What To Do in the First Trimester

My first go around with pregnancy wasn’t what most would expect or hope for, but I want to share my experience and what I found the first trimester to be like. I was fortunate enough to make it to 10 weeks, so I experienced a lot and constantly found myself Googling what to do in the first trimester.

Everyone’s pregnancy journey is different, but here are the things you should plan on and can be looking forward to (or not so much):

Please Note: None of this is medical advice, but simply based on my own experience. Call your doctor if you have any medical concerns.

Download Pregnancy Tracker App

One of the first things you will want to do when you find out you are pregnant will be to download a pregnancy tracker app. It will help you determine an estimated due date so you can start planning ahead. I used the Pregnancy Tracker app by BabyCenter, which was great for keeping track of how far along I was. It tells you how big your baby is and tells you how your baby is developing each week. The other benefit of these apps is that you can join support groups with other women who are at the same stage of pregnancy as you.

Next time around, I plan to use the What to Expect app, which gives you the option to compare your baby to a variety of different things, not just the typical fruit. It even allows you to compare your baby to Disney related items like Tinkerbell’s pixie dust or Cinderella’s glass slipper.

Make a Doctor’s Appointment

Next up, you will want to call your doctor to schedule an appointment to confirm viability. Even though you might find out you are pregnant at 4 or 5 weeks, doctors very often will not schedule an appointment until you are 8-10 weeks. This wait can feel like forever.

Once your appointment finally rolls around, they will go over your medical history and any potential genetic issues or diseases that might run in your family. You will do a number of blood tests to help get a baseline and determine if anything is of initial concern. You will finally get a transvaginal ultrasound where you will see your baby (or blob) and hear the heartbeat for the first time.

Tell Family & Friends

It is a big question many face of when to tell friends and family of your pregnancy. Many people choose to wait to tell anyone until after the first trimester when the chance of miscarriage is significantly less. However, as someone who has experienced miscarriage, I was so glad I had told some of my family and friends. They shared in my excitement when I initially found out I was pregnant and were there to comfort me when things got bad. The choice is up to you though on what makes you feel most comfortable.

Take Prenatal Vitamins

Prenatal vitamins with folic acid are essential in your baby’s brain stem development. If you have been preparing to try to conceive, then you have probably already been taking prenatal vitamins. If this pregnancy is more of a surprise, then start taking these as soon as possible. I personally like the Nature’s Made Prenatal Vitamin, which I could buy in bulk from Costco. Many people find these to be fishy tasting though, so search around for a vitamin that works for you.

Hot Tip: Take your prenatal vitamin at night before bedtime to minimize the chances of you feeling nauseous from them.

Healthy Diet

One of the great things about pregnancy is it helps you refocus on your health and make good choices. It is important to have a healthy diet, limiting your sugar intake and increasing the amount of vegetables you eat. Many people think you are “eating for two,” but really you just need to add about 300 calories per day. That is the equivalent of many one or two extra snacks.

There are certain foods you should avoid due to the chances of them carrying certain bacterias that could be harmful to your baby. These include: soft cheeses (like brie), cold deli meat, fish high in mercury (like tuna), extra rare meats or seafood (like raw sushi). My general rule was I would only eat things if they had been cooked and heated through.

Symptoms

You will experience a variety of symptoms when you are pregnant, which will vary greatly from person to person and even between your own pregnancies. I felt extremely fortunate that I experienced very minor symptoms. Most women’s first clue of their pregnancy will be nausea. Other symptoms might include:

• Fatigue
• Bloating
• Joint and muscle aches
• Headaches
• Abdominal Cramping
• Insomnia
• Heartburn
• Frequent urination
• Constipation
• Nausea

You might also be lucky and experience none of these symptoms, but it doesn’t mean anything is to be of concern with your pregnancy.

Combat Morning Sickness

I only had minor morning sickness on a few days, but these are the things that helped me. If your morning sickness prevents you from keeping food down for more than 8 hours, then you should contact your doctor. There are medications they can prescribe to help with nausea.

