The Dreaded First Trimester

 

As I write this, I am in my second trimester at just over 6 weeks, which has made me realise how slow yet incredibly fast the first trimester went. It's most likely due to having other experiences and life events in between because this is me and I can't just do one thing at a time this year it seems.

All those experiences and events will have their own blog posts in between because I don't want to bore you with pre-baby stuff all the time. Besides each trimester last about three months so there is plenty of time..right?! Only time will tell.

Even though The Husband and I went through the IVF procedure, it was vital that we also make me pee on a stick and take a picture of the results because it's all part of the journey. We were also fresh off a wedding done and dusted so we were still on a high from that celebration.

We felt such relief after the second hCG blood test confirmed that my body was making the pregnancy hormone at the rate expected of a confirmed pregnancy. All that hard work paid off and now the next book was beginning. There was also a chance albeit a very slight one of twins because I had two fertilized eggs inseminated. But only one fetus was the victor and to be honest I am very glad of that!

I jotted down my symptoms and some experiences during the dreaded first trimester to start documenting my pregnancy journey. This is mostly for me to be reminded of the experience because I have found that most women forget in time and also because every pregnancy is vastly different.

Don't get me wrong, it is amazing to be pregnant especially when you analyze the fact that you are gestating a life. But the purpose of these posts is to track my experience, my pregnancy journey without the frills.

I didn't gain a lot of weight and mostly kept active so about 2kgs max in the first trimester. So from 71kgs, I went to 73kgs within three months. Not bad and I promise I didn't starve myself, in fact, I stayed at my folks for two weeks and ate like a beast every day without picking up that much. You are expected to eat about 300 calories more than normal during this time so nothing hectic. But all bodies are different.

Here are my dreaded first trimester symptoms and experiences: 

Occasional Nausea

I was pretty lucky because I didn't have morning sickness, well not every day. Also, I think it's time we stopped calling it morning sickness because it is nausea and vomiting that can occur at any time, day and or night. Morning sickness feels like it's something that wakes you up in the morning and then you are fine afterwards which is why we need to stop using it. 

For me, I would sometimes just smell something either vomit or anything really that progressively got stronger until it made me sick and I would need to throw up. Often that smell didn't even exist but sometimes it did like red wine. Mostly there was nothing to throw up so it was just bile and a strong gagging reflex for a long time before I could return out of breath and dizzy with a sore chest and throat.

Fatigue

I was indeed tired all the time and it was such an odd feeling. I would just fall asleep for most of the day and go to bed at 6pm daily. Fatigue is caused by the hormone progesterone beginning to rise and this puts you to sleep especially in the first trimester.

Cravings

I didn't find myself having constant cravings, well not like anything you see on TV. I would see something or remember a type of food from my childhood and then want it. A few examples of this were seeing someone eat Kellogs from a box and then wanting Kellog's Honey Nut Crunch which is not available in South Africa anymore...I also dreamt I was eating a cucumber during one of my day naps and then awoke needing to eat a cucumber.

Food Aversions

I had severe dysgeusia (pronounced dis-GYOO-zee-a) which is a common pregnancy taste disorder that leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth. This made me feel that most foods were bland unless it was curry or well pickles. So I ate curry constantly in the beginning and pickles (we even made our own fig pickle and vegetable pickle at home).

Sweet things were my enemy. I don't have a sweet tooth preferring savoury snacks but I do like to eat a little bit of sweet stuff on occasion. Not this time, if I saw it or even if someone described a sweet treat I would get nauseous and sometimes throw up. 

Also, the smell of wine so every time The Husband had a glass I didn't want to be near him.

Sensitive Skin

Being pregnant means extra sensitive skin so when I shave my whole body starts to itch and I have to calm myself down before I start having an allergic reaction. Cuts are also frequent because the sensitivity increases the risk of razor burn and irritation. I know you're thinking, "So? Stop shaving then." Sadly I am a werewolf if I don't and I don't need the confidence downer. So I resort to waiting longer periods and having my Allerway on standby.

