I’m still in shock that Ronson and I are expecting our first baby! We’ve been keeping this news all to ourselves when we found out at 7 weeks. It was SO difficult keeping this a secret. We ended up telling our family after my first doctor’s visit then waited to tell our friends right after my first trimester (12 weeks). It was so exciting being able to share the news with you! The first trimester felt like it was going by so slow. I remember I looked at my stomach to look for any signs of growth and now that I’m in my second trimester (and showing), time is flying by.
How We Found Out
I had no idea (not even a hunch) that I was pregnant. I missed my period but I didn’t think much about it because irregular periods are normal for me. Plus, I started a new job then and it was quite stressful getting ramped up during shelter-in-place and adjusting to a new schedule. I know I’m more likely to miss my period when I’m undergoing a lot of stress.
On June 18th, I was doing my morning cardio when I started feeling nauseous and dry heaving. Ronson heard from the other room and said, “That’s not normal”” and left instantly to buy a pregnancy test haha. I didn’t think much about the possibility of being pregnant until that moment. I mean…I did miss my period and my boobs were so big and tender. I honestly thought the boobs were a sign that my period would be coming any day now. But the dry heaving and throwing up symptoms? Definitely not normal. So while Ronson was getting that pregnancy test, I asked myself “Omg am I really pregnant?!”
Ronson and I always talked about having kids and agreed to start trying the second half of 2020. We were completely surprised to find out I was pregnant because we didn’t think it would happen so quickly. We’re extremely grateful and blessed for our little miracle. When I saw that positive pregnancy test, the first emotion I felt was fear. I felt afraid because we got pregnant sooner than we planned and I started thinking, “Omg how are we going to get ready for this baby?” As the news settled in, I became more and more excited for Baby Lee and our growing family. I think feeling afraid is totally natural, especially for a new mom like myself. I still feel scared especially with Covid and the current political landscape. But I’ve been telling myself to focus on things that are in my control like taking care of my health (mental and physical) to ensure baby is healthy and happy.
My First Trimester
Symptoms: morning sickness, throwing up, increased appetite, peeing all the time, unusually tired, tender and huge boobs
Cravings: carbs, fruit, tomato anything especially marinara sauce and more carbs 🙂
Aversions: salmon, walnuts
I can’t complain about my first trimester at all. I thought if I was ever pregnant, I’d be next to a toilet and throwing up all the time like in the movies. I did have some morning sickness, but it was definitely bearable. The nausea was prevalent in the mornings and lasted for 3-4 weeks? I was still able to function normally on a daily basis and enjoy food. I noticed I was more likely to feel nauseous and throw up when I was working out in the morning on an empty stomach, or taking large gulps of water at a time. Before pregnancy, I would work out first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I definitely had to eat a small snack like crackers or a banana to prevent nausea. I tried drinking ginger tea to prevent feeling nauseous but my nausea was manageable so I think it was more soothing self-care practice than fighting the nausea, hah.
I felt really tired in my first trimester. I remember during the afternoon, I felt so sleepy and it’d be hard to focus and stay awake during Zoom meetings haha. Before I found out I was pregnant, I remember feeling like I had no energy or motivation to work out. I was giving myself a hard time and was wondering why I didn’t have energy. Was I getting sick? It took a lot of will power and many internal conversations with myself to get my body moving. With shelter-in-place I really wanted to dedicate at least 30 mins of movement. Some days I was feeling it, some days I was not feeling it. It all made sense when I found out I was pregnant.
The bloat is real and it doesn’t go away. When I look back at photos from my first trimester, I thought I was huge at that time. Now that I’m in my 2nd trimester…I definitely didn’t look as bloated as I felt at that time. I’m still adjusting to the body changes and appreciating this new journey. This journey has reminded me to practice patience and kindness to myself. My body is changing and growing every day to provide my baby a home so I’m learning to appreciate and accept the new curves (and fluff) that comes with it. It’s so surreal to see how a woman’s body develops in order to create life. It’s truly amazing and very grateful for this experience.
Skincare – I’ve been focusing more on hydrating and nourishing my skin, especially my body since my belly is growing. I’ve been trying out different belly lotions, body lotions/butters and oils. I do plan on sharing this in a separate blog post so stay tuned. 🙂 Aside from hydrating, I am also focusing on the usual…cleansing with a double cleanse, protecting with SPF every day (even if I am indoors all day), exfoliating 2-3x a week and incorporating lots of antioxidants. I asked my doctor if there’s anything I should stay away from and she only mentioned retinol. I wasn’t using any retinol so I didn’t have to change anything in my routine.
Working out – I am still working out! When I first found out I was pregnant, I was hesitant and worried if I would hurt the baby. I dunno why but I thought any heavy lifting or sudden physical movement could disturb the baby hah. My doctor said it’s totally fine to continue working out (deadlifts, squats, etc.) as long as I felt okay so that was definitely reassuring. Some days it’s hard to work out and some days I make it happen. I aim to get at least 30-50 mins of working out + 30 mins of cardio. It’s one way I practice self care and think it’s really important now, especially with shelter-in-place.
Oh! I also started seeing a chiropractor regularly in my first trimester. I noticed I was holding a lot of tension in my shoulders, traps and neck. Then my lower and middle back started to ache in the middle of the day. The aches became so annoying that I would get very fidget-y during the day. I’m so glad I prioritized this and sought out help because now my body feels so good. I don’t have any back pain anymore and I’m able to sit at my desk comfortably for the entire day. A part of my chiropractic care requires me to do my homework: stretching and foam rolling at home. I added stretching time blocks on my calendar so I would commit to this. I knew that doing my part was going to make sure I keep up my progress. So now I stretch in the morning/afternoon and before I go to bed. Here’s what my chiropractor recommended to me:
Foam Rolling 2x / day for 1 min each side
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front hips
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groin
Stretching 2-3x / day for 1 min each side
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front hip
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calf stretch
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y stretch
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t stretch
What’s Next?
As I’m writing this, I am 22 weeks and feeling pretty good at this stage in my pregnancy. I’ve been doing all the baby research and gathering my thoughts to get ready for Baby Lee. I’m learning to slow down and appreciate the time Ronson and I have as the two of us. Appreciating all the little moments like lazy Sundays and naps on the couch. Soon it’ll be 3 of us and know our lives will forever change with baby. It’s so exciting to be able to share this journey with you! I’m almost at the end of my 2nd trimester so a new blog post will be coming soon. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave me a comment or send me a message on Instagram!
Here for you (and I mean it).
-gina
