My First Trimester!
Thank you all so much for the loving and kind words when I announced my pregnancy! This has been such an amazing journey and there were so many things I was not prepared for. This blog post is pretty personal of what I experienced in my 1st trimester. Hope you enjoy!
The First Signs-
I had normal cramping and light spotting. It was all totally normal for my cycle so I thought nothing of it. I later found out it was implantation cramping which is when the embryo attaches or implants to your uterus. It often times mimics a light period <who knew>. I was walking to Body & Pole, where I teach class and walked past a garbage can. It was the worst smell I had ever smelled. A combination of dead fish and an old Tupperware container. I looked around because everyone around me was fine! I wanted to scream “ Does anyone smell this?!” I remember I distinctly paused and said “wait a second, Oh $h!t”. I ran across the street to CVS, got a test and ran to the bathroom at Body & Pole….and, well, you know how the rest goes!
Morning Sickness-
Geez Oh Man. The term morning sickness should be burned at the stake. I wish it was that simple and I only felt nauseous in the morning. At 6 weeks it hit me like a ton of bricks. From 4pm-Midnight, I was home in fetal position on the verge of throwing up. I don't know exactly what I would have thrown up because I had no appetite. My sense of smell was heightened and everything smelled awful. Living in NYC there are a lot of smells. Garbage, people, the train, food trucks. I was in smell hell and could not stop gagging. The thought of any meat made me want to hurl. Thankfully I never threw up but I definitely got an ab workout from all the gagging.
Cravings-
I have always had a sweet tooth but it quickly shifted to a sour tooth. I wanted all things sour. Sour Patch Kids, Sour Popsicles, Sour gummi bears, Pickles (yes I know, how cliche), French Fries drenched in Vinegar and my favorite, Kimchi aka Fermented cabbage! I would eat it straight from the jar, usually around 2am. Thankfully this shifted by my second trimester to only wanting to eat green apples, mangoes and salads.
Fatigue-
Pretending to not be pregnant when you are pregnant is the pits. I needed a 2 hour nap if I made my bed and took a shower. I had to remind myself time and time again that I was making an entire human. Head, shoulders, knees, toes, eyes, ears, mouth and nose. I took as many naps as I needed. Sleep was the one thing that helped my morning sickness so I slept a lot and I am glad I did. I continued to teach pole classes, perform, and do privates. I still don't know how I pulled it off but somehow I did it.
Most annoying symptom-
I am about to get real personal here. Y’all, the constipation was real. I dont have the words to articulate how much pain I was in. Many days I thought to myself “how do women do this!?!” I was mostly mad because NO ONE told me this was a pregnancy symptom for some women! Lots of tears. Lots of straining. Lots of Preparation H. Metamucil and Miralx were my besties. I tried to drink Prune Juice and that did not go over well. I think it is still in the back of my fridge somewhere! Even with taking the slow release iron in my prenatal vitamins it was still the most annoying thing I faced. Thankfully I am back to normal now!
Physical changes-
The bloat. Man The bloat. I felt like I was pregnant with triplets because my stomach was so bloated. I could drink water and get bloated. I could laugh, and I was bloated. Just a part of the process. Can we talk about my nipples? Holy Moly those things had a mind of their own and wanted the world to see them. My boobs were enormous and hurt if you just looked at them. Due to all of the hormones my armpits got darker. The line down my belly called the Linea Nigra (also due to hormones) started to slowly show up. I had major headaches. When you are pregnant you have an increased blood volume to provide blood to the baby which also means extra blood everywhere, including your head. I had my first nose bleed ever which is also just another common symptom in the 1st trimester. My mind was blown when I went in for my 12 week check up and had lost 4 pounds. How was this possible? Turns out It is pretty normal to lose weight in the 1st trimester because you don't have an appetite. My doctor wasn't concerned because the little peanut was growing perfectly.
Work Outs and Pole-
My job is very strenuous. Being a pole dancer and instructor for over 10 years, I am used to my body doing the unthinkable! I taught pole until I was 23 weeks and would have kept teaching if it weren't for Covid19. I continued my early morning workouts at Barry’s Bootcamp until 15 weeks. Then came the lightheadedness! I started getting lightheaded around 14 weeks when I would teach class. My body temperature would rise to quickly causing me to almost pass out. I finally got to the point of teaching from a chair with an ice pack on my forehead. Hello 90 year old ballet teacher in her chair with the cane! I am so grateful my students were so patient with me. Soon after I started using assistants (thanks Michelle, Ro, and Ashley) to do all of the inverting and harder moves. My abs lost the battle of being able to lift me upside down and my grip strength started to dwindle and get weaker. I pole danced on Saturday Night Live with Lizzo when I was 12 weeks pregnant. We had 8 hour rehearsal days and it was not easy. I remember right before hitting the stage, my morning sickness hit me and I had a serious come to Jesus moment. I said “Please God just get me through this and don’t let me vomit all over the stage on national television!” I still can't believe I pulled it off! Not to mention it was one of the best experiences ever!
Emotions and Hormones-
Excited, nervous, sad, happy, freaked out and everything in between. The 1st trimester is scary. You just want everything to be “OK”. The highest rate of miscarriage is during those first few weeks. I finally told myself to get off google because I was worrying about something I had no control over. I cried at Whole Foods one day because they ran out of dried mangoes. The man working there at the time probably thought I was nuts because I just Boo Hoo’d when he said the truck was delivering more food in about 3 hours. I walked away with tears running down my face and so defeated. Looking back now I laugh at myself!
Our first sonogram was November 27th. Seeing that little bitty bean was so surreal. I remember a feeling of shock. I was growing a human. The best part of my first trimester was when we heard the heartbeat for the first time a few weeks later. It was so fast and so so sweet. Now that I am past the morning sickness and headaches, and well into my third trimester with a whole different set of aches and pains, I can say I love being pregnant. I have never felt more beautiful and happy. Of course we are both freaked out about being parents but just taking it one day at a time.
If any moms have words of advice or good books, please share!