Wow! It’s crazy to say that I’m going to be a mom and a mom to the most precious gift from God. Yes, this soon to be little one of mine is our child, but really he/she is a child of God’s. I can go on for days about a God centered motherhood, but I’ll save that for a later day. I’m beyond excited and I know my husband, Colin is too!!
Pregnancy is such an exciting and unforgettable time as a mother prepares for a little one. There’s so many milestones and honestly for me it’s hard to soak in at times. With all these milestones of pregnancy, your body goes through so much!! It’s crazy to me that our bodies can literally grow a little human. All that science stuff has been so incredibly fascinating to me. I wanted to share my journey through each trimester. From things that I’ve learned, tricks and tips, and just everything that has helped me through this journey. But by no means do I want you to feel like you need to follow this! It’s something special that I want to share as I hope this can help another momma out there too.
Keep in mind, every pregnancy is different, as every baby is different. There’s no comparison here, my story is mine and your story is yours.
Like I strong stated above and I really want you all to take this to heart. I’m guilty of comparing my pregnancy journey and body to others and it has eaten me up at times. Talk about water works!! I have to tell myself (and even others because they get so defensive) Every pregnancy is different, baby is different and even doctors are different. This is my story that I want to share. So take my tricks with a grain of salt, (I’m a new mom.) Take your mom’s or girlfriends’ tips with a grain of salt and most certainly take internet tricks very lightly. I’m guilty of being the Google.com nutcase at times. There’s no need to stress, God is in full control. This is a moment in your life where you lay it on Him for He is the one who has a plan for your baby, you don’t.
These pregnancy guides are just my own personal story and what I did, what I chose to follow, and what my doctors wanted me personally to do. So I hope you can see my heart as I open up about each milestone during my journey…
First Trimester: Weeks 1-12
1. How I felt
- Holy moly, talk about tired. This was my biggest symptom throughout the first trimester. When I was in the earlier stages of pregnancy I noticed weird stomach aches, my teeth gums were sore and my back hurt. Those weird symptoms lasted about a week and then around week 6 the fatigue and food aversions kicked in.
2. What I did
- After taking the pregnancy test (I took 5! I know it was excessive) I ran to Target as soon as I could to pick up a gift for Colin. It was super cute… I got a baby Daddy book, little gender neutral shoes, binkies, a papa bear mug and threw in the two pregnancy tests. I wrapped it in a basket and had Colin open it before he headed out for breakfast that morning. He was so excited and constantly joked that he was right in regards to it happening quickly.
- Prior to finding out I was pregnant, I was already taking a prenatal vitamin because we were planning for this pregnancy. I was taking it for about 3 months before actually trying. I took it early because I heard that in those early weeks it’s essential for the baby to be receiving folic acid. My doctor didn’t recommend a prenatal brand, I’d take take One A Day Women Prenatal Vitamin because it was easy to take down. I’ve also heard that this one here is really good too. They didn’t make me nauseous and they almost have a vanilla aftertaste which helps when you feel sick.
- Once I got my positive pregnancy test, I called my OBGYN. I had seen him the month before because my period was late for some reason. If the doctor you’ve been seeing isn’t your favorite, don’t feel timid to shop around. You may want a midwife or an OB depending upon your concerns and how you want your pregnancy and birth to be. I stayed with my doctor because I already established a relationship with him.He wanted to see me at 6 weeks. We were so thrilled to hear the heartbeat, but that’s not the case with everyone. Since I was so early on, he wanted to see me in another 2 weeks to follow up. You’ll freak when you get your first ultrasound! It’s just so amazing what the body can do!
- I started looking into safe and pregnancy friendly face washes because my doctor told me that some of those products were not safe to use. Thank goodness I could still use Benzoyl Peroxide because boy did I break out this first trimester. As far as face washes I got a gentle cleanser. At times when I need it I will use a glycolic wash. You have to be careful with those as you don’t want to use a high percentage of glycolic.
- I cut out specific foods from my diet. Your OB will most likely give you a pamphlet of what they don’t want you to eat as mine did. Some moms are comfortable eating these foods, some aren’t! I personally cut out: lunch meat, unpasteurized cheese, queso at restaurants, some seafood, unpasteurized juice, raw sprouts and over easy eggs. But always take this with a grain of salt as well! I know some doctor’s tell women it is fine to have XYZ and some doctors say to steer clear. I 100% believe that as a mom you know what is best for your body and your baby, so you do whatever you feel is comfortable! For example, they say you can have 200 mg of caffeine, but coffee made me want to puke at times so I steered away for the most part.
- I started to drink sooo much more water!! You’ll find yourself drinking a ton of water. I recommend leaving a Yeti by your bedside. Plan to get up in the middle of the night to pee. Get used to it!!
- I purchased a pregnancy pillow because I hated tackling all the pillows around me throughout the night. I recommend trying one out because I have girlfriends that still sleep with theirs after they gave birth! haha. They loved them so much. I’ve also heard of some who hated them too!
- I picked up a few new bras because you’re boobs will grow!! So far, my rib cage has expanded and my cup size only has grown a little. It’s just smart to get a more comfortable bra, you’ll need it!
- I shared the news with family and friends! If y’all follow Styled by Sequins on IG I’ve shared all the fun ways we announced.
3. Favorite Products
- I started to get some pregnancy clothes because I just feel tight in a lot of my pieces. Plus, these items will last me throughout my pregnancy. During my first trimester I did a lot of traveling. This might be something your doctor tells you not to do because of the early risk factors. What saved me were compression socks for the airplane!! I’ve also linked some other favorites from the first trimester.
4. Mistakes I Made
- Google. End of story…. don’t Google stories of other people stories like I said before every pregnancy or fertility story different and it’s not yours. Another mistake I made was not staying more active those first beginning weeks. I’m normally am a really active person, but I had a lot of anxiety that I would hurt the baby if I worked out. I know crazy right? As I’m over here still running three miles. Honestly, I thought I did really good job with letting go of control. God is the only one who has control.
5. Our Announcement
- This part of the first trimester is so fun! I did spill the beans early on to some of my coworkers because they just needed to know. I was not myself at times because I was fatigued, they deserved to know! Slowly I would share the good news. However, I really tried my best to tell everyone I could in person as that was important to me. I shared with my parents over skype after the first ultrasound appointment. I just wanted them to be part of the whole first trimester as I could. When we were in Europe we shared the news with Colin’s parents. This time we got pretty creative and gave them a cruise themed scratch off lottery ticket since we were going on a cruise.
- The other announcements were super fun too! I surprised my girls through a video and family friends at a BBQ. Details on this are on Styled by Sequins IG
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