Pregnancy: Background & First Trimester Details
Hi friend! If you haven’t heard already WE’RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!! At the time of this post I am almost 17 weeks along, just a few more weeks until we find out the gender. I thought I would share a little bit about my first trimester because I have learned so much over the last five years about pregnancy and nutrition and support through all stages.
But first a little background…
When I was pregnant with Gavin, my first, I was horribly sick during the first trimester. They call it cascading nausea, when you’re nauseous so it’s hard to eat or drink water, which then makes you more nauseous and the vicious cycle continues. I actually had to go to the ER for IV fluids to prevent dehydration because I got to the point that I couldn’t keep water down. Thankfully after that, a nurse midwife recommended vitamin B6, I made sure to not let myself get too hungry, and it all was fairly smooth sailing after about 10 weeks on.
From there I started researching more about connections between nutrients, hormones, blood sugar and pregnancy symptoms. I wanted to know why I was so sick, there had to be some sort of underlying connection. I did a lot of work to balance my hormones postpartum and fill some nutrient gaps while also working to keep my blood sugar more stable. When I became pregnant with Charlotte, my body was more prepared and I knew how important all these things were. I forced myself to eat protein rich foods first thing even when I felt queasy and made sure to pair protein and/or fat with my carbs. I did not vomit once. Major improvement. But I was so. tired.
Continuing on through Charlotte’s pregnancy and following postpartum I focused on building my nutrient stores, metabolic flexibility (the ability to use glucose and ketones as fuel), healing my gut, supporting detoxification, promoting progesterone production. All the things.
Fast forward to this last winter, stress took a huge toll on my body. To the point that I started loosing my hair, even more than I did postpartum. A lightbulb went off. I was running myself ragged and paying the price. Thankfully the major cause of the stress was worked through but still, my hair was telling me my body was still depleted, and I knew my progesterone production had totally hit the floor. To speed this up a bit, I’m going to just list the things I started doing to support stress resiliency, management, and rebuilding from the depletion I was left with.
got bold and blunt with how I was feeling in regards to my stressors so they could be worked through
created boundaries without guilt
became very selective when I would read or watch updates on current events and news
set limits for work, no working after the kids go to bed so I can relax and go to bed at a reasonable time
made an effort to wake up earlier to have some time for me before the kids woke up so I wouldn’t feel like I needed to stay up late to get that time
worked on being more mindful with meals and eating enough/more
increased my supplemental support:
added a B Complex
increased adaptogen support
increased magnesium and inositol
increased vitamin C
In the spring I also did a round of Ali Miller’s 10 Day Real Food Detox to further support my detoxification pathways and provide a reset nutritionally and lifestyle wise so that I was supporting my health and overall wellness. See my blog post about it here.
While this pregnancy was a happy surprise, I really set myself up for success by doing all the things I mentioned. First trimester symptoms are often signs of imbalances, deficiencies, and/or sluggish detox pathways (which then lead to the previous two) so by doing everything I did before hand, I put myself in a great position to transition into pregnancy with minimal symptoms. This was by far my easiest first trimester, minimal nausea and fatigue. It peeked a little around the eight or nine week mark but nothing to the extent that I experienced in the past.
One of my biggest adjustments that has carried though this pregnancy so far has been the frequency of needing to eat and the balance of my macros. Prior to pregnancy I ate three large meals a day with minimal snacks if any in between and kept my carbohydrates on the lower end of the spectrum. This style of eating served me well as a non-breastfeeding, non-pregnant, busy mom, but was not the best fit for pregnancy.
When you’re pregnant, the pancreas increases in size and insulin production increases to help support baby’s growth. By the tenth week a woman is producing 2-3 times the normal amount of insulin than a non-pregnant woman. To support more stable blood sugar levels we need to eat more frequently and include a good amount of carbohydrates. So for me, any time I was feeling slightly nauseous or tired, it was mostly because of low blood sugar and low electrolytes because of the heat of the summer. I basically transitioned to eating at the same frequency as my toddlers (immediately upon waking and about every two hours until bedtime) and brought in more carbohydrates at meals as well.
Nutrient dense, blood sugar supporting snacks were (and still are) KEY. I’ll give you a quick rundown of my favorites:
homemade gelatin gummies
raw milk or homemade chocolate milk
yogurt and fruit
bone broth and sourdough bread with butter
meat sticks with cheese and fruit
chocolate avocado mousse with berries
Overall my main meals didn’t change much besides the addition of more carbohydrates such as rice cooked in bone broth, sweet potato/potatoes/squash, etc. I was already including these, but I increased the amount without decreasing my protein or fat intake because my body definitely needed more calories as well.
Supplement wise, things have been relatively the same:
Relax & Regulate (pulsing up to 2 scoops as needed magnesium is really helpful for nausea!)
I did pull out Calm & Clear (has 1 or 2 compounds associated with miscarriage) and reduced Adaptogen Boost to only as needed (usually only one on work days). In the work I had done prior to pregnancy, I was really focusing on not pushing myself past my limits and burning myself out so I haven’t needed the extra support from these supplements anyways. What a concept right?!
Okay. I think that’s all I have for this segment. I’ll be making another blog post or two about the rest of my pregnancy, birth, and postpartum so stay tuned for those. I threw a lot of info out there so please let me know if you have any questions in the comments!
[Edit to add]
Nausea, fatigue, and acne help! The first trimester can be so rough! But just like with any other health situation, these are symptoms of underlying imbalances or deficiencies. Usually low progesterone leading into pregnancy, deficiencies in B vitamins and minerals (especially magnesium), blood sugar imbalance. If you are struggling with morning sickness, you just want to know what to do to relieve it:
B Vitamins: B6 in particular is recommended for nausea and B12 for fatigue. A quality B Complex can help cover all your bases, liver is another great source as well and 1/2oz blends into a smoothie very discretely if you’re having a hard time swallowing capsules.
Magnesium & other important minerals: on days I felt more nauseous I did an extra scoop of Relax and Regulate for the Magnesium Bis-glycinate and the inositol (both help with progesterone production). I also put a scoop of unflavored Re-lyte in every quart jar of water I drank for essential and trace minerals.
Supplemental bioidentical progesterone can be helpful to boost your levels. I used Progest+ from Forever Healthy in the evenings. Eating cholesterol rich foods and reducing stress are also helpful for progesterone production. The placenta manufactures progesterone once it is established after about the 12th week, low progesterone before then usually results in more nausea. The pregnancy “glow” many women experience starting in the second trimester is typically due to higher levels of progesterone.
Avoid dips and spikes of your blood sugar. I wore a continuous glucose monitor for a little bit to see how my blood sugar levels related to how I felt. Anytime I got too hungry (dip) or ate something that spiked it, I didn't feel well for at least an hour. Eating as soon as I woke up as well as frequently through the day, pairing carbohydrates with protein and fat helped prevent these (any of the snacks I listed before). Raw milk was so great for this, already a good macro balance and easy to get in. I usually drank a glass upon waking and before bed.
Stay cool and rest when needed. The heat was always a big trigger for me. I took extra breaks in the air conditioning when taking care of outside chores. Our bodies change so fast and are doing so much work in the first trimester, it’s ok to slow down!
*disclaimer: this is just my personal experience and what worked for me and my body. None of the above is medical advice. Always check with your provider before adding supplements or working with bioidentical hormones.