When I first found out I was pregnant, I didn’t know what to expect. Of course, like most people, I’d heard about the morning sickness but apart from that, I was going into the unknown. Quite often, the first trimester can seem a scary time. You don’t know if your pregnancy will survive, you’re experiencing so many changes in your body and mind that it can feel overwhelming. Added to that, you have probably decided to keep it to yourselves for a little while, so you have the stress of trying to “act normal”. At a time where nothing feels normal.

In those first few early days after finding out I was pregnant, I felt so alone. I turned to the internet to try and gain some reassurance but I couldn’t really find anything other than the medical side of the first trimester. It gave me the idea to sit down and speak honestly with you about my first trimester and how I got through it. Because thankfully I did.

What is the first trimester?

Known as the first trimester, it is simply the period of time between four and twelve weeks. This can vary depending on the country you are from because some also includes weeks thirteen and fourteen. However you get the general idea.

Many women often find that the first trimester is the hardest part of pregnancy, whilst others simply sale through, or so it would seem. It is a rollercoaster ride of emotions and physical changes that often can be hard to adjust to.

The start of my first trimester

When I think back to finding out I was pregnant, I did find out pretty quickly. The main thing for me was a lack of a proper period. I say it like this because I’d had a little bit of blood, but only enough when I wiped. It didn’t last more than a day which is not like me. I remember taking the test, telling myself I couldn’t be pregnant. So you can imagine my shock when I saw the positive result. In fact, I’ve recently shared that said moment over on my YouTube channel.

Those first couple of weeks

Those first couple of weeks, I’d say it was more mental in terms of symptoms than physical. Not only was I in a state of shock, I was also worried about the future. I think that is one of the biggest things I’d say affected me in those first weeks. There was just so much worry. I was worrying about whether the pregnancy would survive and if it did, would my baby be ok. Added to that, I was worrying about the further and whether I’d be a good enough mum. So many things were running through my head, it was like I was on daily autopilot.

The symptoms began

As soon as I got the positive result, I feel like my symptoms just suddenly appeared. The day I found out, I suddenly went off quite a few foods and even cups of tea which was highly unusual for me. And so the trying to act normal period began. I researched the food and drink I wasn’t allowed during pregnancy so that I could make sure I could avoid them. Other than that, I just ate a lot slower in an effort to keep the food I wasn’t really wanting, down.

The biggest symptom for me was the tiredness. I have honestly never felt anything like it. I would wake up feeling exhausted and go to bed at night almost dead on my feet. I literally found that I couldn’t function properly. My blog, YouTube and other hobbies had to take a back seat. I found all I was doing was walking my dog, working and sleeping.

Symptoms I’d never thought about

Another symptom that started very early on was the bloat. I looked like I’d overindulged at Christmas. All of my clothes felt tight and uncomfortable to the point I actually ordered some maternity jeans from Vinted just in case. Thankfully, will summer on the way, I could wear loose dresses which was a blessing. As well as the bloat, my boobs were getting bigger, heavier and definitely sore.

A symptom I’d never thought about before getting pregnant was pain. It was something I’d never really heard about before. But from about five weeks, I’d get these shooting pains going downwards under my belly button. It was irregular and didn’t last long each time, but it was certainly enough to stop me in my tracks.

Like a lot of women, morning sickness kicked in from about six weeks. I felt quite lucky at the time because I could combat it by eating dry crackers. Looking back, it was definitely a very mild form of morning sickness, but this would change further down the line.

Stressing at six weeks

By week six, I was stressing again because I had a bit of pink discharge when I wiped. I thought the worst but apparently it is really common, although it’s always best to get it checked out. At the same time, this was when I noticed my skin was breaking out and so it was put down to a surge in hormones.

Whilst I still had food aversions, I was also hungry all of the time. I’d heard so many women say they didn’t want to eat anything, but for me, it was the complete opposite.

My first midwife appointment

When it came to finally seeing a midwife, it wasn’t until I was eight weeks. I had the standard tests done, which includes bloods, urine, carbon dioxide, BMI check and blood pressure check. All seemed pretty well and I went away just waiting on the final results.

When the results came in, they weren’t as positive as I first thought. It was found that I had protein in my urine, which meant the likelihood was I had a UTI. Whilst I’ve had plenty of these in the past, I knew it was more dangerous now that I was pregnant. It also meant that I was put on antibiotics to clear up the infection. As with previous times I’ve had the infection, the antibiotics made me feel sick. So now my morning sickness was heightened and lasted all day and night. I’d even wake up because I felt like I was going to be sick and on a couple occasions I was.

The test results showed that I was also Rhesus negative. It means that I have a negative blood group and that there would be extra steps I’d would need to take during my pregnancy and any future ones I should have. Further down the line, baby’s blood group would need to be checked, and depending on the results/ if they couldn’t get a conclusive result, I would need to have anti-D injections during pregnancy and after birth as well.

If left untreated, rhesus disease can occur where my body would produce antibodies which would in turn attack baby’s red blood cells and would have to be put into neonatal care once born.

Because of this risk, I had to be extra careful. Any knocks to my tummy or any bleeds meant I had to go to the hospital to be checked. As you can imagine, this added to my stresses and worries.

Reaching week nine and beyond

One thing that had never even entered my mind was that I would appear more tasty to mosquitos and similar insects. By week nine, I had about 30 bites on my lower body, which then turned into hives. So that was a very uncomfortable time for me.

By ten weeks, I was experiencing quite a bit of cramping in my tummy. I was reassured to find out that it was most likely where things were moving about and making room for this growing baby. Whilst it makes sense when I think about it, I didn’t realise it would be so painful.

Eleven weeks hit and I experienced what firstly started as a bit of blood and then turned into brown discharge. Therefore I was taken into the early pregnancy unit for a scan. I cannot tell you the relief I felt when I saw baby wriggling around on the screen. Thankfully everything appeared normal and I had my normal twelve week scan the following week that would be able to support that.

Final thoughts

I definitely feel like my first trimester was a rollercoaster with some curve balls along the way. For me, I found it a scary time, because as someone who has always been very in sync with their body, I just didn’t recognise it anymore. At some point, I will follow this post up with a second trimester post. Not to spoil it too much but all I will say is I personally have found trimester two so much harder than the first one.

I hope this post has helped you if you are in your first trimester (congratulations!) or at least given you an insight into the ups and downs of pregnancy so far. I definitely wish I’d been more clued up on how it would feel etc. As a side note, I’m planning on doing a pregnancy Q&A at some point soon, so if you have any questions, please leave them down below.

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What makes a mother