Pregnancy: 1st Trimester Update
Hi All, and happy almost weekend!
So, now that we have officially announced baby sprtel coming in January, I wanted to share with you all what my first trimester was like! It was such a hard secret to keep for 8 weeks, before telling family, 12+ weeks for friends, and into the 4th month for public announcing!!! So today I want to quickly fill you in on my experience so far, what I’ve learned, helpful apps, and a few other random things.
If someone would have looked through my google searches, it would be pretty evident, that it was the ONLY thing on my mind. When do I begin taking a prenatal vitamin? What do I use to prevent stretch marks? Should I stop drinking caffeine? Can I take baths? Should I eat more leafy greens?
It is a LOT to think about to make sure you are preparing in the correct way, to house a little peanut baby!!
Well, here I am now..sitting here reflecting back on my first trimester, in awe that it has already come and gone! Pregnancy is such an amazing thing, and I'd love to talk about some of my experience so far for any of the soon to be mama's, current mamas or those out there who are on this beautiful pregnancy journey along with me!
Time to get real..
My husband and I are going into our 2nd year of marriage. We had been so excited to start trying for a family, when the time felt right. It was Christmas night to be exact. We had talked about it for what seemed like years. We talked about potential baby names, what we wanted in a family, what our styles would be like while raising children and how excited we were to make it all happen! We were driving home from visiting family on Christmas Day.. and looked at eachother and just felt like a weight was lifted off. We discussed going off of the pill, and at that moment said to eachother.. "lets begin to try" "we are ready for this!". We were both so excited for what was to come.
We then realized it wasn't as easy as we had once thought. We had tried for quite a few LONGGG months, and became quite discouraged. (in retrospect, there are so many others out there who struggle for years...so although our struggles may have been small to some..they were still our own.) I began tracking with ovulation kits, and we were trying as much as we could without letting it become too much of a stressor in our lives.
I prayed...... a lot. I am one to internalize a lot of emotions and feelings..and I was secretly hoping that nothing was wrong with me, that my body was capable of conceiving, and that God would give us the chance we wanted so badly to have in making a perfect little baby, created by our love for eachother. We were SO ready.
Once we began to really relax, and let life take its course, and try not to worry is when things really began to happen for us!! We were shocked, excited, scared and all the crazy mixed emotions you get when you get this news! We found out we were expecting! And our lives were soon to change!
With that said... once we found out that we were expecting, and began to prepare- things really have gone quite smoothly for us. Pregnancy thus far has been such a fun, exciting and easy transition!! I am so thankful for that, as I know that is not the case for many women, so I realize how fortunate we are to have been blessed with an easy, healthy pregnancy and growing baby.
Watching your body change everyday before your eyes is truly an experience, a complete miracle. Our bodies are so strong, and the things it must do to adjust and make a perfect home for your baby is nothing short of amazing!
OK! Lets dive into some of the 1st trimester experiences
SYMPTOMS
Some of the VERY first indicators that I had, to alert me that I may be pregnant, were actually similar to that of getting a period. The uncomfortable bloating, tender breasts, etc. However... it was that x 100! I had a gut feeling..that something was just off. Although I told myself to not get too excited, and to expect ANOTHER negative test result... I just had "that feeling" that you hear about. I felt different, like my symptoms were heightened compared to usual. My chest felt like it was on FIRE. literal fire. i thought to myself...this isn't normal for a usual menstrual cycle (sorry for any men reading this haha).. so thought I'd go ahead and test again.
And sure enough...to my surprise and COMPLETE shock, that small little stick said 'pregnant' that Monday morning. I had to contain my excitement the entire day through work, before giving my husband the great news! it was tough......... very very tough. All day, I sat there at work, trying hard to concentrate and do my job, being the only one in the world besides God himself who knew I had a little human growing inside of me that very second. I was in complete awe, and did not know how to act normal.
As the first few weeks passed by, I started to feel my midsection and chest getting fuller. I did not begin to show at all during this trimester, which made me feel like to anyone else who may have noticed my midsection..that maybe I was just gaining a little unwanted weight.
I experienced what it was like to have 'night' sickness. I had this for a few weeks. It was completely sporadic. I never actually got sick, but I would get home from work..lay on my couch, and fall asleep with an upset stomach, without being able to eat dinner. I felt awful some nights... like if I moved, I would throw up. Luckily, this was not every single night. And it only lasted for the first few weeks, and then vanished.
I also had a major blemish break out... my hormones were in FULL SWING, and I was self conscious about this for a few weeks, I could not get it under control no matter what I did... I had breakouts in places I have never even seen a pimple in the past. This was until it started to subside and clear up, as my placenta started to take most of the hormone load off of me (which *insert upside down smiley face emoji*, was WEEKS later).
