Over the last few years, a number of my favorite bloggers have had babies, and while I’ve always been incredibly happy for them, I tended to skim over pregnancy or baby-related posts. Fast forward to January, and within 24 hours of seeing my positive pregnancy test, I was furiously clicking through to read ALL of those posts I had previously overlooked! I know not everyone who reads my blog is in the same stage of life, but for my own memories and in the hopes that these posts may be worth filing away for the future, or at least just be a little bit interesting, I’m planning to share bits and pieces about my pregnancy over the next few months. I’ve also included the links to the blogs I scoured at the bottom of this post, in case you are in the blog devouring stage like I was/am :) This post includes a few random thoughts about pregnancy to this point, as well as a round-up of my first trimester favorites!

Photo from our announcement by Callie Davis!

Symptoms: I mentioned this in my announcement post, but I am grateful to have had a relatively easy first trimester. I didn’t have any morning sickness at all–just a little bit of nausea throughout the day that I could usually handle pretty well. The hardest part was definitely the fatigue, which hit me like a freight train. I’ve never been one for naps, but after almost falling asleep at work a few times, I had to make myself lie down after work and go to bed extra early. On one of the worst days, I remember pep talk-ing myself into staying awake till 9 P.M.–totally bizarre for this night owl!

Food: I don’t have many food cravings/aversions to report, other than that fruit tastes particularly amazing all the time (especially pineapple right now), the smell of hot sauce (which I never eat, but Dave puts on everything!) makes me gag, and I seem to have totally lost my taste for quinoa–inconvenient considering the number of quinoa-based recipes in our go-to repertoire. We’ve always eaten pretty low carb, but have eased up on that a lot for the time being, since breads and pastas were easier on my stomach earlier in pregnancy…plus, they are delicious :)

Books: I sincerely think one of the best things that could’ve happened to me right before getting pregnant is that a bunch of people I know were pregnant at the exact same time (due dates within a week of one another!), and they all had drastically different pregnancies. Seeing their journeys made it so clear to me that every pregnancy is so, so different, and in most cases, there isn’t just one thing that should or shouldn’t be happening at any given time. This has helped me relax so much! It also led to my decision to not read any books about pregnancy (other than Expecting Better, for reasons mentioned below), and instead, to focus my reading on parenting books.

Okay, on to favorites! Here are a few things I especially loved or appreciated during the first trimester:

Bringing Up Bébé: This book reads more like a memoir, which happens to be my favorite genre. It was an easy, not-too-intimidating book that I think helped ease me in to more intense parenting books!

Oyster crackers: I was never without a ziploc of these during the first trimester, and a handful almost always kept my queasiness at bay.

Clementines: I always love citrus when I’m not feeling my best, and clementines were hands down my favorite first trimester snack.

Fitbit: When exercise was the last thing I wanted to do after work, having my Fitbit on gave me a tiny boost of motivation to do the little things, like opt for the stairs instead of the elevator.

Expecting Better: Technically, I read this at the beginning of my second trimester, but I wish I had read it a little earlier, so I’m including it here :) I appreciated the way the author presented the research on lots of different pregnancy topics (from coffee, to recommended weight gain, to epidurals) and then let the reader make their own conclusions.

Lavender linen spray: I’m a notoriously bad sleeper, and pregnancy has not been particularly helpful in that department. While I don’t know if spraying my pillows with a lavender essential oil spray actually helps me sleep, I do love the ritual and the sensory hint that it’s time for bed. The exact linen spray I have was a handmade gift, but I love the packaging of this one :)

Krass & Co. shorts: I’ve mentioned these a few times before, but they are the softest, most comfortable workout shorts ever. I bought a new pair simply because I found myself reaching for my older pair constantly when I wanted to be comfortable.

Prenatal vitamin: A must–I did a bit of research before deciding on NatureMade Prenatal Multi + DHA, and have no complaints. I usually take it right before bed.

P.S. As promised, here are the bloggers (some I am lucky to know personally, others I just admire from afar :)) I looked to for pregnancy/baby posts: Joanna, Emily, Victoria, Sarah, Olivia, Camille, Emily, Liz, and Rachel.