The First Trimester

The first trimester is a very interesting time. By now you probably know that we've got a little blessing on the way. The first trimester is one of the most interesting times, though to be fair I can't exactly compare it to any of the others yet. It is also the time before the big news is made public, so the interesting happenings need to be kept hush hush. That’s why I've been so silent on Facebook lately. I've had plenty to say, but just couldn't talk about what was really on my mind. The reason for waiting to share the big news is of course that it's the riskiest time, and it's not exactly news you want to have to take back, so it's very prudent to wait. I also wonder if some of the tradition of waiting until after the first trimester to share the news is to prevent expectant mothers from inadvertently oversharing about their morning sickness. So I will try to be sure to avoid that.

I think that during the first trimester, God reminds us what it was like to be a baby, possibly to give us more sympathy for our new arrival. Basically all you want to do is eat, sleep, puke and go to the bathroom. Fortunately it comes on slowly and then starts to improve, so it's not like we feel that way the whole three months, whew!

Eat
During the first trimester you are extra hungry. And not just normal hunger. It's "Give me food right this minute or I'll start to feel queasy" hunger. Cravings start pretty early too. For me it was fast food. Though I tried not to indulge too often, it is only for a short time and soon I'll be able to eat like a normal human being again. Dairy was another, often taking the form of quesadillas. There were a few weeks where we got through tortillas, cheese and sour cream pretty quickly! As for food aversions, I only have one - poultry. Hopefully it will be over by thanksgiving or it might be Jamie's jerk ham recipe instead. Apologies in advance to both my brothers if that has to happen.

Sleep
How do you sleep for two and still hold down a full-time job? You have to give up the finer things in life, like doing laundry and washing dishes. There's always the promise of "Maybe tomorrow night I'll have more energy," but it's rarely fulfilled. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and get things done though. Or wait long enough until the husband gets fed up and does it himself. Which isn't a great option given the long hours he works.

Puke
Fortunately not much to report here, and I'll leave it at that. Some of the pregnancy websites seem to go on and on about this symptom, but to be honest it's not one where I'd like a lot of detail. I will mention though that 'morning' has very little to do with morning sickness. In fact mornings are when I feel my best.

Go to the bathroom
Pregnant women quickly develop a radar for locating toilets every time they enter a new place. I guess it's a useful skill to have as a parent, so now's probably a good time to develop it. This frequent bathroom need at this early stage may be due to increased metabolism. Trust me, it increases. Or hormones, the usual culprit. It unfortunately means multiple potty breaks overnight. Great prep for those 3am feedings I guess.

So those are some of the goings on over the last several weeks while I was trying to keep the big news a secret and pass for a normal human being. Working from home definitely made it much easier to pull off. I am definitely ready for the next trimester though, which rumor has it should be easier. It's also much nicer to finally be able to share about my pregnancy. I'm so happy to finally be here and looking forward to all that is ahead.

Karen x