11 Things To Do In Your First Trimester
It is so exciting when you first find out you are expecting a little one! But that brings up the question what do you need to do now? What do you need to do in the first trimester to prepare for your baby.
Begin a savings/budget for the Baby:
When you find out you are having a little one it will change your finances. Trying to save money before the baby comes will create a little cushion for you in your life. Starting to try to save money for when baby comes will never be a bad investment.
Creating a slightly tighter budget before the baby will help a lot. You do not need to save a ton, truly anything is more than nothing. Something else you could do is with each paycheck buy one thing you will need, a case of diapers, or some wipes. You will not regret having a stash of wipes and diapers before baby comes!
Schedule an OB Appt:
Scheduling your first OB is important so you can begin the journey of tending to your little one in your tummy. Most OB’s do not schedule until you are 6-8 weeks along, but as soon as you find out call and schedule it. Even if you are only 4 weeks, call and then schedule it out for when you are 6-8 weeks. That way you do not need to worry about during it later.
If doing the time you are waiting to see your OB, and have questions, just write them down and ask when you have the appt. It does not matter how silly the question may be. If you are curious or concerned about it write it down and ask.
Cut Out Certain Foods:
Your diet needs to change when you find out that you are expecting. You do not want things passing through the placenta to your little one. While in utero your baby can not handle certain things. Alcohol, tobacco, under cooked meat, deli meat, fish high in mercury, unpasteurized cheese, raw eggs, are just an example.
Your OB will be able to talk more in depth with you about what you should or should not eat. It is better to be on the safe side, especially in the first trimester. So many big things happen for your baby in this period, so we want to be careful and give them the best nutrients.
Drink More Water:
It is so important to drink water in general. Water is a huge part of your body, you are mostly water. So being very hydrated is really good for not only you and the baby. You are be giving a ton of energy and nutrients to your little bean, and staying so hydrated will help that go smoothly.
Drinking enough water truly does benefit more than just you baby, your body needs water. And most people do not drink enough water. You may pee a bit more, but your body needs this extra fluid so don’t fret and just keep plugging along.
Prepare for Exhaustion and Nausea:
Mentally preparing for the exhaustion and sickness that may come is important. Exhaustion is completely normal in the first trimester due to the fact your body is throwing everything it has into the baby. You will be giving everything to growing your little one even if you don’t do it consciously.
The first trimester is the SO important, this is where your baby forms all the organs and systems they will need. Preparing for the fact you may be sick in tired can help. Find some foods that you can hold down and preggo pops. Those were a life saver for me. With my oldest daughter I lived off of cheerios and preggo pops. Here is the brand that I used.
Tell Your Spouse:
Telling your spouse that you are expecting is one of the best parts! Seeing their reaction to be adding another life is precious. I love seeing my husbands face light up when I tell him we are expecting.
Pinterest is a wonderful resource to help you find cute ideas to tell your husband. Dive into Pinterest and find the perfect way to break the news to your spouse. I personally can never wait to do it a cute way, even though I want to. I wait a couple days and take several tests then I sit him down and tell him.
Download A Pregnancy App:
Ovia and whattoexpect are wonderful apps to help you track your pregnancy. I personally have used Ovia for all three of my pregnancies and have loved it. It is easy to use and so fun. They give several size options to compare where your baby is right now.
Having an app where you can log everything into is super useful, you can keep all of your baby stuff in one place.
Take Prenatal Vitamin:
Prenatal vitamins help you maintain all those needed vitamins. Your body needs extra vitamins to help grow your baby the best that you can. Pregnancy while a beautiful and exciting experience, it drains your body of necessary vitamins. So taking extra to help your body and your babies is in your best interest.
I have to take my prenatals at night after having dinner. That way if I do feel sick, I can just lay down. If your prenatals keep making you feel sick talk to your OB about it. It took me several brands until I found one that did make me feel like barfing.
Document:
Documenting your journey will be so fun to look back and see how far you have come and the adventure you are on. It is so worth it to keep a record of what happens in your first trimester. How fun it is to look back on your fun adventure of growing this sweet baby.
I love looking back on my previous pregnancies and reminiscing. Write down your experiences and feelings, you will never regret it.
Take Photos:
This does go hand in hand with documenting your pregnancy. Taking photos will make it so much fun to look back on your bump as it grows and changes. These are also fun to show your baby when they are older!
I am terrible at taking weekly photos of my bump, but I shoot for taking one a month. You still see how much you are growing with your baby and it’s not nearly as often.
Relax:
On this list this may be the hardest to do. Maybe this is not your first baby and you have older kids to care for. Or you have a job and responsibilities. Though relaxing is so important, your body is doing a difficult and wonderful thing. Finding ways to treat yourself and relax will help you.
You are doing a huge thing, make sure that you give yourself some grace and patience. The first trimester is always the hardest for me but it does pass, you totally got this!!
You are doing great Momma!!