Navigating My Pregnancy Journey: Pregnancy Tips & Challenges
We’re in the final countdown to Baby Garcia’s arrival, and I wanted to take a moment to reflect back on this pregnancy journey and share my experiences, challenges, and ultimately the key things that helped me along the way.
I want to preface by saying that these are just my experiences, and that no two pregnancies are the same - what may have worked for me may not work for you. If you are pregnant and searching for advice, I encourage you to take any recommendations I have to your health provider and see if it’s the right choice for you in your pregnancy journey.
Okay, so with that forewarning out of the way, let’s get right into the first trimester! Mario and I starting mentally planning for baby #1 at the beginning of 2023. I began taking my prenatal vitamins at the start of the year, and we got really fortunate to get pregnant after 1 month of trying. If you’re interested in what prenatal vitamins I took throughout my journey, check out this blog post to read more!
My First Trimester Challenges
Mild Nausea. I was really fortunate to never have severe morning sickness aside from some minor nausea and a few food aversions
Minor Food Aversions. For the most part my appetite was relatively normal, but there was definitely a period of time where I was not a fan of greasy or fried foods. Smoothies, fresh fruit, and salads were my jam at first.
Waves of Extreme Fatigue. Blaming the rush of hormones for this one! The lack of energy was unreal and I remember needing to occasionally take time in my work day to close my eyes for 5-10 minutes in order to make it through the rest of the day.
Tender Breasts. This was a big one for me at the beginning. Again, blaming this one on all the hormone changes happening. I was so grateful for the start of 2nd trimester as this and all the other symptoms disappeared. Nothing much I did or felt like I could do during this time. I really wanted to avoid medication so only succumbed to taking baby tylenol maybe twice to relieve some of the tenderness
First Trimester Tips
Get Rest. Allowing myself to take naps & go to bed earlier, although challenging, was truly what my body needed to get through the first few months of pregnancy.
Preggie Pops & Ginger Candy. Again, my nausea was relatively mild for the most part, but at it’s worst, the sourness of preggie pop drops and the strength of the ginger candies were a godsend
Eat Intuitively. Aside from some changes in my supplement regimen, I continued to eat to what I felt was best for my body and soul during my entire pregnancy. Again, at this time I had a hard time tolerating fattier foods, and I made sure that I fueled my body in a way that made me feel good physically.
Entering the second trimester, all the symptoms I mentioned previously from the first trimester disappeared and I felt like a whole new person. Not only did my energy return, but it almost felt like I had more energy that before my pregnancy. My food preferences returned to normal, and I felt so much more productive overall. With that being said, there were still some new challenges during the second trimester
My Second Trimester Challenges
Onset of aches and pains. Even though I struggle with chronic back and hip pain, there was a period of time during the 2nd trimester when good quality sleep was hard to come by due to feeling unable to get comfortable.
Mild constipation. Thankfully this symptom wasn’t super recurrent, but on the days it hit hardest, it was not not fun to say the least lol
Mildly itchy skin. This is a symptom my MIL had warned me about. Fortunately I didn’t feel too much of this in my belly, but there were times when I would feel super itchy and dry in my sternum and under the boobs.
Second Trimester Tips
Try a Prenatal Chiropractor. Going to a chiropractor was such a valuable addition to my prenatal care. It definitely took a few sessions for me to feel a difference, but once it did I found going to sleep and staying asleep at night became so much easier. I also found myself without as much tightness/strain in my back for the most part. I went to a chiropractor specializing in pregnancy and pediatric care - shout out to Danielle from Verve Chiropractic!
Aim for Regular Exercise. At this point, I tried to make it a priority to walk or run a few times a week as well as incorporate some strength and yoga. I believe this helped me a lot in avoiding edema (swelling in my legs) and keep my energy up.
