We’re Pregnant! | My Raw First Trimester Recap

This post is my first trimester recap!

(Side note: I wrote this post immediately at the end of my first trimester experience, but am just posting it as I finish up my second trimester!)

Holy cow… Being pregnant for my first time has been a whirlwind! Let me just start by saying, we are so grateful for this blessing of LIFE God has given us! We are so excited for what’s to come and to meet him or her!

As with any blessing in life, pregnancy also comes with its’ own unique set of challenges… Many challenges which I personally wasn’t prepared for. To be honest, I had NO idea what to expect when it came to pregnancy…

I think because I’m a pretty in shape gal, I had assumed that I would feel fine while pregnant and have no painful symptoms. 😂 But that hasn’t quite been the case.

In this first trimester summary, I hope to normalize some of the wild symptoms any women may be feeling during their own first trimester… That way, you know ahead of time that it’s okay. You’re going to be just fine!☺️

In this first trimester blog, I’ll share the honest truth of exactly what I’ve gone through as well as how to manage first trimester symptoms, and some first trimester recommendations and tips I’ve learned!

God made us for this, sis… And, together, we can power through it!💪🏼

I hope my first trimester recap helps you in your own pregnancy!

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My Honest First Trimester Recap

In this first trimester recap, I’ll first share the symptoms I experienced, and then I’ll tell you what you can do about it if you also experience them!

Edit: Now that I am 35 weeks pregnant, I’ve nailed down a pretty stellar pregnancy morning routine that has worked wonders for me! Definitely check it out. 😘

First Trimester Physical Symptoms

Weeks 1-6 Pregnancy Symptoms

• My boobs were super tender for the first few weeks. — This is one of the reasons I suspected I was pregnant. It was much like the feeling leading up to your period except much more intense!
• Breast enlargement. — My boobs grew a little bit within the first few weeks and then it’s like they just stopped. (Obviously they will grow more when they fill with milk.🐄) They also just had this “full” feeling. I’m typically a stomach sleeper, and these first few weeks it was difficult to sleep on my stomach.
• Struggle bus while running and other random workouts. — This is another reason I suspected I was pregnant! I’m never great at running, but I was doing a workout at home with 200m. run intervals and something felt VERY off… It was WAY more difficult than normal haha. This is the moment I ran inside, hollered at Jon, and took a pregnancy test!
• Abdominal cramps. — At first I was concerned about whether or not this was normal, but it totally is! Your uterus is a muscle and it’s preparing itself to grow a baby. Honestly, sometimes my cramps were REALLY bad, like worse than normal period cramps. But this subsided pretty much by week 6 for me.
• Peeing a lot. — Before getting pregnant, I always assumed that pregnant women start to pee a lot once their belly is big and the baby is pushing on their bladder. But that’s actually not the reason this happens. A hormone called hCG actually increases the blood flow in your pelvic area, which causes you to pee more.
• Less going number 2. — I never really experienced constipation, but I definitely wasn’t as regular as usual.

