How can people ‘not know they are pregnant’ for like 12 weeks?
I had the best sleep ever since being pregnant the night before last. 8 hours, straight through. I felt awesome all day. I did have another nap as well though! However, the elation wore off very quickly when last night I had the WORST night so far. 3 hours sleep – I was awake at 1am and up at 1.30am. I worked for a couple of hours, had a bite to eat, and then tried to go back to sleep – nothing doing. Got up again, worked some more, although by now I’m really feeling it and struggling big time. Went back to bed about 6am. Up again at 8am. Had to drop Damo off out at my mum’s and do some jobs in town, and was just a zombie. I made a sandwich when I got home, had half of that and went back to bed around 11am, getting up again at 1pm. Nausea starting to kick in with the sleep deprivation now.
I ate the other half of my sanga and waited for it to digest and then made myself go to the gym. I felt quite ill the whole time, I’m sure people thought I was about to faint or something, I was laying on the machines with my eyes closed in between sets 
So I’ve barely done any work, so if you are waiting for an email reply, I will get to it over Easter don’t worry. I’ve no plans, looking forward to being a vegetable. After taking the bins out and cleaning Big Pud’s dunny (Damo’s job but he forgot to do it before he left) I ran a spa and relaxed for awhile. Now its 6pm and I’m in my nighty flaked on the couch. I just had a small home made pasta, ham, tomato, pesto, cheese and avocado salad.
Now, as for this pregnancy weight gain business, Jo, I reckon you are one of a kind though, training like you did right through your pregnancy. I guess being able to sleep well and not having the nausea to go with the vomiting would have helped you to stick to your usual training and nutrition regime. Not that I’m any expert (haha, by a long shot) but from what I’ve read it doesn’t sound like you put on enough weight especially if you were having twins. But, obviously you had a healthy pregnancy so it’s all good. I’m going to disagree with you about the weight gain thing though because I can really understand now how you just cannot control what you need to eat sometimes. I’m not condoning eating junk food all the time, no way, but as far as the baby only needing an extra 100 calories in the first trimester – hmph! So why do you get so frigging hungry every 2 hours then? And why can you not stomach some healthy foods but can eat things like toast and cheese? (I’m not directing these questions to you Jo, just asking them to myself really!). I’ve put on nearly 4lb so far, and I attribute that to a number of factors – I am a lightweight to start with and apparently we put on the most weight, I was dieting and training for a comp before I got pregnant, I then stopped training because I physically was unable to for (so far) 7 weeks, I started eating a lot more than my diet consisted of because I was hungry and sick and I had to eat to stop the nausea, I am eating a lot more carbs and some foods I would not normally eat because that is what my body is telling me to do. Buggered if I’m gonna fight it just to save a few pounds of weight gain hey. Anyway, I’m still not weighing as much as I was at the start of my last comp prep.
I don’t know, what are everyone else’s thoughts?
I suppose I do feel a bit of pressure to stay trim while pregnant but you know what, I don’t really care – my body is not my own at the moment, it’s doing it’s thing and so be it. My focus is on eating mostly (I’d say >85% of the time) healthy food, eating when I need to and resting when I can. If I can’t train, I can’t train. Having said that, I’m definitely aiming to get there 3 x week to lift, and on the other days I’m walking. Doing what I can without pushing the limits.
I was thinking of getting some milo to try and help me relax again after I wake in the middle of the night.
Well I’ve watched the Biggest Loser and now I’m ready to crash in bed at 8.30pm.
Hey Sue
I wouldn’t worry about anything too much for the first Trimester. Hopefully once you are past 12 to 16 weeks you will feel dramatically better. Most of the women I have ever spoken to have found this (of course there are some poor things that were sick the whole way through but I am trying to be positive here!)
I hope for you that once you are a bit further in your body will adapt and you will feel more “normal” again.
I have only experienced one pregnancy and I definately found the first trimester the most difficult. I felt depressed and lethargic and then suddenly I reached 13 weeks and I was back doing walks for over an hour, eating fruit and vegies again and HAPPY! As opposed to sitting on the couch like a blob unable to eat anything but bread and mashed potato!
