First Trimester Pregnancy Recap: Symptoms, Cravings & Essentials

As a first time mom, this is all new to me.

The first few weeks after I found out I was pregnant, I was a victim to google. I literally googled every single thing which I do not recommend.

After nights of anxiety, I decided to turn to other sources on the internet for help.

I read blogs from other mamas who were documenting this fascinating time in their lives. I also watched as many videos as I could on YouTube about other mama’s experiences week by week.

This put me at ease knowing that someone else was also experiencing some of the same things I was.

Now, I would like to do the same for all the new mama’s out there embarking on this thrilling adventure!

I hope this blog series can help you while you’re on this amazing journey as well.

Feel free to ask any questions or share your experiences in the comments below. I would LOVE to hear about them!

I admit I’m nervous and overwhelmed at times but every single day, the thought of a little human growing inside of me and the ability to give new life literally takes my breath away (no pun intended lol).

Now that I’m feeling better with more energy to do this post, I’ll be doing week by week recaps, so look out for those. I’m currently 14 weeks pregnant writing this post!

Here is a recap from weeks 2 to 12!

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First Trimester Pregnancy Recap: Symptoms, Cravings & Essentials

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Table of Contents

1. Week 2
2. Week 3
3. Week 4
4. Week 5
5. Week 6
6. Week 7
7. Week 8
8. Week 9
9. Week 10
10. Week 11
11. Week 12

Quick Look at Essential Items

First Trimester Must-Have Essentials

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1) Preggie Pop Drops

In my opinion, these Preggie Pop Drops seemed to work more for instant relief and were quite sour.

It’ll get the job done if you’re feeling nauseous and need something right away.

2) Tummydrops Lozenges

I preferred these ginger Tummydrops more than the Preggie drops after I found them!

I felt like they lasted longer and helped settled my tummy more.

3) Ginger nausea tea

This Earth Mama Ginger Nausea Tea helped with my morning sickness tremendously.

It’s a blend of ginger-minty herbs with a hint of orange and it tastes amazing.

4) Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter

This belly butter from Burt’s Bees is amazing. It’s rich and creamy and also scent free.

I actually use it on my whole body not just my belly – totally love it!

5) Peppermint Oil Roller

I’ve used peppermint rollers religiously even before I got pregnant since I suffered from migraines.

I prefer not to take any medication and this essential oil roll on always helps with headaches and nausea.

6) Mama Natural Week by Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth book

One of the best pregnancy books out there!

This Mama Natural Pregnancy Guide will be the only resource guide you’ll need. It’s very detailed, very informative, real and funny as well.

7) Pregnancy Journal

Highly recommend you guys get one of these pregnancy journals. Especially if you’re a first time mama like me.

This way you can write down all your thoughts and capture every little special moment!

Weeks 2-12 Pregnancy Recap

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By January 2023, we had been trying to conceive for 2 months. We were a little surprised when we found out I was pregnant since we didn’t think it was going to happen to fast, which I am extremely grateful for and humbled by.

If you like keeping track of things, I highly recommend using the OVIA Fertility app to keep track of your cycle. I used this app right from the beginning.

It’s very detailed, easy to use and it’s one place where you can track a bunch of different things like sleep, nutrition, weight, mood, activity, cycle and ovulation just to name a few. I used this app religiously!

Week 2

This was the second week of January and there were some telltale signs that something was going on…

Symptoms

First off, 3 days after we conceived, I experienced breast tenderness similar to when aunt flow is about to come. This was odd because I had just finished my cycle a little over one week ago and wasn’t due for another 3 weeks.

This symptom has continued until now and I’m 14 weeks pregnant writing this post!

Second, I randomly caught a cold which again is very unusual for me as I almost never get sick. I think in that moment deep down, I knew I was pregnant, but I didn’t believe it yet!

Week 3

Symptoms

Main things I felt were tender breasts, cramping, headaches, slight stomachache and indigestion which all appeared to be very similar to my menstrual symptoms.

It honestly kind of confused me and got me thinking maybe my cycle is changing and aunt flow is coming a week early this month!?

Cravings

Had very strong cravings for SUSHI and STEAK! You guessed it, I definitely indulged…I cannot explain how delicious that steak tasted. I still remember it like it was yesterday.