Invest in a Pregnancy Pillow. Even though I didn’t really start showing until the end of my second trimester, I made a conscious effort to become a side sleeper which is not a natural position for me whatsoever (any other tummy sleepers out there?). Investing in a pregnancy pillow made the transition easier and became really necessary leading into my third trimester. This is the pillow I used with some extra pillows in between to give better support
Focus on Hydration. Prioritizing hydration is so important in pregnancy. You have a higher blood volume, increased circulation, & amniotic fluid for baby. Days I slipped with my water intake, I was more prone to constipation. I invested in a 40 oz tumbler from Simple Modern & LMNT hydration packs to add to my water most days.
Take a Probiotic: this was a game changer for my constipation issues. I started taking the Ritual Synbiotic+ daily along with the rest of my prenatal vitamin routine. Highly recommend a probiotic during pregnancy, especially if you struggle with digestive issues. I love the one from Ritual as it was designed for survivability in the stomach in order to reach the small & large intestines, where the good bacteria is meant to do it’s magic!
Slap on the Stretch Mark Products. I used the Pregnancy Survival Kit from 8 Sheep Organics when I started my second trimester and baby was just barely starting to show. Their key products consisted of a stretch mark serum that I used daily in the mornings and a super buttery nourishing balm that I used at night. Although stretch marks occurring a largely tied to your genetics, it’s still a good idea to keep your skin soft and moisturized with the rapid growth. Even if it’s just a placebo, I do feel like this helped me avoid getting stretch marks in my pregnancy, which is something that actually runs in my family.
Around the holidays, we made it to the third trimester! Going into 28+ weeks I fortunately didn’t feel much different from when we were in the second trimester until we approached the very end. The biggest change I noticed was the rapid growth in my bump, but for the most part my energy, appetite, and sleep quality were about the same until around 35 weeks.
My Third Trimester Challenges
Feeling weighed down. It classically started becoming harder to put shoes and socks on once I could look down and see my feet while standing lol. I also starting feeling more pressure on my pelvic floor and lower abdomen, especially when I would go from sit to standing.
Ligament Changes. As the bump continued to grow, as did the amount of abdominal strain/soreness and “lighting crotch” as they call it which is basically shooting pain around the groin when I would exert myself too much. I also started to feel some looseness in my inner thighs towards week 38 and onward
Return of Back Pain. This was an on and off issue. Some weeks were pure bliss with no signs of back/hip pain, and other days/weeks were pretty annoying, especially at night.
Calf & Hamstring Cramps. A new issue I started to feel in the third tri. It would always happen randomly in the middle of the night and leave my calves sore for a day or two
Hormonal Acne. definitely apparent in the last few weeks of being preggo. I noticed some breakouts happening in the chin/jaw area
Craving Sweets. Probably not the most beneficial for the acne issue lol… but sweets, particularly ice cream and at one point sodas were what my body wanted
The Return of Low Energy. This became more obvious around week 37, but especially week 39 & 40. On the one hand, I felt that nesting sensation finally kick in to where I wanted to reorganize, decorate, and clean parts of the house that hadn’t gotten a lot of attention in a while or were spaces that we needed to carve out for baby supplies. But on the other hand, the motivation to write, plan & create for the business (which I had started to map out before entering my maternity leave), and more routine life tasks became harder to focus my attention on. I also started to feel these afternoon slumps and the need to sleep in more that signaled to me that my body was preparing for labor.
Third Trimester Tips
Walking as Much as Possible. Running was out of the question for me at this point. And even though my motivation to exercise started to drop in the last few weeks of my pregnancy, I still made an effort to get out of the house and walk, even if that just meant running errands for a few hours in the day.
Prenatal Massage & Facial. I’ve got to thank my husband Mario for this one. He got me a massage experience at our home for Christmas and it was absolutely incredible! I hadn’t felt that relaxed in such a long time - I even fell asleep towards the end of it lol. A week or two after Mario had gotten me a facial for my 30th birthday which was equally relaxing & rejuvenating. If you can fit it in your schedule, it’s such a nice way to get pampered before the baby
Magnesium Supplements. This was so extremely helpful for the back aches and charlie horses in my calves. I started supplementing with a Magnesium Complex and also would apply the Sleepy Body Lotion from 8 Sheep Organics nightly before bed to help any strained muscles to relax.
