inacove

The First Trimester

Written by

Ina Coveney

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Jump to week: 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

On December 30th, 2010, I found out that our effort* to make a little baby had succeeded. We were pregnant.

Due Date: September 10, 2011

I decided to spare you each little thing I wanted to say over the past 3 months, and I just chronicled it all in one shot! (all for your convenience, see how good to you I am?). If you are expecting yourself (congratulations!), or if you are planning on having kids soon, I hope this guide helps you get a realistic feel for the things you’ll be feeling, thinking about, reading and doing during your pregnancy.

* and by “effort” I mean that it was intentional/planned… ’cause it certainly wasn’t difficult. Got it on the first try in one shot! (my husband is a very proud stud) 🙂

Side note: if you click on the baby images below, it will take you to a new page where the Baby Center has described the development of your baby at that stage.

Week 3

Found out we are expecting! Took a home pregnancy test (ClearBlue digital) for the first time on day 12 after conception (two days before my supposed period), and it came out positive. Confirmed with about 5 or 6 more home tests from different brands over the following few days (the digital tests were definitive, but the chemical “analog” tests showed only a faint positive line). Subsequently, I had to put up with a lot of ugly looks as I told my family and close friends that we are pregnant when I hadn’t even officially missed my period yet! They all had that “wait until 3 months” warning for me… except for my mother, who was so excited she wanted to shout it from the rooftops herself 🙂 I have to say that I wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret for any length of time, so talking about it right away felt right to me, and I am very happy I did. Saved me a lot of stress in the long run!
Technically I had only been pregnant for just a week (since I knew my conception date, I knew how old my baby was to the hour!), but how far along you are in your pregnancy is determined by the first day of your last period (not by conception date). This put me at week 3.

Symptoms

  • Extremely emotional/depressive a few days before my missed period. I knew this was off, because my “emotional” time of the month normally happens after my period (yes, I’ve kept track).
  • Almost immediately my nipples hardened and hurt when I took a shower. Only happened once, but it wasn’t normal for me.

Actions

  • Told family and friends (yah, yah, way early… the news just wanted to get out!)

Week 4

Started freaking out about the day of labor (I was TERRIFIED from all the horror stories), so I started educating myself about the stages of labor, and how to make it as painless as possible. Is it realistic to have a natural birth (no drugs)? Looked into advantages/disadvantages and the difference between an OB and a midwife. On an unrelated note, I’m still going through telling family and friends and getting those confused looks from people… so early? Yes, sorry, the news wants to get out!

Symptoms

  • Missed period
  • Discomfort after emptying my bladder: every time I did, I had this hollow discomfort in my abdominal area, as if all my organs had shifted a little. Made it difficult to find a comfortable position in bed at night.
  • EXTREME hunger
  • Tender breasts (they hurt when pressed, making sleeping on your belly uncomfortable)

Actions

  • Tried to get it confirmed by my doctor, but they wouldn’t give me an appointment. They said to just take a home test, and if it was still positive, we’ll schedule an OB appointment at the 10-week mark. I guess they don’t want to waste their time with false alarms or early miscarriages.
  • Booked my 10-week appointment with a recommended midwife (who are usually more open to help you through natural births than OB surgeons are)
  • I spread the news at work. Told my boss first, and then the rest of the floor. Again: weird looks (“why didn’t I wait the 3 months??” – get over it, people!)

Week 5

Decided to go for natural birth. Why? Epidural makes the pushing stage longer and exhausts the mother, while natural births allow you to stay alert and have a rush of endorphins which help you manage the pains and makes you wide awake and alert immediately after delivery. Also, and most importantly, medical interventions tend to lead to more intervention (such as induction, episiotomy, c-sections, etc). Recovery time is also less time on a natural delivery. Click here to read more about advantages and disadvantages of epidural, by Baby Center. My neighbor Ethel is also going for natural delivery, sooooo support system: check! Time to start training for the big day! Will need to exercise and work on mental preparation and build up stamina to breathe through the contractions on “labor day” (hehe… labor day).

