This first trimester recap and Q&A is long overdue, I’m now well into my second trimester at almost 24 weeks pregnant. Passed the halfway mark!! I still can’t believe how fast my pregnancy is going! I’ve put together a few Q & A’s all about the first 12 weeks of my pregnancy and the most fun part… how we found out that baby Gray was a boy.
How did you find out the gender so early?
I did the sneak peek gender DNA test. If you’ve never heard of it before, it’s an at-home blood test kit that gives you the gender of your baby as early as 8 weeks pregnant and it’s 99.9% accurate. They sell the kit for £79, although they always have promotions going on offering £10 to £20 off so keep an eye on their Facebook page before ordering. Within 2-3 days of ordering the test, you receive everything you need to prick your finger and get about 10 drops of blood into a little bottle. You send it back and within that same week, you get your baby’s gender by email. If you can’t wait until your 20 week scan, I definitely recommend you purchase this test! Just make sure you’re ok with blood/doing it yourself because no male DNA is allowed around you while you test (for contamination reasons). We personally loved finding out early so we could start thinking of names and buy some outfits. This company is based in the USA but they ship out to the U.K, Canada and Australia. We’re having a baby boy!!!
Did you suffer from morning sickness?
Luckily I was never actually sick. My nausea did get really bad at one point but I never had to vomit. Thank god!! It started at 6 weeks exactly and was really bad for a good 4 weeks before slowly getting better. I did try a few natural remedies like this morning sickness kit but it didn’t do anything for me. My doctor also prescribed medication that made me very sleepy/barely helped so I decided to not take it.
What was the hardest past of the first trimester?
The hardest part was definitely when nausea kicked in at 6 weeks but I really shouldn’t complain since mine went away after 4 weeks and I know some women for the entirety of their first trimester.
Have you had any weight gain so far?
Because of nausea, I struggled to eat anything other than bagels, cereal and a few other things so I ended up losing weight in the first trimester. Since feeling better I’m eating “normal” portions and back to my regular diet. I’m keeping an eye on my weight, not because I care how much I gain but I’m just curious to see how much I will gain over my whole pregnancy…I lost 8lbs in the first trimester and have now gained 7lbs back at almost 24 weeks.
Did you have any symptoms?
Like I mentioned before, I had nausea for a good 4 weeks. During my nausea, I struggled to eat and had no cravings at all. I don’t think I had many mood swings but maybe the hubby would say otherwise. Haha! Towards the end of the first trimester, I started getting my appetite back but I wouldn’t say there was anything specific I wanted to eat.
Physically, my body stayed the same in the first trimester…except for my boobs. I went from the itty bitty titty committee to a good full size bigger so that was different.
What apps are you using to track pregnancy?
I use a few apps, all for different things. The Ovia to track the baby’s development, plus it offers the option to send daily updates to your other half. I use pregnancy+ to see the size of the baby, they have a scan section that shows you what the baby looks like every week and I also like the whattoexpect app to follow along a few boards in the forums. There are so many free apps available for phones and androids that I really don’t think it’s necessary to pay for any.
When did you start showing?
At 12 weeks I started noticing that I would get really bloated in the evening but it would pretty much be all gone when I’d wake up the next morning. If I look at pictures, I think my bump really started to pop around 19/20 weeks. It seems to be different for everyone I know but mostly after 16 weeks for all first time moms.
When did you start feeling baby move?
I started feeling little tickles and what felt similar to bubbles just after 18 weeks and around 20 weeks I actually felt him move for the first time. He seems to be more active in the evening when I’m sat down, I can feel him move around and whether he’s kicking or punching on the inside. In my case, the placenta is at the front so I was told it’s normal to not feel anything until later…when the placenta is at the back you can start feeling movements around 16 weeks. Just know that every pregnancy is different so don’t try to let other women’s experiences stress you.
If you missed out on the blog post where I announced our pregnancy, check it out here!
