Happy Wednesday! I’m popping in today for another first trimester recap. Today, I’ll be be answering some more questions, and talking more about my health, diet, exercise, & other life changes since I’ve been pregnant. (You can read my first recap post here, about how we found out, and see my pregnancy announcement here).
When are you due?
The first week of April! I’m hoping the baby doesn’t come on April Fool’s Day. That’s probably not a fun day to have a birthday, is it?
How have you been feeling?
This is the most common question I’ve gotten – thank you everyone for your concern! Now that I’m in my second trimester (almost 17 weeks), I’ve been feeling MUCH better, and mostly like myself, just with more aches here and there.
But I’m not going to lie, the first trimester was rough. Like I said earlier, my first symptom was feeling like I had a constant hangover. And for the first few weeks, I COULD NOT SLEEP. I don’t know if it was a combination of hormones/excitement/nervousness or what, but there were many nights that I never fell asleep, or only slept for an hour or two. After a week of this, I was just overall feeling ill, exhausted, and almost delusional, probably from sleep deprivation.
Luckily, most of that now passed, although I still wouldn’t say I’ve been sleeping very well. I’m kind of jealous of the women who say they were so exhausted they’d sleep for 10+ hours. I’m tired, but I have so much troubling falling asleep and staying asleep!
Did you experience morning sickness/nausea?
Yep. Around week 6, I started feeling like I was carsick, or had motion sickness, even if I wasn’t moving. I didn’t actually throw up until week 11 (and just once!), but that didn’t stop me from frequently feeling like I was going to throw up, or gagging/dry heaving multiple times a day. Dry heaving really sucks – my stomach/throat would lurch really bad, and it’d really HURT. I’d still have to run to the bathroom in case I threw up. On the bright side, at least I was able to keep my food down.
For some reason, I had a really hard time with brushing my teeth. Like clockwork, I’d gag/dry heave every morning and night while brushing…and when I finally did throw up, it was while brushing my teeth!
I told Chris that I felt like I had supernatural powers for a while, because immediately, my sense of smell amped up like crazy. Like I could smell people at work coming towards me before I’d even see them. Unfortunately, both good and bad smells made me feel sick. I wasn’t solving any crimes or using my powers for good though. Chris says my most common reason for not wanting to do anything was “I don’t like smells.”
Any cravings? Food aversions?
Cravings…surprisingly not really! Although I’m finally enjoying food again now.
Food aversions…YES. Around the time I found out, I started feeling super hungry all the time, and everything I ate tasted good. But then all of a sudden, around the end of week 5, food just started sounding gross. Almost like I was recovering from food poisoning. Sometimes, something would sound kind of good, like tomato soup, but by the time I’d get some, it sounded blah again. It was really hard to eat, but I was SO HUNGRY! Weird, right?
Grocery shopping was a challenge, because everything sounded bad, especially most proteins. Sometimes, Chris would order delivery, and ask me what I wanted. I just had to have him surprise me, because nothing on the menu would be appealing. When the food would arrive, I’d scarf down a few bites really fast, before I started getting grossed out by it. For a couple weeks, I mostly lived on fruit and crackers because those were the least offensive to me.
And then there was my arch nemesis, chicken. Pre-pregnancy, chicken was my go-to protein, as was Chris’s. But not only could I no longer eat chicken, Chris pretty much couldn’t eat chicken anywhere around me either. At first, he started making chicken breasts or buying a pre-made rotisserie chicken for himself, but even if I wasn’t even in the kitchen, I could smell it and start gagging. Later, I wasn’t even able to say or hear the word chicken!! Chris said the word “chicken” in front of me one time, and I immediately started gagging and had to run to the bathroom. It was insane! Later, I tried to recount this story to my mom on the phone while I was outside walking, and I started dry heaving in the middle of the sidewalk because I said the word chicken!
Luckily, most of this aversion has finally passed. I still don’t really want to eat chicken, but I can finally talk about it, haha.
What’s your exercise routine?
I’m not much of an exerciser, but I had finally started getting into a routine over the summer. And then I found out I was pregnant. Since I immediately started feeling pretty rough, I cut back on all exercise. Most days, I dragged myself to work, and then just lay on the couch for the rest of the evening. But I did stick to walking to and from work everyday, which is about 3.5 miles.
Now that I’ve been better, I started attending prenatal yoga. I’m usually by far the least far along in my class – those girls really inspire me to keep moving. A lot of them are days from delivering, and they still make it to class. I’d like to pick up some light free weights soon, and exercises like squats which are supposed to help with delivery.
Are you reading any pregnancy/baby books?
Well…I tried. I’ve always been a worrywart, but my anxiety has been through the roof with this pregnancy. Everything I read freaks me out!
