The First Trimester (Mid July to End of September)

During the first trimester, I had many different changes to my body. The first had to be the bloating, which occurred early in my pregnancy within the first few days. This was due to the implantation process, so I have been told by my doctor. The bloating wasn't constant, but it came and went throughout the first trimester. I also started to feel tired more often. I would feel the need to nap more, but since I was going back to work, I wasn't able to lie down when I wanted. I definitely was not up late at night, and I felt tired more often when doing regular things around the house or for fun.

I also could tell a temperature change in my body. Though I didn't have a fever or anything serious like that, my skin was often very hot to the touch. I didn't feel the need to dress in less items of clothing, but my skin was just very warm. This was also another early sign that I might be pregnant before I actually found out. I had read somewhere that a rise in body temperature was a good indicator that a person could be pregnant. Another uncommon occurrence for me was chest discomfort. I was very sore all the time, which my doctor explained as being a normal sign that I was going to become a mother and hopefully breastfeed someday. That was an idea I just couldn't image, but I was very interested to see if it would actually work one day. The last of my physical changes in the first trimester would have to be the morning sickness, which started in the middle of August. I never actually threw up, which was a blessing, but I did feel sick all the time. I don't know why it is called morning sickness if I felt sick in the afternoon and evening as well. From what my mother and sister had told me, I should have been physically sick all the time just as they were, but I wasn't. I guess I take after my paternal grandmother more when it comes to pregnancy. Thank goodness for that. I couldn't imagine being sick all the time. Feeling sick was bad enough.

One change that I didn't expect was the stress that came with being pregnant. As soon as my excitement subsided a bit the first two weeks of knowing that I was actually pregnant, the fear and stress set in. I am a worry wort by nature, and being pregnant made that part of me worse. Because I have a history of surgery and illness, I was very much afraid of what might happen in the pregnancy. I really wanted to do the right thing and to protect my baby in any way I could. Since I had never been pregnant before, I really didn't know what I should and shouldn't do. I was worried all the time, which didn't help anything. After talking with a few people and after getting about five pregnancy books from the library, I started to feel better about everything. My biggest fear would be to miscarry the baby and lose it before it had time to grow. After reading about miscarriage and getting more of an understanding of how and why it happened, I felt better about being pregnant. I just wanted to try and see what would happen, and I started to understand that if I did have a miscarriage, it was because my little round clump never turned into a baby. These things sometimes happen to good women who want healthy babies, so I tried to think positively and do what I could to have a healthy pregnancy and baby.

That leads me to cravings. The first trimester was a strange time with regards to food. Because I was feeling sick quite often, I also didn't have as much interest in some of the same foods. For the longest time, I would eat a peanut butter sandwich and yogurt for lunch at school. That changed during my first trimester, since I couldn't stand the smell of either of them. That made things a bit difficult. The two main constants in my mind for the perfect food had to be McDonald's Fish and ice cream. Though not very healthy, I might add, I had to give the belly what it wanted for that time, because it was so hard to even be interested in food. I was told that I should be gaining weight during the first trimester, but I just didn't eat as much to make that possible. That would come in the second trimester! :)

Activities during the first trimester were not exactly the same. I really wanted to be an active pregnant lady, but I knew that I was "at risk," so I really didn't want to push anything and risk miscarrying. In early September, Dennis and I took my niece Mady to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the Harry Potter exhibit, which was well worth all my discomfort and fatigue. I discovered at that time that I just couldn't move as much as I used to. Dennis and I managed to take some walks around the neighborhood and at the park, and we even went camping during my last weekend of the first trimester with our good friends Dennis and Kristin. Everything, though, was on a much lesser scale than what I normally would be able to do. I was once very active, but the pregnancy had made me too tired to do more. Also with the stress of miscarriage in that first month, I really didn't exercise as I should have, and my body was losing stamina. I felt that it was a small price to pay for a save and healthy baby. At this point in the pregnancy, family, close friends and some colleagues knew about the baby, but that was it. I was too afraid to jinx anything by letting too many people know, but at the same time, I was too excited to keep it all to myself! :)