First Trimester, Pregnancy, Second Pregnancy

Once you’ve been pregnant with your first baby, you might be tempted to think I’ve done this before… I know what to expect! but in my case, that couldn’t be further from the truth. This pregnancy is already off to a much different start, so like last time, I thought I’d share some of the first trimester symptoms I’ve had and how I’ve dealt with them.

Morning Sickness is something I didn’t deal with much with Felix. I got sick twice my entire pregnancy. This time, I’ve lost count. Usually it’s over and done with quickly and lasted until 14 weeks. It helps to keep something in my stomach as much as possible, like crackers or cheese sticks. Sometimes nothing helps though!

Food Aversions haven’t been nearly as bad as the first time around, but the one thing I couldn’t stomach for the first trimester was meat! With a plant based diet (in addition to dairy) and the morning sickness, I actually lost 3 pounds which I didn’t recover until 16 weeks.

Slowed Digestion hits me daily each afternoon with what I can best describe as a sour stomach. It feels like food just. sits. there…. no matter how much water I drink or fiber I eat, it’s just sllllooooowwww.

Anxiety and Moodiness have been the most dramatic and difficult aspects to deal with for this pregnancy. This time around, I had a suspicion I was pregnant a week before my missed period/pregnancy test because I was so angry for no good reason!

As I’ve mentioned before, I started a prescription medication after I was diagnosed with postpartum depression after Felix was born and continued to take it for a little more than a year. Once I had stopped breast feeding and my hormone levels adjusted, I slowly stopped taking it. All in all, I felt really even keeled and back to my normal self. Then the roller coaster of pregnancy hormones kicked in and I found myself struggling a lot in the first 6 or so weeks. I had huge fears about the viability of this pregnancy, even after hearing a heartbeat and having hormone levels checked (and checked again). My first pregnancy was a missed miscarriage that I learned of at 8 weeks and I was terrified of it happening again. Basically - I was a huge mess.

I discussed options with my doctor. I really didn’t want to take any medications while pregnant and we decided to wait things out to see if they improved with time. What helped me a lot was knowing once you hear a heartbeat, your chances of a healthy pregnancy jump way way up (to 95%+!) Luckily I am feeling so much better in that department and feel a lot more connected and confident about this pregnancy.

Pelvic Pain I can’t believe it’s happening so soon, but I can already feel the relaxin in my body loosening up my pelvis, especially if I’ve been active. Last pregnancy it was so painful I could barely walk and I hope that doesn’t happen this time around. I have some exercises I do each night to help. I really do want these hips to widen up because I fear my C-section last time might have had something to do with the size of my pelvis plus a big baby. More on this another time!

My round ligament pain started pretty early on too. It’s like a sharp pull along your bikini line more or less. I get mine when I stand up quickly (like to the demands of a toddler who NEEDS milk or goldfish).

Extreme Fatigue has been rough on all of us. It’s a lot harder to get rest when you’re either up with a toddler all night or chasing him all day. We’ve decided to let Felix watch a few movies/TV shows during the day so I can get some sleep (he cozies up with me on the couch as a doze off). I read recently that a pregnant body at rest uses 24% energy versus a non pregnant body which is more like 7-8%… which totally explains why I can’t quite do as much as before. I’ve had a lot of personal guilt about my lack of productivity, but as my husband reminds me, I’m doing a BIG job right now.

Compromised Immune System I feel like I catch just about every virus that crosses my path and I’ve had multiple colds, sore throats and a gross case of a double bacterial conjunctivitis since being pregnant. I normally don’t get sick very often, so on top of everything else, this has really slowed me down!

This pregnancy also seems to be going so much faster than the first time around! I’m almost halfway through! I occasionally check a pregnancy app to see how big the baby is, but I haven’t read anything else and am trusting my body a lot more. I felt kicks last week and usually get them after eating something delicious (green curry or ice cream!) or when I’m really happy (like at a wedding this weekend). It feels so cool. I’m so grateful to be adding to our happy family and for my second trimester relief!

You can read about my pregnancy with Felix here (first trimester, half way point, second trimester, third trimester and birth story)