My Pregnancy First Trimester Recap

Hooray! I’m having a baby! My husband and I couldn’t be more excited for this unexpected and welcomed miracle. We are so excited to be on the journey towards parenthood. 

I hesitated at first in sharing this more personal news, however, this is part of the reason why I started this website, Happy Little Tadpole, in the first place. I knew I wanted to be a mom, and that my life would change and things like buying gifts for little ones wouldn’t just be something I do for my niece and nephews, but something I do for my own children, the mom’s I befriend, my friend’s children, and so on. You can learn more about why I started Happy Little Tadpole and what it’s all about in this blog post: The Creation of Happy Little Tadpole 

This blog post is about how I found out I was pregnant, and my experience through my first trimester. In it, I share when I first learned I was pregnant, when my husband and I told our friends and family we were pregnant, how I felt during the first trimester, my food aversions and cravings, my first ultrasound, my first trimester must-haves, and more. I was in my first trimester in Fall of 2019. At the time of writing this, I’m in my third trimester (so close!). 

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase on Amazon. Thank you for your support!

How I Found Out I Was Pregnant

You know how some people know they are pregnant before they ever take a test? Yeah, that wasn’t me. Apparently, I’m not as in touch with my body as I would like to think. In fact, I didn’t realize I might be pregnant until I received a notification on my period tracking app that told me I was late. I was working from home that day and I simply stopped what I was doing and took a pregnancy test. And as I’m sure you’ve already gathered, I saw a very exciting faint second red line.

Side note – My husband and I were open to getting pregnant. In fact, a couple months before we decided to go the route of ‘if it happens, then it happens’ and not take the precautions we had in the past. So I bought a bulk pack of pregnancy test strips at that time to have them on hand for if I ever had the inkling I was indeed knocked-up (This individually sealed, 25 pack from Amazon to be exact: ClinicalGuard® HCG Pregnancy Test Strips for less than 10$).

I saw that very faint second line and couldn’t believe it. So I took two more tests within the hour that also showed very faint second lines. At the time I wasn’t sure what that faint line really meant… Does this mean there’s a slight chance I’m pregnant because it’s showing a faint line?

So I called my sister. No answer. Then my mom. She answered and I told her first and my sister rang me back so I told her too. (Oops, sorry Kyle)! They both confirmed that pregnancy tests detect the presence of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is only present when you are pregnant. Thus, no matter how faint that second line is, if its there, you are pregnant!

At the time, we lived in Portland, Oregon in a cute little shop-lined street on Mississippi Ave. I decided to walk down the block and look for something cute to gift my husband. I found an adorable Portland Baby book at the local bookstore. I picked that up as well as a card that said ‘All I need is you and ice cream’ on the cover and was blank on the inside. I taped the pregnancy test in the card and wrote ‘…For the next nine months’ inside. 

I set up my GoPro to secretly record him opening his gift. I would share the video, but my husband was so excited he let quite a few curses slip out, haha!

When We Told Friends and Family We’re Expecting

My husband is from Pittsburgh. We lived there for 4 years before moving to Portland. At the time we found out we were expecting, we already had a trip planned to go back to Pittsburgh. During the trip, we told Kyle’s immediate family in person when I was about 6 weeks along.

A note on when to tell others you’re expecting – this is entirely up to you. Some people choose to tell everyone right away, others decide to wait until they are a little further along. We did a little bit of both. We told our families a couple of weeks after we found out, then we waited until the end of our first trimester to start telling close friends, then we eventually made an announcement to everyone through the photos below!

To Move or Not to Move While Pregnant

When we found out we were pregnant, we had lived in the Pacific Northwest for about a year. Portland Oregon is an incredible place to live. It’s two hours from the ocean and two hours from the mountains. The hiking and camping is awe-inspiring. We moved out there because my husband was able to transfer for work and I can do my digital marketing consulting work remotely.

So we had a huge decision to make – Start our family in Portland, or move back to Pittsburgh… The idea of having a baby without any friends or family within an hour of us was a scary thought, especially as new parents. Although I find Oregon to be one of the most beautiful places in the US, my husband started checking Pittsburgh for job openings. We decided that if a position opened up in Pittsburgh that he wanted to apply for, he would and we would see what happened. That way we could raise our little one surrounded by family and friends. 

