How to get through the first trimester of pregnancy

Morning sickness, nausea, vomiting, OH MY!

The first trimester is exciting…until it’s not! You can be plagued with nausea, morning sickness, exhaustion, and hormonal changes! These tips will help get you through.

NAUSEA/MORNING SICKNESS

Ugh. It’s brutal and unlike anything you’ve ever experienced! I had nausea with babies 1 & 3 until 18 weeks, never had it with Bee. It’s almost like you’re hungover but didn’t do anything to deserve it! This can range from mild nausea to hyperemesis gravidarum.

• Keep crackers at your bedside 
  • I would often wake up in the middle of the night and feel so sick! I kept saltine crackers at my bedside to help settle my stomach. It helped a bit with morning sickness too.
• Snack often to avoid empty stomach 
  • Granola bars, crackers, nuts, dried fruit are easy things that come prepackaged – throw some in your purse to snack on during the day. I always felt worse on an empty stomach, so small snacks helped to ease the nausea a bit.
• Try to stay hydrated
  • I love this water bottle and recommend using a reusable straw (try adding a lemon or orange wedge to get some electrolytes as well!)
• Smoothies 
  • Something about not having to CHEW was way more appealing to me when I was nauseous. I literally made a smoothie or traveled to my favorite smoothie place – helped my settle my stomach AND get some good nutrients in!
• Ginger tea/Ginger hard candies 
  • Ginger will help settle nausea – in tea or candy form (these are so yummy!).
• Sea band (acupuncture band)
  • People swear by this acupuncture band! The pressure on your wrist helps to ease nausea.
• Take your prenatals at night 
  • I couldn’t even THINK about taking a vitamin (I would literally gag!) in those first few weeks. Taking it after dinner and before bed helped tremendously with nausea.
  • Mary Ruth’s prenatal and postnatal liquid multivitamin – This is easy to take and has vitamins and minerals designed to prepare you body for pregnancy and promote healthy fetal development.

• • Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA – all natural omega 3’s from fish oil and vitamin d3 to support eye and brain health in baby.

    

    

• Unisom and Vitamin B6 combo 
  • I never did this combo with Finn, but with baby #3 it was a life saver! Unisom is a sleep aid that not only helped me sleep, but when combined with vitamin B6, can help ease nausea throughout the day. ALWAYS check with your provider before starting any medications.
  • The magic dose for me was 1/2 of a Unisom tablet – 1 whole tablet made me too groggy in the morning.
• Prescriptions
  • If you’re struggling to gain weight and/or keep anything down, talk to your provider about prescriptions that can help ease nausea and vomiting.
    • Zofran is a meltable tablet that helps cure nausea in a flash!
    • A new FDA approved drug to treat morning sickness in pregnancy is called Dicligis, FDA approved.

EXHAUSTION/INSOMNIA

• CAFFEINE. 
  • YES, you can still have caffeine!
  • If you’re wanting to learn more, my favorite book is “Expecting Better” and talks a lot about modern pregnancy, including alcohol and caffeine!
• Unisom Sleep Aid
  • Unisom is safe for pregnancy and can also help with nausea when combined with vitamin B6 (see above!).
  • The magic dose for me was 1/2 of a Unisom tablet – 1 whole tablet made me too groggy in the morning. Some even take just 1/4 tablet.
• Pregnancy pillow 
  • I mean, is there anything better? I love this bbhugme pregnancy pillow because it’s filled with Biofoam beads to help relieve pelvic pain and mold to your body during different stages of your pregnancy. 
    • This is my favorite budget friendly extra long pillow – Christian and Finn try to steal it all the time!
  • Helps with comfort, but also helps with symphysis pubis pain as well.
  • DID YOU KNOW? After 12 weeks of pregnancy, you should sleep on your side or with your head elevated for best blood flow to baby.
• Be kind to yourself 
  • Take a nap or personal day!

