Live LOUD Life PodcastLafayette Colorado

Episode 82

First Trimester Woes & Remedies with Baby #4

With Dr. Antonio Gurule


In this Episode of the Live Loud Life Podcast, Dr. Nichelle shares her experience the early stages of her fourth pregnancy, throughout her first trimester. In addition to book recommendations and other resources, Dr. Michelle discusses the shared experience many people have in first processing their pregnancies and the mental and emotional dynamics that play into each choice that is made. Then Dr. Michelle shares personal remedies she has used to alleviate pregnancy related symptoms and pain points as her pregnancy progresses and body continues to transform while accommodating the needs of her growing baby while managing her toddlers tandem nursing routine.

 

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

  • [01:36] Understanding the Whole Reproductive Cycle
  • [02:48] The Fifth Vital Sign
  • [03:54] Fertility and Cycle Expert – Dr. Deb Merin
  • [05:13] Processing the Big New of Baby Number 4
  • [09:20] How We Announce Baby 4 to our Friend and Family
  • [10:17] First Trimester Symptoms
  • [11:24] My Tandem Nursing Experience
  • [12:46] Remedies for my First Trimester Woes
  • [16:33] Chiropractic Adjustments for Pregnancy Symptoms
  • [23:02] Leaning into the Pregnancy

About Dr. Nichelle Gurule

Background:

  • Mother
  • Doctor of Chiropractic
  • Owner of Live LOUD
  • Personal Trainer & Health Coach

Baby #4 First Trimester Woes & Remedies

[00:00:00] Dr. Michelle Gurule: Hey, Michelle here, and I decided that with my fourth pregnancy, I am going to do my best since I am busy with three other children in homeschooling and. Being a chiropractor and online course creator and all these things, and being tired in pregnancy, that I would like to document a little bit of my own journey, which I am now outta the first trimester and I have more energy, um, that I’m hoping that I can do this more consistently.

[00:00:38] So, um, this is a little bit of a blog slash I’m on Instagram live right now. We’re all posted as well underneath my page. And so this intention is just to give you an idea and. To what pregnancy can look like during the different stages and what it’s looking like for me, cuz everyone’s journey’s gonna look so, so, so different.

[00:00:56] So, um, I’m gonna start going into second trimester in my next blog, but I’m going to be focusing on what just happened in first trimester because this is my fourth time and. My goodness. Like it still comes as a shock as to how exhausted I am and I feel like most people feel at least that exhaustion symptom.

[00:01:19] So a lot of people may not feel nausea. Yay, lucky them. Um, they may not feel some of the other symptoms that I’m gonna go through, but most people do feel that just extreme fatigue, just like what? I just got hit by a bus. I’m so tired. So, Let’s start off with first trimester in that the first two weeks of quotes, pregnancy, you’re not actually pregnant, right?

[00:01:40] That is your first part of your cycle before ovulation when you get pregnant, but it counts on tax onto your, uh, Overall time, if you will. Um, so first trimester, some people find out right away cuz they’re tracking and they just have this beautiful body intuition of, I’m pretty sure I just got pregnant on the ovulation cycle.

[00:02:00] Or they know exactly when they ovulate, they know exactly what side they ovulate on. And they’ll just know they’re pregnant. And then some wait for their period to come cuz they’ve been trying. Then period doesn’t come when it should. And then they wait a few more days and then they check with the pregnancy test.

[00:02:15] Um, and then some people it’s a complete shock. They find out weeks and weeks later when they’re like, My period should have come a while ago. So for me, this um, is our fourth kiddo and I had a pretty big suspicion that I was pregnant. I did have an intuition cause I was tracking my cycles as to. Which side I ovulated on and the sensation that I felt along with, if you track your cycle, which I highly encourage at some point doing because it’s really, uh, empowering to know, um, when you ovulate and you can check that in a lot of different ways.

[00:02:48] So there’s a book called, um, The Fifth Vital Sign. I’m spacing on the author’s name. I think it’s Lisa somebody. Um, I can put it in the comments later, which is a phenomenal book. I think every female and even male should read it cuz it goes through. All of the things about your cycle. And the fifth vital sign is essentially that your cycle, your period, your whole like 28 to 35 days tells you a lot.

