How I Stayed Healthy During the First Trimester [While Feeling Like Crap]

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Woo!! Second baby Moorhead is currently cooking in the oven!

It’s a BOY! We are absolutely thrilled + excited.

But, what was nottttt exciting is how I felt 10X worse this time around during the first trimester.

With Grace, I was exhausted [like everyone gets], but only really nauseous from about 4pm-8pm from 6 weeks to 12 weeks. It sucked, but wasn’t the worst experience.

With this babe, I was reallllllllly nauseous from 6 weeks to 14 weeks around the clock. Nothing relieved the nausea for more than 30 minutes. I also had some killer headaches.

It was also such a different comparison this time around because having a toddler running around makes resting that much more difficult.

But, luckily I am a few weeks into my second trimester + I really cannot complain about much. In that golden time of pregnancy!

Well, I figured that some of you might either be in the thick of your own first trimester or maybe you have plans to have babies sometime in the future.

So, figured it would help to share how I dealt with the crappy first trimester symptoms + how I did my best to stay healthy [+ sane at the same time!].

Let’s start with the nausea, exhaustion, headaches during the first trimester+ what worked for me:

HOW I FELT + WHAT HELPED DURING THE FIRST TRIMESTER

Omg. The 24 hours of nausea + needing to pee in the middle of the night constantly [neverrrrr got up ONCE with Grace] was, by far, the worst. But, on top of that I felt like I was constantly running on 2 hours of sleep + that I had a migraine 3-4 days a week. Not sure how Bobby didn’t divorce me…

NAUSEA

Like I said in the opening, this time around it was 24 hours of nausea from 6-14 weeks. Yes, literally the FIRST day of the second trimester the nausea legit disappeared. POOF! I never thought it would end.

Pregnancy nausea feels like you’re seasick on a cruise ship. Just…. blehhhhhhhhhhh. I only got sick 2 times + it was the best experience ever because I had a teeny bit of relief for a few hours. I would even wake in the middle of the night with stomach pains + soooo much gas. Hey, gross… but that’s a major part of pregnancy. The excess gas is unreal.

What helped during the day? I ate every hour + a half. YES! That often. I had to stop intermittent fasting [which I love] because if I didn’t eat within an hour of waking up I felt so much worse. I would eat half of my breakfast + then eat the rest a few hours later. Have a snack. Then split my lunch in half. A snack. Maybeeee would be able to eat dinner. Usually something like a pancake, waffle, or piece of toast + call it a day. If I kept my belly full it was a teeny bit better [but, again… not magic].

What helped at night? Sleeping on my left side in a ball with a pillow between my legs to keep my knees from knocking each other. I also kept these nausea relief suckers next to my bed. They’re not magic, but you do get some relief. Some people keep crackers by their bedside, but eating in the middle of the night wasn’t something that worked at all for me [but hey… give it a try!].

• Related: HOW I AVOIDED GAINING EXCESS WEIGHT WHILE PREGNANT

EXHAUSTION

I have never been exhausted like first trimester pregnancy exhaustion. Never experienced it? Well, it’s like having a sick hangover kind of tiredness all day. Basically feels like you got 2-3 hours of crappy sleep. What’s crazy is I slept 12-14 hours a night + still felt that tired!

What helped? Nothing. Yep…. for real. Nothing can really give you that energy back. From weeks 6-10 I couldn’t stomach the smell or taste of coffee. But, by 10 weeks I could have iced coffee + stomach it. So, I started having a small cup each day [I don’t give up caffeine during my pregnancies… I just have less than normal. To each their own!]. I don’t know how I could have survived without it those weeks.

HEADACHES

I had headaches when pregnant with Grace, but not until the middle + end of the pregnancy. This time, I had them 3-4 days a week right in the beginning. Dull headaches + migraines. They were pretty cray. Especially with a loud toddler at home when I came home from work!

What helped? This medicine did the trick. My first pregnancy, I took it 2 times when I had a bad virus. This time, I have had it about 20 times because I felt like I would go crazy if I didn’t. It definitely helped A TON! I saved it for the days where the headaches were super super bad for me. Also, really being nutty about focusing on my hydration absolutely made the headaches better. I measured what I had using this bottle. *Always talk to your doctor before taking while pregnant.

• Related: HOW I AVOIDED GAINING EXCESS WEIGHT WHILE PREGNANT

HOW I STAYED HEALTHY [PHYSICALLY + MENTALLY]

Although you can have so many negative symptoms that first trimester, it is still very important you find ways to focus on being the healthiest you can be for both you + the baby that you are growing. My routine was massively turned up-side-down + I had to fine ways to shift + cope.

