As the title suggests, this article will cover one of the tougher periods of pregnancy – the 1st Trimester. Most of us would experience morning sickness (damn, it should be called “all-day, anytime sickness”!) and probably lose a couple of kilos during the first 3 months. Take heart about overworrying. It’s actually pretty common for weight loss to happen. What with having trouble downing proper meals and throwing up? Most gynaes would tell you to take smaller, frequent meals. This helps to keep blood sugar level consistent throughout the day without sudden surges or drops, and helps to keep you full without going through another issue of gastric pains since puking wrecks the stomach juices and hydrochloric acids.
Seeing the “+” on one kit was not enough, I bought 2 Clearblue kits to confirm!
For me, I had some trouble putting food in as well, and eating to me is an enjoyment (I’m sure you can tell by now! :P) and during the initial stages was one of the toughest times.. eating became a chore to be done. Basically, I was just eating for the sake of eating (grrrrr..!). My taste buds went into hibernation and food was bland – how to enjoy food like that?! So, i read up a little and found that ginger tea helps to alleviate nausea! Also, Vitamin B6 can help to tackle the internal havoc which causes the throw-ups! Desperately wanting to kick the awful feeling away, the Hub bought the conveniently packed Ginger Tea with Honey by Owl. Honestly, I’m not a fan of ginger tea. But if many all over the world claim it helps, why not give it a try? As for Vitamin B6, we hunted high and low for it! The pharmacy at Thomson Medical doesn’t carry it, neither does my gynae, and neither does Watsons nor Guardian nor Unity. Other Vitamin Bs are available just not B6!! *fedup* If you would like to try that, head to GNC (that’s where I found those pills) or Holland & Barrett. Heard that the pharmacy at the new Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital stocks it too, but do call to check before heading down.
Being in the first trimester may seem to have quite a few “downs” but don’t worry, there are many “ups” to enjoy too!
1) Enjoy wearing your pre-pregnancy clothes before you start growing out of them.
Being preggers doesn’t equate to looking frumpy or having to don those “maternity clothes” that are passe and
looking like you’re wearing PJs to work. Continue to wear what fits and make sure they are still comfortable enough.
Skip those tight body con dresses or figure-hugging skinnies – looking good is not about looking like a squashed
orange and feeling like one. Plus, you get to save some moolah cos your boobs are gonna get bigger so that’s
where you’ll have to start spending on new ones very soon.
2) Your husband will be more attentive and understanding towards you.
This is mostly true for many women. Whether it’s food, places to go (or not go), things to do, things you need/want to get, the man will try to make things easy and comfortable for you. I remember being tired and not wanting to do
anything much on weekends, except just lazing around at home. Dear Hub had to go along with that too, without any complaints :) Lucky for him, I don’t get major cravings, so no midnight drives out to the other end of the island for some must-eat food. Heh!
3) Enjoy looking (almost) the same. For now.
In the first trimester, you’d probably not put on more than 3kg, so that means taking pictures won’t make you look
bigger. Continue to have fun and me-time while the energy and physical movements are still good (as compared to
being bigger towards the later stages). To many women, looking good is important so pamper yourself with a new
bag, or a new pair of shoes (yes, feet will get bigger too!) or new makeup (just make sure they are non-toxic to be
safe). For me, there were times I “forgot” that I was pregnant, and well, it didn’t take too long to adjust as we went
along.
4) Load up on prenatal vitamins and nourishment.
If your appetite hasn’t been too good, most likely your gynae would have prescribed some supplements to ensure
both mummy and baby are not losing out on substantial nutrients. If you haven’t been taking Folic Acid prior to
conceiving, now is the time to take these as they help prevent the development of neutrotube defects such as spina bifida or anencephaly. To substitute nutrients due to poor appetite, your doc may prescribe Multivitamins (do get them from your gynae or those recommended by gynae as the dosages of various vitamins and minerals differ for what’s needed by a pregnant lady as compared to regular folks). Calcium may also be prescribed at this stage too, as baby’s development requires calcium, which is obtain from mum, leaving mum more prone to osteoperosis.
Mum can also derive essential nutrients from several milk catered for expectant mums.
Extra tip: Try samples to see if you like the taste of the milk for expectant mums before investing in a full can. Most brands give out samples at mother/baby fairs and events, or simply log on to respective brand sites to request.
For milk samples, visit the below to request for them. Some brands allow requests for older kids’ milk too, and some of them put more carrots into their CRM program (potential biz base!) and send gifts to kids and mums too:
– Similac Mum : Available in Vanilla.
– EnfaMama A+: Available in Chocolate and Vanilla.
– NAN Mom & Me: they don’t seem to give samples for mum but for babies after 6mths.
– Dumex Mamil Mama: Available in Vanilla. At point of writing, I seem to experience probs logging into the website.
– Anmum Materna: Available in Chocolate and Vanilla.
– S26 Mama: Avaliable in Vanilla.
– Friso Mum: Available in Vanilla.
Wanna know my review? Check out the simple comparison chart, across the parameters of flavour, taste, smell, solubility and an overall grade.
Not a fan of Vanilla, I’m definitely more skewed towards the brands with Chocolate options. Why don’t more brands have flavours other than Vanilla? Each sachet contains about 6 scoops of milk so that’s quite a thick chunk to drink and the recommended amount is 2 cups per day. I’ve to confess, ain’t very diligent about this. Fresh milk and cheese are my other options :)
