What Saved Me During the First Trimester
Hello Loves,
Pregnant with Twins!
Who would have ever thought?! Honestly, it was bound to happen due to the incredible number of twins running in both of our families. These twins will be the 17th set of twins on his father’s side! Isn’t that crazy!?
This is my second pregnancy and let me tell you… this time around, the first trimester hit me like a ton of bricks!
Of course this being my second pregnancy, I am going to compare it to my first pregnancy for a moment LOL.
During my first pregnancy the whole entire first trimester was a breeze and I was loving every bit of it!
This time, I am looking forward to the days when my appetite and energy are at 100%! LOL. I am currently 18 weeks and still have periods of nausea and exhaustion but it is so much better! So there is HOPE!
I want you to remember that this post is about MY experience and what helped ME. Every woman and every pregnancy is different and I just hope my experience makes yours easier.
First off, I have learned that the more babies that you are carrying, the crazier the hormones are. Everything that I experienced happened twice as fast and hit twice as hard so it takes some adjusting.
These were my main symptoms and how I managed to get through them.
The foundations of my relief during my first trimester included:
-Support from my spouse and family
- Listening to my body
- Ginger
- Tylenol
- Faith, hope, and Prayer
Now to actually be specific about what got me through each major symptom is mentioned below.
Nausea 24/7 with occasional vomiting that was more prominent in the morning and at night.
My relief:
Wearing very loose clothing at all times. I ended up wearing my husband's t-shirts and sweatpants with no undergarments because I couldn’t bare the slightest pressure on my body.
I needed every beverage to be ABSOLUTELY ICE COLD!
Later on, I discovered Dramamine Ginger chews and those helped me alot, especially to get some food down
Honestly, laying down at every chance I had was a huge nausea relief too!
Difficulty Eating or Staying Hydrated: the horrible cycle of being too nauseous to eat and then being more nauseous and in pain from not eating! Ughh! Sadly, I couldn't just eat ANYTHING either, my mind had to be set on it.
My relief:
Eating once the dramamine kicked in
Eating as soon as realized what I COULD eat
Eat in small portions and SLOWLY
Not worrying about eating healthy at this point because the goal when you're this nauseous is to just get food into your body
In order to stay hydrated, I had to SIP water as soon as I woke up and throughout the day with lemons or limes. Sometimes, I would switch it out for coconut water on days I couldn't drink much water
The most important thing to remember for this was listening to my body
Very Low Energy and Always Tired: my poor toddler had all this energy 24/7 and all I wanted to do was lay down and close my eyes, talk about mom guilt!
My Relief:
Trying to eat when I could because food is energy
Laying down every chance I got
Taking a nap when my toddler napped
Tons of Food Aversions Especially Meat: I did not want to smell meat cooking nor see or touch raw meat.
My Relief:
Honestly, my husband was very understanding with this part and he either cooked or we went out to eat
Other times, I just stayed away from my food aversions and ate what I could, when I could
Loads of Anxiety and Crying: My poor husband is all I have to say lol watching me go through this craziness
My Relief:
Being open with those around me so that they can better understand what is happening and help with what they can
Prayer is powerful
Cry if I needed to, letting it all out, and then remembering what I am grateful for in order to move on with my day
Back and Hip Pain:
My Relief:
The occasional need for Tylenol
Stretching and strengthening of those muscles makes the biggest difference
Very Tender Breasts: These were ABSOLUTELY off limits, sorry hubby! I woke up with ridiculously sore breasts that could not bare to be touched.
My Relief:
No bra!
Keep the hubby away!
Headaches For Days On End!
My Relief:
Sometimes coffee would be of relief because I couldn't bare hot coffee for awhile
Tylenol when nothing else worked
Staying hydrated which was usually the culprit
Acne:
My Relief:
Ignored it LOL. I know it is hormonal and stressing about it is only going to make it worse!
Lastly, The Occasional Heartburn:
My Relief:
Staying away from the foods and drinks that were causing it
TUMS
That is basically everything! At least everything that my mind hasn’t shut out about that horrible part of pregnancy LOL.
Remember that support, family, faith, hope, prayer, rest, and listening to your body is what is going to get you through this.
It is only TEMPORARY!
As always, I pray that you receive what you need from this post.