[00:03:09] If it’s too long, too short, you’re bleeding heavy. Bleeding light tells you a lot about it, but it also goes into uh, how to track your cycle and know where you’re at. And there’s also another book called Taking Charge Your Fertility. That’s also really. Same kind of page with that information. So you can check your cervical fluid, you can check your cervix position, you can check your cervix.

[00:03:32] Um, how soft it is, how hard it is, um, open or closed. There’s all these things you can check. Of course you’ll have heard about checking temperature temperatures. Interesting because it gives you an idea if you’re tracking multiple cycles as to when you ovulate it, but it’s information after, so it’s not really the only thing you should rely on until you’re getting consistent cycles and there’s so many fertility.

[00:03:53] Like classes out there that you could take and do and learn? Um, my, one of my best friends, um, she’s in Chi, she was in chiropractic school with me. Um, her name’s, uh, Dr. Deb Merin. She has a course that teaches like patients or even, you know, anybody layman who wanna learn about their cycle, um, to learn more about this.

[00:04:12] So she’s a great. Uh, her Instagram handle is Coronado chiropractor, where you can learn, uh, more about that fertility information. There’s a great Instagram handle called, uh, I think it’s Fertility Friday. Um, and so there’s just a lot of resources where you can be empowered to know your own body, and so if it grosses anybody out to hear cervical fluid, You should really question yourself, Like, why does that gross you out?

[00:04:34] Because it tells you quite a bit about what’s going on. And I truly believe that if more women were aware of this, then they would be able to not get pregnant, or it would really help them be able to get pregnant. And, um, taking charge of your fertility and the fifth vital sign really helps with that. So first off, like I said, people are gonna find out different points in time when they’re pregnant.

[00:04:52] So I had some, some suspicions. A couple days after I missed my period and kind of sat on it, sat on it, and just really, um, before I talked to my partner, was like, Okay, how do I feel about this? Because I need to process this before I ask somebody else to process this, Right? So, found. Pretty sure that I was pregnant.

[00:05:13] So I mentioned to my husband Antonio, like, Hey, I think this is what’s going on. I think that I’m pregnant again. Um, to which I did one a fourth kiddo. So this is not a bad thing in any way, shape or form. I did want four kids. Um, but it was like, whoa, okay, this like might actually be happening. And wow, this is a lot cuz we had just moved into our new house and just a lot going on with the property.

[00:05:36] And so that can be a lot of shock to some people is like finding out. It can be a shock in a oh crap way and it can be a shock and like a yay way. But either way it’s a lot to process. So some people will process it first, tell their partner maybe they’ve taken a test. I processed it, then said I think we need to take a test.

[00:05:54] Then took a test and we looked at it together and was like, okay, guess we’re doing this. Um, and then there comes the next thing of like, okay, so maybe you find out in, you’re four weeks pregnant, so you are. Right around the time of your period is missed and you’re about four weeks at that point, cuz you have the two weeks prior to ovulation and then you have your, um, two weeks that you’re pregnant before you’re missed, period.

[00:06:18] So people are finding out between four and six weeks commonly. And that’s usually a zone where most people aren’t feeling sick yet. They’re not having a lot of the symptoms. Some people will, but there’s not a ton of breast tenderness quite yet. There’s not the nausea quite yet. They’re in this like in between spot.

[00:06:34] So, You’re thinking now, Okay, find out in four weeks. When do I announce? And so a lot of people hear the, I’m gonna announce at 12 weeks or 13 weeks when I am into my second trimester. Placenta is well formed. A lot of the chso issues and, um, common issues with miscarriage will have happened before then.

[00:06:54] Not always, but will happen before then. And so then it’s a safe time to tell people, well, for some like. The 13 weeks is a long time to sit on a secret if you feel like it’s a secret and it’s not anybody’s news but yours. Um, but for me, I don’t like sitting on that. I’m like, I have patience on cha on chat with every day.

