A Glimpse At My First Trimester

First of all, I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who sent such amazing messages after our pregnancy announcement. On here and on social media. Baby S already feels the love & so do we. You guys rock.

I understand some of this will interest you, some of it won’t. Either way, I felt it important to share my experience through the first trimester of pregnancy. I’ve had many friends have babies and have heard many stories, but let me tell you – there is nothing that will prepare you for everything that happens. Mentally and physically.

In retrospect, I was really lucky when it came to nausea and sickness. Evenings brought the worst of it and even then, it never consumed me. I was more affected by all the first trimester symptoms no one really talks about. Or at least I had never heard about. People are always concerned with your sickness… “are you feeling sick?” is a common question. Still is, btw. Which I love the concern, but all I wanted to say was “no, not sick… but let me tell you about 50 other things I’m feeling and/or experiencing”. But of course, I don’t, because that would take hours. And I’m too exhausted to talk for hours. Things like anxiety, the concern about the baby being healthy and safe, bizarre dreams waking me up at night, forgetfulness (already have that mom brain) and holy moly, the fatigue. I would randomly fall asleep on the couch at 7pm and out of nowhere, weekend naps were mandatory. I don’t nap, so this in itself was a big adjustment.

The biggest challenge

My biggest challenge overall though… slowing down. Something I’m still struggling with. My mindset changed almost immediately in terms of taking care of myself and my body, but I continued to push because symptoms didn’t catch up with me until around week 8. Nothing on the blog faded, I kept up with all the housework, I stuck with my exercise routine. Then bam, it hit me and I absolutely could not continue. I started saying no to obligations because I knew I needed rest. Social media took a backseat because I literally had no more space in my head to think about it. Literally, it felt like my brain had reached ultimate capacity. So many new things to think about which added to the overall fatigue. I did what I could when it came to creating content and decided to take breaks when I needed it. I finally started feeling much better. I’m already thanking this baby for teaching me it’s ok to slow down sometimes.

The support system

It’s really easy to feel alone during the first trimester. Not that I didn’t have the best support system around – I really did.. and do. But no matter how many friends, co-workers or family members have been pregnant & are willing to share advice, no one feels exactly how you feel. Or at least it can seem that way. Knowing when it’s time to reach out or break down crying in front of your friends is key to getting through it. Asking for help doesn’t come naturally to me, but I’m learning, slowly but surely.

All of that aside, I have to say T is truly amazing. He’s the only person who actually understands that I need attention, but not too much attention because I can’t deal. But he also always knows when it’s time to put his foot down. Primarily when I’m avoiding a doctor call for questions or when I decide fruits and veggies aren’t important. He never pushes me too far and has been oh-so-patient with my lack of enthusiasm at times. Especially with my recently failing wardrobe – maternity pants, here I come.

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All in all I feel very blessed with my experience so far. As challenging as it was to slow down & wrap my head around the whole pregnancy thing, we’re approaching the halfway point and I’m feeling great. T and I are both very much excited for this new journey. Nervous and terrified, too, but handling it the way we handle things best – day by day. I’ll continue sharing, bit by bit, but just know some things we are going to keep private.

Gender, however, is not one of those things. More on that soon.

xoxo. B