I did not feel GLOWY, or pretty..or like I was pregnant. I felt weird in my own body and skin...for the first time in a long time. (If only I could fast forward to weeks later, and the stage I am in now... that's to come in a separate post)
CRAVINGS
I did not truly have extreme cravings for anything during the first trimester.. The only thing I can really say...is nothing sounded good. AT ALL. I was turned off to a lot of the things I normally loved. Like coffee, and vegetables and salad. All I wanted was hot meals, with lots of carbs or soup. The things I really began to "crave"seemed to be mostly the following:
1. Fruit! and lots of it... pineapple, watermelon and apples primarily
2. mashed potatoes and malt-o-meal hot cereal.. which is not an abnormal craving for me, even when not being pregnant
3.soup
4.and totally stereotypical...but PICKLES. something about the salty vinegary goodness...just hit the spot. EVERY TIME. I think I went through a few jars. not a joke.
APPS
some of the best apps that I have downloaded to help me track both trying to get pregnant, and now pregnancy are the following!
1. Ovia App. There are many different versions of this app. I used the regular one for tracking my period, and trying to conceive, and now use the OviaPregnancy for updates throughout my pregnancy.
2. Pregnancy+ .. this one is AMAZING. it shows your development and gives you articles on growth, and progress by each week, and also baby's growth and development. I love this one because it has GREAT pictures to follow along.
SUPPLEMENTS & MISC.
I began to take Prenatal Vitamins with DHA for about 3 months before trying for a baby. I wanted to be prepared.
I then got myself some Bio Oil to begin putting on as my belly began to be in the first stages of growing!
To save on money, I borrowed maternity clothes from family and friends!! This was AMAZING. I also purchased a few pairs of maternity leggings from target. For my job, I need to dress up...so it was important for me to be comfortable during these first few awkward weeks and months, and invest in a few staple pieces of clothing.
Okay, that was a lot of information and kind of all over the place! Just wanted to update you guys on these last couple of months of 1st trimester. Also, I am obviously 100% NEW to this whole pregnancy journey! So, if anyone has any tips or apps or advice, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Also I just wanted to add this as well, for anyone who has experienced miscarriage or is going through that now…please know that my heart goes out to you and I pray for peace and comfort. I don’t want this post to seem insensitive to anyone's heartbreak or struggles in any way.
Thanks for reading friends, and for joining me in this exciting journey! 2nd trimester update to follow soon!
<3 Love, EmmaLuna
Photography Taken By: Jenna Parr Photography
So, now that we have officially announced baby sprtel coming in January, I wanted to share with you all what my first trimester was like! It was such a hard secret to keep for 8 weeks, before telling family, 12+ weeks for friends, and into the 4th month for public announcing!!! So today I want to quickly fill you in on my experience so far, what I’ve learned, helpful apps, and a few other random things.
If someone would have looked through my google searches, it would be pretty evident, that it was the ONLY thing on my mind. When do I begin taking a prenatal vitamin? What do I use to prevent stretch marks? Should I stop drinking caffeine? Can I take baths? Should I eat more leafy greens?
It is a LOT to think about to make sure you are preparing in the correct way, to house a little peanut baby!!
Well, here I am now..sitting here reflecting back on my first trimester, in awe that it has already come and gone! Pregnancy is such an amazing thing, and I'd love to talk about some of my experience so far for any of the soon to be mama's, current mamas or those out there who are on this beautiful pregnancy journey along with me!
Time to get real..
My husband and I are going into our 2nd year of marriage. We had been so excited to start trying for a family, when the time felt right. It was Christmas night to be exact. We had talked about it for what seemed like years. We talked about potential baby names, what we wanted in a family, what our styles would be like while raising children and how excited we were to make it all happen! We were driving home from visiting family on Christmas Day.. and looked at eachother and just felt like a weight was lifted off. We discussed going off of the pill, and at that moment said to eachother.. "lets begin to try" "we are ready for this!". We were both so excited for what was to come.
We then realized it wasn't as easy as we had once thought. We had tried for quite a few LONGGG months, and became quite discouraged. (in retrospect, there are so many others out there who struggle for years...so although our struggles may have been small to some..they were still our own.) I began tracking with ovulation kits, and we were trying as much as we could without letting it become too much of a stressor in our lives.
I prayed...... a lot. I am one to internalize a lot of emotions and feelings..and I was secretly hoping that nothing was wrong with me, that my body was capable of conceiving, and that God would give us the chance we wanted so badly to have in making a perfect little baby, created by our love for eachother. We were SO ready.
Once we began to really relax, and let life take its course, and try not to worry is when things really began to happen for us!! We were shocked, excited, scared and all the crazy mixed emotions you get when you get this news! We found out we were expecting! And our lives were soon to change!
With that said... once we found out that we were expecting, and began to prepare- things really have gone quite smoothly for us. Pregnancy thus far has been such a fun, exciting and easy transition!! I am so thankful for that, as I know that is not the case for many women, so I realize how fortunate we are to have been blessed with an easy, healthy pregnancy and growing baby.
