My First Trimester (and how I thought I was a weenie)

Can I just start out by saying how completely unprepared I was for my first trimester? I feel like I got tricked. To all my friends who have been pregnant before me, umm what the heck?! You did not warn me! To all of my friends who have yet to experience pregnancy, I am here for you. I will tell you all the things that no one told me. I am a good friend.

#1 Counting how far along you are: Sooo you may have already known this, but you actually don’t start counting how far along you are from whatever day you guess you conceived at. Which I guess totally makes sense because, let’s be real, how can you actually know that day for sure?! But in my mind that’s what you were supposed to do because that’s “technically” when you start being pregnant. No, no. Wrong. You count from the start of your last period, even though you’re not actually pregnant at that time. I remember figuring this out and then all the sudden I was like 2-3 weeks further along than I thought. It’s like a really cool gift from Jesus and He’s like here ya go. I’m going to give you a couple freebee weeks since you have 40 weeks to go. You’re welcome beloved. Thanks Jesus.

#2 Morning Sickness: I was semi prepared for this because you hear people talk about it often. But guess what ladies (and gentlemen, you need to know this too) but it’s not just in the morning! Ha. You got tricked. Nope. It’s in the afternoon. It’s in the evening. And for some, it can also be in the middle of the night. Praise the Lord mine wasn’t that bad. But I definitely had it and it wasn’t fun. Peppermint oil and ginger will be your saving grace. They were for me.

#3 Food Aversions: Umm what?! What do you mean I’m not going to like certain foods? Preposterous! I thought I was just going to crave super weird things and eat whatever I want, whenever I want. This is what I’ve been training for. Bananas, you have betrayed me. I thought we were bff’s. Why do you make me throw up? Stop it right now. Avocados? Nooo, not you too! Little blueberry sized baby, don’t you dare take avocados away from me! 
And just like that, some of you’re favorite foods will be gone before you even know it. Hopefully it will eventually go away like mine did, after about 14 weeks. But some women will experience random food aversions their entire pregnancy. Thank God I didn’t ever crave rocks or soap!Everything you think you know and love is subject to change. Trust nothing.

#4 Exhaustion: Y’all this is a real freaking thing!! And I was embarrassingly unprepared. Confession, I really thought I was going to be able to conquer the world during my first trimester. I had run a half marathon in the very beginning to tell my husband I was pregnant. A week after that, I ran a 24 mile trail race with my dad. I was feeling pretty darn good, and I really thought it would continue. And then…we moved into weeks 8 and 9, and everything changed.

I remember going out for a run one day and I didn’t even make it two miles without wanting to throw up, I was just so tired. I ended up walking back to the car (that never happens) The next day, I was sitting on the couch, with plans to go out and get things done that day but I just couldn’t get up. I was incredibly exhausted, all I wanted to do all day was nap, and I am not a napper. My husband came home to me crying on the couch saying “I am so tired I just want to take naps all day and I don’t know whyyyyyy.”
Husband: “well babe you are pregnant.” (He’s so logical).
Me: “But I’m just barely pregnant. I don’t even have a bump. I shouldn’t be tired.” False.
That’s truly what I thought though. I didn’t think I had any excuse to be tired. Then I finally googled “what is wrong with me.” And found that this is actually a common thing, and one reason many women attribute their first trimester to being the hardest trimester. This is what the internet told me:

“Pregnancy is sort of like climbing a mountain or running a marathon (without having trained) while carrying a backpack that weighs a little more every day. In other words, it’s hard work! During the first trimester of pregnancy, a huge amount of energy goes into building a life-support system for your baby (namely the placenta) – which is why you might be feeling extra pooped around week 9. What’s more, your body’s metabolism has increased significantly while your blood sugar and blood pressure tend to be lower.” source

Thank you internet for not making me feel like I’m the weeniest pregnant lady in the world!

Needless to say, I’m super happy to be in my second trimester.

First Trimester: weeks 1-13
Food Cravings: sourdough bread…all things carbs
Aversions: avocados and bananas
Weight Gain: 0 lbs

What was your first trimester like?