Symptoms

  • Discomfort after emptying bladder continues
  • Constipation
  • Brownish tissue spotting. Not worried, it’s normal as long as it’s not accompanied by blood, heavy discharges, or cramps/pains.
  • Still hungry, but not as bad as last week.
  • Tender breasts continue

Actions

  • Did yoga one morning, and walked the long way to the train station another day
  • Made a more conscious effort to add more vegetables to my meals
  • Started taking prenatal vitamins (should have started taking them BEFORE I got pregnant — oops). I ordered chewables online: I can’t swallow pills!
  • In preparation for morning sickness, I packed an empty plastic bag in my purse and a bunch of pretzels. Trying to prevent a bad situation on the commuter rail! (this proved very handy on week 11!)

Reading

Week 6

Concerned about the brownish spotting that had been going on for a week, I stopped by the OB department and had an ultrasound: strong heartbeat, definitely a baby! The ultrasound also found a cyst 2 inches in diameter in my left ovary. Yikes! They said it happens all the time and it might go down on its own. According to Wikipedia, cysts may cause some spotting… so maybe that’s where mine is coming from? This week I also got sick with a cold for several days and survived on tons of fruit juice. I felt like death by the end of the week, but kept going to work in the snow. Maybe that was a mistake.

Symptoms

  • Nausea when I get really hungry
  • Not as hungry anymore… actually, I’ve had so much disgust for overeating for the past couple of weeks, that I don’t really have a strong appetite. For the sake of avoiding nausea, though, I usually eat the first thing that my body wants just to make sure I’m eating SOMETHING and keep myself fed.

Actions

  • Rest. I did no exercise, no chores, no nothing. Watched a lot of Conan.
  • Finished telling all my friends. Again: weird looks… really?

Reading

  • Anything online about spotting during pregnancy

Week 7

My cold ended up being a BURNING sinus infection. Went to a walk-in clinic and they prescribed some antibiotics (amoxicillin) and Flonase, but my mother-in-law didn’t let me take the Flonase (which consists of steroids), especially if my nasal passages are clear (which they were). I eventually got better, after taking antibiotics for 10 days (three times a day). It took about week to feel 100% again. As for my state of mind, with all the sickness, snowstorms, and general disarray in my house, I felt I needed a little escape and indulged in some leisure reading.

Symptoms

  • Constipation
  • Brown spotting continues. I thought the beauty of pregnancy was that you didn’t have your period so you didn’t have to worry about wearing pads or panty-liners! I guess there goes that myth
  • “Morning Sickness” begins. I say that because I threw up after getting a little car sick on the train (and I usually don’t throw up after car sickness)… so, maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t.
  • Abdominal discomfort continues, but it’s been exacerbated by the very uncomfortable effects of constipation. At this point I want to crawl out of my own body!
  • Rectal bleeding when doing number 2 due to constipation. It was really scary not to be able to tell where the blood was coming from, but the moment passed and no more bleeding came, so I was in the clear. This happened again on week 13.

Actions

  • Switched to American Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal in the mornings: it has 32% Fiber daily requirement!!!
  • Started drinking water every hour (that only lasted a day, after which I didn’t want to drink the office filter water any more for many weeks to come)

Reading

Week 8

According to Baby Center, my baby is now the size of a kidney bean. That means that my family has stopped calling it “the little lentil” (or in Spanish, “la lentejita”) to calling it “the little bean” (or in Spanish, “la caraotica”). It’s not going to end until Baby Center stops comparing my baby to cute little food names. I started out the week still taking antibiotics for my cold, and still feeling very down. At this point I’m just looking forward to the second trimester, when you’re supposed to feel great, eat anything you want, be full of energy, blah blah blah. Right now I just feel like crawling into a little ball and not get out of bed at all. I know there is a baby in my belly, but all I see is fat fat fat from all the eating I have been doing only to avoid feeling nauseous. When will that pregnancy excitement kick in?

