1st trimester

I’m one of the youngest of my cousins on my dad side so I’ve had my fair share of experiencing babies being born and watching them grow up. Besides that, as a side job I used to nanny and help take care of kids so having one of my own one day was something I knew I’ve always wanted. Before getting pregnant (you can read how I found out in the post just before this) I heard some broad generalities about being pregnant. I knew that most people had it rough the first trimester and knowing how hard my mom had it she sort of told me what I could expect. What I didn’t know was exactly how I would feel or what my body was about to go through. This post is very honest and may be a little TMI or gross for some. However, here are a few truths about those first weeks of pregnancy at least in my case.

1.  You think you won’t get sick then BAM it hits you

I thought I would be one of the lucky ones who doesn’t get sick or would only get mild nausea but nope, not even close. At around 7 weeks the nausea kicked in. It wasn’t so bad this early on and even tolerable for the most part. Right when I hit 11 weeks it was the day before my 30^th birthday. Titan had the day off so we went about our usual Sunday: church, lunch, errands, nap time, dinner. All day I had this pounding headache and I thought surely with an afternoon nap it would go away but nope! We met up with friends for an early dinner and I could barely hold myself up at the table. I knew something was up and after a few bites of some chicken and a total of three tater tots I was done. We headed home and before even making it on to the freeway I told Titan to pull over. I’ve never thrown up so much in my life and I feel really bad for the person that cleans up the Safeway parking lot because I left it a mess! When we got home I went straight to the toilet and threw up whatever was left in me. Next, I went straight to bed and about 30 min later I called my sister on the phone and started balling my eyes out because of how terrible I felt. Again, I had the urge to go but this time nothing was coming out. I just remember my stomach contracting and gagging but there was nothing left in me (not even water) to vomit. I sat down on the bathroom floor feeling weak, dehydrated, and defeated. Next thing I know we’re at the Emergency Room getting an IV and some miracle medicine to help ease the nausea. Happy Birthday to me!

2.  There goes your appetite

This was one of the first signs that my body was changing. Prior to getting pregnant Titan and I would eat out almost every night. Whether it was a quick meal at the food court or at a nice restaurant, this is when we made time for “us” and got to catch up on what’s going on in life in general. We went to Maui for his birthday and to visit some family and by then I was already 7 weeks. We went to a nice fancy restaurant and I ordered my usual go to meal (braised short ribs). A few bites in I was full. No, I hadn’t eaten a huge lunch or even snacked prior to dinner I just wasn’t hungry. We took my leftovers to go and when we got back to the hotel I was hungry again. I’m finally starting to get my appetite back but instead of eating big meals I just eat smaller portions but more frequently.

3.  Sleepy does not even describe it

I work at an office with white walls, no windows, and horrible lighting so it’s natural for me to feel sleepy after staring at the computer all day. But, by the time I start walking to my car I get a burst of energy and I go about my afternoon whether it’s taking the dogs out for a walk, exercising, or household chores. With this pregnancy I haven’t been able to do any of that! As soon as I get home I usually start to feel nauseous and the only thing that relieves it is sleeping it off. Sometimes I’ll sleep through the night and other times I’ll wake up a few hours later, take a shower, then head right back into bed. Lately, I don’t feel as sleepy and have actually been able to stay awake until 10:30 pm! However, on the weekends I do tend to take two hour naps in the middle of the day J

4.  You feel horrible and you can’t tell anyone why

So, remember my birthday story, it was my big 3-0 birthday and usually I’m a big birthday celebration person. I think people expected me to throw something at least a get-together but this year I didn’t even want to celebrate it myself. Of course, Titan and my immediate family knew why but it was still early on that no one else really knew. I don’t know how many dinner invitations I turned down or happy hours after work but now you know why I was so MIA and a couldn’t go out past 7pm.

5.  No belly yet but you have boobs for days

One of my early signs of pregnancy were tender breasts. Sleeping became hard because with even a little brush up against them it was like someone was stabbing me with a knife. I wore a sports bra for some added protection but sooner or later I grew out of what I had and had to hit up Motherhood Maternity for some sleeping bras. I’ve always been blessed at the chest so bigger boobs were no biggie for me but man, if they’re as big as they are now, I don’t even want to know what it’ll be like a few months from now!

6.  Loosing weight not gaining it

When you hear of someone being pregnant it’s expected that they’ll gain all this weight. From my first Dr.’s appointment to my most one at 19 weeks, I lost a total of 11 pounds. Now I know I’ll gain it back and then some soon enough but who would have thought that being pregnant can actually make you loose weight.

7.  Hemroids, yup I went there

No one ever told me you get them during pregnancy. In fact, they’re quite common. However, when I googled hemroids during pregnancy most people get them in their third trimester or after giving birth. In my case, that little sucker showed up at 8 weeks and still pops its head out every so often. Besides it being super annoying at least there’s over the counter medicine that you can take and it’s totally safe for you and your baby. I found that Preparation H cream and Tucks moist towelletes work best for me. Thank God for my AWESOME husband who helps apply the cream for me since I can’t see that far back and down!

8.  You can smell stuff from a mile away

I’m already really sensitive when it comes to smell but I can be in another room and smell something funny. I usually have dog feeding duty every night since Titan gets home later than I do but their dog food made me sick every time that container was open. I tried using a face mask, wrapping a towel around my face, and even holding my breath but nothing worked. There were nights where Titan wouldn’t get home until 10:00 pm and my poor doggies still hadn’t eaten dinner because I couldn’t stand the smell of their food to feed them. Sorry Ewok and Emma!

9.  Pregnancy hormones are no joke

I’ve noticed that I’ve been super emotional and cry a lot! Because I was so sick I often felt like my body couldn’t handle all the changes and would just ball my eyes out questioning if all of this was even worth it. I would get down on myself for even thinking that and would cry even more for being such a bad mommy. I remember snapping at Titan a few times because he wouldn’t show me the “understanding and sympathy” I needed. I would often tell him “I wish you could experience how I’m feeling” and “I don’t know how anyone could have more than one kid after feeling this way”. I still feel that way sometimes but because the nausea has eased off a little I no longer think those thoughts (except for the more kids part).

10.  You make sacrifices and do whatever it takes to feel better

If you know me, you know how much I love French fries. Any style, prepared any way, I could eat them every day! At 12 weeks I began to notice that anything fried made me even more sick. Right at 13 weeks after throwing up my breakfast (jumbo jack and curly fries; yes don’t judge me that was what I wanted for breakfast) Titan cut me off completely from anything fried. That of course meant French fries. But, knowing how sick it made me I didn’t care. There was one time we ordered a meal and it came with French fries. I told the waitress don’t even bother putting the fries on there and I would still pay for the cost of the meal without the fries. I wasn’t even tempted to try not even one single fry because I didn’t want to have to pay for it another way later. Now, I’m able to sneak one or two fries in with my meal but definitely still not having just fries for my meal.

I hope this post shed some light on the things people “forget” about their first trimester and if it didn’t at least you got a little laugh out of it. I’m well into my second trimester now and things have gotten SO MUCH better. Titan and I were even able to go on a little babymoon in San Francisco and I was able to eat almost whatever I wanted and keep it down (except once). More on that experience in a later post.