Eat Every 2-3 Hours

If my blood sugar dropped too low, this would bring on feelings of nausea. Therefore, I would be sure to eat 5-6 smaller meals per day instead of my usual three. I made sure to keep healthy snacks in my purse or car if I thought it was going to be a while before I was able to have a full meal.

Seasick Bands

These bands are made to help with motion sickness and use acupuncture pressure points to prevent sickness. I often would sleep with these on since I was going longer periods of time without eating, which could lead to nausea.

Mommy Snacks

Keep a box of “mommy snacks” that are healthy and you can grab in between meals. For me, this included snacks like rice cakes, bananas, pita & hummus, and goldfish. I also liked to have dark chocolate miniatures with almonds for a sweet pick-me-up.

Ginger

Consuming ginger has been known to help with nausea. You can try some Preggie Pops to suck on. Non-drowsy Dramamine, which is packed with ginger extract, can also help with nausea.

Drink LOTS of Water

It is extremely important to keep yourself hydrated throughout pregnancy. Water helps provide nutritional support for your growing baby and prevent birth defects. Drinking water can also help fight some of those pesky symptoms like heartburn, constipation, or aches.

I liked to use this time stamped water bottle to keep me on track and make sure I was getting enough water throughout the day. At a bare minimum, I would drink two of these bottles, which was the equivalent to 64 ounces.

Medications

Consult with your doctor on which medications are safe during pregnancy, especially if you are already prescribed something. After my first appointment, my doctor provided me with a list of safe medications. I found myself not wanting to consume anything at all and toughing out a lot of really bad headaches. My general rule though was to only take Tylenol if needed.

Exercise

Staying active while pregnant will help you maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy and prepare for labor. Light exercise will also help you with all those aches and pains. I personally would walk 20-30 minutes each day and then would do 15-20 minutes of light lifting. I also bought a yoga ball that I used for exercise and intended to use to help with labor.

My doctor told me if you weren’t doing it before becoming pregnant, then don’t take it up now. Meaning if you weren’t running marathons before, now is not the time to train for one. If you have not been heavily active before, try lighter exercises like walking or taking up prenatal yoga.

Free Items

One of the most fun parts of the early stages of pregnancy is signing up for a million things that give you free stuff. I signed up through BumpBoxes and received a onesie that said “Snug Life”. It wouldn’t be my first choice, but how could I say no to a free onesie? Baby stuff is expensive!

Many stores like Target, Walmart, and Amazon also offer free boxes when you create a baby registry.

Take Bump Photos

Start taking bump photos to remember your pregnancy journey. They say that if it is your first pregnancy you won’t start showing until around 16-20 weeks. I found a lot of women feel like they start showing a lot earlier than that though. You might just be bloated, but it is fun to start seeing how your body already starts to change just in the first trimester. Use a chalkboard to keep track of those moments.

Insurance Pregnancy Programs

Check with your insurance to see if they have any pregnancy programs that you can join. Our insurance offered us a $150 credit if we registered with them during the first trimester. It didn’t really require anything from me other than to have a specific case manager. Some other programs might require you to attend a certain number of prenatal visits, so just be sure to clarify with your individual insurance.

You Will Google Everything

Be prepared to Google absolutely everything. Every symptom, every food, every random thought you have, you will end up Googling. It can be great for a quick answer, but the best thing to do is to call your doctor when you have a question. They are used to getting questions all of the time and can give you the best answer.

Be sure to program your doctor’s after hour number into your phone, so you can call whenever anything might pop up. When I experienced my miscarriage, I had my doctor pretty much on speed dial. Do not hesitate to reach out to them if needed. There are no stupid questions here.

My journey ended after 10 weeks, but if I am fortunate to get pregnant again, then I will update this blog post for the second and third trimesters. Read about my personal journey here. Wishing you all the best with your pregnancy! Tell me how it is going in the comments.