Dates & Raspberry Leaf Tea. Dates have been said to decrease the need for induction of labor as it can promote cervical ripening, although more research is needed to make this a conclusive statement. If nothing else, dates are full of fiber, folate, magnesium, and iron which are all beneficial during pregnancy. As with dates, raspberry leaf tea is also something that may help strengthen the uterus which could allow for more efficient contractions during labor and less interventions
Take a Birth Class. I took the Built to Birth online course around 28 weeks preggo. I highly recommend this course if you were like me - someone who may not have time to commit to an in person class or just wants to be in the comfort of their home at their convenience. The instructor definitely takes a more non-invasive approach and advocates more for physiological labor, so keep that in mind.
Practice Your Breathing Daily. I had the goal of having a natural physiologic labor with minimal interventions. I wanted to experience what my body was built to do and to take as much of the medical component of birth out of my experience that felt comfortable to me. At the same time, I also wasn’t opposed to interventions that I felt were necessary for me to make labor progress or medically necessary if it came to it. With that goal in mind, I knew the best strategy for labor prep was getting comfortable with proper breathing and other hypnobirthing strategies to calm the nervous system and “ride the wave” during the intensities of labor.
Embrace the Nesting Mode. After our baby shower around 31 weeks, I felt so motivated to finally get our nursery in order. We got all of the furniture in place around that time, and for the remainder of my pregnancy I started cleaning, organizing, and gathering the rest of the baby gear we needed. I’m also eternally grateful for all the friends and family that helped us along the way - we definitely would not have been prepared without them all!
My Tips for 38 weeks and Onward
Allow Yourself to Slow Down. This was a challenging point to accept at first, especially when I stopped working full time the last few weeks of being preggo. At first I felt a little guilty that my husband was still working and I wasn’t (it didn’t help that he works from home lol), and felt like I needed to “fill up my day” with things to do in order to feel fulfilled with my day. To an extent, keeping busy actually was really helpful to keep my mind off of the impending labor and to stay relaxed, but I found myself starting to over exert myself at times and felt this drop of energy by the afternoon. Around the 38 to 39 week mark I finally accepted the fact that my body needed to slow down to prepare for labor, and that there was nothing to feel guilty about.
Prioritize Quality Time. Funny enough, my husband went on a 5 day business trip when I turned 38 weeks pregnant for a new job. When he came back, it reminded me of how little time we have left together as just the two of us, which made the time we spent together that much more precious and meaningful as we were ramping up for this next chapter.
If You Can… Get a Doula! This one was a surprise luxury we did not initially plan to have. Mario and I had decided earlier on in the pregnancy that a doula was a little out of our budget at the time. However, we learned that one of the perks at Mario’s new job was the ability for us to get coverage for a doula. I cannot express enough how grateful I was to have this as an option, and even though we were late in the game (we found ours officially at 38 weeks), having her helped Mario and I so much in getting into the mindset of labor and birth, feeling emotionally supported as first-timers, and ultimately have a neutral 3rd party advocating for us when it came time to go to the hospital and eventually in postpartum care. If you’re in the OC area, I highly recommend Jen!
Trust the Process. It was so easy to get hung up on the baby’s scheduled due date that it could have easily led to a spiral of stress and anxiety constantly thinking about when our baby was ready to come to earth side. That’s where distractions can actually be very helpful! Until labor decided to kick in, I made an effort to have at least 1-2 things per day to keep myself occupied. From running errands, planning meals for the week, writing blog posts, going on walks - these daily rituals made the waiting process a lot easier to pass the time
And there you have it! This was a recap of my pregnancy journey with challenges from coping with pregnancy fatigue to my personal remedies for those pregnancy aches & pains. Whatever your personal goals through pregnancy may be, I hope that the biggest takeaway from my journey is to do what feels right for you. A lot of these tips have made my first pregnancy such an amazing experience despite some of the challenges along the way. Although I’m at the point where I’m ready to meet my baby, I will miss and cherish this experience of creating a new life, ending the family of 2 era, and entering this new chapter of motherhood.
I’d love to hear about your pregnancy survival tips. Did you do anything that helped you cope with pregnancy challenges? Leave a comment below!
