The First 12 Weeks

I think as far as the first trimester goes, mine was a pretty uneventful, almost ideal 3 months. One of the things I've found out very early on is that no two pregnancies are ever comparable. I'll run through my 'symptoms', 'side effects'... whatever you want to call them in a minute, but first I want to talk about googling them. 

Don't. 

But of course you will. You can't help it. I still do. Although I do it a lot less now. To start with I would honestly fritter away two hours a night googling symptoms and getting sucked into mum-to-be forums where people have already asked all of the questions I could possibly have (making me feel less alone) but where the responses generally descend into doom and gloom (making me panic and sucking me deeper into that googling black hole). 

In all honesty, googling did make me feel less alone and helped me to realise I am certainly not the first to be experiencing or wondering all of these things. But it did little to alleviate my worries, which of course was my reason for being there. As time has gone on (writing this I'm 16 and a half weeks) I realise I google less and rely more on my book or apps, more about those another time. That said, I did google '16 week midwife appointment' today and was met with a whole load of conflicting experiences. Like I said, nobody's experiences are ever going to be the same... 

Anyway, back to the original point of this post which was my first 12 weeks. I do feel really fortunate and have had an incredibly 'easy' time so far. Which only made me worry more and wish I was experiencing morning sickness, or other symptoms that might make me feel more pregnant. 

1. Tiredness. Extreme, all-consuming, mind and body draining exhaustion. People told me I wouldn't know tiredness like it; they were right. I've always been an early bird and haven't found getting up in the morning a struggle. But between 6pm-7.30pm most nights I was absolutely ready to go to bed. Normally a vivid dreamer and a restless sleeper, at night I am completely knocked out and, apart from waking to wee, sleep right through. A few times I've got home from work and just sat down, completely unable to function or move. It's like being drunk, not being able to hold my head up or walk straight. Thankfully, that was only a few times. 

2. Stretching pain. At between 6 and 7 weeks I experienced lots of stretching pains in my lower pelvis down to my groin. Now I'm sure they were just growing and stretching pains but at the time it was terrifying. When this was accompanied by quite a bit of blood at 7 weeks I did go to the doctor who referred me for an early scan which revealed everything was fine. Since then, I haven't had this again but am fully expecting it to come back at any point. 

3. Food. My eating habits have changed hugely. The first thing I noticed was how hungry I was getting during the day. My cup'a'soup lunch did nothing to satisfy me and I soon had to change to a pasta meal at lunch to get me through the day. Getting home at 5ish I then had to eat something else before my tea. This has eased off now at 16 weeks, but I definitely need 3 square meals (and a mid-morning snack) a day to keep me going. Sweet things don't interest me at all any more- another reason I think this baby is a boy. Drinking is a whole other issue to address as I know I don't drink as much as I need to be. 

4. Dying my hair. I use a home box dye normally every 6-8 weeks but I refused to use one until our 12 week scan. I'm sure you can imagine the state of me... Evidence and research suggests it is ok to use one, recommending a well-ventilated room and only leaving it on for the shortest amount of time, but I was just set on not doing it until we'd had that scan.

5. Clothes. Most of my clothes still fit in the first trimester really well. My jeans were the first things I noticed felt tight and, while they did fit, I didn't like having anything constricting or digging into my tummy. For now, the only maternity things I have bought are a dress for a wedding and a summer dress for holiday. 

6. Gym. Before pregnancy, I was swimming or gym-ing 3 times a week. Before I found out officially, I had stopped going. Mostly due to tiredness and not having the energy to shower let alone work out, but also due to worry about swimming before that 12 week scan. For me that really was a milestone mark, but again swimming and gentle exercise is something that is encouraged throughout. 

7. Morning sickness. My nemesis. Because I didn't actually have any and at the start was convinced I needed it for this to feel real. In the beginning, I only felt sick when I was hungry. Towards the end of the first trimester smells when opening the fridge or bin would make me heave and retch, but I was never sick and never felt like I could be without smelling something first. 

8. 'The Glow'. I have always been really fortunate to have clear skin and I did go through a bit of a 'rough' patch- quite literally- at the start. My face and body became dry and itchy and I noticed spots on my face on my cheeks- somewhere I've never had them before. Thankfully this eased off quite early on but I don't think I ever hit that 'glow' people talk about. 

9. Stretchmarks. I read a lot about stretchmarks and the lotions and potions before buying any. I already had a few growing marks on my hips and legs anyway which just seem to have grown a little bit. I am moisturising more frequently, but I have resigned myself to the fact they're going to be inevitable in my case. 

10. The other half. S was (and still is) incredible. Especially in the first few weeks when I was simply too tired to cook or clean, or couldn't face handling meat or washing up or bleaching the toilets, S took on everything. I can't praise him enough for night after night of cooking, washing, cleaning, tidying, organising and looking after our cat- all without moaning. I honestly don't know what I would do without him.