First Trimester the 2nd Time Around

Can you imagine finding out you are pregnant on April Fool’s Day? That was my reality. Took a pregnancy test bright and early on April Fool’s Day, and me and my husband looked at those 2 lines like whaaaaaa?!?! No way! I thought I could be pregnant, but I wasn’t absolutely sure. I knew it was time for my “time of the month” but I couldn’t remember the exact day to expect.

Before we dive in, let me give a little background.

With my 1st pregnancy, I got off birth control December 2016 to prepare for a fitness competition. I was not actively trying to get pregnant, but we weren’t being the most cautious either. Not to mention, 2017 was the year I went through a LOT of transition with a possible divorce and separation. When my husband and I reconciled and decided to work on our marriage, we conceived my birthday weekend in October (late October). My first trimester with Mason, my son, I was nauseous more than anything. I could not even ride in the backseat without almost crying. I took naps and felt drained some days but not most days. I thankfully had the holidays and lengthy time off work when I felt this way the 1st time around.

Fast forward to now, I got off birth control again December 2020, with the mindset of “I turn 35 in October. If we are not pregnant by my 35th birthday, Mason will be an only child.” It was a decision I made with myself and my husband that I did not want to be pregnant and trying to have children at 40 if I can help it. He agreed, but neither of us thought it would happen as fast as it did. I mean I heard the rumors that you are more fertile the 2nd time around, but I just knew we had till the summer to get birth control out of my system. It took 10 months the last time! If the doctors are accurate we conceived around end of February (not even 3 months after getting off birth control). So here we are expecting a baby girl on December 2nd (my Sag baby). I won’t get into how I think we conceived a boy last time and a girl this time, but that’s neither here nor there. Story for another time…

Now that I am in the magical 2nd trimester, I can reflect on the 1st trimester and how I felt it went. I had some VERY significant differences from the 1st time around which mainly made me think I am having a girl.

Biggest difference was hormones and how they were affecting my body, my face most importantly. My face went haywire in the month of March. I had breakouts everywhere, and I could not understand why for the life of me. For background, I never had an issue with acne or bad skin. I have always had low maintenance when it comes to keeping my skin clear and under control. I have oily skin but I have not had to address any concerns in the past like this. Below is a before and after pic.

I started going to a Houston esthetician by the name of De’Aundria Hartford, LE, @queendeavineesthetics on Instagram, and she has gotten my skin back to normal thank goodness! I was not helping the situation trying to fix it myself overlapping oily skin products on top of one another. I was drying my face out and causing my face to produce more oil and further complicate the breakouts. So that is under control now, but when I was going through, man, I was really trippin on myself like Kelli get it together Sis!

Another difference was the nausea. I was nauseous with Mason, but this nausea was on a whole different level. I couldn’t focus at work cause I was just feeling uneasy all day at times. It would rarely come and go. I would wake up feeling blah and go to bed feeling blah sometimes. I remember not even gaining weight much between check ups cause I wasn’t eating much. I never actually threw up, but I constantly felt like I could at any point. I had ginger ale, morning sickness preggie pops, and morning sickness sweets to get me through as much as possible. I also would and still order ginger beer and lemonade when out at restaurants. It is so refreshing and a great ginger punch of flavor. I had no clue it was nonalcoholic till Mother’s Day weekend. I must say, I am so glad that nausea and its vibes are for the most part behind me. It has since subsided in the 2nd trimester.

Exhaustion was real. Being in that time gap where there are no holidays or time off between MLK Day and Memorial Day, I was having to work and get through the energy drain. Some days, I would work from the bed, and some days I would use my lunch time to take a nap. Weekends, I did not have energy to do much. I would lay around the house in and out of naps while my husband and mother in law took care of Mason. We even took Mason to TN for 3 weeks so that I could have some alone time with my husband (we were going through the motions and needed some reset time to get back on the same page) and time to rest. Workouts were nonexistent (lol my Peloton peeps knew I was MIA). I could not peddle or sit on that bike the way I was feeling. I started taking these energy packets that were pregnancy safe (thanks Courtney for the recommendation). They taste great and were a great afternoon pick me up.

Aside from those areas, I think everything else was about the same. I am so glad that none of those symptoms carried over into the 2nd trimester. I heard horror stories about girl pregnancies being sick the whole pregnancy. Thank goodness for now she is giving me a break and letting me get back to me. I am not working out as heavy as I used to, but I am trying to remain active in some capacity. Either way, ya girl is bumping around in week 16! Will update you all on the 2nd trimester later! I am working on a blog post with items I am planning to use the 2nd time around. I kept literally EVERYTHING from my 1st time. Be on the lookout!