First Trimester Recap
SURPRISE!! I am pregnant! We have one more little bundle of joy joining our family! We are excited, nervous, grateful, etc. Feeling all the feelings!! I still can’t believe we will have 3 kids! I am so excited and honestly, May can’t come soon enough!
We have 2 beautiful kids right now, and my husband and I had been going back and forth on the idea of a 3rd kid. We love the idea of a bigger family in the future, but it’s a lot of work and a lot of money in the early days!! But something in our hearts just kept saying, go for one more. It will be challenging and messy and crazy, but it will also be beautiful and exciting and filled with love. We are SO excited to bring another precious baby into our home. It is such a blessing, and we do not take that for granted. I know how difficult it can be for so many, and my heart is with you if you are struggling right now. I hope your time comes soon, and when it does, it will be soo worth the wait.
So, I am almost 15 weeks pregnant and FINALLY starting to feel a bit more like myself. This first trimester was a doozy! I have been blessed with fairly easy pregnancies with my first 2, but this one has been the hardest so far! The nausea was really rough during the first trimester. It was alll day long and I couldn’t find anything that seemed to help. Eating didn’t help, bubbly liquids didn’t help, ginger didn’t help, resting didn’t help. To have no relief was the hardest part. I remember waking up in the middle of the night just to roll over, and feeling soo nauseous in the brief moment of being awake. Luckily, I wasn’t actually throwing up. But sometimes I wish I could have if it would have made the feeling go away! I did throw up once, thanksgiving morning of all days! Right before I had to prep 2 raw turkeys and cook for 15 people, of course!! Other than the nausea, the hardest part was the fatigue. I had no energy whatsoever. I NEVER nap, and there were multiple days where all I wanted to do was take a nap. Of course, when I have 2 kids and a job, naps aren’t an option but it is all I wanted. Which is very weird for me. I had a hard time making dinner, cleaning up the kitchen, playing with my kids. etc. There was a lot of time spent on the couch watching movies with them. They loved it!! And thank goodness for my amazing husband because he had to pick up a lot of the slack. He helped so much around the house and never once complained! I am so grateful for him.
Now that the first trimester is over, I hope I can really start to enjoy this pregnancy. I loved my first two pregnancies so I hope I can get to that point with this one as well. It is such a blessing to be able to carry a baby and bring life into this world!
My diet during the first trimester: I wish I could provide you with great inspiration on what to eat during the first trimester to nourish your body and your growing baby, but honestly my diet has not been the definition of health. And that’s okay. This is a season of life, and I will get back to a nutritious diet one day when I am feeling better. I have mostly been eating carbs. I have been able to eat bagels, pasta, rice, salt and vinegar chips, apples, and not much else. haha I have been trying to get a protein shake in when I can but even that doesn’t sound good. Lately, any kind of protein, especially chicken, has sounded and tasted terrible. Which is so weird because usually I love meat and chicken! So that has been an adjustment. I am just listening to my body and eating what sounds good for now, hopefully I’ll get some more variety in soon!
Exercise during the first trimester: Before getting pregnant, I was so consistent with working out. It wasn’t anything crazy, but I was getting in a 20-30 min workout 5 days a week. I was really hoping to continue that, but I have not been as consistent as I would have liked. It’s been hard to find motivation, but I have noticed I feel soo much better on days that I work out so I am trying to ramp it up. My goal is a strength workout at least 3 days a week and a walk outside anytime the weather is nice!
I wanted to share a few things I have been loving during pregnancy so far! These are items that I have been enjoying and are working well for me while being pregnant. Please do not consider this medical advice and as always, talk with your doctor to see what is best for you.
Magnesi-OM - if you’ve been pregnant, you know the constipation is real. Ugh. But, this magnesium has really helped keep things fairly regular. Things still aren’t “normal”, but I noticed a big difference when I skipped a couple days of this magnesium (sorry if this is TMI haha). It also has really helped me with my sleep. I feel instantly relaxed when I drink it, and it has really helped me to wind down and get ready for a good night sleep. Magnesium is also helpful for brain health and cognitive function, so maybe it’s helping my pregnancy brain too?! All around this has been a win win and definitely a pregnancy must have for me. I am loving the Berry flavor!
Bagels- Honestly, I’ve never eaten so many bagels in my life! lol They have been one thing that actually sounds decent and I can stomach. I have been switching off between Thomas everything bagels and Dave’s Killer bread everything bagels. In my opinion, the Thomas bagels are way better, but the Dave’s bagels offer a bit more fiber and protein, which I was definitely lacking in my diet! So I have been trying to do Dave’s when I can. But sometimes, you just need a good old fashioned Thomas bagel. I am loving the Tilamook cream cheese with these. And the past couple days I have even been able to stomach an egg on top, yay! Topped with yellowbird habanero hot sauce, soo good!!
Ritual Prenatal vitamin - This is a love/hate relationship if I am being honest. I have such a hard time with pills in pregnancy. My gag reflex is on another level when I am pregnant so swallowing pills becomes more difficult. But these prenatal vitamins are definitely the best that I have tried. The pills aren’t very big and they have a nice citrus essence that makes them much more enjoyable. The citrus takes away any hint of fish oil which is a game changer! I also take it at night so I don’t have any of the fish oil burps, if you know what I mean. This vitamin is sourced from quality ingredients and is traceable so you know exactly where each item comes from. This is so important and something that is not very common in today’s supplement world. This prenatal vitamin is the best of the best!
Heating pad- I have been sooo cold this pregnancy. Obviously, it is almost winter and it has been cold outside, but I feel like I have been way colder than usual. Around my house I have been wearing multiple sweaters, thick socks, a robe, and a blanket over me, it is a sight to see let me tell you! So a heating pad has been AMAZING. I look forward to it every night. My doctor has always warned me about using heating pads around the baby, so I avoid my stomach and low back. But I have been loving it for my upper back, shoulders, legs, toes, etc. . I love crawling into a warm bed with the heating pad at night .
LMNT- I have loved LMNT for a while now, but it has really saved me these past few months with staying hydrated. It has been difficult to drink even water, but adding flavor to it helps so much, and this way I know I am getting the electrolytes I need. At first, I was worried LMNT would have too much salt for pregnancy, but after doing some research it is actually really good for pregnant and breastfeeding mamas!! Electrolytes are essential for so many things, including growing a baby! Here is an article i found helpful. I am interested to see how incorporating LMNT will impact my milk supply when I am breastfeeding - I will keep you posted!! If you want to try out LMNT for yourself, this link will give you a free sample pack with 8 flavors! My favorite flavor is watermelon but the sample pack is so helpful to try all the different options!
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this little update and I look forward to sharing this journey with you all!! Let me know if you have any questions and I will answer them in my next update! :) Also, any mama’s of 3, give me all your advice!!
XO, Darcy
