Pregnancy is different for every single woman. Some women love being pregnant, others don’t enjoy their pregnancy at all. Some women are sick throughout the entire pregnancy, others have little to no morning sickness at all. Most of us fall somewhere in between. With nausea and sore breasts and exhaustion like you’ve never felt before, I want to share with you a few tips and tricks I used to survive the first trimester.
#1 Find a comfortable bra.
Before I even knew I was pregnant for sure, my boobs hurt. By the time I was six weeks, they had increased in size, fullness and sensitivity. I used to love taking my bra off at the end of the day and flinging it across the room, now I find myself taking off my bra gingerly, bracing for the impact. I now live in a sports bra, and I don’t care how it makes my boobs look under my shirt. No one prepares you for nipple sensitivity either. Just a heads up, a slight breeze can send a jolt through your body.
#2 Be prepared for morning sickness.
The first two weeks after finding out we were expecting were pretty great and super easy. Then the six week mark hit and with it came the morning sickness, or should I say ALL DAY SICKNESS. Between 7 & 7:30 I could count on the Linda Blair impersonations to begin. Fortunately I was a once and done on the vomiting, but the nausea would hang around most of the day. I would “peak” and feel better mid day, but then dinner time would roll around, and the nausea and food aversions began.
Now let me just say, I LOVE TO EAT. I love all the food. I love pizza and burgers, and pasta and salads, and I know I’ve mentioned how much I love cheese. I grew up in a meat and potatoes household. I tried all the food.
During those few weeks, when my nausea and food aversions were at their peak, I lived on cheerios, decaf tea, macaroni noodles, french fries, apples, watermelon, toast and bananas. Not the best diet and definitely too restrictive for date nights out with The Hubs. We had just moved to Wisconsin when we found out we were expecting, and did not go to any restaurants until the second trimester! And thus began the Joy of the First Trimester.
If you still don’t feel better try
- Deep breathing
- Peppermint Lifesavers
- Drinking some ginger tea
- Plain toast or crackers or cheerios
- Preggo Pops
- Vitamin B6 & Unisom
- Eat what you can, when you can.
- Cut yourself some slack!
#3 Sleep!
Sleep when you can. By early afternoon every single day, I was ready for a nap. Most days, I allowed myself to lay down on the sofa and nap before The Hubs came home from work. Fortunately I am able to stay at home, so I can take a nap when I’m sleepy, but if you can’t sleep when you can. Choose sleep over staying up and watching television. Choose sleep over mindlessly scrolling through social media. You’re growing a tiny human, and in the first trimester our bodies are doing all of the work while the placenta is being formed.
#4 Fiber Fiber Fiber!
Or prune juice if that’s more to you liking! Constipation can be an issue during the first trimester. I found that constipation led to more trouble with nausea. Our hormones are to blame for this, slowing things down, and if you’re anything like me and already have trouble, you’re going to want to get ahead of this one!
#5 Allow yourself to feel the feelings and be in the moment.
You are going to get overwhelmed by all the feelings, and this is normal, you aren’t crazy, it’s just the hormones. You are going to feel all sorts of emotions from joy to maybe scared, to even confused and overwhelmed. It will pass. You might even start to cry because your husband left the milk on the counter. I promise he didn’t do it on purpose, it’s just the hormones. It’s important to talk to your partner, I promise if you talk about your what you’re feeling they will at least try to be understanding! Try not to let the fear steal your joy! This is one I work on every single day.
I hope these tips help YOU survive your first trimester! If you have any other tips, please share them in the comments!
Until Next Time: Peace, Love & Adventures
Jess xoxo
Betting on the Betlyons 