My First Trimester Experience as an Aerialist

I'm so excited to finally be able to share with you the news that I'm pregnant! I'm currently 14 weeks pregnant, baby Sainty is due September 2020!

I thought I would chat about my experiences through the trimesters, starting with the first trimester!

Back Story

I still find it weird to talk about this! So, myself and Chris wanted to start a family within the next year or two. I had diagnosis surgery for endometriosis in June last year and was advised that if I wanted children I should start trying sooner rather than later, as it can affect fertility and the length of time it can take to fall pregnant. I also did my own research and found the chances of falling pregnant each month are statistically fairly low, even if both of you are healthy! So we decided to stop being careful about 9 months or so before we ideally wanted to become pregnant, thinking there would then be no pressure and we wouldn't be worrying about it if it didn't happen. Our bodies had other ideas and I fell pregnant straight away! It was a bit of a shock as I was so convinced that I wouldn't become pregnant for at least six months or so, but we obviously knew it could potentially happen sooner! And we're so incredibly happy!

First Signs

The first signs I had were very, very sore boobs! And cramps which felt like period cramps. After I had these for a couple of days without my period coming I knew I was pregnant. I can't explain how I was so convinced, something in me just knew! I took the test (or 3!) on Monday 6th January which confirmed I'm growing a baby!

Keeping a Secret!

I'm convinced Alfie and Bella (our cat and dog) know something is going on, they are both my little shadows and will not leave me alone! We decided to keep it quiet until the first scan! Luckily we live about an hour away from both of our families so it wasn't too difficult to keep it quiet, if we saw them more regularly we might have told them sooner!

Physical Symptoms

I have continued to have sore boobs throughout the first trimester and boy have they grown! I can usually take or leave wearing a bra, my little boobies definitely don't normally need one! Not anymore! I'm also much more worried about falling out when I go upside down, I need to go bra shopping soon!
The other main symptom had been nausea. Some days are worse than others, some days I just feel a little nauseous in the morning and the evening, other days I feel nauseous all day. Luckily I have only actually been sick a few times!
A few other little changes I have noticed are my hair is growing like crazy which is great! My skin has become very dry and my make up just doesn't sit right at the moment, which isn't so great! I've also had a slight cough and sniffly nose for pretty much the whole first trimester! I'm not really showing yet but I have put on a couple of pounds, all of my clothes still fit but my waist is feeling thicker! I feel like I have just started to look visibly different, which to be honest I feel quite self conscious about because I very much don't look pregnant yet, just like I've had a few too many biscuits! Check out the video at the bottom of this blog post and see if you think I look different!

Exercise

Before becoming pregnant, I had been doing aerial (either teaching, filming or training) around 4-5 times per week, a 5k run 2-3 times per week, weighted legs gym workout 2-3 times per week and walking for about an hour per day. As my pregnancy is low risk I'm able to continue to exercise, I have just made some modifications. I'm training aerial around 2 times per week, I'm not doing anything that has a wrap around my belly, or a wrap that could slip to be on my belly. I'm not doing anything that presses too hard on my sides or could bash into my sides/belly. I'm also not doing anything too bendy! I'm only doing moves that I feel very confident with. It's starting to feel harder! I want to continue training for as long as I can and I'll continue to modify the moves I do as my bump gets bigger!
I am running around twice a week, the only modification I have made is when I feel out of breath I slow down to walk instead of pushing through!
I am going to the gym doing weighted leg workouts around twice a week. I have dropped my weights down so I can do 10-12 reps, my aim is to maintain the strength I have as much as I can, not to increase my strength. I also take breaks when I start to feel out of breath!
I'm now only stretching at the end of my exercise sessions, I'm not doing any flexibility training as I have relaxin in my body so I'm much more prone to overstretching!
I'm still walking Bella for around an hour everyday, which I will continue to do!
I'm also doing pelvic floor exercises everyday! I was doing these a few times a week, when I remembered, prior to pregnancy, but now I'm doing them religiously everyday! I don't want to start weeing while I'm running!
I'm just listening to my body and I'm not pushing myself or doing anything that doesn't feel right.

Food and Supplements

I've been struggling a lot with food, I love eating fruit and vegetables and I generally have a healthy diet, I love how it makes me feel! For the past couple of months, the only foods that don't make me feel sick are beige, bland foods like toast and chips. I have been struggling mentally with no longer enjoying the foods I love and the foods that I know are good for both myself and now baby. I have been making sure I'm having some kind of fruit and vegetables everyday no matter how much I don't feel like it! (preview - at the time of writing this I'm in the second trimester and feeling so much better, like myself again! It's all just a phase.) The supplements I'm taking are folic acid, which I started taking as soon as we started trying, this supplement also contains vitamin D. I'm taking vitamin B12, as I eat a mostly plant based diet. I'm also taking a plant based Omega 3. I was taking B12 and omega 3 sporadically prior to pregnancy, now I take them every day.

We are so, so happy! I'm finding that growing a little human is so amazing and I'm looking forward to seeing how my body changes over the next few months!

I'm so pleased you all finally know! Now I can go back to posting on social media without worrying about giving anything away! xx