Things you wish you'd known in first trimester?

[EL332]

Hello

I'm pregnant! 🙂

What now?

Things I should be doing?

Things I shouldn't be doing?

And as the title suggests things you lovely ones know now and wish you had known in your first trimester?

❤️

Stay away from google!
Try and relax as much as possible
Eat whatever you feel like

• stay away from Google
• every woman’s pregnancy is different
• it’s ok to cry for no reason
• sleep as much as you can because sleep in the last trimester is a myth
• don’t be afraid to ask you MW stupid questions
• don’t buy a Doppler for reassurance
• eat what you like in moderation
• get ready to hear everyone’s pregnancy stories (unavoidable unfortunately)
• enjoy your pregnancy, all the scans etc! It’s goes by so quickly!

Congratulations!

Not much I can add that hasn’t already been said!

But definitely enjoy missionary while you can 😂 that one made me laugh. Pregnancy really does feel gross in the later weeks.

Don’t sweat the small stuff, try to relax - as everyone has said, google can cause small anxieties to become big anxieties. I had bleeding in the early weeks, ended up in hospital whilst on holiday and I’m now 29 weeks and going strong.

Constipation was for sure one of the worst things for me in the early weeks - I got some probiotic sachets and they helped a little, but what has helped me the most has been making myself smoothies in my nutribullet which I’m still doing now! Kale, banana, frozen berries, flax seeds and coconut water - tastes lovely, keeps me full for a few hours, gives me a good dose of greens and really helped with constipation.

Rest up as much as you need, lose your shit if you need to although honestly some of the things you will lose it over will probably make you look back and laugh/cringe later on. It really can feel like the end of the world at times!

Try to enjoy it! Your energy really will come back later on.

I love this thread

Will start to cherish missionary! What do you swap it for when the logistics get more complicated?

I’m not giving up my google habit. A lot of the time seeing someone say they had whatever it is too and it’s normal is reassuring.

I wish I'd known how quixkly.my body was going to change and how soon my.clothes would feel uncomfortable- I thought that would only be in the second trimester but not for me.:(

Sick bags in the car and in my desk... possible to be feeling fine one second then BAM extreme nausea hits the next!

Also that random twinge and pains in the abdomen are normal. Freaked out thinking I was losing it but was actually vert common round ligament pain. Nobody had mentioned it to me!

Also that symptons come and go and not to worry about that

Yes - enjoy missionary while you can. So much truth in that!

Be prepared for a whole new world of discharge. Luminous too.

Check the NHS advice about foods to avoid - don't google or ask people. The advice changes all the time and the NHS page is balanced and up to date.

Take your folic acid and multivits with iron - hard to get your iron up during pregnancy so don't let it drop now.

Start reading the board here about breast feeding now, to help you see what's normal over the next 7-8 months (if you intend to bf)

Congratulations! And good luck :-)

• You can get liquid prenatal vitamins - these were a godsend for me as pretty much as soon as I tested positive my sickness hit with a vengeance and I couldn't so much as swallow a paracetamol without instantly vomiting.

• Kids liquid paracetamol (think calpol) works for adults too, just in case you need pain relief but can't take tablets - just amend you dosage up to an adult dose, from the top of my head 20ml equals 2 tablets but you can totally get by on 10ml.

• Eat whatever you can stomach whenever you can stomach it, but remember to keep hydrated.

• Keep a bottle of mouthwash by the loo and kitchen sick.

• Looping a hair bobble through the buttonhole of your jeans will buy you a couple of extra weeks in them.

• Bleeding can happen and clots don't automatically equal miscarriage, try not to panic (easier said than done...)

• Seek physiotherapy as soon as you feel so much as a niggle in your hips, pubic area or stomach muscles - SPD and PGP can be absolutely debilitating and had me virtually housebound and on crutches from week 20 but I first noticed niggles around week 10.

*Another vote for enjoying missionary here haha - swap out to either you on top if your hips can take it. If not then from behind be that either doggy or spooning.

• Your booking in appointment will feel something akin to the Spanish Inquisition, and they may well entirely ignore baby's father and his family history if he's coming along.

I didn't have many 1st trimester symptoms so... Dispite what everyone tells you it might be worse not better in the second trimester. I had bad anxiety and was restless with insomnia so struggled to eat enough at the start of the second trimester.

That the first trimester is the hardest thing ever! I've had quite major health problems before (seizures, abdomen surgery etc) but NOTHING prepared me for the exhaustion, vomiting, nausea etc of first trimester.

It is defo worth it and gets loads easier later on. Don't want to be depressing, just saying it so that you're not too hard on yourself and can look forward to first trimester being over!

Congrats!

My advice is when you start buying maternity clothes try and buy tops that can also be used as nursing tops if you plan on breastfeeding. It will save you some expense towards the end of your pregnancy and you won't have to buy (m)any more once you've had the baby.

Thanks nowapparenlty. I'm 24 weeks and my hip niggle is turning into an occasional limp so will be seeking physio. Excersise ball is pretty good but this morning my pelvis pain was pretty shocking, nearly fell over and have spent most of the day in bed, due to anxiety, depression headaches/migraines(changing meds) as well as pelvis pain and general fatigue. Ordered some new glasses yesterday but phisio sounds like a good next step. Been seeing the gp this week (managed to find a good one) so I might call up about it on Monday. I have a very active job in the hospital so could even ask for a referral from a hospital doctor if I'm back at work Monday. I'd hate to start maternity early just because of hip pain. I can do some phisio myself actually. I've had a niggle in my left hip off and on since I was a teenager. As a radiographer, am pretty sure it's tendons and ligaments. Just need to stretch out the right ones. Spending the day in bed is not great I know. Might try some swimming... Allthough I'm not a huge fan, I like breaststroke, just haven't been in years. Not sure I could go to a public swimming pool right now... chlorine and stress will probably give me a headache...

How early did you buy maternity clothes? ❤️

I had to buy maternity clothes before I had my dating scan, I must have only been about 9 or 10 weeks when I stopped trying to pretend like my normal clothes still fit.

I never bought maternity clothes. My jeans didn’t do up in the last couple of weeks so I used a hair band to hook round the button and wore a long top.

Everyone's different but I went into maternity clothes at 25 weeks but had them from about 16 weeks

Clothes got tight around 12 weeks for me, just felt like I had a bad case of IBS. Couldn't stand anything being around my stomach. Maternity clothes didn't fit properly either so just bought a size bigger until I was about 20+ weeks.

You will experience tiredness like never before (until you have a newborn).

Whilst you can - succumb to it!

• Go to bed early
• Have your partner cook dinner

Etc

I wish I'd known that many things I thought were third trimester problems actually start being a problem in the first trimester. Namely exhaustion, frequent urination, and trouble falling and/or staying asleep.

Also that you can be so bloated that you don't feel hungry when you should or can't eat a full meal.

LemonMuffin837

Same. I couldn't stand to wear anything tight around my stomach it was the bloating I guess.

Read ‘Expecting Better’by emily oster. Gets behind the pregnancy ‘warnings’ on what to eat, drink, take, medicate and helps you make decisions based on evidence rather than fear.

The sickness does get better. I ate virtually nothing but white bread, potatoes, crackers and pizza for the first 12 weeks. I doesn’t matter, just do what your body wants.

Stay active if you can. It helps in so many ways.

Consider telling someone at work if you can’t cope. I was really sick and dizzy and found it near impossible to get on a packed tube train, kept having to get off. I generally felt like death after my commute. I struggled through but wish I’d just asked to come in late.