Symptoms

  • Spotting stopped!
  • Now I get this creamy white discharge (yeah yeah, ew, get over it, it will happen and someone has to talk about it!) — apparently completely normal, and due to the increased production of estrogen during pregnancy
  • Extreme hunger, and consequent nausea, continues
  • Gaining weight (mostly due to the extreme eating!)
  • My mood has been lethargic at best — I don’t feel like doing anything and I’m just literally sick and tired

Actions

  • Finally bought a rowing machine so my husband and I can exercise indoors! Did not use it, as it was missing an important screw from Step 1 of assembly!

Reading

Week 9

Being pregnant is uncomfortable. There, I said it. I’m supposed to be saying this is the happiest time of my life and that I’m all giddy and happy about it… but I am suffering! I’m in deep abdominal discomfort (most of the time related to my last or my next meal), I can’t see a belly yet (only fat) so I got no baby to comfort me, and worst of all, I don’t have anyone around me to get my mind off the whole thing! I want to talk about it with someone who can cheer me up (not give me all their opinions and “advice”), but I don’t think any of my friends would relate, or they might say something I don’t want to hear. How can I talk about it and at the same time get out of my head? I’m living in birth and baby land. Wish there was a visible bump so I could at least talk and sing to my little resident.

Weight: 122lbs (7lbs over pre-pregnancy weight)

Symptoms

  • My entire digestive system is out of whack. I go from feeling like I completely pigged out at my last meal for like 4 hours straight (very uncomfortable “full” feeling), to immediate starvation. It’s crazy, and I can’t get my mind off my digestive system all day long. Help… me!
  • Constipation continues, but I have found a little more relief this week than the past 4 weeks.

Actions

  • Called around about hypnobirthing classes. One particular midwife, Nancy Wainer, suggested that I don’t cross my legs, don’t drink a lot of milk, avoid ultrasound unless it’s needed, keep my knees below my pelvis, and not recline. I’ve decided to not have the ultrasound until I want to find out the sex of the baby later on (why inconvenience the poor baby, let’s leave him alone for a little while), and I’ve been trying my darnest to not be in a reclining position. I am not sure why exactly this is a rule, but it’s supposed to help a favorable position for the baby (maybe because gravity will lead the baby downwards towards the exit, as opposed to having the baby get too cozy against my back muscles — I think it makes physical sense)
  • I’ll sign up for hypnobirthing classes in April (that’s when Nancy’s classes open up)
  • Watched the documentary The Business of Being Born, which reiterated all the things I had been reading about. In short: if you are a healthy woman who has not had complications in her pregnancy, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to give birth naturally without medical intervention. Interventions lead to more intervention, which may create more and more distress for the baby. Women have just been taught that they can’t handle childbirth, which is not true. Women should educate themselves regarding intervention and find out why most major hospitals have 30-40% rate of c-sections.
  • Went to get my medical record “opened” by visiting a midwifery group and telling them my whole medical history, and took it as an opportunity to ask for advice on birthing centers versus hospitals.
  • They said I should see a social worker regarding my mood, so I’m waiting for their call for a referral near my work.

Week 10

This has been the week of self-awareness: I am heavier, I get tired more easily, I run out of breath more easily, and I am starting to freak out about how terribly out of shape I am. The rowing machine is now assembled, but I’m so often having stomach issues that I want to walk around, not sit down! So, I decided to go back to my old gym. I was mostly depressed all week (feeling down, not looking forward to anything, not enjoying my work), and I really think it had a lot to do with my self-image. I always thought it was ridiculous for pregnant women to complain about their weight (“how vain can they be?” I’d say “they are carrying a baby! of course they are going to gain weight!”)… and now I understand: my baby (plus birthing accessories) is supposed to weigh at MOST a pound right now, but I have already gained 7 lbs! That is NOT baby weight! It is lazy, sedentary, eat-a-lot, fat weight! THAT is why I feel lethargic. I haven’t been this heavy since I graduated college. I really hope working out will help trim that extra fat I’m consuming!

