My First Trimester

Most great stories start with a few glasses of champagne.
And so does this one…

This next part might be a little TMI, but this is a Mama blog after all, so details won’t ever be spared.

I was about one or two days into my period, so when we took our two families out to dinner as a thank you for the culmination of their babysitting duties, I didn’t question ordering alcohol for myself. I ordered a few glasses of champagne (I’m currently regretting not savoring those last sips a bit more)! The next day, my period ended, and I thought…well this isn’t normal. So, I took a pregnancy test, and I was absolutely shocked to see a positive result.

But the weird thing was, I started spotting again the next day. I had read about and knew about implantation bleeding, but this lasted longer and seemed to be more than it should. We had a camping trip to Kern River planned at the time, and the doctors said I could go as long as I took it easy and knew where the closest emergency room was. They urged that if the bleeding ever became enough to fill a pad within a couple hours, that I needed to go to the emergency room. Needless to say, the camping trip was a bit nerve-wracking. Camping with littles is never easy, and poor Garrett, my husband, tried tackling more than his share as he kept insisting that I rest.

Mamas, you know that anxiety of waiting for that first OB appointment. I felt that anxiety, exaggerated, because I couldn’t accept or even celebrate a successful pregnancy not knowing or understanding the abnormal bleeding. And at my first appointment, they said it was too early to do an ultrasound, but they would do blood work to see if my HCG levels were rising accordingly. This brought on a new anxiety as I waited for blood work results. (All the while, I was taking at-home tests every other day to confirm the second line was getting darker.). The blood work results looked promising, but then it was a waiting game for that first ultrasound and that first heartbeat before I could sit confident in this pregnancy. And I’m still feeling that tinge of anxiety in between every ultrasound! It’s a miracle the way our bodies just create and build life on their own, but it’s also a vulnerable place to be when you don’t feel in control.

FIRST TRIMESTER SYMPTOMS

Fatigue: I felt fatigue at two times daily, around 3:00pm and 9:30pm. I felt myself depleting in the late afternoon because that’s usually when I would drink a Celsius energy drink, but I’ve given those up since becoming pregnant, so it’s been a challenge to push through the long days without that extra caffeine. The 9:30pm fatigue was a strong one, and it almost made me feel sick (not nauseous, just sickly exhausted). Normally, I can stay up until around 11:00pm, so I knew that was the pregnancy taking a toll on my body.

Burping: OH MY GOSH. I burp. And not like cute, tiny burps. Some of them are so loud that I literally make myself laugh. My stomach would get so bloated, and I would let out these burps at all times of the day that were super embarrassing, even to myself.

Round Ligament Pain: This only happened for about a week or so during a camping trip in Sedona. I was actually taking it very easy, but if I was doing a lot of walking, I would feel this brief but sharp cramp in the bottom right of my pelvic area. At first, it worried me, but then I remembered Round Ligament Pain, did some research, and knew that’s what I was experiencing. Whenever I would feel this, I would just sit down and take a break. It hasn’t really happened much since. Every once in awhile though, I’ll sneeze or something and feel a pain or cramp. Now, I just have to brace myself before I sneeze!

Peeing: In the beginning, I had to pee all the time. I would wake up twice in the night to go pee, and I’m normally someone who doesn’t wake up once throughout the night. That was tough during camping trips. But that symptom has oddly gone away now that I’m in the second trimester.

As a whole, this has been the easiest first trimester out of my three pregnancies. If my biggest complaints were tiredness, burping, and brief ligament pain, I can’t complain. And I know that can be disheartening to hear if you’re going through a difficult first trimester, but every one of my pregnancies was a different experience, so I’m cherishing and truly grateful for the ease of this one.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Do you get stretch marks?
I did not get any stretch marks in my first two pregnancies, although, I did get some stretchy tummy skin. With both Alba and River, I used the Palmer’s Coco Butter Formula. This pregnancy, I am using the Belly Oil from Hatch. I’m loving this oil so far because it’s really light, so it doesn’t leave an oily residue. It also smells really good.

How did you come up with the name Poet?
We were actually set on other names. If it was a boy, we would have went with Jameson. If it was a girl, we were set on the name Ember. I just loved the meaning of Ember as this final, enduring flame. But one of the Mama podcasts that I follow has a daughter named Poet, and one night, I spontaneously considered it. It started out as a consideration and just grew to be this name we absolutely fell in love with. Garrett is excited to call her Po!

What is something you wish people would have told you about pregnancy?
Not all experiences apply to you. It’s such a personal journey, and it’s different for everybody, so do you! Do what makes you happy.
Do what feels right to you. Follow your Mama intuition.

What was your weight gain with all the pregnancies?
I gained about 37 pounds with Alba. I gained 25 pounds with River, and it wasn’t intentional to gain less weight, but I think I was much more active because I had Alba to take care of. Poet…we’ll see!

Any cravings?
I have not had any cravings, and I don’t think I really did in any of my pregnancies. I did have specific food aversions with Alba and River (salmon and coffee), but I haven’t had any aversions this time around. Thank goodness!

When are you due?
I’m due March 1st, which is one day before my birthday. But I have a feeling Poet will make her appearance in late February.

How and when did you tell friends and family?
We were actually going to tell our families much earlier this time, but I wanted to wait until after that first appointment. Especially with all the uncertainty I had, I wanted to be sure it was viable before we shared. But we were at dinner with my dad and mother-in-law one night when Alba found a picture of a positive pregnancy test in my phone. Oops! She immediately showed the entire dinner table, shouting, “Mom! What is this?” Needless to say, we had to spill the beans but also explain why we weren’t sharing just yet. I was able to create a total diversion for Alba because I wasn’t ready to share the news with her until it was confirmed. I was adamant that we wait the twelve weeks to tell our daughters just because I didn’t want to have to take back the exciting news if something happened.
Watch us tell Alba and River in my Instagram video. Alba’s initial reaction was total devastation.

Thanks for reading! I love when Mamas can connect and have a space to share what we’re going through, so I’m looking forward to sharing the rest of this journey with all of you. Please leave any questions or comments you have for the second trimester in the comments below!

… only 164 days until I can pop a bottle of champagne.

Onesie is from Cheerily.co. I have a few of their personalized baby clothes, and they make the perfect gift!