Being pregnant again is the real meaning of your body bouncing back… like woah
Um hello bump, I see you. I swear this is the real meaning when people say your body bounces back. No it’s not after baby, it's when there is a new baby growing in the picture. My body just knew what to do. Between 8 and 9 weeks I woke up one morning and suddenly that bump arrived, I could no longer suck in my stomach and there was no hiding it. My first pregnancy I started clearly showing with that pronounced little round bump around 18 weeks, this time that bump really popped at 14 weeks.
Just like I did with Caden's pregnancy, I’m recapping my experience with this pregnancy, hoping it helps you better prepare for pregnancy or normalize your own experience. So here we go…
A second time mom’s first trimester recap
Constant lower abdominal pressure
Almost immediately (legit 4 weeks pregnant) I had this pressure in my lower stomach. I didn’t have this previously with Caden, so it was a foreign feeling. It’s like my body just knew it was ready to kick into pregnancy gear. It felt like a balloon was being blown up inside of me. Curious if other second (or third or fourth) time mamas also had this feeling?
Only two states: Nauseated or Ravenous
Week 6, day 2 the nausea kicked in full force. As soon as I woke up I had to eat something to make myself feel better. This lasted throughout the day until early evening. If I wasn’t experiencing a wave of nausea, I was ravenous and needed to stuff my face. Unlike with Caden where all I wanted was carbs, this time I wanted fatty proteins: cheese, avocado, eggs, smoked salmon.
No aversions, but yes to all the olives
I didn’t have any obvious aversions like my pregnancy with Caden, but I did have a massive craving for salt, and specifically olives. One trip to Trader Joes I walked out with marinated olives, blue cheese olives, and feta stuffed fried olives. I couldn’t help myself. I literally had a 10 minute conversation with another pregnant friend talking about all the olive products we had bought…
Anxiety
Like my last pregnancy, and like many others who have suffered from miscarriages, the overwhelming feeling of anxiety daily definitely took over me. I honestly tried to forget I was pregnant until I reached the next “milestone” – the 7 week appointment, the 9 week appointment, the 12 week appointment. Thankfully my OB was very understanding and let me come in for extra ultrasounds to calm my nerves. I sat on the gender results for a couple of weeks because I was too hesitant that something terrible would happen and I knew once I knew the gender this pregnancy would feel really real, and there would be no more “trying to ignore it.”
The same, same: Tiredness, Bloating & Constantly Peeing
These 3 typical pregnancy symptoms still persisted in my first trimester. Luckily working from home this time around made them MUCH more manageable. Seriously don’t know how I did it the first time.
How I dealt with these unpleasant symptoms
Here are a few tips that worked for me:
- Never let your stomach get empty, and eat something with protein as soon as you are awake in the morning. You may even want to have a box of cheerios by your bed for middle of the night wake-ups.
- Have this ginger tea and these ginger chews on hand at all times. *FYI the Gin Gin brand is much harder to chew than this brand.
- Ask your partner to pitch in extra so you can sneak in a nap. You'll feel like a whole new person.
- Buy Lululemon Align pants in your normal size (I size up late in my second trimester), just live in them to deal with all the bloating.
- For the times when yoga pants aren't an option, buy a Bellaband to extend the life of your jeans.
- I know it's hard, but movement helps. Try to squeeze in at least 20 minutes of exercise a day. Walking, yoga, pilates, even stretching counts. I used the MNT Online app multiple times a week full of pilates and barre classes at home to motivate me. The workouts were just the right amount of challenging for the days when I wasn't feeling my best. Get 25% off your first two months of a monthly subscription in addition to a 7 day free trial with code NMM25. Try it here.
For you first time mamas
I highly recommend you read Expecting Better in your first trimester. There are SO MANY opinions about what you can and cannot do as a pregnant woman and I found this book which analyzes all the data to be very helpful to make my own informed decisions.
And if you're like me, and list building calms your anxiety, start thinking about your registry! Check out my Ultimate Baby Registry Checklist to get started.
Are you further along with your pregnancy? Take a look at my full three trimester recap from my pregnancy with Caden to see how your symptoms compare to mine and others: Hello Pregnancy, How your body changes each trimester.
P.S. Like my pregnancy milestone temporary tattoos?
I got them on Etsy. Here is the link. Remember, despite how awful you may feel, take those pictures!!
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