10 Things I Wish I Knew About The First Trimester
When you hear people talk about pregnancy you either hear the glowing stories of feeling your baby kick for the first time or the gruesome details of morning sickness. Yet pregnancy is so much more than that. Are there really exciting milestones? Of course! Are there really horrible moments? Definitely! People tell you the drastic ends of the spectrum but what they don't tell you are some of the uncomfortable in-between symptoms. So here is my list of things I wish I knew about the first trimester. (This list reflects my experience, yours may be completely different!)
You are tired ALL the time! I'm not just talking about your lack of caffeine. I'm talking about how at any moment I could lie down and fall asleep. This is coming from the girl who would stay up until 3 am because I just wasn't tired.
Cramps. I had no clue that early in your pregnancy you would experience period-like cramps. So I googled it- bad idea. Everything said signs of a miscarriage and I went into a full-blown panic attack. Thankfully, I quickly found out that there is nothing to fear and mild cramping during the first few weeks is normal. But do yourself a favor and stay off of google! (If you do experience cramping, please check with your medical provider because it can be a sign that there is a problem.)
Pregnancy brain is real! I honestly thought this was an excuse for people to act dumb. I know I'm horrible for thinking this. Especially since I now forget random information all the time. I'll be in the middle of telling my mother-in-law about the movie my husband and I watched last night and I can't remember that Vince Vaghn was the name of the lead actor.
Bloating and gas. It's too early to be showing and there is definitely no baby bump, so why don't my skinny jeans fit? It's too early to tell people that I'm pregnant so everyone probabaly thinks i'm just fat. You're also super gassy. I'm talking teenage boy burps and farts. And sometimes you can't control when they come out.
Belly Rubs. As soon as people find out your pregnant they feel the need to touch your stomach- even though you're not showing yet. Which is super uncomfortable when you consider the fact that I'm bloated and I just drank a gallon of water and you touching my stomach just reminds me that it's time to pee again.
Food aversions and cravings are no joke! I was determined to eat healthy during the first trimester to make sure I didn't gain any unnecessary weight and to make sure that the baby had proper nutrients. But after the way my body reacted to broccoli- sorry hubby you're going to have to finish that costco sized bag of greenstuff. I'll be over here eating In-N-Out. Before being pregnant I would go through 4-5 cups of coffee a day- I know you don't have to tell me how unhealthy that is. During the first trimester I didn't drink ANY, even though I could have one cup a day. It's not that I want to throw up whenever I think about it, which don't get me wrong I feel that way about broccoli, but some food just doesn't sound even remotely appetizing.
It's lonely. You have this super exciting news and you want to shout it on the rooftops! But you can't- just not yet anyway. So Instead you have to keep quiet for 12 weeks. And yes your close friends and family know but I promise they don't want to hear you talk about pregnancy symptoms 24/7.
It's uncomfortable. I'm talking about being at a baseball stadium in the very top row sitting all the way in the middle. So when you have to pee every 5 minutes, you have to apologize and step over 20 people 10 times throughout the night. And since you don't have a baby bump yet- they just think you're crazy.
Working out is much more difficult. Not just because I feel the need to puke in the middle of it. Not just because my body is so exhausted. But because my heart rate is higher and I can't catch my breath. So now I have to take a break 10 times when I used to breeze through the whole thing! (Even thought it's difficult stay at it! It get's easier as your pregnancy continues and later you'll be thankful you stayed in shape!)
Morning Sickness. It likely won't hit until 6 to 8 weeks. Of course I knew about morning sickness because every movie that has a pregnant woman shows her barfing in the morning. But what they don't show you is that it's not just in the morning. I thought I'd be sick in the morning and then be able to continue on with my day without feeling sick. Unfortunately I'm sick all day every day and it's actually the worst at night! Want my advice on how to survive morning sickness? Check out this post!