1st TRIMESTER
mini BLT on the way !!!!
Pregnancy is really the most special, exciting, confusing, and surreal thing ever!!! I’m so BEYOND excited to have a baby with Brian, and so thrilled to share the news. Mini BLT is officially on the way, and our baby girl will be here in January 2021. Finding out you’re pregnant is one of the most magical experiences ever. To create a human with someone you love is life-changing in every sense of the word. I can’t wait to be a mama and see Brian become a daddy, and watch Soba become a big sister. As we become parents, we feel closer to our parents more than ever, and realize just how grateful we are for them as well.
I want to share some things I went through first trimester so that hopefully it can help some of you out. There is a lot to go over, so let’s begin :)
Morning Sickness + Appetite
For me, morning sickness was no joke. I found out I was pregnant around 4.5 weeks. It wasn’t until around week 7 that officially my nausea kicked in, and it was seriously full on. I literally never throw up, I have a strong fear of it actually, and I just instantly would need to run to the bathroom and throw up. Luckily, it was never really food, just liquid and lots of gagging. The other weird thing was that food tasted AWFUL to me. I am obsessed with food, so this was such a strange experience for me. I usually live to eat, but during this time I was purely eating to live. I luckily was still able to eat during my first trimester, and actually I needed to eat to make my nausea and stomach feel more settled. I started eating every hour or two, which really helped me feel better. I’ve continued to do this throughout my pregnancy so far. During the 1st trimester, my diet mainly consisted of lots of crackers, saltines, hummus, rice, oven roasted turkey with mustard, yogurt, eggs, plain chicken, avocado, pasta, toast, cream cheese, and pickles. Nothing with too much flavor or spices. I started my day with protein, and that (kinda) made me feel more settled throughout the day. Anything sweet made me SO sick, which is beyond weird for me because I seriously could never go a day without something sweet. My sickness lasted all. day. long. So if you’re feeling this, you’re not alone, and it will get better. There were days when I thought this would never end. But now that I’m well into my 2nd trimester, I promise it gets better.
Smell Sensitivity
Your sense of smell is SO heightened when you become pregnant, it’s almost super human level. So that means things that usually smell good can start to smell awful because the smell becomes so much more potent. I had to stop wearing perfume, and constantly plug my nose on walks. Thankfully because of Covid we have to wear masks, which helps protect you from the various triggering smells.
Body Butters
I started using body oils and butters at week 6. I think it’s never too early to prep your skin for all of the stretching and growing to come. I use an oil, shea butter cream, body lotion, balm, and aloe cream. I mix them up and rotate them so that my body gets exposed to all of the good things :) I would definitely recommend starting early and just getting into the habit of moisturizing your skin. I put it on my belly and boobs. I also dry brush as well, which is a good way to increase circulation.
Energy Levels
At week 6, the extreme fatigue kicked in. I felt like I was hit by a bus! From then on I would nap at least once a day, which I NEVER usually do, and I started going to bed at around 9pm. I couldn’t keep my eyes open at night, I was beyond exhausted. As your uterus starts to expand, it puts pressure on your bladder, so every morning like clockwork I would wake up to go to the bathroom at 4am. Throughout the day, the couch seriously became my BFF and I really had no energy to move or talk, LOL. Working out was out of the picture and it just didn’t feel right to move and jump and all of that. This early stage of pregnancy is pretty sensitive, so it’s important to just let your body rest and feel safe to continue to grow your baby.
Water
It’s SO important to drink water during pregnancy. I bought myself a glass accountability water bottle that has time markers on it to help keep you on track during the day. I try to drink 2 of those everyday. It’s important for digestion, keeping your blood volume up, and keeping your bathroom schedule regular as well.
Staying Regular
A lot of people experience constipation with pregnancy. I was starting to and then decided to add in soaked prunes into my diet and it really helped. I just buy organic prunes and put them in a mason jar with filtered water and eat them a few times a week.
Meditation and Journaling
There comes so many emotions and feelings with pregnancy. It’s a really good time to connect with yourself and your baby. Take time to meditate and journal. I try to journal at least once a week, and I address my entries to Baby L. It’s a really sweet way to connect with the baby.
Reading
I’ve probably bought well over 30 books and have been reading through them. I am definitely someone who likes to learn and see a lot of different points of view to then be able to make my best decisions. I’ll do a whole post on this, but I suggest getting yourself some books that resonate with you and dive in. As you’re slowing down and resting more, it’s a great time to indulge in some baby books.
Stay Connected
1st trimester can feel kind of isolating, depending on how many people you share the news with. I think it’s so important to reach out to people and feel a sense of community during this special time. We’re not supposed to do this alone. It will definitely help you keep a more positive and happy mindset to have people to talk to about this and share all of the details with, and ask all of the questions.