First trimester recap

My husband, Alex, and I found out I was pregnant with our first little babe in February of 2022. (I wrote more about that in my post, Finding out about Baby Sierra). Since finding out, I’ve been LOVING hearing others’ experiences during each stage of pregnancy. Obviously everyone’s story is different and unique, however hearing what others went through made me feel less alone during my experience. So, I’m compiling a list of things that I experienced during my first trimester, just in case it might help you during yours.

Pregnancy is a true miracle in every sense of the word. I am SO grateful that I am able to experience something like this in my lifetime. But, the first trimester was HARD, yall. It can be difficult to navigate something that is so incredible, yet so challenging, but I guess that’s a lot of things in life!

My Expectations:

I really thought I was going to be someone who didn’t get affected by pregnancy. I had a vision that I would carry on as usual – Eating, working out, and living as I normally do. L.O.L. That was not my story AT ALL. I experienced a lot of physical and mental symptoms that prevented me from living my life as I normally do. Overall, this first trimester was HARD, yall. It was 0% what I expected.

Symptoms I had before I found out I was pregnant:

15 days before I found out I was pregnant, I randomly threw up out of nowhere. I was driving, and had to pull over onto the side of the road to get sick. It was super random, and might not have had anything to do with the pregnancy at all, but looking back I just find it interesting so I’m including this as maybe one of my first symptoms.

I also experienced heart burn before I found out about the baby. I had never really experienced heart burn before, so I think this one definitely was a symptom of pregnancy. This symptom continued through the first trimester and, spoiler alert, is still hanging out as I write this at 38 weeks pregnant.

Symptoms I had after I found out I was pregnant:

• Nausea

Around the 6 week mark (about 10 days after we found out about baby), I was SO nauseous you guys. I’d throw up at least once a day, usually more. This continued until about 14 weeks.

• What helped me with nausea:

Eating breakfast was a MUST for me. I wasn’t a breakfast eater before I was pregnant, but it became an essential for me. I had to eat breakfast immediately after waking up, otherwise I’d get sick.

Around 8 weeks, we drove to Florida with people who didn’t know I was pregnant yet, and I was super worried about getting car sick during the drive. My doctor recommended taking one Vitamin B6 pill and one Ginger pill each day to combat the nausea in the car. It worked really well during our drive down to Florida! It didn’t help as much during our drive home, but I never threw up in the car, so that was a win for me lol.

PLENTY of snacks. I kept snacks in my car and brought food with me wherever I went. My go to snack was crackers and peanut butter – A life saver! I also ate a lot of granola bars because they were easy to pack and eat quickly.

• Fatigue

I slept A LOT during the first trimester. I would be tired for no reason at all and I would nap often. I was mentally and physically drained for a good part of my days.

• What helped me with fatigue:

Honestly, nothing I did made me feel more energized. However, Alex and other family members were constantly reminding me that my body was growing a human, and that takes a lot of work. These reminders helped me feel less guilty about my lack of energy. If you’re currently in your first trimester and you find yourself exhausted by life, just remember that you and your body are going through something really challenging. Even though you can’t see your baby growing just yet, they are developing like crazy, and you are helping them! So don’t beat yourself up if you need to nap (or three)!

• Struggles with mental health:

This was the thing I was LEAST prepared for. I knew that physical symptoms were a possibility during pregnancy, but I never expected to feel so sad! There would be times that I would just sit there and bawl so hard, and it would come out of no where. A lot of sadness stemmed from not feeling like myself. I felt like I had become a shell of myself, like all of my personality had been drained away, and I was left feeling bland, tired, and sad.

I also experienced a lot of guilt BECAUSE I felt sad. I struggled with the idea that I should be enjoying this time, because, like I mentioned, creating a life is such a miracle, yet I just couldn’t celebrate because I felt so awful. I also felt guilty because Alex was doing everrrryyytthingg for our family when I physically couldn’t. He was working all day, making me meals, cleaning the house, taking care of me when I was getting sick – He literally carried us through this time and while I was so grateful to have him, I also felt immense guilt that I couldn’t give anything back. He was giving 100% and I was giving 0%, and that was hard mentally to cope with.

• What helped me with mental health struggles:

JESUS. Literally, relying on God’s strength and knowing that He had a purpose for this season is the main thing that got me through.

Leaning on Alex and family. Even though I didn’t want to be around people much when I felt sick and sad, it helped so much to have people around, reminding me that what I was feeling was okay, and that I would get through it.

Talking to my doctor. Sharing with my doctor that I was feeling these emotions was incredibly helpful, and it was nice to hear from a professional that these feelings are completely normal during pregnancy.

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Overall, the first trimester was definitely the hardest of the three for me. Though I went through a lot physically and mentally, I would do it again in a heartbeat for baby!

Thanks for coming along with me through my pregnancy journey! If you happen to be in the first trimester and struggling, I hope this post helps you feel less alone. Give yourself some grace and rely on God – You can and will get through this!

” ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me whole heartedly, you will find me.’ ” Jeremiah 29:11-13