For example, I could no longer do my AM workouts, intermittent fast, or stay on the same diet I was used to [craved carbs like WOAH!]. My step count was abysmal + I just had no energy to want to do anything I was used to doing.

So, these are things I did to try to be as healthy as I could for both myself + my growing baby:

DAILY CHORES

Running a household + having a job is hard enough as it is while being pregnant. But, throw a toddler in the mix, too? Ha. It was difficult. Thank goodness I had Bobby.

For those 2 months he really picked up the slack with: cooking, cleaning, laundry, vacuuming, food shopping + everything Grace needed. Although, I cannot say he did it with a smile on his face. He was pretty annoyed! I kept reminding him that I was building a child + he needed to put his big boy pants on hahahaha.

I get it that everyone doesn’t have a spouse or that they’re working + not around to really help. But, if there is any way that you can ask a family member or friend to step in here + there to help [or hire help!], I highly recommend it for your own sanity.

Also, the house can be a mess, the laundry can pile up, + you can put the TV on a little more than usual for your toddler. They’ll live. 

• Related: HOW I AVOIDED GAINING EXCESS WEIGHT WHILE PREGNANT

EXERCISE

I went from working out 6 days a week at 5am + 12k steps a day to zero workouts at all + 4k-6k steps a day. I was kind of depressed about it for a bit. But, then I came to terms with the fact that the body is really magical during pregnancy + if you take the time to listen to it, it will tell you what it needs.

Mine said to REST + pick up the slack elsewhere with my health. So, I did just that. Many days I would take off my fitness tracker + just forget about it.

But, the days/hours I felt OK I would try to move a bit more [take a short walk on this treadmill, vacuum, do a few chores, or just play with Grace]. When I didn’t, I rested. I would lay down on the couch or in bed + watch tv or just do nothing at all. It’s what my body needed. 

Same went for plans. I said “no” more often + stayed at home. For me, I needed it for my mental health + looking back I am proud of myself for not pushing myself to do more. With that said, I only gained 2lbs my first 15 weeks so… obviously didn’t kill me to relax more.

EATING

Since I was coming to terms with not moving as much, I shifted my focus to my nutrition. BIG help + I am so glad I did that! It wasn’t easy, but manageable + anyone else can absolutely take this approach.

What I had to work around is that I craved carbs like crazy + they always made my stomach feel some relief. So, I decided to incorporate them throughout the day, but focused on healthy carbs like sprouted bread + 100% whole wheat.

The only meal I usually didn’t have carbs was for lunch. Why? This is where I PACKED in my daily nutrition. I knew that dinner was game-over for my stomach + where I had to have a carb-centered meal. So, for lunch I would have a veryyyyyy large kale salad + forced myself to eat it so I knew I was getting lots of nutrition in at least one meal.

Here is what I usually ate each day for weeks 6-14:

Breakfast: BEC sandwich [whole wheat English muffin, 2 organic eggs, bacon, 2 organic slices of cheese] or 2 organic waffles with peanut butter.

Lunch: Chicken salad over kale [I used this easy crockpot recipe for the chicken salad —it’s amazing!!! + put it over 2-3 giant handfuls of organic kale… sometimes adding things like cucumbers, carrots, or organic ranch on top].

Snacks: Sliced apples, carrots, date/cashew bars, or cheese sticks.

Dinner: Toast with butter, waffles [this recipe is awesome] with peanut butter, french toast, or plain greek yogurt with granola.

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• Related: 9 THINGS I DO EVERY WEEK TO EAT HEALTHY

REST + SLEEP

Growing a baby is no joke. You need as much rest as you can get so your body can grow + effectively give the baby all it needs. Do what you can! I am not a napper + unless I am on my death bed with the flu, I cannot do it. But, if you can, I highly recommend getting naps in during the day!

I played on the couch or in bed the second I would get home from work + would either watch Grace play or put on the TV for her to watch. When Bobby would get home an hour later, I would pretty much do just that until falling asleep on the couch at 7-8 + he would bring me to bed at 9 + I slept till I had to get up at 6 for work.

Some days, I went straight to bed at 7-730 when Grace went down because the nausea + stomach pains were that bad. So bad I couldn’t pick her up. But, I did make sure to never miss kissing her before she went to bed. Just was important to me!

Overall, I slept 12-14 hours most days + would wake up every hour to either pee or just from feeling like garbage, but alwayssssss passed right back out. DON’T FEEL GUILTY FOR SLEEPING MORE THAN USUAL… WAY MORE! I even took a day off of work just to get more shuteye.

• Related: HOW I AVOIDED GAINING EXCESS WEIGHT WHILE PREGNANT

Hope this post helped you get some ideas to manage your own first trimester OR just simply confirmed that it’s ok to rest more, eat more carbs, + move less while growing a baby!

xx Kaitlyn