All I Needed to Know, I Learned in my First Trimester

•   Pack up your current pants and shorts now..there is no need to be uncomfortable.  Bring out the elastic!!!  Even when the books say at your 2nd month of pregnancy "You may not even look pregnant"!!  Seriously, pregnancy bloat alone will make you look 2 months pregnant!!  Give me a break..the week after I took the pregnancy test, I was in expandable pants!

•   Throw out everything you "thought" you would do pregnant.  I am an avid yogi and always said that my routine wouldn't change a bit.  Why would it?  I LOVE yoga and I love being fit.  Well...start growing a baby and see how much you want to sweat, bend and hold your ever increasing body weight up by your arms.  I mean, I have not given up my practice by any means, but I am not going six days a week right now..... When I choose to stay home and eat rather than yoga, something major is happening!

•   Protein and Iron are my new favorite vocabulary words!  I thought I read labels before..now I can stand in the cereal aisle for 20 minutes looking for the highest protein and iron ridden cereal.  Oh and don't forget fiber.  Fiber is a pregnant women's candy!

•   Beans are a great source of vitamins and minerals for any vegan pregnant woman.  So, doubling up on beans + pregnancy = fun :)

•   Cravings:  You can't hide from them.  They are deep and they mean business. 

•   Mood Swings:  You can't hide from them.  They are deep and they mean business.  (haha..yes, cravings and mood swings go hand in hand in my book).  What you have heard about them can not prepare you for what they are.  Nothing can, you just have to experience them yourself and breathe through them. 

• Last but not least...  See this chick right here....

Forget the idea of being a "skinny" pregnant woman.  Those terms don't go together.  There are woman like that out there, but they are freaks of nature! (or dieting while pregnant which is a huge no-no).  I always wanted to be the tiny person with a ball in front as my bump.  But the baby has other plans.  First your waist line goes.  (right away mind you) ..you wake up one morning and poof, it's gone.  Secondly your back, sides and stomach become one.  Next, your butt feels the need to join in and of course your thighs must get bigger to support the weight of your mid section.  I am just seeing the beginning effects of this in my second trimester, but I am well on my way...  So know ahead of time that your body will expand to meet the needs of the baby.  That way you won't be shocked and have mini break downs about gaining weight (hehe)  I have chosen not to track weight gain (in pounds), I am tracking inches around my belly only.  I will continue to eat healthy and lots of it, exercise and ignore my forgotten waist and ever growing lower body.  Hey, it's for the baby.

• Oh and one more..that reminds me.  IT'S ALL FOR THE BABY...already..it's not about you anymore, it's for the baby.  What you eat, what you do, when you sleep, what you buy, how you save..It's all for the baby. 

So enjoy it!  I am!  I am loving every day and can't wait to meet our precious baby in my belly!  Second Trimester, here I come!



12 Weeks