Weeks 6-12 Pregnancy Symptoms

• More thirsty than normal. — Personally, I always drink at least a gallon of water per day, but sometimes that still wasn’t enough.
• Constant mild nausea. — This didn’t really hit until about week 6, but basically it’s an almost-constant “gross” feeling… One minute you can feel full as a tick and the next minute you feel like you have a gaping hole in your stomach…. that’s when you *immediately* have to eat a little something, because if you dare let your stomach feel empty for more than a few minutes, that’s when you feel like you’re gonna vom.
• Super heightened sense of smell. —This is the weirdest thing to me. The smells of things that have never bothered me in the past absolutely disgusted me during my first trimester. I literally could not smell the dog food when I fed the pups in the morning. 😅 I also gagged at the smell of coffee, and this is coming from someone who usually drinks black coffee all day everyday! (Maybe this was God’s way of making it easier on me to cut back on caffeine during pregnancy. ☺️)
• The thought of certain foods made me want to throw up. — For example, I don’t usually eat meat anyway, but right now if meat is even brought up in a conversation I get a disgusting mental image and gag internally. 🤢
• Food aversions (BIG time!) — Again, super sensitive to foods I would normally love. Vegetables absolutely disgust me right now. 🤮 and this is coming from a typical veggie lover!
• Feeling SUPER picky about what to eat and when you want it. — This is the strangest and most unpredictable part. Some days I would want nothing but crackers and toast. And then, out of nowhere, I’d feel like I could go out for a slice of pizza. Basically, my appetite was just all over the place and I never really knew what I was going to want or when I’d want it. This honestly made it really hard to buy groceries or meal prep (which is something I typically do religiously) because I would buy stuff and never end up wanting to eat it. Tips on this below! 
• Stomach bloating! — I can’t tell you how many times I Googled “when does your stomach start to show in pregnancy” to try and make myself feel better for my belly already poking out so much. 😂 — I’d wake up in the morning and my stomach would be flat and then as soon as I ate one cracker, BAM… A little bump popped out. That brings me to my next symptom…
• Feeling super full. — My eyes were constantly bigger than my stomach during this time and I could never eat all of what I ordered or put on my plate without feeling SO miserably full. Typically, homegirl can EAT. 😅 but what I realized with being pregnant is that if I ate as much as I typically would, within 20 minutes I would feel *insanely* full. I mean like miserably full…. So I had to learn not to over eat. (More on that in the tips section!)
• And last but definitely not least 😂… lethargy! Extreme lethargy. Not constant, and not even at certain times of the day, but just super unpredictable and random lethargy. I also experienced this some in the first 6 weeks of my pregnancy.

First Trimester Mental/Emotional Symptoms:

In this portion of my first trimester recap, I’ll share the non-physical symptoms I experienced, and then I’ll tell you how you can manage them if you experience them as well!

• The first big thing I struggled with was honestly just coming to terms with the fact that I’m pregnant and my life is going to change drastically. — It’s actually pretty tough to wrap your head around at first, especially if you weren’t necessarily trying to get pregnant. — There were moments when I broke down and cried to my husband, mom, and best friend and told them I’m simply not ready for this. (As God’s sitting there saying “oh, yes you are!” 😂) There were times when I doubted everything and wondered if I made a mistake by allowing us to get pregnant, but thankfully God’s peace transcended all those thoughts. (More on that in the tips below!)
• The first few weeks of my pregnancy I was SUPER irritable. — Like, everything Jon did annoyed me. 😅 I remember him coming in from work one night, doing literally nothing wrong, and out of nowhere I got so mad at him for not shaving his beard and letting it get too long. 🤣 I mean, I was FUMING over this. 😂😂😂 (I’ll share tips for these situations below, but just know that this will pass and really strive to be as kind as possible in the meantime.)
• Lack of motivation and discipline. — Okay, as a fitness coach by trade, I literally cannot stand the word “motivation” because it’s something that comes and goes. We don’t rely on motivation, we choose discipline to get things done. However, at moments during my first trimester, I literally possessed neither of those things. 😅 I remember laying on the couch and literally thinking to myself “I have no desire to do absolutely anything.” None. Nada. Zilch. — I’ll share how I overcame this in the tips section.

I talked more about my first trimester recap in our podcast episode attached below!

How to Manage First Trimester / Recommendations:

In this final portion of my first trimester recap, I want to share with you how you can manage your symptoms!

Definitely check out my post on the 10 things a pregnant woman needs where I share what I *actually* ended up using my entire pregnancy (at 33 weeks pregnant.)

First Trimester Recommendations (for Physical Symptoms):