It wasn’t anything fancy either, just our regular at-home barbeque steak with a little salt and pepper but that sent me straight to heaven on Earth!

Anyway, at the end of this week, I decided to do a pregnancy test even though I knew it would be 5 days early. I did one at 12pm and it came out POSITIVE!

A little bit in shock, I decided to wait two hours and do it again and of course, positive again! Guess what? I did ANOTHER ONE that evening and you guessed it…POSITIVE!

And again, yes, I did ANOTHER ONE the next morning and the results were the same. Please tell me I’m not the only one…lol

Week 4

Had a doctor’s appointment this week and she confirmed the pregnancy with another urine test. More symptoms started this week, I’m not sure if this was psychosomatic because now I knew I was pregnant.

Week 4 was when it started to get rough for me…

Energy levels were quite low and only made it to the gym twice this week. I was also a little bit fearful because I wasn’t sure what kind of workouts I should be doing so I was holding off until I learned more about it.

Symptoms

Cramping, bloating, flatulence, vivid dreams, constipation, and really sore breasts. The worst part was at the end of the week, I woke up with excruciating lower back pain, to the point where I could not walk or sit or stand or even put on my pants.

I ended up missing work for 2 days. I also felt really cold and had cold chills often.

Cravings

Had a steak craving again but this time I made sure it was fully cooked. Personally, I’m a big fan of RAW FOOD and I like my steaks blue rare, obviously can’t have that anymore!

The other craving I had at 10:30pm one night was donuts! Made my husband go out and get them. God bless him.

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Week 5

This is where it started hitting me like a ton of bricks!! Ain’t nobody glowing here…

Symptoms

The same symptoms as week 4 (cramping, bloating, gas, strange dreams, constipation and really sore breasts) plus some more. This week the exhaustion kicked in so hard.

I would be falling asleep at work, at times I felt like I had narcolepsy. I would pass out from work at 7:30pm and wake up at 7:30am and go back to work.

I also developed sharp stabbing pains on my right side that would radiate down my thigh. I assumed this was round ligament pain although that doesn’t usually happen until later on in pregnancy but I guess everyone is different right?

It was so painful that I was getting super worried it would be ectopic. Went to the doctor and she was nonchalant about it but offered to get my ultrasound a bit earlier at 8 weeks.

The nausea also slowly started this week coupled with the exhaustion, I only worked out once and did some at-home yoga.

Cravings

Really craved sour stuff this week, lemons and limes. Made lemon quinoa salad for lunch all week. I found out later through The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth book that sour stuff helps with digestion.

Since I had indigestion and constipation, my body naturally told me what it needed. Highly recommend that book by the way!

For a more detailed list of essentials items, check out this post: 10 First Trimester Pregnancy Must-Haves for New Moms

Week 6

Symptoms

Still exhausted although I know that going to the gym will boost my energy and mood levels. I managed to go once this week plus 2 days of at-home yoga (check out Boho Beautiful Prenatal).

The nausea was quite strong this week. I would say every other day and almost all day. It would come and go and I didn’t really have an appetite to eat anything. Plain crackers helped and also these Preggie Pop Drops gave me some relief.

Food aversions

I think the nausea caused some food aversions. Vietnamese pho noodles are something that I could eat every day, any time of the day.

This week though, just by looking at a photo of pho on the menu would make me gag. Hoping this doesn’t last for too long.

Related Post: My Positive Induction Birth Story

Week 7

Took some wise advice from experienced mama’s and got myself some Burt’s Bees Belly Butter Lotion. The earlier you start, the better they say.

Our skin stretches so much during pregnancy and keeping it hydrated with lotion and water is super important. I’m also using a collagen powder supplement that I’ve been taking for 2 years before I got pregnant.

Symptoms

Still nauseous and dealing with extreme fatigue, along with all the other previous symptoms I’ve been having. I managed to go to the gym twice this week which was nice.

Round ligament pain was not as severe. I did start to feel the pulling and stretching in my uterus which meant that baby is growing!

Cravings

I’ve been feeling really hot so ice cold drinks were my go to. Before pregnancy, I preferred to drink room temperature water. Now I put ice cubes in everything and I still do that at 14 weeks pregnant.

