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.