Low and behold, a job did open up and he got it. So we made the decision to move back to good ‘ol Pittsburgh. We both felt relieved after Kyle was able to transfer. We knew we wanted to raise our baby surrounded by our family and friends, instead of on our own, no matter how beautiful the place. (Sorry Portland, I still love the PNW and it will always have a place in my heart!) The move happened very quickly. We learned we were pregnant in September, and then moved back to Pittsburgh in November.

The First Trimester 

Typical First Trimester Morning Sickness and Tiredness

The first change I noticed was in my appetite. I was so hungry in the mornings. Prior to becoming pregnant, I used to fast in the mornings until at least 11 AM. During that first trimester – and still to this day in my third trimester – I am ravenous in the mornings. I have first and second and sometimes even third breakfast. 

As far as morning sickness goes, I felt nauseous in the evenings for a couple weeks. So I changed my schedule and swapped my larger dinners for larger lunches. I never got sick-sick, I had more of a woozy, I-might-be-on-a roller-coaster kind of feeling that led me to most evenings spent on the couch bundled up in a blanket drinking tea. 

I felt exhausted often, especially after week 6 through week 10. In the middle of the day, I took breaks from work because I felt so drained. Making a baby is hard work! So I gave myself time and relaxed when my body told me I needed to. 

Food Aversions and Cravings

Meat? Gross. I did not want to eat meat for weeks. Pre-pregnancy, I was a carnivore. Once I got pregnant, I wanted nothing to do with it. And I definitely couldn’t cook it, especially chicken. So instead, I ate lots of vegetarian dishes and eggs and greek yogurt for protein. 

My food cravings were for dairy, carbs, and sweets. I wanted cow’s milk, all the bagels, and chocolate.

I was also thirstier than usual. I would wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and fill up a second and sometimes third glass of water. 

Increased Emotions and Stress

Getting pregnant for the first time is a bit unnerving. There are so many unknowns. Not to mention the giant increase in hormones, there are new worries and fears and tons of new changes. This giant increase in emotions is a journey. Add on the stress of moving across the country, and you have a very emotional and stressful couple of months. However, that’s how things worked out for us, so I simply tried to take it one step at a time. 

*Note: I do NOT recommend getting pregnant then moving across the country. In general, if you can hold off on making major life altering decisions like buying a home, moving, making a career change, etc, just wait and saVe yourself (and your developing baby) from the added stress.

Our First Ultrasound

I wasn’t sure when my last period was (I’m not the best at remembering to update my period tracking app), so the baby’s conception date was a total guess. We went in for our first doctor’s appointment then I thought I was 9 and a half weeks along. They tried to do an Abdominal Ultrasound, which is taken from outside the belly, but they didn’t see anything. So, then they tried a Transvaginal Ultrasound, which is taken internally, and they found our little pea-sized baby. This was the first moment that I realized how real this baby is. We were so happy when we saw it’s little, fluttering heartbeat. I was a giant relief to be reassured by that small yet spectacular movement that everything is developing normally for our little baby. 

It turned out that I was actually not as far along as I had thought, hence needing the transvaginal ultrasound. I was only 7 weeks and 5 days along.

Pregnancy Books and Other Resources

Prior to my first ultrasound, I downloaded the ‘What to Expect’ app and later, The Bump app. These are both free resources that give you information about your baby, your body, and what to expect over the timeline of your pregnancy, week by week. I found these apps really helpful to grasp what was going on both with me and the baby. They were also reassuring, informing me that the changes and feelings I was experiencing were normal and to be expected.

After my first ultrasound, I dove head first into learning more about pregnancy. I bought and was gifted a bunch of pregnancy books. Pregnancy and fetal development are two subjects I knew little about, so naturally, I wanted to learn everything I could. I wanted to learn what I could do to help my baby be healthy and develop correctly, and also take the best care of my new pregnant body.

Be sure to read my My Pregnancy Book List Blog Post next to find the best pregnancy books for your journey through pregnancy and birth!