Week 8

Pretty much felt the same as last week, no major changes. The nausea and cramping made it harder for me to workout but I did go to the gym once this week and did some moderate exercises.

A highlight this week was our first ultrasound! It gave me so much reassurance that something was actually growing inside of me.

I know that sounds silly but I really needed to see that it was real. We were also too excited and shared the news with our parents this week!

Symptoms

The same symptoms as the last few weeks with some added bouts of dizziness and a few headaches here and there.

For headache relief, I use a peppermint oil roller from Saje Natural Wellness store here in Vancouver but you can also find one on Amazon.

Nausea and exhaustion are still going strong. I decided to try out these Tummydrops for nausea relief.

I found that I liked them much better than the Preggie drops. The relief effect seemed to last much longer and helped settle my stomach more.

The Preggie drops were good but they gave me more of an instant relief so I would eat quite a bit of them and they were quite sour!

Cravings

This week I craved peanuts so bad. These cravings are so bizarre and seem to have no rhyme or reason.

I made many dishes with peanuts this week; Thai cucumber salad with peanuts, spicy meat noodles with peanut sauce, ate peanut butter from a spoon and snacked on peanuts all day!

Week 9

I think I’ve graduated from pure exhaustion to regular fatigue this week. Energy levels were up a bit so I went to the gym 3 times this week; total win!

Buybuy Baby was closing down so we went there to check out some stuff. Got some ideas of things we wanted and how much it was going to cost. My oh my can baby stuff get pricey!

Symptoms

Still nauseous, constipated and bloated. Breasts still very sore and tender. Felt that pulling and stretching more significantly this week. Had strange dreams every single night.

All the dreams were different, sometimes multiple in one night since I’m waking up 3-4 times to pee already so early on. Can only image how many times I’ll be waking up in my third trimester.

Cravings

Random craving this week for popcorn. Had 2 bags out of the 6 and have not had it again ever since that and I’m at 14 weeks now.

Also had a mad grilled cheese sandwich craving. Pretty much had a sandwich every day for 4 days!

Related Post: 13 Valuable Breastfeeding Tips For New Moms

Week 10

Had my first prenatal blood and urine screening this week and everything went well!

Symptoms

Felt pretty much the same as last week with some more abdominal cramping and also leg cramps again on my right side.

It seems to radiate from my lower abdomen to my right thigh area. I believe upping my magnesium intake would help…

Cravings

Had strong cravings for anything crispy and salty. I gave in and had a Salted Egg Yolk Fried Chicken Sandwich from this Malaysian restaurant called Potluck Hawker Eatery.

It had everything I was craving for in one sandwich; salty, crispy, sweet and spicy. Just pure deliciousness!

Week 11

Symptoms

All the same baseline symptoms this week; dreams, fatigue, cramping, tender breasts, bloating BUT minus most of the nausea (YAY!).

This week it really took a positive turn for me in regards to the morning (or all day) sickness. I felt nauseous maybe only twice this week and for a shorter period of time.

Also hit the gym 3 times this week again, whoohoo!

Cravings

Again, crispy and salty this week. I meal prep my lunch for work every week and usually eat the same thing 5 days in a row.

Even though I had lunch this week, I got Uber Eats twice anyway and got this Sourdough Chicken Sandwich from Tractor Foods!

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Week 12

Slowly coming towards the end of the first trimester and started to feel the light at the end of the tunnel.

This week was awesome; worked out 4 times, had a self care day and got my nails done.

Also completed a lot of house chores and random tasks that have been lingering for the past month.

Felt really accomplished this week! Also decided to do Genetic Testing and completed part one.

Symptoms

Pretty much same as last week. I noticed twice that I felt dizzy at work. Not sure if I was too active or didn’t drink enough water but I did have to pause and stop what I was doing to breathe slowly and take a seat.

Cravings

Seemed to have no cravings at all this week. Everything seemed to disappear and there was nothing that I really wanted to eat in particular. Had a hard time deciding what to eat for dinner this week…

Continue reading the recaps here: First Trimester Week 13 Pregnancy Recap

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How was the first trimester for you? What were your highlights and what were some things you learned along the way?

Share them in the comments below, I’d love to hear about them!

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