5 Tips to Survive the First Trimester
Alright..now that our secret is out in the open & you all know that I am pregnant with TWINS, I wanted to dive into everything that helped me survive the first trimester. Because let’s face it..the first trimester is freaking ROUGH. It’s all so new and exciting too, but there are a lot of hard parts to go through as well, and I wanted to share everything that helped me get through, so let’s dive into it!
First Trimester Survival Kit
- Figure Out Your OBGYN and/or Midwife: Luckily I had gotten a new OBGYN prior to Nick and I trying to conceive as I knew I wanted to be with the doctor I wanted to deliver my baby(s…lol) before I actually got pregnant. The first call you make when you find out your pregnant should be to your doctor to make your first appointment! Typically this would be between 8-10 weeks, mine was at 7 weeks due to my travel schedule, but it will vary depending on your doctor. That being said, I also emailed my doctor a list of questions as soon as I found out I got pregnant in regards to things I was eating, skincare, beauty, etc. to get peace of mind and see if I should switch anything!
- All the apps! One of the next things I did was download (multiple) pregnancy apps to see what I was going to personally love the most for my journey. I tried out The Bump, Sprout, What to Expect and Baby Center. The ones I keep going back to are The Bump (I love the to-do list they have) and What to Expect because I like their daily tips/info they share. I tried out Twiniversity as well but didn’t find it super useful TBH! Another app I downloaded was called Peanut, and thats an app that can connect you with other moms and mom friends in your area which can be helpful too. Try them out and see what you like! Some of the apps will also give you tips to survive the first trimester as well.
- Books: There were a few books I ordered immediately to survive the first trimester, and here are the ones I think are great to read specifically during this time, but TBH, don’t stress about reading too much if you don’t feel 100% because you may not retain all of the information! Here are the ones I liked..
- Your Body Is Magic By Hope Smith– This is the best book if you’re really wanting a holistic take on your pregnancy.
- Expecting Better By Emily Oster– This book is great for debunking a lot of the myths around pregnancy and all of the things that you’re told you should or shouldn’t do. That being said, it gives you all of the actual facts and research behind said myths to be able to make educated decisions for YOU.
- Preventing Stretch Marks: This was top of mind for me, and I wanted to be stocked the second I felt like I needed to lather up my skin for my growing belly. This happened for me around week 10, so towards the end of the first trimester, but I was glad I had it on hand already! My sister in law told me to keep an eye out for itchy skin because that could mean your skin is stretching, so the second I felt that, I lathered up. Now it’s this nice ritual I do after every shower and before I go to bed every night. The three things I swear by and love their ingredients are the Summer Fridays Babymoon Belly Balm, Mutha Body Oil, & Mutha Body Butter.
- Literally Anything & Everything to Prevent Nausea & Fatigue: Do I SWEAR by any of these?! TBH, no because there were times where literally the only thing that helped me was falling back asleep. That being said, sometimes there can be a bit of a placebo effect that can be nice too, LOL. Here’s my list..
- Organic Lemon & Ginger Lozenges – I loved sucking on these whenever I had a nauseas episode (which was frequent) and they actually did help, whether it was just getting my mind off of it or actually productive, we’ll never know!
- Spindrift Lemon Sparkling Water – A carbonated beverage was my BEST FRIEND in the first trimester. It really did wonders for my nausea and settled my stomach too.
- Organic Peppermint Tea – I loved sipping on this before bed to calm the nausea as well. Drinking mint tea always does the trick for calming my stomach.
- Eating Super Frequently – Like truly, as soon as you wake up! If cooking doesn’t make you nauseas like it did for me, do this immediately & if it does, lean on your support system to make you something simple. I really tried to focus on protein, fruits, veggies, complex carbs as much as possible but TBH veggies were far & few between in the first trimester for me. At a certain point, you want to just make sure you’re getting food in vs. getting too rigid on what that is that you’re consuming.
Overall, I think the most important thing to do during the first trimester is take care of YOURSELF on both a mental and physical level. There was a lot of grace that I had to give myself when I was needing a lot of extra sleep and not feeling my best. You will survive the first trimester, and hey, you might even THRIVE! Remember that it’s just a short period in time and I already forgot about it now that I’m into the second trimester and feeling 100x better and cannot wait to meet my babies at the end of this. Know that you have that to look forward to as well! If you want more on this, definitely check out The Purely Podcast for the latest pregnancy updates! xx
