Pregnancy Essentials: The first trimester

Pregnancy_essentials_first

There must be something in the water, or I’m just entering “that stage” in life because friends and family members are having babies left and right. With each announcement, I look back fondly on my own pregnancy.

Even though it ended just a few short months ago, the first trimester, those early weeks when the excitement is still a secret between partners, seems so long ago. So before it’s too far behind me, here are a few things that helped me through:

Sleep: I fortunately was not sick during my first trimester, but I was exhausted. I found that making sure I hit the hay by 9:30 every night was absolutely necessary for my sanity and my husband’s.

Bathtub: In addition to sleep, soaking in a hot tub helped relieve some of my discomfort. I had a lot of back pain throughout pregnancy and it started pretty early on, so I often found the tub relaxing after a long day of sitting at work.

Books: As my “about me” section says, I tried not to read too, too many books. But, that’s a lofty goal. The first trimester, I read the Le Leche League book, “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” from cover to cover, “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” and the “The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth.”

Apps: Doesn’t every woman want to know what type of fruit their baby compares to on a week-to-week basis? I loved the BabyCenter app since it sent me weekly updates about how my baby was the size of a blueberry one day, and an ear of corn a few weeks later. It was also helpful to read about various symptoms and things to think about in preparation for birth and raising a little one.

Bottle of cold water: I tend to drink a lot of water anyway, but during pregnancy, I really wanted ice cold water. This seemed to continue throughout, which is ironic since I ended up having issues with low fluid, but that’s another post for another day.

Those of you who’ve been there, what did you find the most helpful during the first 12 weeks?

 

Natalie Feulner

About Natalie Feulner

Natalie Feulner is a journalist and “semi-crunchy” cloth diapering momma to a rambunctious toddler named after a county in California. She drinks too much tea and loves to climb rocks but not at the same time.