First Trimester Pregnancy Recap

Symptoms
Before I was pregnant, I for sure thought that i would be one of those pregnant women that got really sick for the first trimester. I am so, so thankful to say that I did not vomit even once during my first triemester!

I found out that I was pregnant at 5 weeks and did not feel any different until 6 weeks. At 6 weeks pregnant, I started to feel a bunch of food aversions where NOTHING sounded good. For that week, I ate bagels, citrus fruit, cheese, strawberries and that's about it. If I felt a bit better, I would eat some nutritious foods. I had nausea from week 6-8 but since then, none at all. I feel so lucky for the symptoms or lack thereof that I have felt.

In the beginning, I had super sore boobs which I read is normal. From weeks 6-9, I had a ton of fatigue. I was taking naps on most days and still felt really tired at work. I am still currently going to be at about 9 PM and waking up at 6 AM.

From about 7 weeks on, I get up one time every night to pee. I have heard that some women have to pee 3 times a night so I feel lucky it is only once. Weeks 6-7, I was not sleeping well and would wake up a few times during the night and had trouble falling back asleep. Now, I wake up 2-3 times per night and pretty much fall back asleep. I cannot complain too much about this.

Around 7-9 weeks, I was having daily headaches in the afternoon. Luckily, these have gone away. Weeks 10-12, I have been suffering from acne. It is not too bad though.

Starting at week 9 through now, I have had a ton of bloating. It starts about lunchtime and I get progressively bigger through the day. From the morning to night, I gain about 5-6 lbs (which goes away by morning). I am up 4-6 lbs total from my pre-pregnancy weight.

Like I said, overall, I feel so, so lucky that my symptoms have not been that bad compared to other people. I know it could be so much worse so I try not to complain.
Exercise
I am currently exercising 6-7 days per week and have since I found out that I was pregnant. I find that if I do not exercise, I feel so much worse. On days when nausea was bad, walking on the treadmill was the only thing that helped me to feel better.

I am currently walking 6-7 days per week on the treadmill (and have outside a couple of times when it is not 20 degrees or less). About once every other week, I have ran outside about 4 miles. Sometimes during my walks on the treadmill, I run 1- 1 1/2 miles. When I walk, I do anywhere from 1 1/2 miles to 3 1/2 miles.

1-2 times per week, I do this 8 minute arms video and sometimes planks or pushups. I feel very good about where my exercise is at right now. I hope to keep up everything as long as I can. Exercising during pregnancy helped to give me more energy and is shown to help lessen pregnancy symptoms.

Nutrition
As a dietitian, of course I have to address nutrition. Since about 4 months before I was pregnant, I started to take a prenatal vitamin. Once I found out that I was pregnant, I started to take omega-3 fish oil which helps with baby's brain development.

Like I said, from weeks 6-7, I pretty much ate anything that sounded good, which was not much. Vegetables sounded horrible as well as peanut butter, Greek yogurt and a lot of my other favorite healthy foods.


Now, I have no food aversions. Everything sounds good to me, too good even! I have been eating so much. I start eating right when I wake up and do not stop until bedtime. I have always been a big snacker but am eating even more now. The biggest change is that I now eat a huge breakfast or even 2-3 breakfasts each morning. I am just starving in the morning.

I am trying to eat balanced meals. I am pretty much back to eating normal now. From weeks 7-10, I had some interesting cravings. I was craving fried eggs so badly that I once left work early to make myself some. I have also been wanting ground venison, tons of fruit and lots of pizza.

When I was in the depths of my nausea, I randomly bought pizza bagels and American cheese- foods that I would normally never buy. I also had a huge amount of fries a few times. I have had pizza at least 1-2 times per week since I have been pregnant and I love it. As you know, I believe in everything in moderation and I'm okay with this during my pregnancy as well.


I have also been wanting to eat out a lot more than usual but have been using coupons to make it more economical. I am focusing on eating a lot of vegetables and trying to get fish in every couple of weeks or so for the omega-3s.

This can be a controversial topic but I am still drinking caffeine. I have cut it back to one cup of tea per day or 1 cup of coffee on occasion. The recommended amount for pregnant women is 200 mg per day or less.

So, this was a huge post with a ton of info! Wow. It was a great first trimester and I'm looking forward to the second trimester where everyone has told me that I will feel even better.

Tell me, what was your first trimester like? Are any of my other readers pregnant too? Any questions for me? Leave questions in the comments section.