Wondering what to expect during pregnancy? Here’s a quick breakdown of the top 9 things you can expect!
Being pregnant is one of the most exciting times of your life – but it’s not all rainbows and sunshine.
Pregnancy symptoms can be hard to deal with, pregnancy and sleep don’t always mix well, swelling during pregnancy can be annoying and pregnancy nausea relief is always heavily searched on Pinterest and Google.
Now I don’t want to scare you away (because it’s not all bad stuff) but I think it’s important to give you a realistic expectation of what to expect during pregnancy – the good and the bad.
This post will break down the top things that I think are important for you to know whether you are in the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy.
This post is all about what to expect during pregnancy.
What To Expect During Pregnancy
The list of what to expect during pregnancy can go on and on for miles but I have picked the top nine most important.
1. You Will Probably Experience Some Not-So-Fun First Trimester Symptoms
- Exhaustion
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Mood swings
- Bloating/Cramping
- Breast soreness
- Frequent urination
- Food aversions
- Heartburn
- Stuffy nose
- Vivid dreams
Now let’s talk more in detail about a few of these in more detail.
Nausea
It is extremely common to experience mild nausea, mostly in the form of morning sickness, during the first trimester of pregnancy. It is also normal for pregnant women to experience nausea randomly during the day or even consistently at night though.
You can expect morning sickness to start as early as six weeks and will start to ease by twelve or fourteen weeks when you are into the second trimester. But trust me, I know it can feel neverending when you are in the middle of it.
If you are concerned about your nausea during pregnancy or are experiencing extreme nausea, it is always a good idea to talk to your doctor.
Hyperemesis gravidarum is a condition that comes with severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy that can lead to weight loss and dehydration. You can think of this as an extreme and more intense form of morning sickness.
Here are the top 14 tips for morning sickness relief.
Mood Swings
You can expect to be a big ball of emotions during pregnancy. It sounds dramatic but you can blame your pregnancy hormones for it!
During the first trimester of pregnancy, higher levels of estrogen and progesterone can lead to mood swings. You can be blissfully happy one day and irritable or sad the next. Pregnancy is also a huge life change which contributes to the emotions flowing like they do!
Food Aversions
Strong cravings and strong aversions are common during pregnancy and we can thank our changing hormones for that.
The amount of HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) doubles every few days during the first trimester of pregnancy and peak/level off around week eleven and generally leads to food aversions. Some women experience food aversions for a limited time while others experience them for the entire nine months of pregnancy.
Exhaustion
Most women experience exhaustion and fatigue during the first trimester of pregnancy. I think every pregnant woman out there will tell you that exhaustion during the first 12 weeks can be pretty intense but it is 100% normal.
Many women are also dealing with nausea and many of the first trimester body changes listed below too, so it can be challenging getting out of bed and not falling asleep at your desk at 10am.
Pregnancy weight gain is usually only a few pounds but things like nausea can really impact it up or down. My advice is to not worry about the number on the scale. Your doctor will be monitoring you and will make sure you are gaining a healthy amount of weight.
2. You Will Need To Make Dietary Changes
Cravings are hard to avoid no matter who you are or what stage of life you’re in — but do you know there are certain foods you should avoid during pregnancy?
It’s definitely important to be aware of potentially harmful foods but there’s no need to freak out.
The top foods to avoid during pregnancy include:
- Alcohol
- Caffeine consumption over 200mg per day
- High mercury fish
- Raw eggs
- Raw meat
- Raw seafood and sushi
- Deli meat
- Unpasteurized cheeses
- Prepared foods
You can check out this post for more details about each category of food and drink.
And if you’re already missing a glass of wine with dinner or cocktail during the summer, I’ve got you covered:
- 4 Easy Pregnancy Mocktails For Any Season
- Insanely Good Healthy Mocktails To Try Right Now
- 9 Best Mocktails You Need To Make Tonight
- 4 Ways To Make A Cranberry Mocktail For The Holidays
3. You Might Experience Some Swelling During Pregnancy
Swelling can occur at any point of pregnancy, but it usually starts during the second trimester and can increase through the third trimester.
The most common areas for swelling during pregnancy are the feet and ankles. Swelling of the hands, fingers and even face are also common, especially towards the end of pregnancy.
How to reduce swelling during pregnancy?
- Stay hydrated
- Reduce sodium intake
- Eat foods high in potassium
- Cut back on caffeine
- Elevate your feet
- Wear loose and comfortable clothing
- Wear compression stockings
- Stay cool
4. Pregnancy And Sleep Don’t Always Mix Well
You’re probably expecting to lose sleep once your baby is born but have you thought about how pregnancy and sleep will mix?
