First Trimester Must Haves

First of all, can I just say, it's super weird to 1. be talking about pregnancy stuff 2. be talking about pregnancy stuff FROM EXPERIENCE! Say whaaaaa.... crayzay.

Anywho, while its fresh in my mind, I wanted to look back and reflect on the things I discovered that helped me survive the first trimester. I'm now 26 weeks, closer to being in my third trimester than my first, but had to share because I would have loved to know all these things at once, upfront. 

If you're in your first trimester or thinking about getting preggers, read up. If you're so far away from this step, pin it for later. And if you've gone through a first trimester before, add your tips!

Don't be hard on yourself. No really, it's okay to nap every day and then go to bed early too. It's okay to ask someone to pull the car over to go to the bathroom, multiple times. It's okay to snack during a meeting. It's okay to let the dust bunnies live in your home for awhile. It's okay to "just can't". It's okay to ask your husband to build you a fire pit so you can have real life s'mores :).

Eat often + add ginger. Whatever you can stomach, eat it and try to eat a little bit every other hour or as much as you can. It will really help with nausea and energy. Also, keep anything with ginger in it nearby (ginger ale, snaps, chews, mints). 

Protein in the morning is clutch. Even if it comes in the form of egg white and cheddar biscuits from McDonalds (my personal fav and craving).

Take your prenatal at night. If I took my prenatal in the morning and then got in the car, it was bad news bears. Switch to taking them at night and they'll do their thing while you're sleeping comfortably, enjoy that comfortability now :). 

Go see your lady doctor. This is a no brainer...

Don't stress over baby details yet. You don't need to do ANYTHING right now except grow that sweet baby. You'll have time for nursery details, daycares, registries, showers, pediatricians, clothes and all that jazz in your second and third trimester. Just relax...

Baths will become epic, especially with epsom salt. Just make sure you don't get the water too too hot. My personal favorite is Dr. Teal's Epsom Salt Soaking Solution Sooth & Sleep which you can find at Target.

Start cocoabuttering errrday. You'll have to do this because your skin will be so itchy, but it of course helps ward off the inevitable stretch marks. If you can't stand the smell, like I couldn't for awhile, try Burts Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter instead.

The hardest part about the first trimester really is that you can't tell anyone the reason why you're behaving like hungover freshman 24/7. The best part is that you're starting the most amazing process I think a women can ever go through :). Enjoy!