My First Trimester – A Recap

In Nagpur with my Mohiniyattam teacher, Honey Unnikrishnan.

Now that I’m in my third trimester I wanted to do a recap of my first.  Here’s a detailed video about it.  I hope this blog resonates with other women who are on the conception/pregnancy journey.  It’s also serves as a record of this very special time in my life.

Something ‘Was Up’

I first knew something ‘was up’ when my period was late.  I was in Nagpur to train with Honey Unnikrishnan, my Mohiniyattam teacher.  I expected to get my period towards the end of my time there.  It was a strenuous five days, with up to 10 hours of dancing daily.

During the two week wait, women are told to rest and relax.  But I had spent numerous two-week-waits resting and relaxing unsuccessfully, and didn’t want to miss out on dancing with my teacher.  My period was never late, and I chalked it up to all the rigorous physical training I was doing.

The Positive Pregnancy Test

I’ve had numerous negative pregnancy tests.  I wasn’t eager for yet another one.  But we were headed to Goa, and I wanted to make sure that it was OK to do eat drink and make merry while I was there.

I did a home pregnancy test and it was positive.  It was the result we’d been waiting for but now that I had it, I couldn’t believe it.  Later that day my doctor confirmed the pregnancy through a TVS scan.  I will never forget her words.  “This is a medical miracle!  You’re a medical miracle!”

For the four days we were in Goa I was paranoid about losing the pregnancy, so I kept checking to make sure I wasn’t bleeding.  It was an unsettling feeling.  The entire vacation felt different, although we weren’t doing anything different from what we usually do in Goa.  My mornings had changed though – I could no longer stand the smell or taste of coffee.  In a way this was the first casualty of my pregnancy hormones.

Our Goa trip was probably our first and only trip during the first trimester.

My Symptoms

Never have I experienced hunger like I did in my first trimester.  I once ordered and ate an entire pizza before dinner, and went on to have the a full dinner.  I desperately wanted to maintain a balanced and healthy diet – but that hunger was phenomenal and during the first trimester (or even afterwards) I never denied myself food.  Also, if I tried to ‘ignore’ my hunger then I’d be nauseous.  Elaichi (cardamom) also helped to keep the nausea at bay.

I also discovered that ‘morning sickness’ is a misnomer.  My nausea lasted all day.  It would get worse if I ate too little, but also if I ate too much.  When I spoke to my doctor about this she replied, “Be thankful that you’re eating.”

Women always remember their pregnancy food cravings.  In my first trimester I had few cravings, but many aversions.  I didn’t want any hot liquids like tea or even soup.  I couldn’t stand the thought of foods I felt were “heavy” like millets and rajma.  I didn’t even like the taste of water.  I ate white rice, wheat rotis and had sips of water.  Also, my cravings changed every two weeks!

What I did like though was slightly spicy food.  And pickles!

I think knowing what I wanted to eat and didn’t made it easier to plan the menu.  Also listening to my cravings instead of blindly following a diet helped the cravings and aversions easier to manage.

What I wasn’t ready for was the intense fatigue.  I wanted to crawl into bed as soon as I put my students into savasana.  I took multiple naps through the day.  I slept more in my first trimester than I ever have.

Overall my first trimester was great because I was traveling and eating well and the pregnancy was a strong, healthy one.

Exercise

I discovered that walking was a great way to keep the digestive system moving (which sometimes gets sluggish because of all the pregnancy hormones).  Also, it helped with the nausea.  So I borrowed a smart watch from my mother in law and aimed to get 10000 steps in daily.  I even studied for a Sanskrit exam while pacing the hallway in my house!

I also did some yoga.  My doctor was a bit concerned about this, but as she saw the pregnancy blooming, she supported my fitness initiatives.  Didn’t do challenging  or advanced asanas.  I demonstrated in class, but was very very careful.  I had a routine designed for me by my teachers and I stuck to that.  Pre-natal yoga isn’t about conquering new asanas, or proving that your body can bend deeply despite a pregnancy, but about preparing the body for the changes that are inevitable on this journey.  I think this made me appreciate yoga a lot more.

I stopped Mohiniyattam though.  My teacher felt it’s for the best as I’d only been dancing for a year and, unlike with yoga, I may not be able to control how hard I bend, stretch or stamp my feet.

Many women have asked me what I did differently that month to get pregnant.  I’ve wondered the same thing.  The only difference I can think of now is that I decided to focus on what made me happy, which was my practice, whether Mohiniyattam or yoga.  Or maybe it was a little luck and a lot of faith.