First Trimester Recap - Physical, Mental and Emotional
The first trimester of pregnancy spans the first twelve weeks. In my case, I think this would have been from about February 22nd to May 17th.
Before we dive in, I want to say that I am very blessed to have had such a positive fertility experience so far. I am so grateful that my body was able to get pregnant on the first try. I know this is not everyone’s situation and my heart goes out to those who are struggling to conceive.
I did another post about when we conceived, how I started to suspect I was pregnant, and when I found out. Read here.
Baby was conceived on March 8th and throughout the month of March I didn’t really experience any symptoms except for implantation cramps.
However, once I confirmed I was pregnant on April 1st, then I started to pay closer attention to how I was feeling (though it’s possible some symptoms were placebo but I’m trying to recall as factually as I can). Honestly, I even noticed Peaches behavior change. She always used to sleep at my feet and then she was constantly by my side.
Weeks 5 to 8 ish:
The first undeniable sign that my pregnancy was moving along were my breasts’ soreness and growth. I’ve always had pretty small boobs so it didn’t take a rocket scientist to visibly identify their size increase. At this point, I didn’t own any bras so when we were moped’ing around on endless bumpy roads, it was low key so painful haha.
The main thing I disliked is how sensitive I was… to the weather, sounds, tastes and certain scents. Tulum is hot and humid, so I was starting to get gradually more irritable with the heat. The temperature felt hotter than it used it and I was annoyed sweating all day long. I took 3-5 cold showers a day.
I was a little more tired than usual, but nothing super out of the norm. I went to bed 1-2 hours earlier than I did pre-pregnancy but never was so tired that I had to take a nap or couldn’t participate in my regular activities.
As for food aversions: the smell of meat cooking absolutely gagged me. If Clay was cooking it, we opened the windows and I’d go into my bedroom with the door shut. I haven’t even been a big meat eater (I was vegetarian for many years) so I didn’t mind not eating during this phase. However, coffee also smelled really bad, which was very surprising to me. I have been a daily coffee drinker for 10 years and this stopped me cold turkey. My favorite meal was avocado toast, and I drank a lot of ginger tea.
I had heard so many horror stories about “morning sickness” but I am so thankful I never experienced it. There were only two nausea occasions that stand out in memory. The first time, I was out running errands in the heat and when I got home in the afternoon, I had to lay down on my yoga mat with the AC fan blasting on me. Another time, I woke up in the middle of the night with diarrhea and dry-heaved a bit but it’s hard to know if this was pregnancy related because Tulum has a lot of issues with food sanitation.
Prior to getting pregnant, I had a very unpleasant experience with parasites so this was around the time when I started getting even more germophobic. I would make Clay and I wash our hands so many times a day and was really picky about which restaurants I was willing to eat at (only going to those that seemed to have proper cleaning standards). One time, I went to a cafe and before I even ordered, I saw the worker lick their fingers so I got up and left.
Weeks 9 to 11 ish:
I was feeling better physically but mentally, I was starting to second-guess our living situation. I had been in Tulum for almost a year at this point, and the rose-colored lens was wearing off. Pregnancy was beginning to literally rewire my brain to think differently about my circumstances.
I was getting more irritated with Tulum’s very hot weather (which I used to love), the lack of infrastructure (which I used to think was eco-chic), the lack of community (which I used to perceive as privacy and solitude), the proximity to extreme poverty (as it made me feel increasingly sad), and the frustrations that come with living in foreign country that speaks a different language.
Toward the end of April, Clay and I had plans to go to Merida for a change of scenery. The day before the trip, Clay got news that his grandma was sick so he flew back to Omaha to be with family. I already had a rental car and airbnb booked so I invited a friend to join instead. (Side note, in a photo that I posted from that trip, one of my friends texted me that my boobs looked bigger and asked if I was pregnant).
During the trip, her and I had deep conversations that helped me realize I was ready to leave Tulum. Right after the trip, I got the news from Clay that his grandma passed so I flew to Omaha for the funeral (May 5th).
We extended the Omaha trip a few more days to stay for my mom’s birthday (May 7th) and to share the news with our families about the baby. It was SO exciting and special to be able to tell them in person.
Weeks 11 to 13 ish:
When we got back to Tulum, we ran into a friend at a cafe and they literally said, “I can tell Tulum’s shine wore off, for you, by the look in your eye” and I hadn’t even mentioned anything about it. Immediately, Clay and I began discussing relocation ideas and started to make plans on where, when and how. This actually did so much for my mental and spiritual health because it gave me something to focus on and look forward to. You’d think this would be overwhelming while pregnant, but I swear the idea of being parents was like rocket fuel for us.
As I was so preoccupied with future moving plans, I really didn’t notice any symptoms. I still wasn’t eating meat or drinking coffee, but I felt fine physically. Pastries and iced matcha lattes won be over during this period.
We had the first ultrasound scheduled in Mexico City for May 19th. We debated skipping it, but the flights and airbnb were already paid for, and we were really eager to see baby on camera, hear their heartbeat and find out the gender. Funny enough, Clay was dealing with a parasite / food bug, so he was actually pretty sick. I love Mexico City so I did some solo exploring. Read about the ultrasound experience here.
I thought I was about 13 weeks + 1 day (based off my period), but the doctor said I was measuring 12 weeks + 3 days at the appointment.