[00:07:12] I am a chatty Cathy. I’ve got close friends. I got family. Like, it just seems weird for me to wait that long. So as soon as we found out, we knew, we wanted to make sure both of our families knew. And we wanted our kids to know before them, but the kids see the families all the time. So we had a kind. Tell them and then know we’re gonna tell both families right after that.

[00:07:35] And then once we did that, we were happy with anybody knowing. So the reason why I let people wait is because if you happen to have a miscarriage, everyone you just announced it to on Instagram or all the friends you told, They might still be checking out on you, How’s pregnancy, how’s this and that? And then it’s a lot to then tell them like, Oh, you know, we actually had a miscarriage.

[00:07:54] And you know, there’s a lot of people now who are being really open about their miscarriages because it’s really common. I think it’s something like one in four might even be more common. So, um, it, it’s just, it’s, it’s a topic that should be discussed, but it may be not be something that you wanna discuss with everybody.

[00:08:09] So it’s really a matter of you tell the people who you feel okay telling. If you were to have a loss, that’s the really one of the bigger things about it. So finding out shock in a great or bad way depending on what thing going on in your life. And then when do you announce is gonna be a big thing, and that’s gonna be totally family and person dependent on what things look like.

[00:08:30] And then who do you announce to? Do you wanna do a big. Seen on Instagram or you know, a big party or do you just wanna tell your close friends? And there’s nothing wrong with either way, right? It’s just what goes on for you and then how do you announce it, right? So, um, first kid, you know, sometimes you’re like, come do something really cute and like let them know in a cute way.

[00:08:49] Um, and then, you know, it changes each kid. So for us, um, for our families, we didn’t do anything like super grandiose this time. We basically just had the kids say, Guess what? We have a surprise for you. And then t is our third kiddo and we. Tage is gonna be a big brother. And they’re like, Wait, wait. Oh, oh.

[00:09:06] Um, so there’s so many different ways you can take pictures. You can have them wear a shirt that says, I’m a big brother. You can have so many things you can just, you know, have a card that has an ultrasound in it, but there’s so many different ways you can do it. And then we had a fun post because of our new farm property that we just said.

[00:09:20] We made a sign that said One more set of farm hands. We had our barn in the background and all the animals and things like that. To announce to like the Instagram world and just a cute picture. Um, so let’s talk about first trimester because it is a whirlwind, which is honestly why I have not come on here and do done this vlog and live yet because I’ve wanted to.

[00:09:38] And then it’s just like, it’s just like too much to handle. It’s like way too much so, Uh, because you’re just too tired. So, like I mentioned, I have a chiropractic practice with Antonio. I have an online course, I’m building an online course, uh, like company with my friend, uh, Katie Braswell and. It’s just like one of those things that’s like, I, I’m too tired with that.

[00:10:02] And then having three other kids and homeschooling and doing all this work on our, our, our new property that’s an acre. It’s just, it’s been a lot. So, uh, but I do think it’s important to share what’s going on with each person because it helps people feel less alone, get ideas as to what you can do for certain symptoms.

[00:10:17] So I’m gonna tell you some of my symptoms and what I have done for. Um, and then also just like I’m coming from the perspective of this is my fourth time around, so everything, I feel like the first time was just so much more like, ugh, this and that. And I know like when things are gonna end for me and I know how things go, and so it’s, no, none of this is a shock for me.

[00:10:37] I don’t have the nuance of it being the first time I’m becoming a mom on top of all these other things. So, The first symptom, like I mentioned, is being tired, and so one thing that I was able to really let go of with subsequent PR pregnancies after my first is just being okay with taking naps and being okay with going to bed at 7:00 PM or 8:00 PM and just not feeling bad about it.

[00:10:59] Now I do just if anyone knows me, love being productive and efficient and just getting stuff done, and that is the part that I’ve had to like dig deep and be like, It is okay. It’s okay. Being tired, letting myself take those naps because I know it’ll go away. But each time I forget how stinking exhausting it is, how tired it is in first trimester.

