Often this is one of the most overlooked stages of pregnancy. Aside from the morning sickness, nobody every talks about it. At least not in great detail.
Here we are going to cover the ins and outs of the first trimester so all your questions will be answered, even the ones you didn’t think to ask.
The symptoms you might experience
During the first trimester, you might experience some strange symptoms of pregnancy. These can be peeing more frequently, nausea, morning sickness, headaches, and even some bloating.
If you do experience morning sickness, there are remedies that help relieve pregnancy nausea and morning sickness.
What might also suprise you is that some women don’t have morning sickness (they are the lucky ones).
1. When does morning sickness start?
If you are pregnant, but have not yet started experiencing morning sickness, you might want to know when it’s supposed to start.
According to the American Pregnancy Association, morning sickness will usually rear it’s ugly head around 6 weeks of pregnancy, and ends around 12 weeks.
It’s important to note though that this is not always the case, because some women (myself included) experience hyperemesis gravidarum, which is an extreme version of “morning sickness” that can last the entire pregnancy.
2. Am I bloating or starting to show?
During the first trimester, you will also experience a lot of bloating. This is caused by those fluctuating hormones of pregnancy.
While some women show early on, if this is your first pregancy, it’s most likely bloating.
To help with this bloating, start drinking more water.
3. Can some women start to show early?
Some women have a pregnancy bump that developes quicker than others. Usually it’s because one of these reasons:
- Not their first baby
- Carrying Twins
When you are on your 2nd or more pregnancy, your body might start showing quicker than your first. Also, if you are carrying twins, or multiples, you will also show sooner.
4. Why am I so forgetful?
Another common complaint for pregnant moms during the first trimester and on is forgetfulness. You might seemed scattered-brained, or not as sharp mentally.
Speaking from experience, this one thing I was always surprised about!
5. When does first trimester fatigue end?
First trimester fatigue is another symptom of the first trimester that is annoying to say the least.
Typically, when you reach the second trimester, this fatigue will let up.
For now though, try to take naps when you can and eat healthy, energy-rich meals.
6. First trimester miscarriage
Some women experience miscarriages in the first trimester. As devastating as this can be, coping with miscarriage is still not talked about enough.
Please remember that if you experienced a miscarriage, you are not alone. Many people, myself included, have gone through this more times than we like to admit.
First Trimester & First OBGYN appointment
The first trimester will be a lot of firsts, including your first pregnancy appointment with your OBGYN. Depending on your circumstances, they might want to see you around 8-10 weeks pregnant.
Appointments always seem to be scarce in the beginning so I always recommend that after your positive pregnancy test, you should make an appointment right away.
One of the great things about this first appointment is that they will typically do a transvaginal ultrasound, so you can see baby! It’s awkward, but awesome to see your baby for the first time.
Your doctor will also go over some things to avoid during pregnancy, and discuss any risk factors that may put you into a high risk pregnancy.
Then, you will get an appointment in usually another month, depending on your circumstances, and then some blood work.
First Trimester Concerns
Pregnancy is an exciting time, but sometimes there is cause for concern.
If you experience any of the following, call your OBGYN and discuss it with them:
- bleeding
- excess vomiting (20-30 times a day)
- can’t hold water down
- can’t hold any food down
It’s important to always be on the safe side, so don’t feel like you are bothering your doctor. It’s their job!
Things to do in the First Trimester
The first trimester is probably one of the least favorite among pregnant women, but it won’t last! Here are a few things you should do in the first trimester to make the most of it:
- Grab some awesome pregnancy freebies for you and your baby
- Start brainstorming names for boys and girls
- Start taking weekly pregnancy photos (optional)
- Decide on when to tell all your family
- Take your prenatal vitamin at night if you can’t keep it down.
- Start purchasing some maternity clothes, that bump is coming!
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Thanks for stopping by! If you enjoyed reading, please remember to pin this to your pregnancy board. Happy pregnancy!!
