This post is sponsored by Atrium Health. All opinions are my own.
One thing I can say for sure when it comes to being pregnant is that there is a LOT I didn’t know. I figured I had a pretty good idea of what pregnancy would be like after having girlfriends go through it and seeing it on TV…well let me tell you that those things were really just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many things I didn’t expect and I am still learning new things about this journey, about my body, and about my baby every day! I’m going to share my first trimester recap with y’all today and include my experience, those things I didn’t expect, my doctor visits so far, and more.
First Trimester Recap
My General Experience in the First Trimester
To be honest, going into the first trimester I really thought the only side effect of pregnancy was morning sickness and/or vomiting. Really…I thought that was pretty much the extent of it. Boy was I wrong! In fact, the first side effect that I had that really gave me an idea that I may be pregnant was a headache. It lasted days and it’s not your usual headache; I call them my hormonal headaches because, up until this pregnancy, I had only ever gotten them around that time of the month. They just feel different. Since I knew it was not that time yet, it made me think I could possibly be pregnant.
Another symptom I had no idea about is the exhaustion. It is next level exhaustion. No amount of sleep will help and I had to take a nap every afternoon around 2 or 3pm. Sometimes I still do! I am lucky that I work for myself from home and have the luxury to do that. I have no idea how women with an office job do it!! They are my heroes. I’d also be passing out by 8pm with the lights on most nights which is very unlike me but your body is just doing so much to grow your baby that it is wiped out!
And then yes, I had the nausea as well. It wasn’t just morning sickness for me, it was really all day. I basically just have to make sure I have a little something on my stomach at all times to prevent myself from getting hungry. If I got hungry, that is where the nausea would set in! I wrote a post here with my tips for dealing with morning sickness and nausea that you can check out if you’re struggling with it as well!
First Trimester Doctor Visits
I also really had no idea what to expect when it came to the doctor’s visits and the frequency of those visits. So I’m going to share the visits I had in the first trimester and what each of them entailed! I am sure different hospital systems do it differently, but I go to Atrium Health and this is what my visits have been like so far! (PS: Click here for their really amazing and in-depth Pregnancy & Motherhood guide!!)
The first visit was a confirmation of pregnancy appointment. I made this appointment after getting 3 positive at-home pregnancy tests, around 5-6 weeks pregnant. At this appointment they confirmed my pregnancy by testing my urine sample. I saw the doctor that day as well and she gave me a great packet of information about pregnancy and what to expect for this journey. I was given a food and medications safety list, as well as other resources I will need like classes at the hospital, what to expect during different weeks of pregnancy, and more. I personally love hard copies of information that I can reference so I loved getting this packet!
Also at this visit the doctor briefly checked my cervix (I guess just to make sure everything was looking good!) and then gave me a chance to ask any questions that I had! I see Dr. Stein at Charlotte OBGYN and I love that I always feel like I have her full attention and she takes her time with her patients. I don’t feel rushed or intimidated to ask her questions! I left feeling very excited about the journey ahead and very confident in the care provider and location I had selected.
The second visit was our first ultrasound and then we met with the nurse coordinator who sat down with us for about an hour to discuss more in detail what was to come during pregnancy with our visits, the hospital information, all of that. That was another great time we had to ask questions and just get more familiar with the process ahead of us! The real highlight of that visit, however, was the ultrasound. Since this was when I was around 9 weeks pregnant, this was a vaginal ultrasound. The nurse doing our ultrasound was so friendly and sweet, and we had a funny time joking about how she’d had a run on getting twins during her ultrasounds lately! (*Insert nervous laugh here*) She confirmed for us there was only one baby in there, and we got to see baby wiggle around and get our first set of ultrasound pictures. It was so cool. After that we briefly met with the doctor just to check in and then we were on our way home! I came back the following week for a blood test, which I’ll touch on again in a few!
The third visit of our first trimester was just a check in with the doctor, around 13 weeks. She took a listen to baby’s heartbeat and it was such a sweet sound to hear after what felt like forever since our ultrasound!! Dr. Stein gave us the opportunity at that visit to ask any new questions that may have come up for us and once again we felt we had a great visit.
Genetic Testing
I mentioned a moment ago that I popped into the doctors office around week 10 to give some blood for a test we had elected to do. At Atrium Health, you are given the option of genetic testing for chromosomal abnormalities through a blood test. We chose to do them because we are people who like to be prepared and know as much as possible about a situation, so not only did we want to know of any risks of potential chromosomal abnormalities, but we also wanted to know the gender!
The test allows you to find out the gender much earlier than the normal 20-week anatomy scan (should you want to know), so that was another big reason we wanted to have it done. It was a quick visit; I was literally in & out in 20 minutes. I will warn you that they take more blood than just a standard annual physical type of blood draw, so just be sure you’re hydrated if you do this and maybe take a snack with you! The results of the test are emailed to you within a week or two. We got ours on Christmas Eve morning, and it was SO hard to not look at the results for gender! I did look to see our results from the rest of the testing, but I did not look at the gender yet. We had a big gender reveal party planned for our families in early January and we all wanted to find out at the same time! (You can see that post here!)
My Physician at Atrium Health
As I’ve mentioned, my OBGYN at Atrium Health is Dr. Aviva Stein. She was recommended to me by a close friend, and I had actually seen her a couple of times prior to pregnancy for gynecological visits. At those visits I felt very comfortable and at ease with her, and I think that is something everyone should really look for when choosing a care provider of any kind. I’ve heard great things about all the physicians at Charlotte OBGYN and have had friends see others in that practice. It has all been good feedback, so I feel confident that no matter who my doctor is on the day I deliver, that I’ll be in good hands! I have been a patient at Atrium Health (formerly Carolinas HealthCare System) for over 4 years now, and I’ve always felt very secure and taken care of while being a patient there.
There you have it! That’s pretty much the detailed recap of my first trimester. I’m so excited to share the rest of this journey with you, and I hope to bring some clarify for any of the confusing or mysterious parts of pregnancy through my own experiences! More posts to come about second and third trimesters, maternity classes, pregnancy cravings, pregnancy fitness, and more. In the meantime, if you have any questions feel free to email me or leave a comment below!
PS: Atrium Health has an amazing women’s institute helping women with reproductive concerns, IVF, and other maternal-fetal medicine, so if you need that resource, click here to learn more about the CMC Women’s Institute.
xo,
Bess
PIN THIS POST for later!
Leave a Reply