I've been feeling the same way. This is my first pregnancy after TTC for 3 years. I'm 6 weeks pregnant and aside from cramping, sore breasts and feeling bloated I have no other symptoms. When the symptoms go away I'm scared something may be wrong, I have my first appointment in two weeks I really hope everything is OK.
I've been feeling the same way. This is my first pregnancy after TTC for 3 years. I'm 6 weeks pregnant and aside from cramping, sore breasts and feeling bloated I have no other symptoms. When the symptoms go away I'm scared something may be wrong, I have my first appointment in two weeks I really hope everything is OK.
You just named 3 hallmark symptoms that you’re feeling— you’re cramping, sore breasts & bloated. Don’t place worry on yourself that you’re not feeling like you’ve been hit by a train. You’re pregnant. Scroll to page 2 and find a post called “To to Anxious Mama to Be…” and read it.
Mamas, symptoms come and go. There’s no rhyme or reason sometimes. I didn’t even know I was pregnant with my second baby until I was nearly out of the first trimester.
If you tested positive as pregnant, you haven’t received a period & you haven’t had excruciating pain that warrants an ER visit, assume the absolute best.
Another thing— I know waiting a month to have it confirmed feels impossible. However, waiting until 8 weeks for that first scan is really the best option mentally. Scanning too soon may mean they’re unable to find a heartbeat for no other reason than it’s TOO EARLY. But even if they say “oh it’s maybe too early?” You’ll panic. So trust the process & stay positive in your wait.
How do I appropriately mourn things I miss which I feel like I didn’t appreciate enough before becoming pregnant?
We weren’t actively TTC, but obviously I wasn’t on the pill and we didn’t use a condom so we weren’t “not trying” when we were successful. I am really missing sleeping with my husband snuggled on me like usual and not overheating (my average body temp has been almost a full degree Fahrenheit higher), having energy to be active for a full day without either having to take a long nap OR be nauseous, to have enough energy left to make some money from my second job (online, on-demand tutoring)… eating a salad with lunch meat I didn’t cook. We would’ve prioritized having sushi instead of just talking about it. I would’ve had my favorite black-and-blue steak (That means it’s seared on the outside and very rare). Coming home and having a beer after work. My rocket fuel coffee (200mg+ of caffeine).
I miss SITTING and being tired but able to stay seated.
I’m struggling right now because life will 100% be beautiful and amazing in so many ways, even when our baby shits itself so hard there’s nothing left to cover, but it will never be the same as it was, and like usual in our lives, we went from 0-60 in 0.4 seconds.
Maybe this is a vent, but I really would appreciate some advice on how to feel better about the things I really miss doing right now.
Here’s the good news— the aches and pains of pregnancy aren’t forever. The energy comes back, the nausea dies down, you’ll eat your favorite things after baby comes and this will all be but a blip in time. Believe it or not, you might MISS. THIS. you might miss life growing inside you, you might miss those jabs and kicks, the belly, the glow…so enjoy what you can enjoy (and set your goals on the prize for the things you can’t have right now.)
Here’s the other news— baby comes and your life is even more different from before. Some things feel excruciatingly harder- leaving the house, being on time, having energy, getting a full night’s sleep…but these things have a season, too.
What I’ve learned in motherhood is nothing lasts. The hard seasons pass…the magical seasons pass, too. Each stage brings another set of pros and cons. You’re so ready for the “next stage” you think, “oh ____ will be better/easier because XYZ..” but that season will have a new set of hard stuff. For these reasons, I never tell a new mom “ENJOY EVERY MOMENT!!” That is the worst advice. That makes you feel like a shit mom when some moments have you screaming for sanity & questioning what you’re doing.
Here’s the truth. Some moments suck. Some moments are hard. But trust me, the beautiful seasons outweigh the hard. The pros exceed the cons tenfold.
Enjoy every moment you CAN enjoy, breathe through the moments you can’t & know they’re merely minutes. They pass. This will pass.
