Tell Tale Signs You've Passed Your First Trimester - A Humorous Look at the Nuances of Early Pregnancy

Nausea was my first indicator that I was expecting - unexpectedly. Fatigue had risen its ugly, energy-sucking head for a few weeks, but I waved it off as summer heat and busyness with five energetic kiddos. One morning on the way to the movie theatre, I felt nauseous. The nausea unique to pregnancy - it's different than nausea from sickness. And I knew. And I was excited. After the movies, I darted across the street to Target, purchased a pregnancy test, and hid it in my purse so my kids wouldn't see it. Twenty minutes later, my suspicions were confirmed by a pink cross. Many times over those first twelve weeks I thought,"Will it EVER end??"

Well, my friends, I have some tell tale signs that the end of my first trimester has come, and I have joyfully and ever-so-gratefully entered the early days of my second trimester.

Drum roll, please.

I have successfully practiced oral hygiene without my body punishing me with complete expellation of whatever had been eaten the earlier 2-3 hours.

I have never experienced this phenomena in my other five pregnancies. For some reason - perhaps the positoning of my tongue when I make room for the toothbrush, perhaps because my body is concerned I may brush away a needed calorie -- my digestive system retaliated violently to my efforts to keep a colgate smile.

Thankfully, oil pulling did not bother me (supports the calorie theory). Also - I availed myself to the few minutes of non-nausea post-vomiting and scoured my mouth, desparate, oh so desperate for a clean pallette. (Even in high school I carried a toothbrush and floss with me for quick oral hygiene brush ups!)

I am happy to report, I have successfully maintained a healthy oral hygiene routine for a few days now - both day and night. And, yes, flossing included. Can I get a witness?

You would think your body would crave water, especially when pre-pregnancy it had received no less than 64 ounces daily for years. However, a reasonable explanation escapes me, if I drank water - until about a week ago - it sat on my stomach like a rock for hours, rendering me useless, with a sensation of losing everything if I so much as moved my head.

I could drink only ice-cold Perrier (which I do not even like much!), Pellegrino, occasional all-natural iced apple or cranberry juice, and Izze carbonated juice beverage. That was about it for weeks. If I drank milk, the lactose clung to my entire tongue, and somehow I a sour aftertaste threatened to induce expellation of the previous snack or meal. :P

About two weeks ago, a combination of ice cold sweet and unsweet tea settled well in my stomach. That was a turning point. There was great rejoicing in the land.

You know you have turned a proverbial corner in your pregnancy when you can prepare a meal for your family without the activity requiring a two hour nap! My four year-old had learned to sit next to me on my bed and play with legos, hot wheels, my smartphone, etc., while I snoozed. I almost felt guilty. Almost.

I was so excited the first day I was able to do laundry, dishes, and prepare a meal for my family without my toenails demanding sleep. I was that tired. ;) Yes, I am actuall awake for more hours in the day than asleep - and being productive.

I don't know about you, but for a season, my phone stayed on silent. I simply did not want to move my tongue - it may backlash because I used it in an inappropriate manner to form a phonetic. I did not want to use the energy required to think or speak.

I knew with a certainty that I had passed this tribulation when, after I had been in bed for a couple of hours, my dear friend from Hawaii called at 10 pm, and after brief internal debate, I answered the phone, got out of bed, and headed to the living room to chat with my beloved chum.

When you graduate from not even wanting to chew because it takes too much effort to feeling the call of the street to walk, the inner-tingle to lift hand weights - you know you've taken another step forward.

When my thoughts transformed from, "Please, Gregory, stay asleep while I walk your brothers to the bus stop," to "I need to dress him, pack a snack for him and get him in the stroller so I can walk in this morning coolness," I knew I was seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

**Note: I can see my house the entire walk to my children's bus stop. My four year old (Gregory) rarely wakes up before 9 on his own accord. Walking to the bus stop did not put him in any measurement in harms way. Plus, we live on a cul de sac, and any traffic that would pass my house I would see. :)

Last, but not least, your visits to the porcelain throne room are done sitting rather than kneeling. No further explanation needed.

Thank you for reading! I hope you were entertained and at minimum, a smile cracked your lips!

Please share your thoughts and comments. I would love to read your story as well. If you have written a similar hub, I welcome your sharing it! If you want to share a pregnancy story in the comment section, that is welcome, also.

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