[00:11:24] Um, another big symptom is starting to have breasts that are like getting fuller again. So I was breastfeeding the whole time. So, um, my two and a year old is still breastfeeding. Symptoms have been fine until actually the past two weeks, which is the start of my second trimester, which is showing me there’s a hormone shift.

[00:11:41] And then it’s been a little uncomfortable, but he, he’s still getting milk. I’m still nursing him because he wants it morning and night, sometimes around nap time. Um, I’m happy to answer any tandem nursing questions, pregnancy, nursing questions cuz there’s a lot that comes along and I’ve now nursed through this will.

[00:11:56] Third pregnancy I’ve nursed through, so I’m happy to share that. Um, I’ve had a two year old on one breast and a newborn on the other. I don’t know what it’ll look like this time. Each journey is different, but I’ve basically breast fed for seven years. So it’s interesting because breast size goes down over the course of time.

[00:12:11] Breasts start kind of sagging a little bit. They’re no longer full, and then suddenly they’re like full and lifted again, which is interesting to see again. And then they’re starting to be tender as well. So that’s a symptom. Nausea and vomiting. So luckily this time I’ve only thrown up a couple times and.

[00:12:27] It does actually end up making me feel a little bit better, but it sucks. Like no one wants stuff to throw up and the nausea is just a bummer because it’s just like, you wanna enjoy food? No food sounds good. Like, you know, you needed something. And this time I had like some really bad like stomach cramping, um, where I was like, I wanna eat, but it hurts and it’s like cramping.

[00:12:46] And it was not just nausea. So that was really uncomfortable, but different this time is that I had, um, nausea from. Six, seven weeks until 11 weeks with only intermittent days of nausea and I can’t figure out why. Cuz the other three pregnancies, I was sick until about 18 weeks. Um, Throwing up a lot, and I do have a suspicion that because I’ve gone a different route this time with my supplementation for pregnancy, I’ve actually chosen not to do a prenatal, which sometimes I’ll still recommend for patients because that’s easier for them.

[00:13:19] But I’ve gone more of like the whole foods route and done like beef liver. Cod liver oil, Um, an ionic magnesium. Really focused on making sure I’m eating eggs every day, really tuning in to those types of foods. Um, I think might have been what’s helped my nausea also, what been really conscious of making sure I’m eating consistent meals to keep my glucose balanced and eating, making sure I’m eating a good amount of protein.

[00:13:45] So I think that even though I knew some of this stuff before, I did some slightly different. Ways of doing it, and that’s the only thing I can figure that is making that different for me, or it’s just a different baby and it likes me more. I don’t know. Um, One thing that’s frustrating that I’ve found is that like food is all over the place.

[00:14:03] So, um, I eat really healthy in my everyday life and I’m eating things like salads for lunch and definitely eggs every morning and like amazing veggies at night. And it’s like, do not give me a salad during first trimester. I probably don’t want very many veggies. I’m gonna try to eat them, but like, ugh, like they’re not gonna digest and be great.

[00:14:22] I want carbs and I want. I don’t wanna say shitty foods. I don’t like to call food bad or good, but like I wanted french fries this time and in the past I’ve wanted like sub sandwiches or pizza. And I’m not saying those things are bad, but it’s like all I want type thing. Um, and it’s the only thing that’ll get my stomach to settle.

[00:14:37] Like why would like fast food french fries be the only thing that makes my stomach not feel nauseous, but like a beautiful meal would not, It’s just, it blows my mind every single time. For me, I have to let go of that and be like, It is fine. First trimester. Not trying to be a hero here. This is just when I need to accept that I ate really well prior to pregnancy.

[00:14:58] I was, I’ve been still able to take the, the way that I’ve chosen to, in quotes, like supplement, um, and. Make sure I have all those beautiful like foods added in and just be okay that I can’t get all the veggies I want, or exact levels of protein and carbs and just eat right. And just trying to be not nauseous, essentially.

[00:15:18] So it’d be like one day, it’d be like chicken noodle soup is all like all the, it seems like it can settle. And so then like Antonio makes a bunch of chicken noodle soup and then it’s kind of like, I don’t really want that anymore. And the next day I. I can’t even think right now, but like, you know, some other type of soup or I want some other type of food and it’s like, Ooh, I want this as a snack.

