First Trimester Flashback

Now that I’m nearly through my second trimester, it feels like first trimester was a lifetime ago.

Seriously, so much has changed over the past few months — and not just the size of my belly! First trimester was such a roller coaster emotionally and physically. Second trimester has been so much better, despite having its own challenges. I’m honestly just ready to go ahead and push this little guy (spoiler alert!) out. Then I’ll never have to deal with the woes of pregnancy ever again.

Okay, pregnancy isn’t the worst.

It definitely beats having a period for nine months. Not that it really is a great trade-off, since it leads to a month or more of bleeding immediately following birth anyway. But I digress.

For those of you who haven’t gone through pregnancy before, or who are in the early weeks right now, I want to share some of my experience with you! And for those who have had children, I’m sure this will spark memories of your pregnancy.

Our Pregnancy Story

We knew within the first month of being engaged that we wanted to add another little one to our family immediately. Though we didn’t plan to be married until May 2020, we decided to start trying to conceive.

Seb and I aren’t the most traditional couple, to say the least. After a few short months of engagement, I got antsy — we already felt married, so why wait? — and we decided to get married at the courthouse.

At the time, we still had not had any success with getting pregnant.

Despite the assumption by many friends and family that we were already pregnant before our marriage, it simply wasn’t true. But, as fate would have it, we conceived at some point mid-October just a couple short weeks after our intimate ceremony.

Early Symptoms (Late October)

During my pregnancy with Elsie, a coworker told me that I was glowing and asked if I was pregnant. At the time, I had no clue that I was. This was about a week before my missed period, so I brushed it off. I just assumed my cheeks were red from the cold I had been dealing with (it was January).

Lo and behold, after my period was a day late — which never happens — I began reading up on early symptoms and fit quite a few. My heart rate was significantly higher than normal, pushing 90! And that’s how I found out I was pregnant the first time, before ever taking a test. It took over a week from the date of my missed period before I actually tested positive.

Since this was my second pregnancy, I kind of had “that feeling” long before I ever really knew I was pregnant.

Less than a week after the estimated conception date, I was having major mood swings. I mean, I got angry at Seb for eating a piece of pizza because it had been in the fridge for a week (which that in itself is a whole other issue). But I was legitimately mad and refused to speak to him the rest of the night. Talk about aggression issues LOL.

By the following week, I started having extremely vivid nightmares.

Luckily, I enjoy most horror, so nightmares don’t tend to bother me. In fact, one in particular sparked an idea for a potential screenplay so I don’t want to share all of the details here. But the nightmares only lasted a week or two, and then stopped.

Other symptoms I had prior to my positive test: extreme fatigue, flushed cheeks, shortness of breath, increased heart rate, and sensitivity. (I was literally crying over the dumbest shit, you guys.)

The day I was supposed to start my period, I went and bought a pregnancy test.

Knowing my body was always on schedule for its monthly bleeding, I figured it didn’t hurt to take a test early. The first stick I tried had a feint first line, but the second line was bright. I mean, there was NO mistaking the amount of pregnancy hormones in my body!

Honestly, because the control line was almost invisible, I had to Google to make sure I wasn’t crazy.

Turns out, when you have that much hCG, it can actually pull color from the control line into the test line. It was wild. I went ahead and verified by taking a digital test as well, which also came back positive.

How I Announced My Pregnancy

I really wanted to do a cute reveal for my husband. He would be hella excited to find out we were expecting! But my mom decided to get all nosy and bug me about what I was doing until I finally told her.

So my mom was the first to know for this pregnancy; Seb was second to find out. If you want to know how I announced to him (and Elsie) you can read about it here.

First Trimester Must Haves

I’m not big on telling other women what they should or shouldn’t do for their pregnancy. After all, each woman and each pregnancy is different! What works for me may not be what works for you, and that’s okay. Plus, I just hate giving unsolicited advice to new/expecting moms because they’re already overwhelmed by it from every other person in the world.

What I will say about must haves during first trimester is that you definitely need these things:

Naps

Get as much sleep as you can now! Not just because you’ll lose a lot of sleep with a newborn, but because once those midnight pee breaks kick in, they don’t stop. Plus, you will need the extra sleep to help fend off the exhaustion of growing that placenta.

Yoga Pants

I may be a little biased here. But you’ll definitely want some comfy pants during the first few months of pregnancy. You won’t be big enough to fit into maternity pants just yet (and trying to wear them when your belly doesn’t fill them out can just feel weird). And you’ll probably be a little too bloated to fit into your regular jeans.

Take this opportunity to splurge a little on yourself for some nice yoga pants or leggings that will stretch with you the first four or five months. You’ll be able to wear them after baby arrives too, whereas maternity pants are only “acceptable” for a certain period of time postpartum.

Personally, I bought five new pairs of Victoria’s Secret pants because they are comfy af. I’ve been wearing them every day for the past six months and will keep doing so until my belly won’t fit! Plus, they’re great for prenatal yoga and will be a wardrobe staple after Teagan is here.

Healthy Snacks

Should be obviously, but I know many of us tend to give into our sweet and sugary cravings a little too easily. Some of my favorite snacks during first trimester were: peanut butter and celery (I literally kept a jar at my desk for midday snack!), yogurt and granola (Special K granola is sooo good), and fresh fruits.

Nausea Reducer

Like I said before, every pregnancy is different. Many people will recommend ginger-based items to reduce nausea. I found that ginger only made it worse for me during my first pregnancy. What I did find that worked for me was Jolly Ranchers. Specifically, watermelon flavored ones. Something about the hard candy helped deter my morning sickness.

Find what works for you, if morning sickness or nausea is an issue you deal with, and let me know what it is! I’m always curious to hear how other women manage to get rid of the worse symptoms of pregnancy.

I’ve really been slacking on belly pictures this pregnancy.

The memes and posts about second pregnancies being less of a big deal is honestly pretty accurate. Don’t get me wrong; I love Teagan just as much as I love Elsie, and I will do my best to treat them both fairly as they grow up. But dealing with pregnancy and a toddler simultaneously is pretty tiresome.

I don’t have the energy to make myself look presentable enough for photos on a regular basis. And honestly? I barely remember how many weeks along I am, let alone that I should be taking a photo to document my growth. (For the record, I am 24w2d as of this post; yes, I did have to check my What To Expect app to find that out.)

But in case we aren’t friends on social and you are curious about my growth during first trimester… Here is a 5w vs 11w photo:

I definitely popped a lot sooner this time around, which is common for second pregnancies.

Part of me wishes I had taken more photos during first trimester (and even second, if I’m being honest). But I’m just enjoying the days when it’s still just me and Seb while Elsie is at her dad’s.

In a few short months, little Teagan J will join our family. I’m nervous to do the whole newborn thing again, to tell you the truth. Cross your fingers for me that the rest of this pregnancy is smooth sailing.

What early symptoms did you deal with during pregnancy? Tell me about your first trimester experiences in the comments below!