Weight: 122lbs (7lbs over pre-pregnancy weight)

Symptoms

  • Nauseous-when-hungry continues.
  • Abdominal discomfort continues.
  • Ravenous hunger continues
  • Mini-depression… most likely hormone induced

Actions

  • Re-joined my old gym, and did a ton of walking on the treadmill (1 hour sessions, 3.5 miles/hour)
  • Might have, accidentally, consumed about a full glass of white wine in the form of cheese fondue during my Valentine’s Day dinner. BIG Oops!
  • I identified a perfect, low cal, delicious snack: whole wheat pita bread and hummus!!! It’s amazing!
  • Also, snack-related, I quit saltine crackers on week 4 (ugh, it’s so easy to get sick of those things), so I keep granola bars in my purse at all times. They help me when I’m in a hunger/nausea bind 🙂

Reading

  • Cambridge Birthing Center info packet
  • Anything online about drinking during pregnancy. Apparently half a glass of wine every day during pregnancy is said to be OK by some OBs in France (you know how they love their wine out there)… so worrying about one glass of wine in the whole pregnancy is kind of silly. Take deep breaths and don’t worry so much!

Week 11

This week did not kick my ass as badly as the other weeks did. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I have been drinking a lot of water, I have been snacking on healthy stuff (like fiber granola/oat bars), and the fact that I started doing some kind of physical exercise. Feeling alright. No more depression, and I’ve been cooking a few meals at home. The most interesting feeling lately has been that of utter fear for hunger spurts: they make me nauseous. And the most interesting thing that happened this week was that I got my first stranger-rubs-my-belly moment. Uhh, guys, how do I explain to you that the fat around my waist is just that… fat? No obvious bump yet… just fat.

Weight: 124lbs (9lbs over pre-pregnancy weight)

Symptoms

  • Nausea and hunger continue
  • TMI alert: I had my very first bowel movement this week!!! It was glorious!!! By BM I mean actual urge to go do number 2. Now, obviously, I have done number 2 in the past few weeks, but my heart was never in it.
  • Susceptibility to car sickness. I threw up this week after a short car ride. Boy, was I thankful to have a plastic bag in my purse! (Remember when I packed it on week 5?!)
  • Pants don’t fit around the waist anymore
  • Can’t stand the office filtered water anymore… tastes funny. Also, the cafeteria smells like rancid food and trash! How did I not notice that before?

Actions

  • Went swimming and walking at the gym
  • Figured out that if I keep my heart rate at 110 when I walk, I won’t break a sweat, but it warms up my muscles. I break a sweat at 120. Finally! Working out feels like SOMETHING!
  • Scheduled appointments to visit the MGH Maternity Ward, and the Cambridge Hospital/Cambridge Birthing Center facilities. This is crucial for us to schedule our next prenatal appointment (the midwifery group or OB you ultimately go with is affiliated with only one location… so you have to pick the location first).
  • Went shopping for a Tummy Tube waist band (I got one black and one white). It helps you to continue wearing your old pants by hiding your midsection such that people don’t notice your pants are really unbuttoned. I also bought a cute polka dot pregnancy bathing suit so I can continue going swimming!
  • Started stocking my own bottled water in the office fridge.

Week 12

This week we went to visit the MGH Maternity floor and we were pleasantly surprised to be comfortable with what we heard. They said they try to help you through a natural birth as much as possible, to the point of matching you up with a natural-birth supporting nurse. There is also a midwife who walks the floors and checks in on you (as opposed to the OB). They do let you eat and drink (I didn’t think they’d let you at a hospital!), and they let your family hang around and come in and out of the room. They also said that if your nurse is being difficult (suggesting intervention, etc), it is OK for you to request a different nurse. We felt good about it, so now we’ll move on to visiting other places and see how those feel.
Also this week I had to face the truth in the mirror: I am starting to show. So far I had been saying it was just fat (because of all the stuff I have been eating lately), but on Thursday when I went to the gym, I took a look in the mirror and noticed that my fat was mostly accumulating in the front of my body. My thoughts were “waitaminute, I have been fat before, and it’s never looked like this!” and so it dawned on me: I am getting a baby belly. Wow.

