Despite the fact that my pregnancy wasn’t a “surprise,” I’d say it was still surprising.  First off, I found out I was pregnant at a pretty unconventional time — at barely 3 1/2 weeks along (when it can’t yet be detected by a home pregnancy test).

I wasn’t planning on finding out early.  While some people fret and fester over each potential “pregnancy sign,” I was more the “wait it out” type — figuring I’d know one way or another when that time of the month rolled around.  However, I threw my neck out a few months ago — what started as a (literal) pain in the neck, escalated overnight one night so that I woke up in searing pain unable to move.  KC was sweet enough to zip around the house during this wee hour of the morning, grabbing anything that might help my poor paralyzed self, and then stayed home the next day to take me to the doctor (since I couldn’t drive, given that I couldn’t move my head!)  We went to the doctor, who promptly prescribed some of the “good pills” and recommended an injection as well to help with the spasming.  I told her that we’d been trying to get pregnant — and while I was pretty sure I wasn’t, it was in between the time when I would have conceived and when I’d ultimately find out if there was a bun in the oven.

My doctor quickly said that all the fun was off the table if I was pregnant (no pills, no injection), so she ordered a blood test to see if they could detect the pregnancy hormone (though she said it was likely too early to tell, even with a blood test).  I did the blood test in the morning, then returned home with KC and promptly heard nothing.  Feeling confident that I was not pregnant, that evening I whipped up some potstickers for KC and I, and opened a bottle of IPA (because if you can’t take pills, self-medication is the next best thing, yes?)  I got 2 sips into my beer when the phone rang — my doctor, saying “Yep, it looks like you’re pregnant!”  My surprise must have been visible, because KC just reached across the couch, grabbed my beer and said, “I guess I’ll be finishing this.”

Ah, life.

And on to my next point — though we had been “planning” to get pregnant, I was still wholly unprepared for how quickly things (can) change once you’re pregnant.  I say *can* change, because I’m sure that there’s plenty of people who zip through their first trimester with nary an uncomfortable moment; however, that was not the case for me.

Sleeping became uncomfortable pretty quickly.  I’m a stomach sleeper, so learning to sleep on my side has been, well, challenging.  I’d wake up multiple times every night with my arm asleep or my shoulder aching.  About 8 weeks in I finally gave in and ordered a pregnancy pillow from Bump Nest.  While they’re not cheap, let me tell you that that sucker has been worth every penny so far.

Even Penny is a fan (that little beast sneaks right into the crook of the top every morning after I get up):

Also, not pregnancy-specific, but I love the Burt’s Bees Herbal Blemish Stick.  My skin freaked out about halfway through the first trimester (it was like being in middle school all over again.  Joy.) and the blemish stick was a total lifesaver.  A lot of medicated lotions and creams are off-limits when you’ve got a babe on the way (no retinoids, salicylic acid, etc.), so the blemish stick is a nice alternative since it’s made from all natural oils.  I also bought a couple of the Burt’s Bees Mama Bee products — the belly butter and the nourishing body oil.  The body oil has a pretty strong citrus scent (it actually smells a little citronella-y to me).  I don’t mind the smell, but given that your sense of smell is in overdrive while you’re pregnant, it’s something to note.

Another solid purchase during the first trimester was the Ingrid and Isabel Bellaband.  While it’s a little pricier than some of the knock-off belly bands you can get at Target or Old Navy, it’s infinitely more comfortable and does a way better job keeping your pants up when they’re not buttoned.  (Ah, the glamor of pregnancy…)

I’m still fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes, but found that a lot of my shirts were a little too short (I needed something longer to cover up the fact that I was buttoning my jeans with a hairband before my belly band arrived.  Classy.)  I went on a little shopping spree and found a bunch of cute stuff at Banana Republic.  My current favorites for in and out of the office are: this tee in black (so soft!), this blouse (which is totally cute with a statement necklace), this top in black (which can easily go from office to cocktails… er, mocktails I guess… wah wah), and this sweater in cocoon (I’m totally obsessed with the drop-hem on the shoulders).

Things that were not such wins for the first trimester were unfortunately any and all cures for morning sickness.  I did TONS of research on morning sickness and tried a bunch of tips of and tricks — small meals, crackers on the nightstand, vitamin B6, preggie pop drops, ginger everything, bland food…  And sadly, all were a total bust.  The nausea I had was pretty brutal (24/7 starting day one of week five) and quickly descended into throwing up multiple times a day (which, as you can imagine, makes it a little harder to “hide” a pregnancy at work — people either totally know you’re pregnant and suffering from morning sickness, or they think you’re drunk all the time.  Uh, not ideal.)  The good news is that the morning sickness stopped being all-day/everyday sometime during week 10 and has stayed on-and-off since then.  All I can say about morning sickness is: if you’ve got it, I’m so sorry (it’s miserable!)  And if you don’t: you are one lucky lady.

So anyway, that’s my own personal, non-expert advice for things that worked for me during the first trimester.  If you’re newly pregnant or thinking about becoming a mama, hopefully this is a little helpful!