Watching your body change everyday before your eyes is truly an experience, a complete miracle. Our bodies are so strong, and the things it must do to adjust and make a perfect home for your baby is nothing short of amazing!
OK! Lets dive into some of the 1st trimester experiences
SYMPTOMS
Some of the VERY first indicators that I had, to alert me that I may be pregnant, were actually similar to that of getting a period. The uncomfortable bloating, tender breasts, etc. However... it was that x 100! I had a gut feeling..that something was just off. Although I told myself to not get too excited, and to expect ANOTHER negative test result... I just had "that feeling" that you hear about. I felt different, like my symptoms were heightened compared to usual. My chest felt like it was on FIRE. literal fire. i thought to myself...this isn't normal for a usual menstrual cycle (sorry for any men reading this haha).. so thought I'd go ahead and test again.
And sure enough...to my surprise and COMPLETE shock, that small little stick said 'pregnant' that Monday morning. I had to contain my excitement the entire day through work, before giving my husband the great news! it was tough......... very very tough. All day, I sat there at work, trying hard to concentrate and do my job, being the only one in the world besides God himself who knew I had a little human growing inside of me that very second. I was in complete awe, and did not know how to act normal.
As the first few weeks passed by, I started to feel my midsection and chest getting fuller. I did not begin to show at all during this trimester, which made me feel like to anyone else who may have noticed my midsection..that maybe I was just gaining a little unwanted weight.
I experienced what it was like to have 'night' sickness. I had this for a few weeks. It was completely sporadic. I never actually got sick, but I would get home from work..lay on my couch, and fall asleep with an upset stomach, without being able to eat dinner. I felt awful some nights... like if I moved, I would throw up. Luckily, this was not every single night. And it only lasted for the first few weeks, and then vanished.
I also had a major blemish break out... my hormones were in FULL SWING, and I was self conscious about this for a few weeks, I could not get it under control no matter what I did... I had breakouts in places I have never even seen a pimple in the past. This was until it started to subside and clear up, as my placenta started to take most of the hormone load off of me (which *insert upside down smiley face emoji*, was WEEKS later).
I did not feel GLOWY, or pretty..or like I was pregnant. I felt weird in my own body and skin...for the first time in a long time. (If only I could fast forward to weeks later, and the stage I am in now... that's to come in a separate post)
CRAVINGS
I did not truly have extreme cravings for anything during the first trimester.. The only thing I can really say...is nothing sounded good. AT ALL. I was turned off to a lot of the things I normally loved. Like coffee, and vegetables and salad. All I wanted was hot meals, with lots of carbs or soup. The things I really began to "crave"seemed to be mostly the following:
1. Fruit! and lots of it... pineapple, watermelon and apples primarily
2. mashed potatoes and malt-o-meal hot cereal.. which is not an abnormal craving for me, even when not being pregnant
3.soup
4.and totally stereotypical...but PICKLES. something about the salty vinegary goodness...just hit the spot. EVERY TIME. I think I went through a few jars. not a joke.
APPS
some of the best apps that I have downloaded to help me track both trying to get pregnant, and now pregnancy are the following!
1. Ovia App. There are many different versions of this app. I used the regular one for tracking my period, and trying to conceive, and now use the OviaPregnancy for updates throughout my pregnancy.
2. Pregnancy+ .. this one is AMAZING. it shows your development and gives you articles on growth, and progress by each week, and also baby's growth and development. I love this one because it has GREAT pictures to follow along.
SUPPLEMENTS & MISC.
I began to take Prenatal Vitamins with DHA for about 3 months before trying for a baby. I wanted to be prepared.
I then got myself some Bio Oil to begin putting on as my belly began to be in the first stages of growing!
To save on money, I borrowed maternity clothes from family and friends!! This was AMAZING. I also purchased a few pairs of maternity leggings from target. For my job, I need to dress up...so it was important for me to be comfortable during these first few awkward weeks and months, and invest in a few staple pieces of clothing.
Okay, that was a lot of information and kind of all over the place! Just wanted to update you guys on these last couple of months of 1st trimester. Also, I am obviously 100% NEW to this whole pregnancy journey! So, if anyone has any tips or apps or advice, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Also I just wanted to add this as well, for anyone who has experienced miscarriage or is going through that now…please know that my heart goes out to you and I pray for peace and comfort. I don’t want this post to seem insensitive to anyone's heartbreak or struggles in any way.
Thanks for reading friends, and for joining me in this exciting journey! 2nd trimester update to follow soon!
<3 Love, EmmaLuna
Photography Taken By: Jenna Parr Photography
Em, you did it again! I'm not even pregnant and it was such a great read! Nipples on fire and all 😂😂 And even when you thought you were having a bad breakout, you were still the prettiest girl in the room! I can't believe how fast your pregnancy is going! But maybe because I'm not the one with a human inside of me...? 🤔😅 You are going to be the best Mom.
ReplyDeleteXoxo,
J
Thank you Jenna 💗💗 means so much!!
Delete