& if these thoughts start to consume you, talk to a licensed counselor experienced in prenatal/postnatal counseling 💗 maternal mental health matters
& not to say venting is ever bad. We all vent. But I try to have perspective & remind myself “remember when you dreamed of what you have now?” And that helps my attitude a lot
Hi! Fourth pregnancy, 2 living sons. Every single pregnancy or nursing journey I have insanely sensitive skin that gets rashy and itchy SO easily! I’m going insane!!! Anyone else? Anyone find any remedies?!
BFP #1 10/5/13 MMC 11/13/13 D&C 11/15/13
BFP #2 5/14/14 EDD 1/19/15 Beta 1: 728 Beta 2: 1858 We have a heartbeat! 166 @ 7w3d Please be our RAINBOW!
@sgio7485 I just get rashy on my hands in pregnancy because I become hyper sensitive to hand sanitizer. When the pandemic hit while I was very pregnant with my first I got it and now again it's back. I haven't had all over itchy rash though.
I am on my second pregnancy and I too was waking up soaked with night sweats, I found I was taking too high of amounts of vitamins…I cut them back and haven’t had an issue since. In the second & third trimester you will feel hot all of the time. Usually I’m always cold so it was kind of nice being warm for a few months last pregnancy haha
I know you supposedly don’t start to show until second trimester, but I’m 7 weeks 3 days and when I look at myself from the side my belly sticks out now. All of my pants feel too uncomfortably tight to wear already. Do I buy some larger regular pants or go for maternity clothes already? Also spilling out of my normal bras. According to the scale I haven’t gained any weight. Looking for advice!
@babyfip omg me too haha. Always so cold and last pregnancy I was happy to be warm. It was an end of summer baby though so not ideal timing for the heat but still enjoyed it!! We're having a relentless winter in Quebec and I wish I was in the second trimester to feel some heat in my life haha
@magic_lentil that’s how I was with my first, I was just so incredibly bloated. I bought some elastic waist dress pants to hold me over until I was ready for real maternity clothes. Then I wore them when I was back to work post partum too.
@bows22 Thank you! It’s such a weird time - I’m 38 but this is my first pregnancy and I’m just feeling totally confused with my body. I was not prepared for the bloating! Even my shoes feel tight lol.
I had only been at my job for about a month when I got pregnant with my first in 2019. I think other than telling my boss the hardest part was that I didn’t qualify for FMLA yet. Therefore after my PTO was all used up, I had to take a voluntary leave and lose my insurance for a few weeks until my FMLA kicked in. It ended up working out ok for me though!
All the advice says take it at night with unisom. My question is does it keep anyone up at night? I’m just a little hesitant to try it before bed bc I’m sensitive to anything for “energy”. I’m the girl who can’t drink a coffee at 3pm unless I want to be up all night
I took diclegis with my first and it didn’t keep me up and that’s essentially the same? But idk. I’m just not here to sign up for an all nighter 😆
Has anyone found a pregnant friendly make-up line? I feel like there are so many lists of things to avoid in make-up ingredients and hoping there are some (reasonably) price brands out there to make this easier.
Anybody else experiencing really bad acne?! 😭 I never really break out except for maybe one or two pimples around my time of the month but now my face is covered in them. I don’t really want to switch up my skin care routine cause I don’t want to make it worse, I was wondering if anyone else is going through this or have any advice from previous pregnancies?! I don’t feel very glowy right now lol 😢
@katiebeth2022 ugh yes. My skin is bad this week. My vague recollection is it always got better for me as pregnancy went on, but first trimester has some ugly skin times. I am not normally prone to breakouts at all, so it’s definitely a hormonal thing.
@katiebeth22 I think Honest Company has pregnancy safe makeup - I don’t know about makeup since I’m not much of a makeup person but I’m very into skincare. I had been using bakuchiol products before I got pregnant and I treated myself to a new moisturizer and eye cream from Tatcha, which doesn’t use retinols or retinol alternatives. A nice little pregnancy treat! I have celiac disease as well and prefer to stick with gluten free beauty products so the list of ingredient restrictions just keeps growing! I’ve used Honest Company’s bath products before and liked them but I haven’t tried their makeup.
Hi guys! Hoping for some advice. I posted this in the ultrasound thread but didn’t receive much response. Just hoping someone has had a similar story. Second time mom and I’ve had two prior losses.
