The first trimester of pregnancy is such an exciting and exhausting time. It’s when you find out you’re pregnant, have your first doctor visit and some of us even share our exciting news with others during this time.
The first trimester brings with it excitement, changes, and so many firsts, especially if it’s your first pregnancy.
How Long is the First Trimester?
The first trimester of pregnancy is 12 weeks. The first trimester starts on the first day of your last period and goes until the end of week 12. Week 13 starts the second trimester.
So that means by the time you know for sure that you’re pregnant, you might already be five or six weeks into the first trimester.
If you’re not sure what week you are in your pregnancy, you can use a pregnancy calculator to estimate your due date. There are several pregnancy apps that will also do the same thing.
Remember that this due date might change (especially if you have irregular periods.) Your doctor should be able to give you a more exact due date after doing an ultrasound.
What Happens During the First Trimester?
A lot actually happens during the first 12 weeks of your pregnancy. Even though you typically aren’t even showing a baby bump by the end of the first trimester your body and baby will go through a lot of changes.
Changes that happen during the first trimester include your baby’s heart developing and starting to beat as well as several other exciting things.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed your body is also starting to change. Morning sickness, mood swings and some weight gain are some of the things that can happen during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Pregnancy Apps
A great way to track what is happening to your body and your baby is to use a pregnancy app. Pregnancy apps are a great way to track different things and learn more about each stage of pregnancy.
Things Pregnant Moms Need to Know about the First Trimester
With all the changes and things that happen during the first trimester her are a few things that pregnant moms need to know.
1.Morning Sickness
Morning Sickness is a very common pregnancy symptom and often the first sign of pregnancy. Morning sickness doesn’t generally mean anything is wrong if you have concerns be sure to talk to your doctor about them.
For mild morning sickness eating as soon as you wake up and not letting your stomach get empty might make a difference.
Check out other tips for handling morning sickness here.
If you don’t experience morning sickness that’s okay, count your blessings and enjoy all the food while you can.
2. Sleep
A very common first trimester symptom is feeling tired. So sleep!
Making a baby is hard work, even if you don’t feel like you’re doing much. Your body is doing a lot. So if you feel like taking a nap, take a nap. Sleep is good for both you and your growing baby.
3. Drink More Water
Make sure you are drinking enough water. Even though you might feel like you pee all the time (just another symptom of pregnancy). Water is really important for both you and your baby.
During my first pregnancy I wasn’t drinking enough water and ended up getting several migraines. My second pregnancy I had a better habit of drinking water and luckily avoided the migraines.
4. Food Aversions
During the first trimester or at any point during pregnancy really you might experience food aversions. It could be specific types of foods, textures or simply because of the smell.
The worst food aversions I had was with my first pregnancy. About half way through my first trimester the smell of chocolate would make me feel sick. I couldn’t eat chocolate and we couldn’t have anything that had a strong chocolate smell.
I remember just a few weeks before I had my little boy someones brought us brownies and I cried to Jared that I just wanted to like chocolate again!
The funny thing is that my son loves chocolate now.
5. Telling Family and Friends
Deciding when to tell family and friends your exciting news can be a hard decision to make. Should you tell them during the first trimester or wait a little longer?
This post shares a few things you might want to think about before deciding when to announce your pregnancy.
6. Make Healthy Choices
The start of your pregnancy is a great time to start making healthy choices.
If you aren’t already taking a prenatal vitamin start taking one during the first trimester.
Other healthy things to keep doing include eating healthy well balanced diet, keep exercising and getting enough water and sleep.
7. First Doctors Appointment
During the first trimester you will typically have your first doctors appointment or two. You might even have an ultrasound at this point depending on your doctor.
8. It Gets Better From Here – Most of the Time
For many pregnant women the first trimester is the hardest trimester of pregnancy. So if your having a hard time remember it get’s better from here – most of the time.
What do you wish you would have known about the first trimester?
More Pregnancy Posts
- First Trimester Tips
- 10 Things to Know about the 2nd Trimester
- Easy Ways to Save Money on Maternity Clothes
Save this post on Pinterest!
