The first trimester has brought many ups and downs for us (mostly me). At about 5 ½ weeks pregnant I was still having some significant cramping and also some light spotting. My doctor ordered an immediate ultrasound to eliminate the possibilities of a tubal pregnancy or the embryo attaching anywhere else except the uterus. The results were fine and everything was where it needed to be. About one week later, I was still experiencing some significant spotting which was so unnerving. The doctor ordered another ultrasound and we got to see the baby for the first time. It looked like a little blob but the significant part was being able to see the heartbeat on the screen. Again everything was fine and the doctor said not to worry about the spotting unless it was to become heavy bleeding.
We had our next ultrasound at 9 weeks and got to see our sweet baby moving around and the heartbeat again. Everything was going great and we were able to tell our families and some friends in person shortly after that. We still didn’t want to spread the news fully until I was officially out of the first trimester when the risk of miscarriage decreases greatly. Now let’s get on to the fun part about the first trimester: symptoms. (Please note my sense of sarcasm here).
Symptoms
Sore breasts: this happened right away, lasting throughout the first trimester and into the second. I didn’t realize how quickly they would start growing either…
Digestive issues: any woman who has been pregnant knows that your digestive system can really get out of whack. Already having a narrow colon hasn’t really helped me. Eating a balanced diet has helped a little and drinking lots of water. But some days I don’t really want to do either, only exasperating it further.
Cramping: I had a lot of mild cramping towards the end of the first trimester. As long as it doesn’t get extremely intense and isn’t accompanied by bleeding, it is normal. Mostly just growth of the uterus as it makes room for the baby.
Emotional: I haven’t gotten weepy at all but I can sense that I get annoyed more easily at times. Then other times I’m extremely happy. Definitely an emotional roller coaster but not as bad as I imagined it would be.
Nausea: I was lucky and my morning sickness consisted only of nausea and no vomiting. Starting at about 6 weeks, the nausea hit full force and lingered around until about 12 weeks or so. Everything sounded awful but I always felt like I was hungry. Cooking was impossible as I would gag at almost everything. I’ll talk more in my next post about how I tried to combat this wonderful symptom.
Superhero sense of smell: I can smell anything and everything. The worst part about this symptom was being nauseous when even the thought of food made me feel sick, let alone the smell. I was ready to punch whomever at my work burnt popcorn! I still don’t know who the culprit was…
Pimples: I swear my face, neck and back decided to be 15 years old again!
Tired: I was exhausted. I am not a nap person, and I was going home for lunch just to squeeze in a 30-40 minute nap whenever possible. I also was going to bed earlier than normal, meaning 8:30 p.m. and sleeping as late as I could. Prior to pregnancy I was in a routine of getting up around 5 a.m. during the week to workout. I haven’t seen 5 a.m. since I saw that positive pregnancy test.
Peeing: It’s not a myth…you have to pee a lot!
Bloody snot: This one is gross and I’m not really sure why it happens, but I constantly had blood in my snot.
Sneezing: I sneezed so much! And they were super intense. Not sure about this one either.
In my next post, I’ll talk about my relationship with food and exercise during the first trimester. Those who have been pregnant, what was the first trimester like for you? Did you have the same symptoms or any different ones? Timeline of first trimester photos is below!