Some examples of the MANY things that have freaked me out.
- The Autism rate – According to a book I was reading, approximately 1/150 girls and 1/50 boys are affected. The book suggested avoiding pollution, like being outside during traffic hour as the best method of prevention. UM…how am I supposed to go to work?
- Alcohol – I’m not drinking, but I was cooking with wine, and sometimes cleaning countertops with vodka. I read that “no amount of alcohol” is safe, and alcohol doesn’t cook completely out of food. And that you can absorb alcohol through your skin via contact. WHAT?? So no more cooking/cleaning with alcohol.
- Pasteurized vs. Unpasteurized – At first, I read that soft cheeses like brie and goat cheese are fine if they’re pasteurized, which most cheeses in the US are. But then I read that you should avoid all soft cheeses, even if they’re pasteurized. While I was nauseated, I tried snacking on carrot sticks, and eventually got tired of them. So I bought some radishes to have with hummus. As I started eating them, I picked up a book to read, and what’s the first thing I see? Avoid radishes, because of E. coli, and hummus, because they can be contaminated with listeria. Apparently, you can have listeria and never know it. It can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and brain damage. GREAT. I also was drinking green juices from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s but apparently those aren’t safe because they’re unpasteurized. Grrrrrr…
- Heat – I read not to let your body temperature go above 100-101 degrees, because even a few minutes can cause fetal brain damage. But it was SUMMER!
And the list goes on.
I’ve been using the Ovia pregnancy app, which I find helpful and not too scary, and I’m thinking about checking out Real Food for Pregnancy after listening to this podcast. But some of the things the author mentioned also made me nervous. Like to avoid foods stored in plastic and cans, and to not touch receipts because of the BPA.
What’s your diet been like?
I try to eat pretty healthily anyways, but I’ve been eating extra clean. It was really hard for while, like when I had no energy to cook healthy food, and if I did, the food no longer sounded good by the time I was done cooking. Now, my problem has been trying to keep up with my hunger level while still eating healthy!
I’ve also switched to eating almost all organic, and cutting out pretty much all processed sugar. Even though I don’t normally have a ton of dairy, I’ve started drinking milk for the calcium. The podcast I mentioned above said that while it’s important to have fruits and vegetables, some of most important nutrients you need are found in animal products. I wonder what vegetarians think about that. I’m not a vegetarian, but I’ve never been a huge meat eater. And since I’m not liking chicken, I’ve been having organic, grass-fed beef. I’m thinking about making some bone broth soon for the nutrients and collagen.
Since I haven’t been sleeping well, I’ve completely cut out caffeine. I still drink some caffeine free teas, but apparently you have to be really careful since some herbs are not “safe” and can cause uterine contractions. I am guzzling water like no end though! I’m so thirsty!
Have you changed your beauty routine?
Completely. Remember when I said everything I read freaked me out? I was researching the Environmental Working Group website, and apparently, most beauty products are not “safe.” So I panicked and threw out or gave away most of my stuff. So now I’m using a really clean shampoo/conditioner, body wash, and lotion, and sunscreen. As for makeup, I’ve pared down my routine to a clean eyebrow pencil/liner, blush, and lip balm/gloss. I was thinking about doing another post about the beauty routine changes I’ve made, since it’s been a DRASTIC change.
I know a lot of people are big fans of Beautycounter, but apparently not ALL their products are THAT clean, just some of them, like my lipstick. So you have to do your research! A lot of “natural” or plant derived ingredients are not deemed safe during pregnancy. For example, supposedly, salicylic acid, and its natural derivative, white willow bark, is generally safe for keeping skin clear and treating acne, but NOT ok to use during pregnancy. And some of the safe beauty products contained one or the other!
What are your doctor appointments like?
My gynecologist’s office also does obstetrics (am I saying that right?) So I just called them when I got my positive pregnancy test, and they set me up for a 8 week appointment. At that appointment, we did a ultrasound, where I saw the baby’s heartbeat, and did blood work. The doctor also gave us a lot of options for genetic testing. I think that’s a personal decision, but because I’m a big worrier and hate surprises, we opted in for all the available tests, even though it’s not cheap. (If you’re considered high-risk, insurance will often cover more). Plus we really wanted to know the gender! (I did a blood test at 10 weeks to find out, but it also tested for chromosomal abnormalities).
My next appointment was supposed to be at 12 weeks, but at almost 10 weeks, I had the very lightest bit of spotting one day (sorry if TMI!) Apparently, it’s very common, and could mean nothing, but it could also mean something is very wrong. So I went in for an ultrasound, and thankfully everything was fine.
At 12 weeks, there was another ultrasound, and at 16 weeks, my appointment was for more blood work. I’m excited for the 20 week ultrasound, which will 3D! So far, they’ve been fuzzy gray images. It is still cool to see our “Small Bean” moving around though, albeit blurry.
