What to Expect the First Trimester

Or, what I experienced the first trimester.  Now that I’m approaching my third trimester (wow!) in three to four weeks, depending upon which source you read, it’s about time I published a post I drafted in the first trimester detailing all of the symptoms and emotions that I experienced. 

Here is how I looked in the beginning of the first trimester (first belly pic):

And at the end of the first trimester:

There was definitely some belly growth there!  I think I started showing fairly early for a number of reasons- bloat, an anterior placenta, my height and weight, etc. 

In addition to the physical changes, there were a lot of other changes/experiences that I encountered in the first trimester. 

• Emotions- Pregnancy straight messes with your emotions.  I find myself tearing up at the smallest things.  And big things.  Usually at the most ridiculous things.  My brother and I got into an argument (I called him out and he started yelling- he’s a wee bit hotheaded [understatement of the year]) and instead of my usual “grow up dumbass” response, I started sobbing.  Uncontrollably!  I had to go into the bathroom to calm myself down.  When I walked out he looked all ashamed and said “I keep forgetting you’re pregnant.”  Don’t worry, my crazy hormones will remind you
• Worry-Perhaps pregnancy worry is there to prepare you for  worrying about your child once he or she is born.  I was pretty chill about everything until I experienced some light, brownish spotting in my fifth and sixth week.  Though I’ve read that it is pretty normal, I still called the doctor.  When they wanted me to come in right away for an ultrasound (both times) I freaked out!   Everything ended up being just fine but it was still worrisome. 
• Cramping.  The technical term for it is “round ligament stretching” or, as my friend Kristin put it, “your baby sac be growing.”   It feels almost like period cramps.  Basically, your uterus starts to stretch to accommodate the growing bean in there.  At one point they woke me up in the middle of the night.  They tend to be stronger at night!
• Tender tatas-  Pretty self-explanatory.  At one point during the first tri I would occasionally poke myself to “make sure” they still felt sore.  Insanity :p See worry, above. 
• Nausea-  Thankfully, I haven’t thrown up yet.  I have, however, experienced nausea and food aversions.  Any sort of vegetable was out.  On the nights I couldn’t eat, I forced down cereal. 
• Fatigue- All of the books and resources tell you that you will feel incredibly tired during the first trimester.  Man, they weren’t kidding!  It was quite different to go from running five miles after a ninety minute hot yoga class and feeling energized to sitting on the couch and watching television, with the thought of my old routine practically putting me to sleep. 
• No Running- After the spotting issue the doctor told me I couldn’t run.  I was cool with it because I was tired as heck anyway and I needed a break.  Prior to being told I couldn’t run, the running I was doing was uber slow and my limbs were always numb (especially my hands) from the cold temperatures, despite my gloves.  I think my body heat was concentrated towards the little one
• Prenatal Yoga- When I found out I was pregnant, hot yoga became a thing of the past.  It is dangerous to raise your core body temperature while pregnant and although I had been practicing for a year, I didn’t want to take any risks.  Because I still needed some yoga in my life, I started taking a prenatal yoga class.  The class was great and I was the least pregnant person there (haha).  The classes were difficult even though pre-pregnancy they would have been a nice little warm up.  It’s amazing the changes your body goes through.
• Shortness of Breath- Having been in probably the best shape of my life when I became pregnant, I was shocked to find that at four weeks along I couldn’t walk up my flight of stairs at work without becoming winded.  Was I really that out of shape?  Nah.  The bod’s just working hard doing other things, like making a baby!
• Bloody Nose- This was something I wasn’t expecting.  Apparently in pregnancy a lot of your tissue swells, including the tissue in your nose.  That’s all the detail I’ll get into, haha.
• Dry Scalp- Some women become pregnant and their hair becomes thick and stops shedding.  Mine?  Well, I’m still shedding (maybe not as much, but it seems like it) and my scalp has become incredibly dry.  My hairdresser said it can go either way with pregnancy- dry or oily.
• Weight- My weight stayed the same during the first trimester.  At first it was because I was so nauseous I could only stomach certain foods, and after that my appetite was fairly normal.  The doctor assured me that the baby would take what it needs and that the pounds would eventually come on. 

Overall, my first trimester was very much smooth sailing.  I didn’t get sick and aside from the minor spotting issue, it was pretty much textbook.  A couple of times during the first tri Brian remarked “you really love being pregnant, don’t you?”  Yes, I do

Katie