My first trimester was, really, not terrible in retrospect. I felt hungover most of the time and had moments of nausea, but that was it for morning sickness. Combined with the fatigue, breast pain, and moodiness, though, it definitely wasn't easy. Here's what helped!
PS: Please please please talk to your doctor before using any of the medications or remedies on this list. I'm not a medical professional, and every pregnancy is different!
- For the nausea I did experience, the only thing that took it out at the knees were these Preggie Pop Drops. They're super sour and absolutely hit the brakes on that definitely-going-to-throw-up feeling (which I never actually did, thanks in part to these).
- We all know drinking lots of water is important no matter what stage of pregnancy you're enjoying. I had such a hard time explaining what kind of water bottle I felt like I needed! I wanted it to be a 1-liter size so I could easily keep track of how many liters I was drinking a day (I continue to aim for three but usually land somewhere in the two-and-a-half range), and while Kristie and I were wandering the aisles of Target in my fifth week of pregnancy, I kept saying, "I just want it to be fun to drink out of!" You know...doesn't require a lot of effort. Do you think about water bottles this much? This CamelBak is the exact one I use.
- Quick shoutout to all those pregnancy apps and websites that told me at 13 weeks, "You might even be starting to show a little now!" Um thanks, but that ship sailed quite a few weeks ago. Between crazy bloating and a growing bump, my regular pants quickly became uncomfortable. I used the hair-tie trick for as long as I could, but soon I wanted to just crawl into any of my collection of giant dresses. While it was still too cold to go bare-legged, these leggings saved me (plus they're inexpensive).
- Fairly quickly into this pregnancy, I felt unsteady in any shoe with a heel – even my beloved mules. Spending hours sitting at a desk every day was also pushing my feet more in the direction of swollen, and certain shoes just weren't comfortable anymore. I dug out my super-comfortable and flexible Crocs flats that I have leftover from my event planning days, when I was on my feet for 10 hours at a time. Maybe not the cutest, but sooo comfy.
- Ginger is so helpful with all kinds of digestive ailments. It wasn't what I wanted when I had morning sickness, but these orange ginger chews did really help with my indigestion.
- When it came to morning sickness, I did kind of tend to feel a little more warpy at night, and historically I've had a hard time falling asleep more often than not. My OB-GYN nurse recommended Unisom, which can help with nausea and ease you to sleep.
- The first couple weeks of knowing I was pregnant were actually really stressful for me. Everything was (and is) perfectly healthy, but this is my first pregnancy. My body was already starting to change, along with my mood and emotions. My anxiety was off the charts. At first, I felt immense pressure (from myself) to learn and read everything I could about pregnancy and babies, to build out our baby registry, to clean out the nursery, etc. What ended up being a refuge was a book that had nothing to do with pregnancy. I needed a mental/emotional outlet while I eased into this new mindset. (Now I'm almost done with the Millennium series for the fifth time.)
- The still-ebbing breast pain of my first trimester was brutal. It was...indescribable. I started wearing this amazingly soft yet supportive bra during the evenings and on weekends – which is also a nursing bra, so you know, two for one – and finally found a little relief.
Not pictured: therapy, a devoted and caring wife who does all the cooking/cleaning/dog maintaining for two months straight, a fan on me at night, Italian ice. My first trimester advice that you didn't ask for? Find what works and do that thing.
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