Congratulations, you are pregnant! It’s an exciting time for many, and it also comes with a lot of symptoms and side effects that no one really told you about.
Or, people told you, but you didn’t imagine it to be this bad.
Until you find yourself hanging over the toilet seat multiple times a day and eating nothing but ginger candy and toast, because everything else sounds awful.
If you’re currently in the first trimester, I promise that it gets better (or, you know, the symptoms will at least change for most women, so that terrible nausea you’re currently experiencing will eventually fade).
In this article, I will share what went in my own personal pregnancy survival kit, so that I can hopefully help you make your first trimester of pregnancy a little bit more comfortable.
The first few weeks
The very first few weeks – before I knew I was pregnant – were very challenging mentally. I remember feeling a heaviness that I had never felt before. I wrote about my experience with prenatal anxiety and depression here, because I don’t want anyone to think that they are alone in their experiences. There is help and support out there.
As for physical symptoms, here are the most rampant ones; including what helped made me feel a bit more comfortable.
Morning sickness aka all-day-sickness
I don’t know why they call it morning sickness, because I actually felt nauseous all day. It got worse at night. I felt hungry all the time, but also felt nauseous and nothing sounded good.
I would say my diet consisted mainly of bread, crackers and potatoes in all forms (mashed, boiled, fried, in chip-form, you name it). Don’t beat yourself up if the thought of eating a green vegetable sends you straight to the bathroom for a mini-vomit. Roll with it. The most important thing right now is that you do eat what your stomach can handle, so that you can supply your body with enough energy.
What helped with morning sickness
Crackers on my bedside table
Sometimes I would wake up at 4am and feel really nauseous and unable to go back to sleep. Munching on a few crackers would sometimes take the edge off and allow me to go back to sleep without having to get up first and feel dizzy.
I would also eat a few crackers first thing in the morning, before I got out of bed to help balance out my blood sugar and settle my stomach.
Saltine crackers were the most effective for me. The more plain, the better. These are the ones I had on my bedside table!
Ginger tea (or ginger candies)
My husband would come home from the grocery store with a full bag of ginger every week. He would boil tons and tons of ginger in hot water and I would drink it all day long. It was the only thing that would temporarily settle my stomach. Highly recommend!
Alternatively, you can suck on some ginger candy, like this one . These were especially helpful during car rides.
Prenatal vitamin + DHA supplement (fish oil)
I am unsure if the prenatal vitamin and DHA actually helped with my nausea, but it definitely helped keep my body more balanced – especially because all I was eating was bread and crackers. Another fun fact about taking DHA – it’s proven to help with baby’s eye- and brain development.
Diclectin (prescription, be aware of side effects)
It got so bad for me that I had to get a diclectin prescription from my doctor. At first, it was a godsend, because it helped settle my stomach and get me to sleep at night.
However, it does come with side effects that I didn’t look into at all.
A week into taking diclectin, I started getting terrible migraines and nothing seemed to help, until I eventually stopped taking it. The migraines went away after 3 days.
Make sure to ask your doctor about all possible side effects prior to taking it.
Gravol (the one with ginger)
This was my diclectin-replacement that helped me get some sleep at night.
Accupressure wristband
I didn’t personally try this wristband, but I heard that it was very helpful for some, so it’s worth trying it if nothing else seems to help!
This is the one that’s been recommended to me.
General discomfort – feeling bloated, puffy and sensitive around the belly-area
My body image definitely took a deep dive in the first trimester and a big part of it was that there was a lot of discomfort in my midsection whenever I would put on actual pants.
I felt bloated and puffy and that can definitely be a trigger for someone with a past of disordered eating.
What helped:
Wearing comfortable leggings was huge for me, although I will say that I wish I had purchased maternity leggings then, and not waited until the third trimester.
So, if you can, order yourself a couple of pairs.
These are a couple of my favorite maternity leggings:
These maternity leggings from Motherhood Maternity
You can also purchase belly bands, like the Maeband to help support your growing belly, while still wearing your favorite jeans.
Exhaustion
There is nothing much you can do about feeling tired all the time other than allowing yourself to rest. I promise, you will start feeling a little bit more alive as you are headed into your second trimester.
Allow yourself to rest and remember, once this baby is here, you might not be able to go for a nap when you feel like it. Make use of that now J
So, there you have it. I hope this helps make your first trimester a little bit more comfortable.
Here are all the products I mentioned in one spot for an easy ordering process
Here is everything that went into my second trimester survival kit!
