The First Trimester

How did I know I was pregnant?

It was 2 days before my period was due and I was looking at the mirror during my cardio-boxing class and realized I had two small bulges at the side of my waist. Hmmm… I was getting more toned during the last few weeks because of the vigorous exercise! I didn’t suspect anything until one day after my period’s supposed to be due. I woke up with a slight pulling sensation at my abdomen as I was stretching in bed. It was a familiar twitch that I had during the early part of my first pregnancy. Then, I felt extremely tired during the rest of the day. As I have been practicing NFP charting for many years, I realized that my temperature is still as high the next morning. I went to get the clear-blue pregnancy test kit and tested positive that evening.

How did I feel?

This would be my second pregnancy. I was extremely elated and my 4 ½ year old son was even more excited than his dad was!

I am definitely calmer than during my first pregnancy. My biggest concern is bleeding during the first trimester because it occurred during the 6 th week of my first pregnancy.

I didn’t rush to see the gynae like I did the last time. This time round, I’ve decided to do extensive research on which hospital and which gynae to go. I have always wanted a natural childbirth but had a bad experience when I gave birth to my son 4 ½ years ago. The midwife and gynae were not supportive of natural births. Well, it wasn’t long that I found a good and reputable gynae. I went for my first appointment at 9 ½ weeks.

Morning Sickness

The morning sickness started at the beginning of 7 weeks. I guess most of us would go through the same thing during this period. During the first week of the dreadful nauseous feeling, I would munch on dry biscuits in the morning. It got worse during the last few weeks of my first trimester so I had to stay clear from all food or smells that would trigger the morning sickness. Garlic, fried, spicy and oily food were out of bounds for me. Even the smells of certain toothpaste would trigger queasiness whenever I brush my teeth. I would suck on sour plum sweets most of the time. No perfume smelled good on me…in fact it made more nauseous but luckily I’ve got the Glow Nausea Relief Oil from Bellysima which helped me to tide over those lousy episodes of morning sickness. I’ve also learned that tiredness also plays a big part of morning sickness so a good short nap during the afternoons usually helps.

My Wardrobe

I didn’t rush out to buy maternity clothes during the early part of my first pregnancy as I only showed after the fourth month the first time round. However, this time, I’m already starting to look fat in my present clothes. I don’t remember finding any good maternity shops 5 years ago and even if was any, they would be quite boring and pricey.

This time, the selections were much better! I managed to pick out quite a number of nice pieces from Bellysima. I chose a couple of pants which really fitted me really well, a couple of casual tank tops which go well with anything, a black wrap dress that has a slimming effect even with a pregnant tummy and a red Anna top that showed off my increased cleavage for the Chinese New Year! I’m happy that I didn’t have to burn a hole in my pocket and look stylish at the same time!