When I got pregnant, it was a kind of surprise. My husband and I were talking about starting and planning, but neither of us expected that the “first shot” would hit the target.
So, I did not do a whole Surprise dinner for my hubby or order a “Daddy to be” shirt. Simply, I screamed his name right after the word “pregnant” appeared on the display of the test.
Every woman who wants to get pregnant or just found out that she is having a child has a picture in her mind. Let’s picture this…we, with our “just belly” pregnancy belly (this is really a thing! And not a healthy one. Google it.) walking down the streets with perfect hair, perfect makeup, a cute pregnancy dress and high heels, and in our hand are shopping bags for our precious baby.
Can you see it?
Now the naked truth…The only time I really did that was when I was 8 weeks pregnant, but my makeup was not perfect because I had to stop in a food store to use the restroom to empty my stomach. Hell, after I found out I was pregnant the wonderful nausea begun for fully 8 weeks. 24/7, and it didn’t matter what I liked before or what I didn’t like. I just couldn’t stand anything. I ended up eating yogurt ice popsicles (a recipe I found on Pinterest). Many friends and even strangers were telling me how amazing and exciting it is to be pregnant, and here I was, puking and vomiting 24/7 for 8 LONG weeks. I even had to leave the house when my husband decided to cook taco meat, and I made him open every single window before I got back. Every simple smell made me nauseous and I was so annoyed at myself that almost forgot to be “excited” for my little wonder inside me.
To be honest, it is an amazing feeling when you just find out that you are pregnant, and you’ll most likely touch your (none existing) belly more often than you think. But just in the moment when you get comfortable with the thought of being pregnant and picturing the perfect pregnancy…bagaboooooom…the hormones go crazy in your body.
These hormones are doing really strange stuff with your body. They also control your emotional state. Especially when you try to distract yourself with watching TV, and a commercial of a certain clothes softener appears…and then hell, I was sobbing. Over a commercial!!!! Just because they used a cute…whatever, I will not go into softener advertising details here. Actually, it does not matter what you see on the TV. I promise you, YOU WILL cry. It is almost impossible to watch anything without some crocodile tears. I started a Disney marathon and I cried over Aladdin and Jasmine in the end.
Out of the blue, I started crying over everything. Commercials, a cute baby, even over some nice flowers, or…just because I wanted to cry. One night I looked at my hubby and I said: “every time I see you, I could cry”. I know, I know. It sounds awful, but it was true. I was so happy that I could cry every time I saw him.
During pregnancy, especially in the 1st trimester, women are sometimes having a certain glow. At least some people and “pregnancy experts” are saying that. I was, in this case, one of the lucky ones. My skin was cleaner than ever, my hair was growing like crazy and my eyes had this glow… according to my friends. Honestly?!? I could not see it at all. I saw the circles under my eyes (remember the 24/7 puking). My eyes were shiny because of my tears (remember the puking) and my hair was wild and bundled together on top… yes, because of the puking. I’m thanking the Egyptian who invented makeup and grateful to the makers of the App “Facetune”! Really check out the app! Even if you are not pregnant and look like a Zombie-mama, like me. It’s amazing what this App can do for you! (nope, I don’t get paid by them to promote their app. I just think it’s an amazing product with amazing outcome)
However, you don’t want to know about me. You want the naked truth about the First Trimester and how to get through it a little easier.
- You may end up with nausea and vomiting but maybe you are one of the lucky ones and don’t have either of these symptoms. In the case you do have nausea and vomiting, you have try some smoothies with ginger in the morning…it works wonder. Basically, throw Greek yogurt, some fruits, a bit of orange juice and ginger in a blender. You also can freeze it for a popsicle. On Pinterest you will find a bunch of recipes for that. I also bought the Pregnancy Pops from Amazon.com. I just threw them in my purse and always had them handy when a nausea wave hit me. Even if you don’t feel like eating anything, have some crackers or apples next to your bed in the morning and just take a bite. Trust me, it gets worse if you don’t eat anything at all. I’ve never eaten so many apples in my life as I did in my pregnancy, but they helped me to get moving in the mornings.
- You get emotional about everything. It might be a commercial or an advertisement or even a cute outfit. I cried over everything even over a dinner my husband prepared for me. This will not really pass during the pregnancy, and not even after birth, but remember you have a lot of hormones in your body and they make you feel sadder, happier, more excited. Try to enjoy it. Hey, you finally have an excuse to cry and have an outburst whenever you want. You can be as bitchy as you want because you are pregnant.
