What The First Trimester Of Pregnancy Was Like For Me

I wasn’t sure if you all cared to read what my first trimester of pregnancy was like, but after asking on Instagram I was surprised to find out that the majority of you wanted to know!  So sorry it took me awhile to share, I’ve been so occupied with all the holiday stuff and holiday content. Now I’m 23 weeks pregnant, and I finally got around to writing it haha.

In a nutshell, the first trimester of pregnancy felt really LONG. Haha. If you’re thinking “I had no idea you are pregnant”, no worries. I just shared the news not too long ago in a baby announcement blog post. We definitely waited longer than usual to share it with family and friends.

What My First Trimester Of Pregnancy Was Like

In this post I will do my best to answer most if not all of your questions about my pregnancy.

How I Found Out I Was Pregnant

Well, it wasn’t a surprise for us. Even though we were fortunate to conceive a baby naturally, it still had to be planned since there was coordination with my team of doctors and how my cancer treatments were handled. All the details about my process of getting pregnant after cancer is in that post.

Long story short, I knew immediately I was pregnant. I was maybe a couple weeks pregnant and I felt different. I’ve really learned to pay super close attention to my body and take note of any changes even if they’re subtle. That’s the crazy thing that cancer has taught me. I was so fatigued and I had no reason to be fatigued. The fatigue was not as severe as it was when I was on treatment, but I couldn’t ignore that I was feeling so tired. I had no reason to feel the way I did.

My mind immediately thought pregnancy. Then I started feeling cramps. I noticed these cramps felt a little different from the cramps I was getting right before my period. But of course, I also knew that it could still be a sign that it’s my period coming. After all, I’m a rookie in this because it took over 4 years to get my period back ha.

I Had To Guess

I had to guess when I would be late because I have no idea what my cycle length would be. So when I took my first pregnancy test, it was a negative. I was disappointed and ate my sorrow with sushi. I still wasn’t feeling myself and continued to take several pregnancy tests days after. They were still negative. Then one day, the test results switched to ‘error’. That was frustrating. I thought I was a pro with taking these tests by now. And everyday after the test kept showing ‘error’.

In the middle of one night, I felt so off and I knew whatever is happening to my body is not normal. I was still convinced I was pregnant. So I took another pregnancy test. And WOW it actually showed a ‘positive’. I was still in disbelief so I took a few more haha. Then woke Tre up and had him confirm what I had been seeing. I was so giddy!! Then for about a week straight, I took more pregnancy tests just to be sure haha.

When To Tell Everyone

I waited for my 8 week pregnancy appointment to decide when to share our pregnancy. Let me tell you, seeing that little Sweet Pea for the first time made us so happy. But it also made me so paranoid. I didn’t want to lose this baby and became very protective. I was nervous that if I started sharing the baby news too soon that I might jinx it. That’s when we made the decision to wait to share the news.

Because we waited so long to share with our family about our baby, it was one of the reasons why the first trimester felt so long. It was this big secret that I really really wanted to share but had to resist. Eventually during my second trimester, I mustered the strength to share the wonderful news. This baby deserves to be celebrated!

First Trimester Symptoms

 

Alright, let’s get to the good stuff and share with you all everything I experienced in my 1st trimester. These symptoms were also another reason why the first trimester felt so long! I was counting down to the second trimester hoping I’d feel better by then. To be honest, I still experience some of these symptoms now. I’m starting to think pregnancy symptoms are genetic and I’m taking after my mom.

Anxiety/Paranoia

As I mentioned earlier, I had a lot of anxiety about miscarriage. The news about having a baby was so incredible that I almost felt like I didn’t deserve this blessing. So I was afraid that one day I would wake up and it would be taken away from me.

Morning Sickness

The morning sickness is REAL. UGHHH. I was constantly nauseous and throwing up to the point that I was barely eating and lost some weight. For some reason, I expected it because my mom told me that when she was pregnant she was sick during her entire pregnancy.

Cravings

I had ZERO cravings. The only exception was when I was around 3 weeks pregnant. During that time, I was really loving olives. The olive juice was the tastiest thing ever. So yes, I drank the olive juice haha. I also really wanted Chicharon Bulaklak (a Filipino appetizer) one day and begged my parents to get some for me. This was also another indication I knew I was pregnant before the pregnancy test could confirm it. But after a week or so, olives and chicharron bulaklak were so disgusting to me.

Aversions

This list is much longer than my cravings list. I had so many aversions. Food in general was a struggle. Nothing sounded good and everything smelled and looked awful. I never thought in my life I would be this picky of an eater.

I love to cook and I could not stand the smell of my own food cooking. Tre doesn’t cook so we basically bought food for every meal. Haha it was not easy on our budget but at least I was able to help out our local businesses. That’s a silver lining, I guess?

I especially hated pizza, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, onions, olives (haha), filipino food, bacon, certain cheeses,  seasonings (except for salt & pepper), seasoned potatoes, and Sweet Green (and I loved Sweet Green).

I had no idea eating would be such a chore during pregnancy. Every time it was time to eat, it always felt like a hassle. I kept reminding myself that this is for the baby.

Fatigue

For sure experienced fatigue. I was always tired, but not as tired as I was during my treatments.

Sour After Taste

The worst part after eating was I get this sour after taste that lingered. UGH yuck. It’s also another reason why I just couldn’t stand eating. Even if I ate something savory, I could not stand that soury after taste.

Potential Pre-eclampsia

Ever since I started chemo, I had high blood pressure. Hence why I’m constantly seeing a cardiologist. My blood pressure has been stable since chemo. It’s still something they have to closely monitor because they’re not sure if I’m predisposed to get my dad’s condition or if it is the effect of cancer treatments.

With the history of high blood pressure, it could potentially mean I am at risk for preeclampsia. They had me see a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor that specializes in blood pressure and preeclampsia. For now, I’m just being closely monitored.

What Helped With My Symptoms

To be honest, I didn’t do much to alleviate my symptoms. I figured I’d just have to let it run its course and hope it just gets better. But there are a few things that helped.

Working Out

I continued to work out throughout my pregnancy. Of course, I made sure it was okay with my OB/GYN first. I showed her sample videos of workouts I had been doing so she had an idea of what I can and can’t do. If you’re pregnant, I recommend you check with your doctor too! Everyone is different. For me, I was told that it is healthy to continue what I’ve been doing pre-pregnancy and remain active. I made some slight modifications, but overall kept everything as is. Working out helped with my nausea temporarily and hopefully prevents preeclampsia.

Crunchy Food

Eating something crunchy also helped with the morning sickness. Either I ate a saltine cracker, pretzel, or some bland trail mix. The crunchiness was soothing for my stomach. Also, eating things like raw almonds and baby carrots helped with the nausea.

Eating First Thing In The Morning

I noticed that I get sick immediately in the morning if I don’t eat something as soon as I wake up. So I placed a granola bar right on my nightstand so I can munch on it in the morning.

Eating Smaller Meals

Instead of eating 3 meals a day, I ate several small meals a day. That also helped with my upset stomach. It doesn’t always work, but it is still way better then eating a normal size meal.

What Am I Excited About Being Pregnant?

I got asked this question a lot. Even though I’m sick most of my pregnancy, I just love knowing we will be having a baby and how lucky we are to have this baby. It’s so cool seeing my body change and I am obsessed with this bump! I love it so much haha. Plus, feeling the baby kick is so exciting. I’m always talking to it and sometimes I think the baby is responding to me.

Overall, I can’t wait to meet this baby. I want to know who he or she will look like or act like. Most of all, I just hope I can be a good mother and I am capable of raising it right.

xo RD