Hacks for Your First Trimester: How to Manage Your Symptoms and Feel Better
You know how they say your mind sometimes forgets labor once you have your baby in your arms? I feel like my mind did something similar about my first trimester. I truly forgot how rough it can be (granted, I do have a toddler this time which definitely complicates things) but I think I just honestly forgot once I had gotten through it the first time 🤷🏻♀️
Well, now that I am thankfully on the other side of it once again, I thought I would share some of my favorite strategies to feeling as best as you can despite some of the… less than fun… side effects of that first trimester of pregnancy.
Tips for First Trimester Nausea
Let’s just start with the big one. I was so nauseated at the start of this pregnancy. Thankfully I only dealt with vomiting a few days during my first trimester, but the nausea was near-constant.
The first thing that helped me by far the most was eating small, frequent meals. I noticed most often that when I started feeling nauseated, it had been a few hours or more since the last time I ate. To make sure I avoided this as much as possible, I packed snacks whenever i’d leave the house like yogurt, chomp meat sticks, rx bars, and fresh fruit.
Sometimes that wasn’t quite enough though and these Pink Stork Morning Sickness Sweets were so helpful. I found them online and thought I would give them a try since the ingredients were all natural and organic without any weird sugars or additives. They were perfect for a quick little fix when I was starting to feel sick and they were great to bring with me in my bag to work!
Also staying hydrated really seemed to help! Sometimes plain water just didn’t quite do it for me though. These were some of my favorite healthy ways to flavor my water:
Drink LMNT- I drank these mineral support drinks before I was pregnant and feel comfortable continuing to have them during pregnancy. Check with your provider though if you are not sure!
fresh fruit and herbs! One of my favorites is a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice and mint leaves! So good and refreshing.
Tea, tea, and more tea! Hot peppermint tea was especially one that helped with my nausea (i love the band traditional medicinals and will stock up when it is on sale!)
How to Boost Your Nutrition During the First Trimester
With the nausea, I found myself eating whatever I could stomach. I tried to be mindful of fitting in extra nutrients wherever I could since I know my body needed them, and I wasn’t eating like normal.
I always have really loved scrambled eggs in the morning, and my first trimester was no exception. I would typically make a few scrambled pastured eggs with cheese and fresh fruit, and add a sprinkle of nutritional yeast on the top. Nutritional yeast is a great source of natural b vitamins which is a nutrient shown to help reduce rates of nausea in pregnancy!
(if you are interested in more ways I sneak extra nutrients into meals, check out this post: 6 Easy Additions to Your Meals for Increased Nutrients)
Another way I focused on my nutrient intake was with high-quality prenatal vitamins…
The first I took was Garden of Life Raw Prenatal which is a whole food multivitamin made of high-quality organic food sources. This means your prenatal is made up of actual fruits, vegetables, and whole foods to comprise the nutrient profile. This is the prenatal I took my entire first pregnancy with my daughter and I could always tell a difference in my energy level if I forgot to take it.
I truly love this prenatal and didn’t think I would ever look for something else, but when my nausea was bad I found myself struggling with swallowing the capsules. I found Mary Ruth’s liquid prenatal and ordered a bottle to try and bridge the gap to when I could get back to my normal prenatal and it did the trick. I didn’t love the taste but I really liked that similar to the Garden of Life prenatal, it is made of high-quality, organic ingredients.
Combatting First Trimester Fatigue
I remembered feeling tired with my first pregnancy, and thankfully getting to nap pretty frequently when needed. Throw a toddler into the mix and things change a little bit… Thankfully my daughter still has a 1-2 hour nap every afternoon when I could lay down and rest as well, but we also had a lot more lazy days at home watching Netflix than we normally do.
I typically found that my energy was best first thing in the morning or right before dinner time, so these were times I tried to make sure we were getting outside and taking a walk or going to the park. Just getting some fresh air and movement helped me to feel more energized the remainder of the day and give me a bit of a second wind.
Aversions + Cravings
Just like my first pregnancy, this time around I cannot stand coffee- even the smell of it has been making me sick to my stomach. And if you know me at all, you know i love my morning coffee (and sometimes an afternoon one as well). But currently, I want absolutely nothing to do with it.
I haven’t given up caffeine completely though. I have really been enjoying a hot matcha latte that I have been making at home and I love that it give me some added nutrients throughout the day. Here’s how I have been making it:
Hot Organic Matcha Latte Recipe
1-2 cups warmed organic milk
1 Tablespoon organic matcha powder (I have been purchasing mine from thrive market and really love the flavor and quality!)
1 scoop collagen powder (again, thrive market)
1 teaspoon pearl powder (I got this from Forever Healthy Hair LLC)
a bit of maple syrup (most of the time I don’t add any, but sometimes it’s nice having something a little bit sweeter)
1 teaspoon organic vanilla
Use a handheld frother to mix it alllll up and get a nice foamy top, and enjoy!
Other than coffee, I really haven’t had any serious aversions. I’ve found that I know really quickly whether something sounds good or not. Normally when I’m not pregnant, i’m really flexible with what we eat, but while pregnant I know for sure whether I want something or not!
First Trimester Digestion Problems
Heart burn.
My first pregnancy it didn’t seem to pop up until I was 5ish months pregnant. Nope. Not this time. I think I was 6 weeks pregnant this time when I started getting heart burn 😅
Unfortunately, I have yet to find the cure-all for this one! But there are a couple things that have helped.
First, drinking a big glass of water or milk has helped. Also, ginger! I bought a bag of dehydrated ginger chews from costco (try and find one without any added sugar!) and will snack on a couple when I feel my heartburn getting bad and it seems to help minimize it.
Again, neither of those have been a perfect fix but they have helped to make it a whole lot more tolerable!
Support Your Mental Health During the First Trimester
I don’t know about you, but my mental health takes a bit of a hit during those first few months of pregnancy. There is so much change happening within your body, but oftentimes, few people around you know.
Your more tired than normal and maybe not feeling the best.
Plus, there can be some anxiety around something going wrong with your pregnancy— for most moms I know, getting through that first trimester really helps ease your mind.
So how can you support your mental health through all that?
Journaling was a huge help for me. I also spent a lot of time talking with my trusted people who knew about the pregnancy. Getting to verbalize my feelings and receive helpful advice and encouragement was so sweet.
Ever since I hit about 13-14 weeks I have been feeling so much better! Your body truly is doing such a miraculous thing and so much is happening- it’s no wonder you don’t feel yourself.
Remember to give yourself lots of grace and rest and get support from those around you.
You got this mama.
-Kaelyn
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