually lost about 3lbs which is totally normal in your first trimester because of morning sickness.

What I am looking forward to: I am honestly looking forward to having a big belly! In the past couple of days it has definitely made an appearance but in the mornings it’s kind of gone haha.

Worst part of pregnancy: The nausea 100%.

Best part of pregnancy: Ahh so much! I love reading in my app all the things that are happening in my body and how the baby is growing. It’s a complete miracle! Our family and friends are so excited for us so it’s been so much fun to talk about. Now that we know it’s a girl we call her by name and pray for her and it’s just been incredible. Raymond has been so supportive and has been so helpful while I’ve been sick. Can I say that I love being pregnant but hate the nausea?

Thanks for reading!

XO, Karen