You may have noticed I’ve been a little different in my posting over the last few months. Well, that’s because, surprise surprise, we are pregnant! I’ve been dying to share all of this with you all!! We are so beyond excited and can’t wait to meet our little bebe!
Things have changed a lot in my world over the past few months. I thought that I was going to be awesome at pregnancy. I was going to be so active, eat so well–I was going to nail it. Well, things don’t always work out as planned. Pregnancy is hard AF yo. And it has taken a toll on me: mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Let me reiterate that we are absolutely thrilled. That first moment when we saw our baby on the ultrasound was absolutely incredible. Pregnancy really is an incredible experience so please don’t take any of this as complaining. I just want to be 100% real with you about my experience. I think that people make everything look so picture perfect in our social media driven world, and I feel a responsibility to share more of the gritty sides of life. Also, everyone’s pregnancy is different, what follows is my particular experience.
What have I been eating?
So yeah, the first trimester. Verrrrrry interesting. To sum it up in two points:
Nausea: luckily for me, no vomiting here, but definitely extreme nausea set off my food smells most of the time. Horrible.
Food aversions: pretty much every healthy food I rejected. Kale, spinach, squash (my one true love!), sweet potatoes, quinoa, EGGS(!), CHICKEN (omg still makes me wanna 🤢), all of these things have been on my 100% do not eat list.
All I’ve wanted is carbs (hello toaster waffles for breakfast) and cheese (but sometimes cheese is still not ok lol). Cravings: Frank’s hot sauce, pickles and pickle juice, bloody marys (virgin, obvi), citrus fruits, miso soup, sushi, and orange juice. Basically all of the acid.
Well, as I mentioned, I thought I was going to be one of those super healthy pregnancy people (obviously!). Well shocking myself, I have literally have eaten the opposite of my usual routine. I’ve eaten many boxes of Annie’s mac and cheese, pasta of all varieties, toast, peanut butter and jelly. The smell of food preparation of any kind has grossed me out, so I have really been absent from the kitchen. One day tortellini (bread and cheese which are typically in the clear!) sounded gross, so I had gelato for dinner. Yeah, health life fail.
However in weeks 12-14 I’ve really started to feel more like myself, and my tolerance for healthy foods has gone up! I’d even dare to say I’ve started to crave some healthy food! I’ve been eating lots of eggs, and a lot more veggies. Mediterranean and Asian foods have been the best. I have been loving nutrient-packed tabbouli, fresh hummus, and falafel. Miso soup, and California rolls have also really been hitting the spot. You may have seen I started drinking celery juice- I think it’s my body’s way of making up for lost greens. Since I’m feeling better, and subsequently, eating better- I will share my preggo eats with you as time goes on.
physical symptoms?
I have been extremely tired, and my brain hasn’t felt like it was working properly. I’ve been taking naps (and typically, I physically cannot nap).
Because of the sheer exhaustion, I haven’t been working out which I think has only made the fatigue worse. Over the past couple weeks I’ve been slowly adding in some low impact exercises at home and some light weight lifting. This week I even went to a yoga class (not even prenatal!)! I’m hoping to get back into a normal routine soon.
Miraculously, despite my eating and lack of movement, I have put on very little weight so far, about 3ish lbs (they recommend 0-5 lbs in the first trimester and a lb a week after). I also had been Shedding when I got pregnant, so I was on the lighter side for my normal to begin with (highly recommend this btw!).
Also, now I have acne. On my face and on my chest (y tho?!). They say that’s a sign that it’s going to be a girl- so we shall see!
It supposedly get’s better in the second trimester, and I’m already feeling a difference–let me tell you, I am ready for it!
Emotions?
Emotionally this has been the most extreme. I’ve felt very isolated (working from home is tough), and oddly depressed. Besides random bouts of crying, life has felt exceedingly hard. It’s like this experience has shook who I am down to my core. I guess it is probably a side effect of my self constructed identity changing into something new. Usually, I bring my own magic to day to day life, and I just couldn’t bring it. Besides that, I had a perpetual feeling of nervousness that something would go wrong in the pregnancy. AND all the while, I’ve also felt overwhelmed with excitement and joy for what’s to come. So to sum it up–it’s been a really weird time.
The good news is that the morning I woke up on my 12th week of pregnancy, I felt like myself again! I felt motivated, inspired, and excited for the future. I still have huge swings in emotion sometimes, but overall, I really I think I have my magic back. 😉✨
Now that we are “out,” I will share more with you guys about the experience. I am going to keep posting my healthy eats with #shedapproved versions- because let’s be real, eating for 2 and shedding for the wedding are two very different experiences. I will try not to overwhelm you with too much pregnancy content- but I want to know, what are you curious to learn more about? Let me know here or on any of my social channels. Yay! Thanks for coming along for the ride. -AHS