I was so busy last year being laser focused on getting pregnant via IVF that I never stopped for a second to prepare myself for the eventuality that I could possibly get pregnant!
So now that I am 9 weeks pregnant and very much into my 1st trimester, I’m finding myself totally treading water just to stay afloat with this whole pregnancy thing! I never prepared myself for what it would feel like to be pregnant, and all the things I’d experience pretty much the moment I found out I was expecting.
So here’s a list of all the unexpected struggles so far in my 1st trimester.
1. Crazy bloating, gas, and indigestion
I had bloating and gas prior to my embryo transfer due to the extra progesterone I was taking, but now that I am pregnant, that bloat and gas has been compounded with indigestion! Food seems to sit in my gut and just party like it’s 1984. And with it is perpetual gas and bloat. I hear this is something that’s here to stay, but I was unprepared for the fact that pretty much 2 weeks into being pregnant, I could no longer fit my stretchy jeans and have had to buy new stretchy pants for daily wear.
2. Nausea and morning sickness (or all day sickness)
This is common to most pregnant women, but it doesn’t suck any less when it happens to you. Mine started when I was about 6.5 weeks along. It started fairly strongly and was triggered mostly by smells and food. Luckily though, I can say that I’ve only actually vomitted a hand full of times and what I have now is just nausea that comes and goes throughout the day.
My mom forewarned me though that some women have debilitating morning sickness. She, for example, had hyperemesis gravidarum aka uncontrollable vomiting. She lost 20 lbs in her first trimester and was bed ridden for a month. Hearing this, I am extremely glad I am only fighting a moderate bout of morning sickness that is often cured by lots and lots of sleep! Sleep seems to be, for the most part, the cure to fend off nausea the next morning. If I have a rough night, I can be assured I’ll have a rough day with nausea. But a good nights sleep usually means I feel little morning sickness. So my remedy right now is to focus on getting enough sleep (not easy to accomplish!)
3. Unimaginable fatigue
Nobody told me I was going to be this tired! No amount of sleep seems to make this fatigue go away! I started getting fatigue very early on and am now sleeping at least 9-10 hours a night with an hour or two nap mid day. And yet, I am still perpetually tired and crawling into bed at 9:30pm every night.
Going out to buy groceries or have dinner with friends is like a full body and mind workout. I am simply exhausted.
4. Back and hip pain
I was not expecting back or hip pain to come so early. But pretty much a few weeks in and I was getting terrible back pain. It felt like my back had lost all its strength and had become a wet noodle. I couldn’t sleep in my, now too soft bed, and have instead bought a temporary firm foam mattress to sleep on. I also got a Snoogle pregnancy pillow to support my back and encourage side sleeping (which I still have to get used to).
After a week or so of sleeping on a firmer mattress and doing some light yoga stretches, the bulk of my back pain subsided. However, a few days back I started getting a weird hip pain on my right side. It starts in my buttock and radiates down my leg. The pain is almost imperceptible during the day and I have no issues walking or sitting. But when it comes to bedtime, the pain starts up and persists throughout the night. It was making sleep painful again. So yesterday night I rigged up an extra pillow around my hip to give it extra support against the Snoogle and also added another pillow to my foot so that it would not dangle. Basically I am fully cradled by the Snoogle and extra pillows now and finally, an almost pain-free sleep. Slow progress as I learn how to deal with all the new aches and pains that come with pregnancy!
5. Managing water intake
Water simply tastes nasty! And drinking most fluids makes me feel sick. I’m also super sensitive to temperature and flavor of the beverage. It must be either super cold or super hot. Anything in between and I’m gagging. I tried lemon in my water but that didn’t work long. I’ve transitioned to mixing juice with water, which is a bit better. Though most liquids are still a bit repulsive regardless of the mix.
So I’m finding myself struggling to get the recommended 8 glasses of water a day. I am lucky if I get 6 these days with the sensitivity I have to drinking anything.
6. Food and smell aversions
This one is closely related to the nausea and morning sickness. At 6.5 weeks, almost all smells turned me nauseous. Pasta sauce, the car, dishwashing detergent, my body wash, Parmesan cheese, broccoli, almost everything made me gag. It was awful! I also found I was now completely turned off with raw tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, orange juice, certain cheeses, and a number of other foods that I previously loved. Even the thought of some of the foods would make me nauseous.
So from that point forward, I’ve been very selective with the foods that I’ve been eating. Mostly staying away from saucy dishes, and opting instead for dry, salty, or blander fare. Toast with peanut butter has become a staple for me. But luckily, although many cooked foods make me sick, I am ravenous when it comes to fruits. So I am opting to eat more of that since it seems to do ok for me.
At 9 weeks though, I am finding my palate is somewhat returning to normal. By no means does it mean I can eat or smell everything, but slowly, smells are becoming a bit more tolerable and I am a bit more accepting in a variety of foods. So I’m hopeful that by week 12, I’ll find my appetite back in full force (and I can’t wait for it!).
7. Nasty Meds!
And finally, the oh-so-nasty meds all IVFers must endure! It’s not enough that prior to being pregnant you’re suffering daily injections, tablets, and suppositories, but once you are pregnant, that regime of drugs continues (well minus the injections – thank goodness!).
But I have been on twice daily Estrace and 3 times a day vaginal suppositories for over 10 weeks! I don’t mind the oral tablets but after 10 weeks of suppositories, I’m pretty much done with them forever and ever! They are gross, nasty, disgusting, annoying… but Oh-so-essential! So I endure them, but with a lot of disdain.
WARNING – TMI ZONE UPCOMING:
Early on, the suppositories actually made me spot pink/brown. It freaked me out because I thought all was lost. But the nurses reassured me that the suppositories were the culprit, scraping my now very delicate insides.
So after reading up on this online, I found a commenter who suggested lightly wetting the suppositories. I tried this and within days, the spotting stopped. I guess just a little bit of water helps it dissolve and soften. But it still leaves a nasty discharge regardless. Ew.
Luckily, I am on my very last week of meds and I’m counting down the tabs left! I can’t wait!
Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am not a zombie, I’m just pregnant. Though often you wouldn’t know it, given that I look half dead most of the time.
Me Becoming Mom 