A few weeks ago, I announced my second pregnancy to the world, and I thought it was about time I share with you how my first trimester was. The first months when no-one knew I was pregnant and which are well and truly behind me now. Here is what my first trimester was like…

Finding out I was pregnant…

This time, I found out I was pregnant at 5 weeks, much earlier than the previous 11 weeks milestone. As you can imagine, my family and I were elated and so thankful for the blessing to come. I was very much aware that my second pregnancy could, and most probably would, be very different to the easy first pregnancy I had and I braced myself for the morning sickness.

First Trimester Pregnancy Symptoms…

However, thankfully, so far this pregnancy has been almost identical to the first, and has in fact zoomed by. I have had no morning sickness, though I have had more morning nausea this time around in the first trimester. The other symptom that has only increased since the initial few weeks is the peeing. The incontinence over peeing myself when sneezing or such has also come back with a vengeance too, yet I still have not learnt my lesson to just DO.MY.KEGLES!!! I keep promising myself to remember to do them…

Being underweight…

One minor issue I did have during the first trimester is the fact that I was already marginally underweight when I became pregnant. Before I talk about this further, I want to make it clear that I have no body image issues, nor have I suffered from any health issues due to my weight in my life. I am just naturally and genetically on the slim side of the weighing scale. I am very much confident in my own skin and with the way I look, Alhumdulillah, and to be honest I wouldn’t mind putting on a few extra kilos, as I did during my first pregnancy. I understand that many women are worried about controlling their weight gain and find it difficult to loose weight. For me, the cause for concern during both my pregnancies was the opposite, as I tried my best to start GAINING weight.

Being back to the same weight as I was when I got married, almost four years ago, my doctor urged me to increase my weight for the health of my unborn baby, especially since I was not suffering from morning sickness and thus not loosing anything due to this. So I proceeded to stuff myself and have regular snacks, in the hopes that my weight would increase, which is truly easier said than done for my body with a very high metabolism rate. I was also given LadyMil by my doctor, a milk supplement that improves nutritional intake during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

My weight did gradually increase by about 1 kg a month in the first trimester, and is even now consistently doing so as I reach my monthly weight goals. It would come as no surprise to my fellow Indians that I gained almost 2 kg during my two week stay at my home in Leicester, UK, because you know…Indian mothers and their need to feed their children. Haha! Mr Z has also been great with his support and daily bringing me my food of choice on the way back from work! hehe!

So, I think the weight issue is now pretty much behind me, and I am slowly but surely happy to be gaining more and more weight during this pregnancy. Bring on those chubby cheeks!

Anxiety…

Since I found out I was pregnant almost at the end of the first trimester in my first pregnancy, the flutters of my first born followed soon after. However, finding out at 5 weeks this time meant that I had to wait for what seemed like absolutely ages to feel those initial baby movements. This caused me a lot of anxiety, because I was so much more aware of the dangers of miscarriage this time around. As much as people envy me for not having morning sickness, or really any noticeable physical symptoms apart from tiredness, during the first trimester, I felt constantly on edge and wishing that I had some kind of symptoms to put my mind at ease that I was indeed still pregnant. Having family members that suffered from miscarriage, and knowing it was such a common thing to go through now, I was constantly worried and checking myself when I visited the toilet, praying that my baby was still safe and healthy inside me.

I am sure this is a very normal pregnancy related anxiety to have, and looking back at it now, I can definitely say it was not at all severe or restrictive in any way. I have grown past it, and the monthly scans were a huge help in this as I got to see the little one and hear the heartbeat too. As I embarked my second trimester, the anxiety has all but gone, as I now feel the kicks and punches, and can be rest assured that my baby is fine.

Food Cravings…

Though I still have my fair share of sweet treats, I have been surprisingly loving the more savoury food items this pregnancy so far. Apart from Paani Puri, as last time, I have been loving samosas, craving fish fingers, and can eat all the sour vinegar dipped vegetables accompanying my shawarma in a matter of seconds.

Master Z’s reaction…

We were on our staycation in Fujairah when I took the pregnancy test, and so Master Z was there when I announced the positive result to my husband. Slowly over the following weeks, we have introduced the concept of him becoming a big brother and that we will soon be welcoming a new baby into our lives. My husband and I have tried to get him as involved in the process as possible, taking him to the monthly scans, waving to the baby, and regularly giving kisses to baby bump. He is rather fond of newborns, so seems to be pretty excited so far, although only time will tell how he will really take to the new baby. I am sure there will be tantrums and adjustments to be made in the first few weeks or even months, but I am hoping that the more I keep talking about it now, the less of a shock it will be, when his world is indeed turned upside down in a couple of months.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYKugxSnpbb/?hl=en&taken-by=mummyonmymind

Overall…

As much as the anxiety and weight issues that I battled with was a struggle, the first trimester was more mentally challenging than physically, and has indeed flown by as I have been so preoccupied with Master Z’s needs. I will be back with a post about my second trimester in a couple of weeks when it comes to an end, and I can already tell you it will surely be much more

Here are the links to each milestone in my FIRST pregnancy…

BFP Story

First Trimester

Second Trimester

Third Trimester

Birth Story

and here are the links to each milestone in my SECOND pregnancy…

Pregnancy Announcement

First Trimester

Second Trimester

Third Trimester

Birth Story

Do you remember feeling anxious during your first trimester of pregnancy? How did you deal with it? Please feel free to share your own first trimester experiences in the comments section below.