When I found out I was pregnant I was well into the fourth week of my pregnancy. It is actually kind of funny how all of a sudden almost everything made me nauseous, it was almost similar to a movie – very dramatic. You name it! Eggs, toothpaste, burgers, junk food, pickles, and even certain drinks made me gag or throw up. The first trimester seemed like forever! I remember waking up and going back to sleep, feeling weak and tired all the time. I did not have the will to do anything, walking made me sleepy, talking made me sleepy, thinking made me tired and all I wanted to do all day long was to sleep (Sadly that was not possible because your girl has to hustle to make ends meet.. heheh Yes you got it right- I had to work, you can just imagine). The thought of moving around especially cooking was a drag! Unfortunately for me, buying food was not very helpful either, because it would never satisfy me as much as some good Banku, pepper, and fish did. So unless I was eating at an international restaurant that had Ghanaian delicacies… then I just had to forget it.
My cravings were definitely for real food, heavy food, and homemade food. We would occasionally try to go to buffets and restaurants here and there, but I would hardly eat there. Plus I had to hold my breath each time I went past the food set on the serving tables. Once we got home the food would find its way out, so it wasn’t really a win-win situation.
I think the hardest part of the first trimester for me was the worry and anxiety. Each day I woke up, it was just worry, worry worry. One thing that helped with my anxiety was prayer. Every night, my husband would lay his hands on my stomach and pray with me and for me. When my anxiety was getting to me, he would always say “It was God who put the baby in your stomach, and it is the same God who will look after it, there’s honestly really nothing as humans we can do to make sure everything would be fine except praying and doing our part by eating well.” My husband said it so many times in comforting my thoughts that at a point I started saying it to myself and it aided as a tool in putting my fears at rest until I hit that 14th week and even throughout my pregnancy.
No Cap – Working during that period was hell!! I would catch myself daydreaming with my eyes open thinking about my bed, the pillows, and how soft and comfy it was – just waiting for me to give it a big hug. To be honest it was hard, very hard working during the first trimester because I was constantly tired and feeling nauseous. There were times when I did have random bursts of energy, during those periods I would use it to play catch up and use it to get some work done.
During the first trimester I wasn’t showing, so there was no need to tell anyone about the pregnancy until we felt comfortable. I will share with you in my post entitled “Telling family and friends about the pregnancy” how we decided to share the news.