[00:15:34] And the next day different type of snack and it’s like just food is all over what sounds good. And so just leaning into that. So I lean into just whatever feels good. So for nausea, I’d suggest try to keep your blood sugar as balanced as you can. Making sure you’re getting protein, even if it means like maybe you just got a spoonful of like peanut butter or almond butter.

[00:15:53] Um, or you know, maybe you don’t need a ton of dairy normally, but adding in like a raw cheese might be helpful. Um, and trying not to have naked carbs. So if you’re like, I have to have crackers okay. At the crackers, but see if your body’s okay with adding cheese to them. Or some other protein, or if you can do avocado, like does that work for you?

[00:16:11] Um, and just plain with different ideas. Um, one, something that really has bothered me during this pregnancy has been constipation. Got really bad actually. I feel like the worst it’s been. And I, I was doing so many different suggestions with teas that people had. Of course, the magnesium increasing my water, you know, I knew I just wasn’t gonna have a hard time with increasing the veggies, so that was challenging.

[00:16:33] Um, and one day I had been like four days, which is like not good like I was supposed to, doing an n. Um, I hadn’t gone to the bathroom. I just could feel it. Like I’d said so much in my like, intestines. Uh, my mom even said like, Oh, I can see the baby bump now. I was like, No, it’s not even the baby bump yet.

[00:16:50] It’s straight up like bloat in that I haven’t gone to the bathroom. It’s like, you’re supposed to poop every day, you know? And I do, and I just couldn’t this time. Um, so I actually been having, starting to have some sacral stuff going on. I kept forgetting, having Tony adjust me, and finally I was like, Okay, can you adjust me this morning?

[00:17:06] Kid you not after four days and trying all the magnesium and upping all the things, he adjusted my sacrum. And then upper cervical as well, which are two areas that make babies poop a lot. Um, when I’m working on them and. I would do a bathroom like two minutes later and it was great. And then that day, like four other times.

[00:17:22] So chiropractic truly affects the nervous system. It can get bowels moving for sure. I can really attest to that. A lot of my baby’s gonna attest to that as well. Um, and then one other suggestion that I actually got from a doula that used to be my area, Alyssa Mcgi. Um, her Instagram handle, I think is at St.

[00:17:40] Augustine. Doula I think is what it’s, But she suggested a couple different teas to me and then she also suggests to eat raisins throughout the day. So I’ve been eating raisins throughout the day cause we had ’em anyways. And I actually think that that with chiropractic has been really helpful for my body cuz I haven’t increased my magnesium.

[00:17:56] But it could also be a hormonal shift cuz now I’m in second trimesters. So that is a suggestion that I would’ve never thought of before because you hear like prune juice and things like that. But I’ve just been chewing, not a time, but a little raisins throughout the day. And that seems to. Helpful. And it’s like a, a lot of times I’m like, Why do I want like gummy bears during pregnancy?

[00:18:14] I want some of these sugary gummy bears, but the raisins have like, made me not feel the need for that. Um, let’s see, uh, other symptoms, So pregnancy rhinitis, which is where you can just get super, like just congested. There’s more mucus and fluids during pregnancy and um, a lot of, um, congestion inflammation can happen from that.

[00:18:35] There’s really only if it’s not allergies, which I also have allergies into the mix of this, which, um, course 10 has helped me a lot with allergies. And then I have a homeopathic, uh, remedy that I’ve used as well that has been helpful but hasn’t seemed to be able to hit the allergies that are out here in Colorado right now.

[00:18:52] But two things that are really helpful, um, that I’ve found to help me breathe at night so I’m not mouth breathing cuz then you wake up with a sore throat and like, you don’t wanna mouth breath, you don’t wanna be a mouth breather. That’s not great. And I’m not classically, but my nose has been really stuck from this pregnancy rhinitis, um, is.