Weight: 126lbs (11lbs over pre-pregnancy weight)

Symptoms

  • Nausea when hungry continues
  • My belly is now showing!

Actions

  • Went to work out on Monday and Thursday: 1 hour on the treadmill at 3.5 miles/hour with ~4-6 inclination grade. Plus a warm-up courtesy of Dr. Cathy
  • Visited the MGH Maternity floor
  • My husband got me a heart rate monitor so I can keep an eye on it while I work out. I used it for the first time this week.
  • Went to a Japanese restaurant and indulged in some California rolls and crunch rolls (shrimp tempura in a maki roll). I didn’t know it until now, but those don’t have raw fish to worry about! Why didn’t anyone tell me before??

Week 13

I felt great this week, although I can’t say my eating habits were any good. We ate out a lot, and I switched cafeterias (the old one smelled) so I was having a hot meal for lunch, and then a hot meal for dinner. I also started having a snack at around 5pm if I wasn’t planning on having dinner soon… the fact that the snack happened to be a buttery grilled cheese sandwich, I’ll leave aside for others to judge. Anyways, the nausea is still there, but not as bad as before. I can go without eating for longer periods of time. I continue to drink a lot of water and make sure I hit the gym at least twice during the week.
It also makes me happy to see a baby bump 🙂 It gives a good motive to all those crazy things that are happening to my body 🙂 Hi babyyyy! 🙂

Weight: 127 lbs (12lbs over pre-pregnancy weight)

Symptoms

  • Is prenatal acne a symptom? My face is breaking out like a 14 year old’s! I read an article (link below) about unexpected symptoms, and it appears as though my bloody nose may also be a symptom… interesting. I had just chucked it to the dry air of winter.
  • Continue to have really long and strange dreams. I forget when they started, but several weeks ago for sure (sorry I didn’t mark the exact moment!)
  • Rectal bleeding when I went to the bathroom to do number 2. Like I mentioned on week 7, it was scary but the bleeding stopped right after, so I calmed down.
  • My snoring has spun out of control. I was banned to the guest room for the rest of the week so my husband could get some sleep! (boo!)

Actions

  • Purchased my first 3 pairs of maternity pants for work (one was cheap, the other 2 were WICKED expensive… will make sure to check the price tags next time!). On a related note, I can’t hide the fact that I do have a baby belly now. It’s kind of exciting, actually 🙂
  • Visited the Cambridge Birthing Center facilities: it looked like a house, but it’s right across a driveway from Cambridge Hospital. It has a living room, 3 birthing rooms (they say usually they only have one family in the house at a time — they’re not very busy). They showed us the tubs they have for relaxation, yoga balls, etc. It was VERY homey and I got a really good feeling about it. They answered all our questions, and we were very happy to see how supportive of natural birth they were. One downside to it all was that if you do end up becoming a high risk pregnancy, you are pretty much stuck giving birth at Cambridge Hospital (which, as hospitals come, is not the top of the line). Considering my sister’s birth history, I am afraid I might be going in early, which would disqualify me for the Birthing Center. After talking it over with my husband, we agreed we both liked it a lot, but it is still so far away from home, and there is such a risk of ending up at Cambridge Hospital anyway, that we are going to continue looking for options. I called Norwood Hospital and Newton-Wellesley Hospital to take a tour of their facilities. Wish us luck!

Reading

I’m ready to tackle The Second Trimester! So exciiiiteeeeed!!!! 🙂

ina

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