Facebook Pregnancy Groups

One thing I do not recommend during pregnancy is joining random Facebook pregnancy groups.I may have just joined the wrong ones, but the groups I joined shared all of the bad things that can happen during pregnancy, which made me worry more about things out of my control. In hindsight, it’s kind of like the news – sad stories are shared more often than the lack of news when pregnancies are going smoothly. I feel horrible for the women that go through devastating experiences, but at the same time, it wasn’t a healthy thing for me to expose myself to at the beginning of my pregnancy. One thing that helped me was reminding myself that the only thing in my power is taking care of myself and the baby growing in me by making healthy, positive decisions like eating well. If anything happened, it would be out of my control and it was pointless to worry myself about it (easier said than done, of course).

Helpful Pregnancy Products

Pregnant women are marketed thousands of items, from prenatal vitamins (100% necessary) to anti-nausea relief bands (I skipped these but they’re probably super helpful for some pregnant women).  Below are items I used during the first trimester of my pregnancy that I highly recommend.

My First Trimester Must-Haves Products

1. Prenatal Vitamins. A high quality, naturally derived prenatal with Folate. Why? Short version: Because my body will be better at breaking down naturally derived vitamins than a less expensive prenatal that is constructed in a lab. I take Mama Bird Prenatal Multi Vitamins.
   
   
2. Probiotic Supplement. A Probiotic Supplement for good gut health. Because good gut health for me means good gut health for baby. And good gut health is good for everyone. I take Physician’s Choice Prebiotics and Probiotics for Women. I like that it can be taken with or without food.
   
   
3. Peaceful Mama Tea. A Pregnancy Tea Blend for Relaxation. Because I with being pregnant and everything else life throws at you, like moving across the country, you better believe I needed some relaxing tea in my life. Also, I primarily drank water during my pregnancy, so tea was a good way to have some variety. I especially like Earth Mama Organic Peaceful Mama Tea Bags, which is an organic, caffeine-free herbal tea safe during pregnancy.
   
   
4. Collagen. A collagen supplement to improve skin elasticity amongst other things. I originally added collagen to my diet to help prevent stretch marks, but soon realized that it was a great protein boost to satisfy my hungry cravings, especially when they came at times I didn’t want to be eating, like right before bed or in the early hours of the morning. I take Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides and add them to either water or shakes.
   
   
5. Peanut Butter Powder. I bought a container of peanut butter powder to add peanuts to my diet more consistently but without all the fat that comes with regular peanuts. I add the powder to my morning shakes and hope that the regular intake of peanut enzymes will help decrease the likliness of my baby having a nut allergy. I take PBfit All-Natural Organic Peanut Butter Powder.
   
   
6. Bio Oil. I have been putting a mineral oil on my belly since week 6 of my pregnancy. I figure, the more hydrated I keep my belly, the less likely I am to have stretch marks later on. Although stretch marks are said to be genetic, I figure it doesn’t hurt to keep my belly hydrated. I use a mineral oil called Bio Oil. It’s not too heavy or greasey, and it dries rather quickly.
   
   
7. Organic Fruit and Vegetable Wash. Produce carries bacteria, some of which, like listeria can be harmful to the devloping baby, throughout pregnancy and especially so in the beginning. This is why I found it critical that all the fruit and vegetables I ate were washed well. I use Fit Organic Fruit and Vegetable Wash now on all of the produce I eat (minus items like bananas).
   
   
8. A Diffuser. A diffuser adds humidity to the air and diffuse essential oils. Pregnancy Rhinitis is nasal decongestion in pregnant women, and I’ve had it since the very start of my pregnancy. 18-42% of pregnant women get it. My diffuser has helped me increase the humidity In my bedroom while sleeping, and the eucalyptus and lavender essential oils it diffuses helps me calm down behind bed. Win-win. I’ve had this Pure Enrichment Diffuser for years and I love it. (Thanks mom!)
   

Thank you so much for reading about the start to my journey through pregnancy! Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to find out when I post more articles here on Happy Little Tadpole. Comment below with questions and feel free to share your first trimester experience or anything else you want to share, I’d love to hear from you!