My LMP was 1/1/22 and due to a ruptured ectopic in sept I’ve had scans starting at estimated 4w5d. I’m so confused and worried about my dates. I got a strong positive on FRER and clear blue digital on 1/27 so super early. I typically O on CD20 so I must’ve gotten a positive on 7DPO which is crazy. My HCG was doubling well at my 4w blood draw (3k then to 6k). My scan showed what my dr said was the beginning of the gestational sac measuring 4w when I was supposed to be 4w5d. I did another scan two weeks later that measured 5w5d of a larger empty gestational sac. A week later, measured 6w with fetal pole, yolk and a heartbeat of 94bpm, my dr said that was slow but it is still early and that it could be super strong at my next appt. Can anyone make sense of these dates? How could I have gotten such a strong positive almost a month ago and only be measuring 6w? My dr just says my dates could be wrong but my LMP is what it is.
Ultrasound machines are notorious for being incorrect. I was measuring slightly off than my dates and I knew I was right. I went to a more high tech machine and measured at exactly my dates.
I just got back my blood work and my RBC, Hemoglobin, and HCT levels are all significantly below low normal. My dr said I don’t need to take any action now but that she’ll run some more tests when I go back for my 10-week appointment in two weeks, although she did say I can take additional iron to see if it helps. I do have celiac disease which I know can cause problems with nutrient absorption but last bloodwork pre-pregnancy was all normal except for low vitamin D, which was just below low normal. Anyone have any experience with severe anemia during pregnancy? I’m worried that if it is caused by low B12/Folate even though my prenatal has them, that it could be bad for the baby.
If I know the date of conception (Dec 27th, because we were in a stress-induced dry spell), does the first day of my last period matter (Dec 21st)?
I look forward to the US and confirmation in a week, but I got pretty frustrated when the midwife insisted on counting from my last period… so I’m curious what y’all think.
@pangolindrome well, it would be surprising if you ovulated on cycle day 6, so are you sure that’s correct? But I think medical professionals in general don’t trust that anyone really knows when they ovulated because there are too many apps that track incorrectly out there.
@pangolindrome Go off LMP until the ultrasound determines otherwise. Sperm can live inside of you for up to 5 days, some sources say longer. So sexy day doesn’t mean conception day. To be honest LMP versus that aren’t going to be wildly different as far booking appointments go.
Your dates are a little confusing unless it was a typo? I can’t imagine someone would ovulate on day 6 of their cycle 🤔 especially since your period lasts at least a couple of days
Has anyone found a pregnant friendly make-up line? I feel like there are so many lists of things to avoid in make-up ingredients and hoping there are some (reasonably) price brands out there to make this easier.
15minutebeauty.com is who I refer to with pregnancy safe face products. I’ve switched my make up and my SPF and night creams to ones she has reviewed. Current brands are skincuticles, beauty counter, Westman Atelier, tarte, some thrive cosmetics.
@magic_lentil i have had severe anemia with my second pregnancy- if I remember correctly i had to take like 15,000 mg of iron (not a typo) every other day or every third day. It was fine but i got really constipated.
@magic_lentil I’m sorry! I had anemia during pregnancy (and pre-pregnancy), but I don’t think it would count as severe. If you check your Ferritin and B12 levels as well that might help further figure out what’s going on. You can also talk to your Dr about the possibility of an iron infusion. That might be needed to get your levels up, alongside hefty supplementation. I love ferrochel and but C for minimizing stomach issues.
@bows22@mckenzc my cycle lasted four days which is usual for me, it was over on Christmas Day. It might have been Dec 27th or 28th we had sex, but there is a two-plus-week buffer in both directions, so I definitely know the sexy times that succeeded 😂 it was once.
I know some ovulate really close after their periods. Maybe I did? I haven’t tracked ovulation and my app didn’t put me as ovulating for another week and a half anyways, so it’s clearly inaccurate 🤣
Either way, I really look forward to the US for sure!
@mckenzc my melatonin has b6 in it which I only learned after becoming pregnant and checking the label. It was a happy accident. But I havent thrown up yet, and I sleep ok other than waking up twice a night to pee.
