Working Through Your First Trimester
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How do you work through your first trimester — and keep your nascent pregnancy on the down-low? Trust me, the exhaustion of the first trimester can take you by surprise, so how do you stay productive at the office when all your body wants to do is nap? (Particularly when you’re probably not telling most people!)
When I got pregnant with my first child in late 2010, I was still trying to juggle a full-time job as a lawyer and a nearly full-time second job as proprietor of Corporette. I’d worked long hours in BigLaw and thought I’d seen it all — I had even gotten mono and two bouts of strep throat and barely slowed down. All of this, it turned out, was nothing compared with growing a human being inside of me.
We had a much longer discussion on how to work through your first trimester on Corporette when I announced my pregnancy (including about whether it hurts women to talk about the hardships of pregnancy), but I thought these tips might be helpful to those of you actually trying to work your way through your first trimester:
- Wean yourself off coffee and Diet Coke way before the first trimester fatigue hits. If you choose to abstain from coffee and artificial sweeteners during pregnancy, you don’t want to be going through caffeine withdrawal at the same time as first trimester fatigue.
- Stock up on orange juice, and cut your dependency on vitamin supplements. I kept reading that pregnant women should avoid vitamin supplements during this time (beyond your prenatals) and so I have avoided my beloved Emergen-C. Instead I kept buying OJ when I needed a jolt of energy.
- Take your prenatals at night instead of in the morning. I’ve heard it’s the extra iron in the prenatals that makes you nauseous on an empty stomach — but whatever it was, I wish I’d stumbled on the advice to take them at night instead of in the morning long before I did.
- Prepare your office for naps. Yes, seriously. Bring in whatever you need to make a comfortable napping environment — pillows, blankets, etc. — because you WILL need naps to make it even to 6pm (let alone 10pm or whatever quitting time is usual for you).
- Eat frequently, and guzzle water. It took me a few weeks to realize that the nausea was so much worse if I hadn’t eaten for a few hours — I also would get these whanging headaches if I hadn’t eaten. Just a few unsalted Saltines and some cheese can help you function normally.
Readers, what tips have you found essential for managing the pregnancy exhaustion? Do you have any tips for napping at the office?
(Pictured: Shutterstock/Syda Productions.)
In my first trimester. I just said screw it and allowed myself a cup of coffee a day. If I didn’t have one, I think my kid would be annoyed with me (loving coffee is a huge family trait).
Thank you all so much for the great tips! It’s really helpful to hear about experiences from women whose lifestyles are closer to mine. Sometimes I feel like the books are so generic and much of the advice doesn’t really apply or I don’t yet get how to modify it to the crazy lawyer/professional schedule.
Lots to think about – I’m bookmarking this thread to refer to in the coming months.
I agree with Kat’s recs for lots of water and constant snacking. Both helped me ward off nausea. I found that what made me feel nauseated changed over time – some days, it was a texture issue for me (I didn’t eat meat for a while because I hated chewing it, couldn’t stomach yogurt for weeks), and some days things just tasted off. I lost my taste for coffee very early on. I agree on reducing your caffeine intake before you’re even pregnant, if you drink a lot of it.
I found it really hard to stay focused at work in the beginning – not because I was tired, but because my mind was constantly racing about the human growing inside of me. I was constantly looking things up online (what to expect, mayo clinic, etc.), looking at maternity clothes, reading thismainsite’s archives, sample baby registries on pinterest, etc. I finally had to restrict my internet usage at work to a mid-morning break and a mid-afternoon break. I also started printing stuff off to read during my commute and eventually, after I had told my office, reading actual books during my commute instead of relying on the internets.
On the snacking / eating whatever you want: I definitely didn’t restrict myself, but I tried not to go toooo crazy. We only need a few hundred extra calories a day (is it 200 or 300? I can’t even remember now), and then in the third tri I think protein becomes even more important. That said, I definitely ate an entire box of girl scout cookies in a 24 hour period when I was 36 weeks and pretty much ate dessert every time I ate dinner in a restaurant:)
I napped in my office – some times just leaning back in my chair with my feet up on a box, other times with my head on a pashmina arranged on my desk so that it was somewhat pillow like. Neither were great options, but they usually did the trick. I also walked around my office a lot when I needed an energy boost – and outside was even better when I could swing that.
I commute by bus and train, and that didn’t really bother me early on. But in my third trimester, I often got lightheaded. So be prepared – carry some water and a snack with you! I was so much happier breaking the metro rules and eating/drinking on the train than being the passenger who faints and puts an entire train out of service.
Hi everyone……my firm is in the process of moving to a new space next spring. The new space is designed such that all of the doors/walls for every office is 100% see through glass, so there won’t be any privacy. I am due with my first kid in the spring so by the time I come back from maternity leave, we’ll be in the new office space. I am extremely concerned about pumping. I think my firm is still working out the kinks but I have heard that there’s going to be a “privacy room” that you have to sign up for to use a slot for 30 minutes. Is this realistic if you are at work and pumping? I’ve never had a child before but I just can’t imagine that schlepping all of the breast pumping equipment plus your laptop and whatever work you’re working on to a separate room that you have to sign up for in advance is really realistic. Thoughts?
Congratulations to you too!! Yes, my first. Scary-exciting, right?!
I think ginger ale would work great. Pretty much anything that gets mixed with alcohol should do it, right? I’m thinking of trying club soda with cranberry juice too.
Yeah office nap logistics are tough. My door locks, so I might turn off the lights and lock it – hopefully no one would knock because they think I’m not there (which isn’t great either though)? I hadn’t thought about calls, maybe I would forward everything to my secretary or turn off the ringer.. I’m often at meetings during the day so I don’t think it would be too strange to be unavailable for an hour. Maybe I should put an appointment in my outlook calendar so it shows me as busy…
ETA: oops, this was meant to reply to Anonymous above!
Hi ladies, I’m in my 7th week of pregnancy. I’m generally feeling good, just tired (even though I am fortunately getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night). I have my first doctor’s appointment next week and at that time I am going to ask her about caffeine. I have been avoiding caffeine entirely. But I really feel like the lack of caffeine is making it hard to stay focused (esp. b/c all I can think about is the baby).
I have also been avoiding going to social functions because I obviously can’t drink and I know if I don’t drink that someone might suspect.
Anyone else in a similar situation? Or anyone else been in a similar situation in the past? I can’t keep using the “oh I don’t feel like drinking” excuse forever . . .
I prepped my car for weekday napping – I found an ideal spot to park at a nearby business park that was secluded but not TOO secluded, and kept a blanket or extra jacket in the car. I’d drive around for 10 minutes to heat up the car, then park and put back the seat. I live in Seattle so those in colder climes might not be able to take advantage – but the weather is just moderate enough here to be able to withstand a half-hour nap.
You really have to listen to your body! I figured out pretty quickly that the reason I was feeling sick in the morning was tied to overheating, so I cooled my showers (slightly) and stopped drying my hair on high heat and that’s all it took to cause my morning nausea to abate. Though I fully realize that everyone is different and what worked for me won’t necessarily work for everyone!
Avoiding vitamin-induced nausea is critical. I found that taking whole food vitamins was a lot easier on my stomach. The only downside is that because they’re sourced from food, they tend to be bigger and have more pills in the daily recommended dose–my prenatal vitamin is 3 pills, and my vitamin D supplement is 2. Definitely a lot to swallow, but worth it to avoid the queasys!