Today, I’m going to share all about my first trimester. It gets pretty raw so be prepared lol. There are so many things I wish I knew about pregnancy that I was never warned about. I understand everyone’s journey is different, I’m just sharing what I’ve experienced, whats worked for me, etc.
I didn’t really start to “feel” different until about my 5th week of pregnancy. I remember I woke up and my boobs were SO sore and tender. That was the very first symptom I had. This week I had also taken the pregnancy test which confirmed why my boobs were so sore lol. I still had a good appetite, wasn’t feeling nauseous, just overall felt pretty good. I still had my energy as well. Little did I know that would be short lived…
Week 6. This is where things got pretty scary. I called my doctor and told her I was experiencing pretty severe cramping with bleeding. They tried to assure me this was normal for the beginning of pregnancy but for some reason I just knew something was wrong. I went to work the next morning and still felt like something was wrong. I went to the bathroom and there was a lot of blood, more than ever. I grew scared and called my OB right away and told her what happened. She immediately told me to come in ASAP (luckily my OB office was right across the street from my work). I left right away and they didn’t mess around when they saw me. They had blood drawn, vitals done, and urine sample taken from me in less than 10 minutes after arriving. They then guided me into the ultrasound room. I was so scared there wouldn’t be a heartbeat. But by the Grace of God there was that strong flicker of the heart beating. I’ll never forget that day, or feeling. I started crying right then and there. I just felt such strong emotions at the time. After the ultrasound, the doctor came in and explained to me that I was experiencing a subchorionic hematoma, otherwise known as bleeding underneath the cervix. The cause is unknown. At this point, the doctor was concerned about baby’s heartbeat being too low, and my bleeding. She put me on strict bedrest for two weeks. That day was the last day I worked at the hospital.
I went to my OB appointments every week at this point. Each time, I was so nervous that we would receive bad news. At our 8 week ultrasound, we received the amazing news that the hematoma resolved on its own!! Yay! Baby was moving a lot and heartbeat was strong. Vishal said the baby reminded him of a little turtle wiggling around in there haha. I won’t lie, those three weeks of sitting there waiting and not knowing what was going to happen was awful. I also felt very alone even though my husband has been so supportive throughout this whole pregnancy. We had another ultrasound at 12 weeks where we did the genetic testing and heard the baby’s heartbeat. I’ll have my next ultrasound at 16 weeks.
*Things I Didn’t Know That I Wish I Did*
-The first few weeks I experienced some pretty bad cramping and I immediately freaked out. I remember calling my doctor so many times lol bless it. What I know now is that it’s normal to experience during the first couple weeks since the baby implants on the uterus.
-Spotting/Bleeding: I started slightly spotting at the end of August about a week before I found out I was pregnant. What I know now is that this was just a little bit of implantation bleeding from the baby attaching itself to my uterus.
-Constipation; Lol yup pregnancy makes you sooo constipated! I ate terrible during my first trimester basically anything I could keep down (which wasn’t much haha) What I know now is that constipation is normal and common during pregnancy and to up my fiber intake and of course incorporate lots of fresh fruits and veggies!
-Subchorionic Hematoma: I had no clue that this was even a thing during pregnancy so when I had the bleeding my first thought was “This is definitely a miscarriage.” Turns out, hematomas can happen during pregnancy and the cause is really unknown. The doctor told me it was probably just old blood. What I know now is that it’s important not to worry even though it’s so so hard not too. My doctor is amazing and walked me through everything I needed to do. Truly don’t know what I’d do without her!
-There is so much anxiety that happens during the first trimester. I had to stop taking my anxiety medication which didn’t help but I got through it one day at a time. I just reminded myself to breathe and relax, it’s all in God’s hands! My husband and I spent a lot of time praying and practicing meditation to help calm me down. Trust your instincts! I called my doctor’s office sooo many times and each time they were so nice and patient with me and answered all my questions and addressed each concern I had.
*Things that worked for me during the 1st trimester*
-Pregnancy pops (for nausea)
-Jolly ranchers
-Sprite
-Heating pad (I set mine on medium mode when the cramping got pretty bad)
-Epsom salt baths
-Getting fresh air
-Eating small frequent meals
-Pedialyte popcicles! Literally a lifesaver!
*Now for some fun questions!*
How far along are you now?
I am 14 weeks and baby is the size of a peach!
Did you find out the gender?
Yes! We’re having a girl! 🙂
How have you been feeling?
Soooo much better now that I’m in my second trimester. Everyone told me the second trimester is the best trimester so enjoy it haha.
How much weight have you gained so far?
Everyone’s different but I’ve gained 8 lbs so far which is good for me since I’m tiny lol. I’ve also been drinking a lot of whole milk during my second trimester so I know thats contributed to it.
–Do you have a name picked out?
I’ve had my girl name picked out since before I got pregnant! Still hoping my husband lets me have my way 😉
-When are you due?
May 15th 2021.
-Were you tracking your cycle?
I had been using the app Flo to keep track of my periods since I had been having heavy periods for about a year. I knew which days were my most fertile days so I mainly just focused on that! I didn’t use ovulation strips or anything, we just kinda went for it lol.
-Have you experienced morning sickness or food aversions/cravings?
Yes, I vomited nearly every single day during my first trimester. It was awful but I just kept reminding myself that this means baby is healthy and everything’s okay. I didn’t really have cravings mainly aversions. One time at work though I felt a sudden strong need for a large cookie dough blizzard and HAD TO HAVE IT so I had it door dashed to me right then and there lol!
-What have you been eating?
I’ve been eating a lot better now that I’m out of the first trimester. For breakfast, I’ll usually eat eggs, oatmeal, a bagel with cream cheese, or whole grain cereals. For lunch, I’ve been loving veggie sandwiches from Subway, and for dinner it’s whatever we feel like making. I still love pasta and pizza for sure lol. During the day I also like to snack on apples with caramel, carrots with ranch, and grapes. I give in to my candy craving every now and then too lol.
-Did you have to stop taking certain medications when you found out you were pregnant?
Yes, I had to wean off my anxiety medication. The withdrawals were horrible 😦 I remember I was at work and I had a gown and an ice pack behind my neck because I had the WORST headache of my life and I felt both hot and cold. It was weird. Luckily, this only lasted about a week and I was fine thank goodness.
-Have you purchased anything for the baby yet?
Now that I know the gender I can’t wait to shop! I’ve already been looking at all the bows for baby girl lol. My step-sister is gifting me her carseat and stroller that she used for her last baby and it is NICE lol I can’t wait. My cousin has also spoiled the baby with lots of clothes and an adorable stuffed elephant. 🙂
-How many kids do you want?
We don’t know! I just asked Vishal and he goes 2 or 3 or maybe 4? LOL. We will see how this baby goes and then decide 😉
Thank you so much for reading! Let me know if there’s anything else you guys want me to write about. I’m going to do another update about my second trimester once I’m further along. Be sure to follow my instagram for updates/stories! Love ya’ll! 🙂
xx Abbie
Beyond Just Styles 