• Try and sleep on your side if your boobs are super tender.
• Enjoy the breast enlargement. — Personally, I’m not someone who’s ever had or wanted boobs. But my husband likes them. 😂 So I’m letting that be my win.
• Continue to exercise, even if you’re just moving! — You don’t have to go as hard as you normally would (and you probably shouldn’t.) But you WILL feel better if you at least move. Some days for me this meant just going on a walk. That is okay! Do what your body needs during this time, just don’t become sedentary.
• Breathe through the cramps. — They’re not fun, but they will pass. Lay with a heating pad on your belly and it’ll help soothe them!
• Take a high-quality probiotic to help you poop more regularly. — And, if possible, make sure you’re eating fibrous foods like berries, pear, whole-grain pastas, and lentils.
• Keep plain saltine crackers next to your bed and in other places you’re at regularly. — I went ahead and bought the Family Size because I literally flew through these sleeves of crackers like nobody’s business. Any time you start to feel your stomach getting empty, eat a few. You can also put a little 100% peanuts organic peanut butter on top for some added healthy fats and protein, if you can stomach it.
• Only buy a few very basic groceries. — I wasted a lot of money on the produce and items I would typically buy, and then could never stomach eating them. Just buy the basics that you KNOW you can eat right now, and then run through a drive through for a salad or healthy sandwich when you feel you can eat it. For me, I kept my saltines, whole-wheat bread, basic pastas, and bananas on hand.
• If you’re grossed out by veggies, up your intake on fruits. — This way, you can still get plenty of nutrients in for you and baby!
• Drink a high-quality protein powder. — During this time, if you’re struggling to get your nutrients in through foods, at least drink your protein. You and the baby need it!
• Order half the amount of food you normally would (or put half the normal amount on your plate.) — You’re probably going to get full really easily, so don’t overdo it and make yourself miserably full.
• Eat really small, frequent meals or snacks. — My go-to’s were banana with peanut butter blueberries, saltines, and these little organic mac-n-cheese cups. 😂
• Wear loose pants. — I wore these super cheap joggers from Amazon for the majority of my first trimester because they are SO comfy and super stretchy in the belly area. They’re also decent-looking enough that you can get away with wearing them out. (Make sure to go up a size or two for extra comfort!!)
• Drink tons of water. — You’re going to feel extra thirsty during pregnancy, and it’s for good reason! Each morning, I fill my gallon water bottle and make sure and drink the entire thing each day (and usually plus some!)
• Sleep, sleep, sleep! — Get extra sleep any time you can! Your body is sleepy for a reason during this time, listen to it. It’s like one of my best friends told me… “Sleep now while you can, because there will never be a time you’ll get to sleep like this again in your life!” 🤣

First Trimester Recommendations (for Mental/Emotional Symptoms)

• Don’t feel bad for saying no. — When you get asked to go out and you flat-out don’t feel like going, just listen to your body. Stay on the couch and binge Netflix if you want!
• Don’t become a hermit. — While you do want to give your body and mind extra rest during this time, you also don’t want to isolate yourself too much. God designed us for community and said it’s not good for man to be alone. So push yourself to get uncomfortable some and get around some people who can make you smile!
• Exercise daily. — As much as sleep is encouraged during this time, so is regular movement. Moving daily will keep those endorphins flowing to your brain, which is SUPER important for your mental and emotional health right now!
• Give yourself *tons* of grace. — Sis, you’re growing a human. You’re not going to feel like yourself. And that is okay. Roll with the punches, laugh at yourself when you can, and try not to take things SO seriously. It’s like my best friend told me, “pregnancy is literally like an alien taking over your body for 9 months.” 😂 Just know that it’s going to be that way, and try to have fun with it!
• Be honest with your husband about what you need. — Each day, I simply update Jon on how I’m feeling and if I need something, I’m not afraid to kindly ask for it.
• Still strive to be an asset, not a liability. — This is something I really try to live by in my marriage. It can be really easy to vent constantly to your husband, but I really try to be conscious in making sure that I’m bringing just as much value to my husband (if not more) than I am with any venting or complaining. — This time is going to be tough for you, and you should absolutely speak up or vent when necessary… But try and also be as positive and uplifting as you can during this time too. Your man will appreciate it.
• Focus on the positives! — There are so many women in the world who, unfortunately, really struggle with getting pregnant. God saw you as someone He wanted to bless with the opportunity of being a mother, so take stock in that! Make a list of all the “happies” and things you can be excited about if needed!
• Get some sunshine! — Boy this will make you feel amazing! And the vitamin D is great for you and the baby!
• Keep your mouth closed if you’re feeling snappy. — It’s better to say nothing at all than to let your hormones speak for you and say some things that you’ll regret.

Over all, I hope you can learn from my first trimester of pregnancy recap and know that you’re not alone! ☺️ Be sure and read these prayers for your unborn baby next. — Stay prayed up, sis!

This post was all about my first trimester recap!