[00:19:08] There’s the breath right strips, which I just have an off brand nasal strips. But the problem with this is it actually helps really well like lifting up and helping like open that nasal passage but you can’t wear too many days in a row or like makes this skin really sensitive. And I ended up having like a little piece of skin get so sensitive, like peeled off and I was like, Ow.

[00:19:25] So this little like sc for a little bit. So I then I was like, I don’t wanna wear those for a couple days. So then I got these really cute and sexy antis snoring nose vents and I don’t believe I was. Snoring. We got these off Amazon and this is what they look like, and you put ’em up your nose and it opens and, and allows you to breathe.

[00:19:42] So that’s been helpful for me as well. Um, Amazon, they come in in 12. I’m like, I don’t need 12 of these, but I have 12. Um, and that’s helped a lot. And then, As a chiropractor, I do hate admitting this cuz it definitely can crank on the neck a little bit. I’ve done like a slight, ever so slight incline just so that I’m not flat laying back.

[00:20:00] Um, so I’ve done a little slight incline, but I’ve been really aware of the angle to help with my neck. And then I live with a chiropractor so it can help my neck. Um, but I’d rather breathe at night cuz that’s really, I notice that if I’m not breathing well through my nose it increases my nausea. Um, and it just makes me feel more fatigued cause I’m just like, I’m like heavy breathing.

[00:20:17] So something to consider there is, If you’re not breathing well, that could be impacting these other symptoms. Like breath is really important. Making sure you have nice good breathing. Oxygen flow is really important. And then, uh, a neti pot is really helpful as well. And you can make your own salt and baking soda solutions.

[00:20:35] Um, but that doesn’t always cut it either. So kind of a combination I’ve had to flow through. Um, other thing, during pregnancy, I am hypermobile, so I screen all my patients to the bait and scale, seeing if they’re hyper mobile because hyper mobile patients I’ve found. More likely to have pubic bone pain and si pain during pregnancy.

[00:20:53] And I am hypermobile. I have not been working out as much and doing stability exercises, so then I added them back in cuz I know what I need to do. Um, I’m just tired and it’s hard to do it. So it really helps me reminders like, relate to your patients. This is how they feel too. Um, but that sacred. Um, I’ve been feeling at night, so I have to shift a little bit more, and I’ve already had to add in a sleeping pillow, add in my stability exercises, so things like glute bridges, squats, uh, possibly cla shells, um, lateral walks.

[00:21:25] And when I add those in and just strengthen my glute muscles and hip stability muscles, that really helps with the sac issues a lot. And I haven’t had them during the day, but the fact that they’ve been sneaking in at night is let me know, like, Okay, really time to do these things. So, I love people to come in and see me to do the chiropractic and rehab work before they’re in pain, um, so that we can get ahead of things so that they’re not in pain during pregnancy and at the start of anything come in so that we can help you.

[00:21:49] Um, then there’s also, so actually I wanna touch note on that is that like I have fitness as part of my life. It’s part of my identity, but as I mentioned, one of my first symptoms, a lot of people feels tired. I have to let go of that. Life is just a little bit different in first trimester. Working out is really just not high on my agenda.

[00:22:07] I’m tired. I have so many other things to do that I let myself. Be okay with not working out. And I’ll do my rehab. I’ll fit in a few squats. I do a lot of yard work and I’m like, I’m moving. That’s what I want is movement. It is okay if I’m not working out. During first trimester, I really was fitting in walks, again, yard work.

[00:22:27] So I encourage patients, can you fit in a few strength things just to help stability. So maybe just a few glute bridges, a few squats. Can you go on some short walks just to get outside and get a little bit of movement. But in terms of going to Orange Theory or CrossFit, your HIT training or going on runs, if you don’t feel like it, lean into that and be okay with it, you will get back into it.

[00:22:47] And I already feel myself getting back into it now that like I’m getting my energy back and I’m feeling better. I’m not nauseous, but when you’re nauseous, you’re not gonna go for a run or lift weights. Like it doesn’t feel good. And there are studies that say the exercise can reduce nausea. It never did for me.

