If you’ve just found out you’re pregnant – congratulations!
These first 12 weeks are so special and so nerve-wracking. Some consider this trimester the trickiest, which is why I am here to help you. I had a couple of friends who were pregnant around the same time as me I appreciated the advice.
Forget The 12-week Rule.
The first piece of advice I can give you? forget the ’12 week safe zone’. If you feel comfortable telling family and friends the baby news early can be so helpful and reassuring. The first trimester is tricky; you’re pregnant, you feel ill, but you don’t look pregnant, and nobody knows about it. The majority of women in my family have suffered from loss. For me personally, I would rather have that support.
If the unthinkable happened, the people I would have to seek support from would be my family. So, for me, it makes sense to let your closest loved ones know. Then you can speak about your fears and let them support you. They will understand if you’re feeling too nauseous to be sociable. They can also give a helping hand if you have any questions or worries.
Take Vitamins
I know it’s not the most exciting thing to do. It can easily be forgotten (especially when you’re feeling or being sick). Still, NHS recommend you take folic acid as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. If you can, I would totally recommend Wild Nutrition. I take their Pregnancy + New Mother vitamin. Which has your folic acid combined with other supplements to help with:
- Infant eye development
- Infant brain development
- Maternal vision support
- Maternal brain support
- Maternal heart support
I found buying this medicine organiser really helped me to remember to take them. Sometimes I couldn’t remember if I had taken them that day or not, so this helps massively!
Get Enough Rest
Feeling like crap? Do absolutely nothing!
Your first trimester can take it out of you, your body is doing the most. If you’re suffering with morning sickness it can make you even more exhausted. People have different opinions on this, but we told our immediate family as soon as we found out. So you can rally your troops to help you when you’re not feeling so great.
Book a Private Scan
This is easier said than done. It depends entirely on your budget. Family and friends are so eager to buy baby clothes. A lot of people don’t like gifts too early. However, you could always ask them to put some money together for a private scan. This helped me a lot with my health anxiety. I couldn’t cope with waiting 12 weeks for my first scan. It’s actually crazy to think we have to wait that long.
Eat and Drink Well
Hydration is super, super crucial. Regardless of the trimester, eating well is hard when you’re nauseous but eat fibre if you can. Crackers and ginger biscuits were my go to snacks. I also had lots of crisps not the healthiest diet, but we do what we can. Just remember to avoid unpasteurised foods, raw or uncooked meats, deli meat, and pates.
Those are a few of the things I advise to newly pregnant mamas! They really helped me. Sometimes, it comes down to laying in bed all day with a sick bucket and some crackers. This pregnancy stuff is tough on us, but we are so capable; you will get through this!
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for daily thoughts on stories. If you want to see our gender reveal, you can see that here.
♡