Cramping

I had terrible cramps, it was the only thing that made me 100% sure that I was pregnant because I wasn't showing. It felt like bad period pain all the time and a lot of people thought I should be worried but after some research and speaking to gynaecologists I found out it was normal. My body is building and making space for containing a baby, my uterus was contracting as muscles do. Also, I am small, hobbit-sized so there is a lot of construction work that needed to happen. Hot baths and heated wheat bags were my saviours.

The only real issue were the muscle spasms that made me scream and cause Widget, Smudge and The Husband to come running. I hated those because a lot of the time they could be crippling.

Social Anxiety

 The pandemic had caused some social anxiety in us all but pregnancy made this a tad worse for me during this trimester.  If I had to be up and about or just around people I really hated it and it started becoming difficult not to show it.

I couldn't manage to do anything in the evening( after 6pm) because that was when I lay on the couch covered in heated wheat bags and just rested. I would panic the longer I spent time with people and even had a panic attack when we went out to a restaurant. 

I endeavoured to not make myself hide at home but to continue to be social in short bursts until I started to feel more comfortable. I also had to remind myself that it's fine to feel this way.

Sore Boobs

Tender, swollen breasts that keep growing due to hormonal changes are my life now. I have had growth spurts with weight gain over the years but this was something else! Very sore and tender breasts had started early in my first trimester.

Emotions

The prospect of a baby adds emotional stress to your life. You are constantly worrying about your baby's health because you don't know what's going on down there. 

You often think about adjusting to parenthood of a human baby as well as the financial demands of raising a child. Being new to freelancing I also worry about balancing the demands of family and career. 

Then there are the mood swings. I was very short with The Husband and would get irritable often and then burst into tears. 

I don't feel bad about it because all those feelings and emotions were real and very normal when you're pregnant. My body is changing and it's trying to cope with these changes. That manifests into emotions that must be released. Honestly, I wasn't about to hide my feelings when I am the one needing understanding and encouragement. The Husband is excellent at this.

Constipation

I had this occasionally and not a norm for this hobbit. High levels of the hormone progesterone can slow the movement of food through your digestive system. It was awful because it made me think I am not pregnant, just very bloated and constipated.

Strange Dreams

Yay for hormones and pregnancy anxiety with their powers combined! I would have at least three dreams every time I slept and often these would be nightmarish. At first, I worried about this but after learning about how normal it is, I just accept it now.

And that ladies and gentlemen was my first trimester! 

Week 6:

During that time the little fetus started to develop the brain and spinal cord, and the organs begin to form including the itty bitty heart. 

Little buds where the arms should be start to appear and structures develop that are needed when the ears and eyes are formed. The fetus looks like a tiny C.

Week 7:

The face and head start to grow more with depressions forming before nostrils and retinas start to develop. Lower limb buds appear where the legs need to grow and the arm buds now look like tiny paddles.

Week 8:

The lower limb buds start to become little paddles as fingers start to form as well as the ears. The depression for the eyes starts to form more and the nose and lips are created. That C shape starts to change as the neck starts to straighten as the body trunk lengthens.

Week 9:

The little toesies are formed as well as longer arms and elbows! Eyelids form around the eye socket area and the head increases in size at the top.

Week 10:

The head starts becoming rounder and the elbows start to bend! The webbing around the toes and fingers drops off as they grow. The umbilical cord starts becoming more visible as the ears and eyelids develop further.

Week 11:

Genitals have started to form! I won't reveal the gender until the next segment so if you don't know, you gotta be patient or just ask me.

The head is bigger still and is half the length of the entire fetus at this point. The eyes are separated and the face broadens with the ears low. It was also around this time that I had a NIPT test done for down syndrome but more on that in the next post also.

Little buds for where the teeth of the future will be are formed as well as the liver from red blood cells.

Week 12:

Fingernails are created and the face starts to develop further as well as the creation of the intestines inside the fetus's abdomen. 

So much happens in the first trimester in terms of fetal development that it is no wonder the mum to be goes through so much! The first trimester is also the most common time for a loss of pregnancy (miscarriage) which is why it is advised to wait until the second trimester before sharing the good news.

All in all, the first three months went better than expected.