- Let’s talk about pee. Yes, you read correctly. Pee. It will follow you EVERYWHERE. You wouldn’t imagine how often you need to pee. Even if you do not drink a lot (which you should IF you know that you are pregnant). Before pregnancy I could hold it for a long time and I could feel it way before I really had to go to the bathroom, but when I was pregnant…jeeeeeez, if I had to go, I had to go directly, right away and very urgently. So, don’t plan on looong trips if there isn’t, at least every 30 min, a bathroom close by. If you are comfortable with peeing behind a car, go for it. It might be a good idea at this point to invest in some bladder leaking liners. I will explain that in my 2nd trimester article. Pregnancy is such a blast. LOL
- Out of the blue you will be exhausted. Even if you think you are doing nothing…but hey, YOU are working a miracle because you are building a human being in your tummy. Your body is working over-time, 24/7, and even if you do not feel the little baby yet, your body will tell you to stop and nap. Listen to your body!!!!!!!!!!! It knows what is best for you! I was working in a preschool when I was in my first trimester and after school I went grocery shopping. At the cashier I fell asleep while waiting for the nice lady ring me up. I also had light nasal congestion, so I woke up because of my own snoring. How embarrassing is that. If you can, take as many naps as possible. Believe me, you and your body need it.
- The craving myth about pickles and whipped cream I cannot confirm, but I made my hubby go to a donut place at six in the morning on a Sunday, and he had to get me French fries late at night from the Golden M, multiple times. This is the time to get naughty with food. As long as the damn nausea lets you. One piece of advise about food during pregnancy: If I would have listened to all those people who told me what to eat and what not to eat, I would have ended up with eating literally JUST water. So, I ate what was right FOR ME and what I THOUGHT was ok to eat. The only thing I did not eat was Sushi, medium or medium rare steak, and I had to cook my eggs through. Other than this, I ate everything from deli meat, salads, fruit, veggies and more. I even drank coffee (not more than 2 latte macchiatos per day). I’m a coffee addict and living without coffee is impossible with eleven three- to four-year-old munchkins at 8 in the morning.
- If you get pregnant in the summer…girl…wear a bikini, tummy free shirts (I think you guys call it croque top?) and freaking enjoy your body. Soon it will be over for a long time and you will feel like a whale in the sea. I know you cannot wait to see the belly growing – I was the same way – but today I know better. Wear all your favorites as long as you can. Go out with friends and just have fun. Believe me, it is hilarious if they drink and you are the DD. I had some of the best nights when I was the DD.
- Pregnancy announcements is a study in and of itself. For me, as a permanent resident here in States, this was new. In Germany we did not do such a thing but here I was. Thinking to announce something so personal but expected from so many people I even did not give a sh**. We ended up not sending cards. We sent via email and message our announcement, and on social media we used another picture.
- Have as much sex as possible if your sex drive isn’t down. Lady’s, I know this is personal but hey, I am from another country, so the American etiquette doesn’t count for me. I ended up with NO sex drives and I regretted it later (I still regret it though) in my pregnancy. This is the time to have sex like a normal couple before it’s get uncomfortable, weird and simply impossible for some positions for the next 8 months. Be naughty and enjoy the intimate togetherness. It will not be the same later on. Don’t get me wrong, it will not be bad, but it will be different. A lot different.
- If possible stay away from all the mommy forums for the 1st trimester. Unfortunately, I did not, and I read a lot about what can go wrong. My advice: STAY AWAY!!!! Don’t google miscarriage or symptoms of fill-in-the-blank…do yourself the favor and just DON’T do it. You will sleep better, trust me.
- And last, TRUST YOUR GUT AND INSTINCTS. As soon as you conceived and know that you are pregnant, your sixth sense will develop each day more and more. YOU know what is best for you. You know your body and your soul. So, go with it. Don’t let anybody tell you something different!!!!!! Take advise with a polite: “Thank you, I will consider it”, or “interesting, I will keep it in mind”. You will know what I mean when it comes to this point.
Just one more thing, every pregnancy is different. So, it might be that yours is or was totally different. I did not figure everything out and I certainly don’t know it all, but I think is worth it to share experiences, and the most important thing is to be honest and not sugar-coat anything.
Zombie-Mama Melli
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