From Bump to Baby: Essential Pregnancy Advice

• First Trimester
• First Trimester Essentials
• Second Trimester: (Trisomy 18 Scare and Amniocentesis)
• Second Trimester Essentials
• Third Trimester
• Third Trimester Essentials

First trimester

My greatest blessing in life was being able to form a life inside of me and give birth to my little miracle baby as I call him. Navigating pregnancy has got to be one of the most perplex roller coaster of emotions I’ve ever experienced.

Between hormonal changes and your body trying to adapt to its new “tenant,” you will be going through one of the most remarkable transformations of your life, yet this doesn’t mean it’s always magical.

The first few weeks it’s all fun and games sharing the news with your loved ones. You’re filled with joy, love, anxiety, questions, and more. Moving past this is when the first sign of unexpected morning sickness comes and that’s when it sinks in.

I paused my aviation job for some time and started working elsewhere. Living in NYC meant having to take the train into the city which meant being nauseous from the first to the last stop so the snacks below really came in handy.

For Nausea

• Keep saltine crackers or cheerios next to the bed
• Iced water or frozen snacks
• Lemon water
• Keep a plastic bag with you when it hits unexpectedly
• Ginger chews

Embrace The Newness

• Early Appointments: Schedule your first prenatal visit as soon as you can and build a strong foundation with your provider.
• Nourish Your Body: Start pre-natal vitamins and focus on a balanced diet of lean proteins, veggies, and fruits.
• Dealing With Symptoms: Keep your favorite snacks at hand.  Eat what makes YOU feel better so long as it’s not harmful, you’ll be able to make healthier decisions in the trimesters to come.  Small, frequent meals and lots of rest can be lifesavers.
• Lifestyle Tweaks: Take it easy on your workouts while the baby settles into its newfound home, you can go hard in the other trimesters.

Second Trimester: Enjoy Your Glow!

This is often the sweet spot of pregnancy.  Around this time most of your symptoms have subsided and your energy levels are back up for the most part.  While all of this was true for me, it was also one of the most critical moments of my pregnancy.

Beginning the second trimester just shy of 4 months, I get a call from my doctor advising me one of the genetic testing results came back inconclusive for Trisomy 18 (Edward’s syndrome).

My heart sunk. My mind was a blur, I had so many questions going through my head but I couldn’t put my words together.   She tried to explain to me this wasn’t definitive and we needed more testing to diagnose properly.  I was quickly transferred to a family psychologist to ease me into the process and answer any and all questions I had. I broke down and started praying.  Nobody had prepared me for this but we still kept our faith.

They immediately scheduled me for an amniocentesis.  If you’ve never heard of this term, it is a process in which they extract the amniotic fluid from your placenta which they then test to find any abnormalities.

The procedure is done without any sort of anesthesia, as they stick a huge needle through your belly and into your placenta to extract the fluid.

To say the least it felt really uncomfortable and painful, and waiting for the results for three weeks felt like a lifetime.  At this point in time we weren’t rooting for a “girl” or a “boy”. There was no gender reveal party.  We were ultimately just praying for a healthy baby.  Lo and behold the results came back and there he was, a perfectly healthy baby boy.

“The Honeymoon Phase” 

If you’re lucky, your symptoms have vanished into thin air, the aversions are gone with the wind, and you have enough energy to continue doing your regular squats, deadlifts, etc.  These were by far my favorite months.

•  Boost Of Energy:  Perform squats, deadlifts, and weight lifting as much as possible as long as your provider gives you the green light.  This will help open your pelvis if you plan to have a natural birth.
• Enjoy your bundle of joy:  Show off your baby bump, wear that cute outfit, go out on dates, take pictures, and document your journey.
• Mid-Pregnancy Milestones: Around this time, you’re more likely to get a glucose test and an anatomy scan.
• Moisturize: You should be moisturizing every day, but this phase is critical as your body is rapidly stretching, and this is when stretch marks start to form on your belly, breasts, and legs at times.  They will itch a lot, but refrain from scratching them and lather them with good ol’ shea butter.
• Plan your baby moon: Since I was feeling so much better we decided to head to Mallorca and had such a wonderful time.  This was also the first time I felt baby L’s kick! more like little bubbles, but it was the first time I felt him!

Third Trimester: Preparing for Baby’s Arrival

Entering the third trimester is about preparing everything for the baby’s grand entrance.  Around this stage, heartburn starts showing up, your feet start to swell (mine grew a whole size) and daily tasks get just a tiny bit more complicated.

My back never really hurt and I probably owe it to the stretching and amount of exercise I was doing. One thing that hurt a lot was the ligaments on the lower sides of my tummy.  These are called growing pains which are normal but yet really uncomfortable.  I found this maternity belt, which helped the pain and pressure from the belly overall.

Nuggets of Wisdom

•  Continue working out:  If your healthcare provider still says it’s okay, please continue your workouts even just 30 min a day.  It will make a really big difference.
• Take care of swollen feet:  Soak your feet in epsom salt, elevate them, and then wear your compression socks as often as needed
• Meditate: Prepare youself emotionally and mentally for what is to come and seek support if needed.
• Prep Your Hospital Bag: Honestly you don’t need half the things you think you do.  Most hospitals provide the essentials you need for your stay.  The only things I packed and used were comfy PJ’s, babies first outfit,
• Gather postpartum essentials: Start putting together your kit at least 4 weeks before baby is due (mine arrived 3 weeks early and thankfully I had everything I needed at hand.) Below are the products I used over and  over again while recovering from a natural birth.
  • Post-partum underwear. (Loved these so much)
  • Witch hazel pads (Hospital provided)
  • Peri bottle (hospital provided)
  • Comfortable nursing pj’s
  • Nursing bra
  • “Nursing Clothing”
  • Lanolin nipple cream
  • Haakkaa & milk collector
  • Stool softener
  • Breast pump
  • Milk storage baggies
  • Dermoplast Spray
  • Post partum Faja