The beginning of it all

Now that my first trimester is over, I feel that I should document what happened during those 3 months. I downloaded an app on my Ipad that lets me tick the symptoms I have every day and lets just say, there are a lot more ticks than blanks on that list.

1) Nausea: From the moment I was about 3 weeks along, the nausea immediately kicked in. It will go on for the whole day too. Getting to work was a journey of its own. It reminded me of the feeling that you have when you go down a windy road. I think that the nausea was also the onset to all the other things that I went through in the first trimester.

2) Loss of appetite: An obvious effect from the nausea. I couldn't stand any food with a strong smell. So curries and onions were a big no-no. I ended up just eating bread and crackers to last me the day. Sometimes the urge to eat will overcome the nausea and I'll try and eat something heavier, like Nasi Goreng. As a result of the loss of appetite, I actually lost 3kg between week 6 and week 11. I was a bit worried when the midwife took my weight but she said not too worry, as long as I'm keeping hydrated the baby should be ok. Safe to say, I have now gained back some of my appetite, and can actually cook again for the husband. Although he still has to help peel the onions hehe.

3) Headaches: I don't know whether this is common for all mothers to be, but I certainly had bad bouts of migraines. I think it stems from the 'angin' from not eating very well. I tried to limit my Paracetamol intake  even though the doctor said it was safe for the baby. But sometimes the pain was so unbearable that I had to take the day off from work.

4) Tiredness: I felt so 'lembik' during the first trimester. Doing anything seems to drain so much from me. I remembered folding clothes in front of the tv and actually stopped halfway through to rest! I also used to walk everyday to work, which normally takes about 30 minutes, but I had to take the bus during the first trimester as I was afraid I might just faint halfway there. I'm regretting this slightly as now I feel so lazy to walk that I just take the bus all the time! I compensate by taking the stairs at work, just to keep some form of stamina throughout this pregnancy.

There were a few things that helped me to get through the first trimester.

This helped me with the heartburn or 'angin' I had. It was one of the few things that the doctor said I could take, thank God for that. 

The husband was worried that I wasn't getting enough nutrients so he got me to drink milk. I don't really like milk, but we found this strawberry milk that tasted really good so I ended up drinking this daily. 

Asam ko as the husband calls it. This helped me get through the nausea. We scoured the whole of Dublin for this, and finally found some at Asia Market. 

I'm amazed at how I was able to make it in to work given everything that I was going through. It shows how strong women are. Of course I also have to thank my husband who went through all the above with me ever so patiently. What would I do without him?