I like my doctor, but she does seem stretched kind of thin. Every time I’ve seen her, she’s had to run off early to deliver a baby, or has shown up late because she was delivering a baby. I’m considering getting a doula for delivery to help me stay calm and help me through everything, especially if my doctor is busy running around. Does anyone have experience with a doula? I’m just thinking how less stressed I would have been at my wedding if I had gotten a wedding planner! Haha.
I must say, I really hate the front desk at my doctor’s office though. The people act like they’re working at the DMV, and are super rude. My blood test at 10 weeks was supposed to take 2 weeks to come back. I was told that the results would be added to the online portal if normal, but otherwise, someone would call me.
4 days later, on Friday at 4:51pm, I got a voicemail (I was still at work and didn’t answer my phone) saying to call the office about my test results. Of course, they were closed at 5pm, and didn’t open until Monday at 8am. I was so worried because they weren’t supposed to call if the results were normal, and they weren’t supposed to be back for another 1.5 week!
Even though I probably wasn’t supposed to, I ended up calling the after-hours number, which is supposed to be for urgent cases. Well technically, I didn’t know what the call was supposed to be about, so that was my excuse. The lady who picked up was SO RUDE, and immediately started screaming at me that she was going to bill me for my call. I said that was fine, could someone tell me why they left a vague voicemail for me regarding a test I had just taken?
It took for a long time to try to explain what happened, since she kept interrupting/talking-screaming over me, but when I finally did, she said “oh, you’re pregnant? I’ll pass your information to the doctor on call. He/she might call back. If he/she doesn’t, you can call me again, but you will be billed.” I just wanted to know if everything was ok!
The doctor on call did call me back, and assured me that there was no way my test results could come back so fast. But he said he’d look into it, but it’d probably be after midnight, so he’d leave a voicemail for me. When I woke up the next morning on Saturday, I had a voicemail from the doctor saying that my results were in fact in, and they were normal. If I wanted to know the gender, I could call the front desk on Monday. I felt super relieved but also annoyed at how the whole situation was handled. On Monday, when I called the front desk, the phone rang for almost 25 minutes, before the front desk answered rudely. I explained that I was calling for the gender, and she said, “well I don’t have access to that information.”
Anyways, it was a while before someone got back to me. I didn’t mean to rant on about this, haha. But the front desk really frustrates me! Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind my doctor appointments at all.
Have you told work?
I did at the end of my first trimester/early second trimester. I was originally planning on waiting longer, but there’s been a lot of crazy changes in the office recently, so I wanted to alert my manager and HR.
Are you still traveling?
I haven’t been! I sat out on a girls’ trip to London, as well as another trip to Sedona, Arizona. Even though I’m feeling better now, I don’t think I would have handled the time change/heat really well when I wasn’t sleeping and feeling nauseated. Chris and I are staying put in Chicago for Thanksgiving this year (we usually travel), and my parents are coming to visit instead. My first flight will be when we go to Raleigh for Christmas.
I like the idea of going on a baby moon, but I’m basically a mosquito buffet, so we’d have to be careful about where we go to avoid Zika. (I typically will get 50+ bites when the normal person gets 1-2, and I can get bad reactions from the bites. For example, the time I had to go to urgent care after getting bitten indoors in a conference center over 60 times. I was wearing a blazer and jeans!)
What’s the best advice you’ve received so far? Worst?
Well…not that it’s working super well, but probably the best advice I’ve gotten is to try to relax, with an explanation of how to do it, and a reason why. I dislike it when people tell me to just stop worrying or to calm down…if I knew how to stop, I’d stop!
It’s much more helpful when people have provided tips on how to de-stress, or the importance of doing so. When we met with Chris’s cousin and his cousin’s girlfriend, she explained to me how the baby can feel my stress and can elevate his/her heart rate and vitals. (She’s a NICU nurse).
What advice doesn’t help – when people (especially those who haven’t been pregnant or don’t have kids) tell me to chill and that I’ll be fine. Like “just have one glass of wine, it’s totally fine! I would do it if I were you!” OR, on the end of the spectrum, tell me that I’m not being careful enough, and how they would do it differently in my shoes. I know most people are just trying to help, but sometimes it just causes more stress for me.
Are you worried about the royal baby stealing your thunder?
Hahaha, NOT AT ALL. That’s like the one thing I’m not worried about. I loved following Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s relationship and watching their wedding on TV. I think it’s exciting that she’s pregnant and due around when I am! It’s fun to see what she’s been wearing too, even though her outfits aren’t exactly practical or affordable for normal people.
And that’s all for today! I’ll check in here with a 2nd trimester post in about a month!
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