Pregnancy Journal: First Trimester (Week 1-13)

If you read my latest post, Decade in Review, you might know that Will and I have a baby on the way for 2020!  I wanted to document this entire journey and share with you my experience throughout the trimesters, starting with the first one.

Low in Energy

I still remembered the feeling when I first found out my pregnancy blood test result was positive. It was a mix of feeling skeptical, surprised, relieved and joy. I couldn't believe we were finally expecting our newborn after months of trying. The thought of being pregnant didn't hit me until I started feeling extremely tired. I would be doing absolutely nothing the entire day but would still feel like I had no energy and just wanted to nap. I was also expecting to experience some morning sickness or nausea. But I actually didn't experience any (so lucky!). This was probably why the pregnancy felt surreal to me. And in the back of my head, I was afraid the joy would be short-lived. So I had been extra cautious for the first 3 months and declined invites to activities like skating, snowboarding and lazy tubing. I didn't want to take any risks.

Lost in Appetite

I did, however, lost my appetite. As you know, I had always been a food lover. But I noticed during this time, I had lost interest in eating. I turned away from the food that I used to like. As a result, I actually lost some weight.

Cautious of Food

Speaking of food, I had to be extra careful with my diet. I cut down the bad food items that were not recommended by doctors. And these included all the soft or unpasteurized cheese, honey and milk, deli meat, salad, raw meat, runny egg yolks and sushi! It was a lot harder than I thought. I had to google every time before I put food in my mouth. On top of that, in my culture, I was told to avoid certain fruits and shellfish. They believed that eating shellfish would cause the baby to have allergies. And fruits like papaya, banana and watermelon would cause miscarriage or early birth. So that limited me on what I could eat. I also started to take more vitamins and supplements after each meal. But with what they called a "baby brain", I sometimes forgot if I even took them.

Cautious of Chemicals

I started replacing my regular skincare and beauty products to products with natural ingredients, just to avoid chemicals and fragrance that might harm the baby. At one point, I even wanted to swap out my shampoo to something that is meant for pregnant women. But I had been told that was a bit extreme. There were two things that I missed doing: getting my nails done and dying my hair :(

Dewy Skin

Even though I might not get to doll up like how I used to, I noticed my skin got more glowy, dewy and soft. The hormones or estrogen might have been a contributor to this which I won't complain about.

My First Ultrasound

I had my first ultrasound when I almost hit 6 weeks. They showed me an image of a marble-looking shadow inside my belly. I didn't know what it was. A gestational sac? I had no clue what that even means. It sure didn't look like a baby to me.

At my second ultrasound which was about 8 weeks, the sac had gotten bigger. By my 12-week scan in which Will was able to join me, the baby was all formed! We could see the profile of the baby very clearly. Everything seemed more real at this point. Will even told me he got a bit emotional when he saw the image of our baby for the first time.

As soon as my doctor said everything looked fine and normal, I started thinking about travelling. I needed to travel one more time before the baby arrives!

My parents completely opposed that idea though. They thought I should take more rest because this was my first pregnancy and I should be very careful. But I was a rebel. I'd prefer travelling now than after the baby is born. Besides, my tiredness had gotten a lot better towards the end of my first trimester. It convinced me that I would be physically capable to go on a trip with Will together one last time, just the two of us.

Now that I finished writing this post, I felt very grateful that everything was so smooth and easy for me during my first trimester. I couldn't imagine how it would be like to suffer from morning sickness and nausea throughout the first few months.

What was your first trimester like? Would love to hear your experience.

Check out my other pregnancy posts!

How to Look Stylish During Pregnancy

Ways We Saved Money on Baby Stuff
Pregnancy Journal: Third Trimester (Week 28-36)

Pregnancy Journal: Second Trimester (Week 14-27)