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, but I am here to help you with a few practical ways to get through the first trimester. I had a couple of friends who were pregnant around the same time as me, and these are the things I advised them when they came to me for advice that I appreciated.
Forget The 12-week Rule.
The first piece of advice I can give you is that if you feel comfortable, forget the ’12 week safe zone’ when telling family and friends the baby news. The first trimester is tricky; you’re pregnant, you feel ill, but you don’t look pregnant, and nobody knows about it.
I don’t know about you, but if the unthinkable happened, the people I would have to seek support from would be my family, which would mean I would be telling them I was pregnant anyway to be able to explain what had happened. So, for me, it makes sense to let your closest loved ones know, speak about your fears, and let them support you; they will understand if you’re feeling too nauseous to be sociable, and they can give a helping hand if you have any questions or concerns.
Take Vitamins
I know it’s not the most exciting thing to do, and 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, but if you can, I would totally recommend a multivitamin specifically for Pregnancy. The one I use is by Wild Nutrition. I take their Pregnancy + New Mother vitamin. Which have 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!
Don’t get me wrong, if you have the energy, please go for walks, etc.; take it easy but stay mobile, but so many of us feel like slobs if we spend the day doing nothing. Your first trimester can take it out of you; your body is doing a lot! If you can find or make time to rest, do it. If you’re feeling super nauseous, please don’t push yourself. Also, if you have other children and a full-time job, please don’t beat yourself up, but prioritise rest when you can. What you’re doing is amazing, so if you have spent your day on the sofa with some ginger biscuits, remind yourself you have grown your baby for another day!
Book a Private Scan
This is easier said than done, depending on your budget, but coming from someone who has health anxiety, booking an early scan really helped me. Whether your family can put some money together for you (family are so eager to buy baby clothes, but this can be a really reassuring pressie), Those first 12 weeks are so scary, especially if it’s your first time. You get left to your own devices until the 12-week scan; I hadn’t spoken to any midwives; I self-referred myself to a hospital, and then it’s a waiting game; a 6-week scan doesn’t mean you’re in the safe zone. Still, they can check that the baby is where it should be and check the heartbeat just to put your mind at ease because those 12 weeks are long.
Eat and Drink Well
Hydration is super, super crucial throughout your Pregnancy regardless of the trimester, and eating well is complicated with nausea to carry on, but eat fibre if you can. Crackers and ginger biscuits were my go to snacks and skips 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 and if you want to see our gender reveal you can see that here.
♡