HORMONAL CHANGES

• Breast tenderness 
  • You may even notice this before you even take a pregnancy test! This was the first indicator that I was pregnant with Bee. I was still nursing and pumping and it was SO SENSITIVE!
  • Upsize your bra or wear a bra without underwire.
• Areola and nipple darkening and increase in size
  • Yup! The things to look forward to! This is all NORMAL! So don’t be alarmed if you see this.
• Pregnancy acne and back acne 
  • Back to highschool again! My acne with Finn in the first trimester was horrible – I tried everything! It settled down after the first 12 weeks.
  • Beautycounter makes a pregnancy safe acne line called CounterControl with salicylic acid (and yes, topical SA is safe for pregnancy. Read more here!) to help battle acne. They also make this amazing charcoal cleansing bar that absorbs impurities without drying out your skin (great for back acne).  If you want something more nourishing for your skin, try this Beauty Counter body wash or this Dr. Bronner’s body soap! 
  • Benzoic acid worked better for me personally (also safe for pregnancy, read more here) and I love and still use this Humane 10% BA wash.
    • It can make your skin dry, so make sure to load up on moisturizer as well. I love and use the Beautycounter CounterMatch line – extremely hydrating without clogging pores. It has a “mimic” technology that allows your skin to absorb more if it’s dryer.

• • A good facial peel will help ward acne away as well. My all-time favorite Beautycounter product – The Overnight Peel – will do your skin wonders! Uses fruit extracts as a gentle peel. Pregnancy safe.

• Increased sense of smell 
  • You’ll be able to smell your partner from a mile away! Pungent smells may make you gag – I couldn’t stand the smell of eggs with my pregnancy! Unfortunately this one you’ll just have to ride out.
• Increased gum sensitivity 
  • Did you know that your blood level DOUBLES in pregnancy? It also makes your gums super sensitive – pregnancy state causes mild immunosuppression. So good dental practices are very important in pregnancy – you made find that you have a few cavities postpartum (try like 6 over here :/ ).
  • Try a soft bristle toothbrush and natural mouthwash.
• Metallic taste in mouth
  • This was quite possibly the worst symptom for me with all my pregnancies – and one of the first signs that I was pregnant! I felt like I had constant bad breath and a bad taste in my mouth. The ONLY thing that got rid of it was lemonade! CRAVED IT. Careful with the sugar!

EASY AND SAFE SWAPS FOR PREGNANCY

• Deodorant  
  • I love Schmidt’s natural deodorant with activated charcoal! TIP: if your’e switching to a natural one, give your body a week or two to adjust (you might be smelly at first and then your body will adjust!)
• Sunscreen
  • BeautyCounter’s organic sunscreen is the best because it’s easy to rub in (unlike other organic sunscreens I’ve tried).
    • The spray is my jam and is so easy to apply.
    • I also love the mineral stick for your face and neck.
    • ADDED BONUS: You can use all of these sunscreens on your baby and kids too (+ 6 months of age and older)
  • I also highly recommend Supergoop!’s organic sunscreen too! They also make a spray!.
• Toothpaste and mouthwash
  • I switched to Tom’s Toothpaste (which I love) and this natural mouthwash.
• Body lotion
  • I use this body butter when I’m pregnant ALL OVER to help prevent stretch marks! EWG verified.
• Face wash
  • Humane 10% BA wash for acne prone skin.
  • Cream cleanser that hydrates dry skin.
• Dish soap / dishwasher detergent
  • I trust anything by Puracy and especially love their natural dish soap and dishwasher detergent while pregnant.
• Laundry detergent
  • Puracy laundry detergent for the win again!
• Protein powder
  • I like to put Garden of Life protein powder in my smoothies , but always check with your doctor first!

The first trimester can be an exciting time, but it’s also filled with a TON of question marks and mixed emotions.  Knowing what products are safe to use or which ones you should avoid is TRICKY!

My rule of thumb is that I consider most topical things to be safe during pregnancy (but that is MY personal preference based on my research).  So little gets absorbed into the bloodstream and to the placenta that I consider getting my hair highlighted (with a toner) and getting my nails done safe!  It’s up to YOU with your comfort level of what to ingest/avoid!

Other helpful blog posts:

• First time baby registry
• How to get through the second trimester of pregnancy
• Kate’s favorite trying to conceive, pregnancy and breastfeeding safe products
• Postpartum essentials for mom
• Postpartum essentials for baby

**This post is educational and not meant to take the place of your provider. Bumblebaby makes a small commission on some of the items listed above.