The 1st Trimester in Review

Last week, I finished the first trimester of my first pregnancy!

...and I found out I'm one of the lucky ones that don't get sick (at least not yet).

I feel basically fine.

I've been skiing twice, snow shoeing, yoga occasionally, and going to work as usual. I have definitely noticed that I am slower than before at all of those things, but I can still do them. I have not thrown up at all, I have not felt sick in the morning. I get tired earlier at night and don't get as much done when I come home from work.

The "baby" (embryo, amniotic sac, and placenta) are "the size of a large grapefruit" and fully enclosed within the bones of my pelvis. None of the "chub" you can see on my stomach is baby - just displaced intestines.

(now for the "over-share" part of the post:)

I've been eating more, pee-ing more, and poop-ing less (apparently everyone gets constipated in pregnancy from a combination of squished intestines, needing more water to support the increased volume of blood and rate of metabolism, and from too much iron in prenatal vitamins).

I felt the most ill back at Thanksgiving, when I was visiting my family. I was 1.5 months pregnant but we hadn't told anyone. I never threw up, but I was tired and felt motion sick in the car (which usually never happens to me). A few people remarked "You look terrible," but that's all :)

Some facts I've learned since being pregnant:

-In the first few months, your blood volume increases by half, so your blood pressure reduces. I'm one of these girls with bad circulation in her legs on a normal day, and this has worsened since being pregnant. My legs get swollen and puffy so I try to walk a lot and elevate my feet when I can.

-Some hormone makes your veins looser (or something) so if you stand up too fast, you might black out - this happened twice at Thanksgiving, but not since then.

-You really only need 200-300 more calories per day in pregnancy - I've been eating way more than that so I'm trying to make sure I exercise enough.

-Relaxin, a hormone, makes the ligaments in your pelvis more flexible. I've totally noticed this because I used to crack my lower back pretty often, but it won't crack now!

Now that I'm moving into the 2nd trimester, it's harder to overlook my belly. It often gets in the way when I sleep (I'm a stomach sleeper), and I get full faster because there is less room for my stomach and intestines.

Hopefully the next three months go smoothly; I'll let you know in April.