[00:23:02] So fourth pregnancy, I’m like, I’m just leaning into, I’m not working out right now. And that is okay. I’ll get back into it. And so that is what I’m getting back into in second trimester. Um, so first trimester sleep struggles can also start. So I’ve found some nights I’m like waking up every other hour. Um, magnesium can really help with that.

[00:23:20] Um, and working out can actually help with that quite a bit too for me. Um, so once I start working out again, it really helps, uh, getting into deeper sleep. Um, and then, let’s see. Oh, the last thing I wanna mention and then I’ll stop here, is that one of the hardest parts for first trimester for me is not feeling like I’m being productive, which I had mentioned already, and that’s really hard for me within the family because it’s like, I don’t wanna cook meals cuz I’m nauseous and I’m tired and I, you know, I was like making bread all the time.

[00:23:51] I didn’t wanna do that for the family. It’s like, oh, going out and helping with the chickens and ducks. Like, no thanks, like I’m too tired and helping get the kids to bed. Tired and don’t feel good, and just like not contributing the way that I wanna contribute doesn’t feel good for me. Um, and then in the bi in my businesses, it’s tough to just be like, I, like not like I’m gonna go to bed

[00:24:11] I’m like, I have emails to send out, I have notes to do. I have all these things to do to get going on another online course that I’m doing. It’s like, just can’t. Um, and then I could feel my energy ramp back up around like 13 weeks where I’m like, Yes, get this done. Get that done. I knew it would be temporary, but in first trimester, if you are not feeling productive or efficient or feeling like, man, like your partner’s having to carry so much of the load because you don’t wanna cook and you don’t wanna like, help the kids get to better, whatever it is, like, it’s okay.

[00:24:42] It, it won’t last forever. Your fatigue and exhaustion is real. Your nausea is real, and like no one expects you to be a superhero at this point in time. And so that’s also me speaking to myself like it’s okay. And I will say it did take at least a full pregnancy, maybe two for me to be okay with that.

[00:25:01] This is my journey. Um, I added just extra stuff to it, but those are some of the main symptoms that I’ve had. Um, Bloating’s another one. So a lot of us will feel like super flat stomach in the morning. At night. You’re like, Am I eight months pregnant? What’s going on? Um, so bloats really normal. It can be uncomfortable.

[00:25:18] I spend a lot of time because of the constipation and bloat in first trimester, already starting to add belly oil. So I really like wish gardens belly oil. I have this in the office and so I just rub this on at night. I rub into my muscles. Um, I note where my uterus is. So, um, you know, by, 10, 12 weeks, it’s reached past the pubic bone.

[00:25:39] So then I start feeling for it. It’s a little hard, and then I kind of watch and observe and feel it grow up and just feel that like I’m like, This feels hard. Oh this, that’s like my uterus. And feel those shifts and changes in my belly. And it’s a really great way to connect before. The baby’s moving. Um, and then just starting early with the oils and nourishing that skin, that’s gonna go through a lot.

[00:26:00] Um, and then I’m just in the habit of, I’ve just massaged my belly at night and I do that every night during pregnancy. Um, and it feels great and it’s really helpful to keep your abdominal wall muscles, um, just like. Loose and pliable and not like super tight and tense. And I did a lot of wheelbarrow like, like dig like bunch of dirt into the wheelbarrow and like lifted it and moved it over here and did a ton of loads and I noticed that.

[00:26:24] So I have like a trigger point in my abdominal wall. And so I don’t want that trigger point to get worse and worse that it’s an extreme pain as things start like expanding. So it’s like I grab this oil. Then I got all over my belly and was digging in and, and working on that. So, um, just a few things. My first trimester, next time I do a live in a blog, I’m gonna come on and talk more specifically about what I’m doing each week or every other week and dive into the movement.

[00:26:47] I’m doing symptoms I have. Um, the rest of it will be shorter, but this has been like encompassing all a first trimester for myself. Um, letting you feel like you can give yourself some forgiveness if you’re not doing a lot right now. Um, and if you have any questions, just reach out to me, cause I’m happy to answer those pregnancy questions.

[00:27:04] All right, Bye you guys.