The first trimester

People say the first trimester of pregnancy is the hardest for most women. The hormonal changes inside the body causing a lot of uncomfortable symptoms. From talking to many women and reading pregnancy blogs on the internet, the "signs" of pregnancy can range from the infamous morning sickness (nausea, vomiting), implantation bleeding, severe PMS-like symptoms, food cravings, tasting metal on the tongue, and many more.  

But of course, every woman usually has different experience. I have always prepared myself for the worse coz I knew it was just part of the package. But when I didn't really have many of the common early pregnancy signs I heard from my friends or read from the books, I was quite surprised. For the first 6 weeks, I didn't have any symptoms at all, except for the missed period. Not experiencing the obvious symptoms made me question myself on whether I was really pregnant. Everyday, I was looking for tangible signs to prove myself.

Then starting about week 8, I started to have the following symptoms:

1) mild stomach cramps during week 6 (not sure if it's because of pilates)

2) lost of appetite

3) no vomiting but a nagging feeling of nausea in the early evening

4) meat aversion especially for chicken 

5) some headache on and off during the second month

6) sensitive smell, can't stand garlic smell or strong chinese & mexican food 

7) feeling the throat is closing in during early evening

Then as the weeks go by, my belly started to grow little by little and my breasts as well. Until I heard the baby's heart beat from the first ultrasound at week 7, it had not really sinked in that I was really pregnant. I guess I should be thankful that I have been having a relatively easy pregnancy. My mom had it easy with all her children too, so I wonder if it is hereditary. If I have to sum it up, the first trimester for me is not difficult, it's just uncomfortable.  And I try not to complain and sail through with it. I think accepting these changes that happen to my body as normal really help in navigating this stage of pregnancy.