Unfortunately sleep can be so hard for many pregnant women. So if you’re experiencing it, you’re not alone.
Not only are there physical changes but your hormones are changing, there is a lot of new excitement and anxiety and so many other discomforts throughout pregnancy.
A variety of factors can impact your sleep during pregnancy such as frequent urination, hip pain, body aches, restless leg syndrome, leg cramps, your expanding belly and heartburn.
Despite this, sleep is extremely important. It’s beneficial for you as the mom so you are less fatigued and sleepy during the day. Plus, more sleep leads to a better mood, controlled appetite, improved memory, and decisiveness. You also have so much work to do including growing a placenta and carrying a heavier load around so you will feel tired more easily during pregnancy.
Sleep is important for your baby too. Not only can lack of sleep impact your labor and delivery but it can lead to pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and high blood pressure which can be dangerous for your baby.
It’s very important that you talk to your doctor if you’re not sleeping well. You can also try a pregnancy pillow and see if that helps too. Unlike regular pillows, pregnancy pillows are specifically designed to provide extra support in the places most commonly affected by your growing belly (and baby).
5. You Will Go To Prenatal Appointments and Pregnancy Ultrasounds
Ultrasounds are one of the very exciting parts of pregnancy! Pregnancy ultrasounds always make pregnancy feel even more real to me too, especially in the early stages of pregnancy when you aren’t physically showing yet.
You can read all about the pregnancy ultrasound schedule here, including when your first ultrasound during pregnancy will be and answers the question of what specific weeks do you get ultrasounds during pregnancy.
6. I You May Get A Lottt of Unsolicited Advice
Family, friends and even strangers will be knocking down your door with advice. While this can be greatly appreciated, sometimes it can be very overwhelming and unnecessary. My best advice is to brush it off if possible but you may need to start setting strong boundaries if it gets out of hand.
Everyone’s pregnancy journey is different so it is important to surround yourself with a rock solid support system. This should include mom friends who are only a few steps ahead of you. This way, they can completely relate to what you’re going through and answer very honestly.
It’s one thing for you to ask for advice and get real, relatable answers versus someone coming up to you randomly and scaring you about the negatives of what to expect during pregnancy.
In addition to surrounding yourself with a support system, I recommend downloading one of the many pregnancy apps out there.
If there is one thing I did every single day during pregnancy, it was checking my favorite pregnancy app. There are so many pregnancy stages that you go through in nine months. Plus, I was extremely interested in knowing about all of the baby development happening too.
Here’s a breakdown of four pregnancy apps you can choose from.
7. Your Body Will Change & You Will Gain Weight
When people wonder what to expect during pregnancy, I find that weight gain and body changes are some of the tougher ones to accept.
You can try all you want to minimize weight gain, but know that gaining weight is a necessary and important part of pregnancy. Your doctor will help you determine a healthy targeted weight gain but overall, you will gain weight and that is good.
With weight gain also comes changes in your body – heck you’re growing a little human!
But with that said, it’s incredibly important to avoid comparing yourself to others. Your bump will grow and look different than your best friend’s and even from another future pregnancy. Try to embrace it, buy maternity clothes that fit whenever that time comes and continue to eat nourishing foods no matter what the scale says.
8. I’m Your Workout Routine Might Change
Exercise is so beneficial to you and baby! If you were already an active person, then keep it up! If you weren’t as active pre-pregnancy then now is the time to start some light activity such as walking.
The key here is to perform moderate activity and listen to your body. Now is not the time to take up running or another strenuous routine and if something doesn’t feel good then you should absolutely stop and either modify or skip it entirely.
Also, a good rule of thumb is to cut out the ab exercises and by the second trimester you should not be doing any movements while laying on your back.
There are tons of prenatal workouts out there but this is my favorite program!
9. You Can Go From Food Aversions To Feeling Like You’re Always Hungry
In the initial twelve or so weeks of pregnancy, most women have some type of pregnancy food aversion or first trimester nausea that is new and can come on very suddenly. For that reason, first trimester meals can look very different than what you would like them to.
First trimester meals tend to be carb heavy and many women can’t stomach meat. But by the second trimester, it is common for pregnant women to start feeling better and be open to cooking and eating more meat and protein. But sometimes, it can feel like you’re never satisfied or filled. Pregnancy is wild.
My biggest piece of advice is to go with the flow and have no expectations. You may have a pregnancy filled with nausea or it might only be two weeks worth. Above all, you are growing a tiny human and you need to eat to survive in the first trimester.
This post was all about what to expect during pregnancy.