Having issues with libido. As in I dont have one. DH has been so supportive and definitely still wants to, but everything kind of hurts that use to feel good and my mental will is just gone. Being gassy, nauseated, and bloated does not make me feel sexy either. Any suggestions? I've read this supposedly gets better/reverses during 2nd trimester?
@jbdb23 my first pregnancy I remember being extremely nauseated until week 14 and really not having any kind of libido. It did ease up and get better once the nausea improved but it's not really like a magic wand. We communicated lots and got through the dry spell. There are also other ways to keep the intimacy without having sex and we used that to keep the bond strong. Don't know if this was helpful but all this to say there's hope and it does get better!
@jbdb23 I think that's really normal when you're feeling like absolute garbage. My husband has also been incredibly supportive and attentive; he understands thar cuddling was about all I could muster. For what it's worth, I just hit 10 weeks and my drive has gone through the roof. Once my nausea subsided (thanks b6!), it was like a switch flipped. I have a pretty strong libido normally, but not like this! Will it last? Who knows. But I know that communicating with my husband how gross I felt during the past few weeks helped him understand the scope of what was and wasn't possible.
Re: The Great Big Question Thread!
We weren’t actively TTC, but obviously I wasn’t on the pill and we didn’t use a condom so we weren’t “not trying” when we were successful. I am really missing sleeping with my husband snuggled on me like usual and not overheating (my average body temp has been almost a full degree Fahrenheit higher), having energy to be active for a full day without either having to take a long nap OR be nauseous, to have enough energy left to make some money from my second job (online, on-demand tutoring)… eating a salad with lunch meat I didn’t cook. We would’ve prioritized having sushi instead of just talking about it. I would’ve had my favorite black-and-blue steak (That means it’s seared on the outside and very rare). Coming home and having a beer after work. My rocket fuel coffee (200mg+ of caffeine).
I’m struggling right now because life will 100% be beautiful and amazing in so many ways, even when our baby shits itself so hard there’s nothing left to cover, but it will never be the same as it was, and like usual in our lives, we went from 0-60 in 0.4 seconds.
yes, your life has changed forever.
Here’s the other news— baby comes and your life is even more different from before. Some things feel excruciatingly harder- leaving the house, being on time, having energy, getting a full night’s sleep…but these things have a season, too.
breathe through the moments you can’t & know they’re merely minutes. They pass. This will pass.
Thank you! It’s such a weird time - I’m 38 but this is my first pregnancy and I’m just feeling totally confused with my body. I was not prepared for the bloating! Even my shoes feel tight lol.
All the advice says take it at night with unisom. My question is does it keep anyone up at night? I’m just a little hesitant to try it before bed bc I’m sensitive to anything for “energy”. I’m the girl who can’t drink a coffee at 3pm unless I want to be up all night
I took diclegis with my first and it didn’t keep me up and that’s essentially the same? But idk. I’m just not here to sign up for an all nighter 😆
I think Honest Company has pregnancy safe makeup - I don’t know about makeup since I’m not much of a makeup person but I’m very into skincare. I had been using bakuchiol products before I got pregnant and I treated myself to a new moisturizer and eye cream from Tatcha, which doesn’t use retinols or retinol alternatives. A nice little pregnancy treat! I have celiac disease as well and prefer to stick with gluten free beauty products so the list of ingredient restrictions just keeps growing! I’ve used Honest Company’s bath products before and liked them but I haven’t tried their makeup.
I look forward to the US and confirmation in a week, but I got pretty frustrated when the midwife insisted on counting from my last period… so I’m curious what y’all think.
my cycle lasted four days which is usual for me, it was over on Christmas Day. It might have been Dec 27th or 28th we had sex, but there is a two-plus-week buffer in both directions, so I definitely know the sexy times that succeeded 😂 it was once.
I know some ovulate really close after their periods. Maybe I did? I haven’t tracked ovulation and my app didn’t put me as ovulating for another week and a half anyways, so it’s clearly inaccurate 🤣
Either way, I really look forward to the US for sure!