I really hope this is your experience too. Hang in there, that little bubba will make it all worthwhile xxx
Hey Sue,
I can definitely relate. I started of my pregnancy determined to eat healthy, trying to follow the recommended pregnancy diets etc, but couldn’t even drink a glass of water without feeling sick. And I couldn’t stomach any vegetables either. Unfortunately my sickness did last the entire pregnancy, and the morning sickness tablets did not really work for me. In the end I just ate and drank whatever I could stomach, which was mostly pasta and cordial or soft drink, so not very good for baby and no good for me – I gained 20kg by the end of it but also have a gorgeous healthy Son. I was also at the bottom range of my healthy weight range and was training heavy up until I was pregnant. That was my first indication that I was in fact pregnant, in that I couldn’t run as normal. I can’t understand how anyone could not know how they were pregnant either, I had so many signs – yet I guess everyone is different.
Hopefully you will feel great again after the first trimester. Most women I know felt great after the first trimester. And if not, just remember it is all worth it in the end so just do what you can. ….and enjoy what sleep you can get now before bubs arrives.
I lost 5kg in the first trimester because all I ate was dry crackers. I knew I was pregnant within a week or two…boobs exploded! It would be pretty hard NOT to know you are pregnant.
Try some Horlicks (malt drink) in warm milk during the night. It worked a treat for me. x
All I can say is don’t stress about it, you’ll gain weight, and you’ll lose it – I went off veggies, capsicum inparticular made me want to hurl, I don’t think I set foot in the gym, just too tired and sick (I never actually threw up in either pregnancy, but the urge was there ALL the time in my first trimesters)…I ate tons of pasta, noodles, cheese on toast (and donuts and chocolate….ooops)….I really followed my body and gave it what it asked for….I figured I’d sort it out after the baby was born….and I did….I didn’t rush,. but 9 months out, 9 months in was what I aimed for….and within 9 months I had my old body back
(I didn’t breast feed, so didn’t need those extra calories after giving birth)
So in a nutshell, listen to your body, we all feel different through this journey….enjoy the experience, its only 9 months
Sending all my best wishes
Cara x
Sue, you said the wisest thing in this post : your body isn’t your own, it is definitely doing its “job” in nurturing a new human being.
I was a mess during all my pregnancies, the first 16 weeks were horrid, I went off tea (my favourite drink in the world) and chocolate of all things! with my first pregnancy I ate lots and lots of veggies because I felt like it, and copious amounts of crackers to ease off the nausea…gained 23kg…so weighed in at a massive (for me) 82kg the day before I gave birth to my 10lb baby girl. You know what? I lost 15kg in the next couple of weeks without dieting…it was all fluid! by the time she was three months old, I was back to 60kg, only a kilo heavier than when I’d fallen pregnant. Walking around the block pushing a pram will do it
So – don’t stress, look after yourself, and sleep when you can.
xoxox
Sue, all pregnancies are different. I didn’t realize I was pregnant with No 2 until about 10 weeks along. I was training that hard that I didn’t notice. With preg no 2 I trained and ran until 32 weeks and then taught Body Pump and Step until I delivered. First preg was different story. I felt so gross, the thought of training was a no go and I craved meat pies!
My advice is go with the flow as all of these other wise mothers have suggested.
I know of a girl who didn’t know she was pregnant until she was 5 months along!! She’d been told all her life that she coulnd’t have babies, and she kept going to the doctor telling them she didn’t feel well… they finally did a test and she was preggers!! (She was a big girl to start with) Hard to fathom, but I guess it can be easy to assume its something else, like the flu or a virus or something.
Hope you start to feel better soon!
Hilary xx
Yep, I like Hilary knew someone who was preggas and didn’t know until a couple of WEEKS before she was due!! She was also quite a big girl…she had no nausea or anything, but I don’t know how she didn’t feel all the kicking by that stage! I knew by about 2-3 weeks with all 3 of my girls. Have you tried ginger bikkies to settle the nausea? I can understand totally why you feel the pressure to stay slim, but you are an inspiration anyway and are HUMAN!! Look after yourself and bubby first! I love having a tummy when I’m pregnant…not so much now!! Also leave the cat litter to hubby…Toxioplasmosis(i think by memory is what it’s called)is something really bad that you can pick up…so there’s your excuse! Take care
Amanda
You do what your body tells you to do. I have 1 child who is 3 now. For the first 14 weeks I was like you – nauseated, tired etc. After I hit the 15 week mark, I had renewed energy and really enjoyed being pregnant. I was able to walk every day for over an hour right up until the week he was born. I also lifted 2 x week. My eating in the first 14 weeks was mainly vegemite sandwiches. I craved apples but everytime I ate one I threw up. Think it was too acidic. After 14 weeks I went back to sensible eating although I craved cheese all the way through:) Try not to analyse why, just listen to your body – it knows what it needs and when:)
Just do whats right for you. Try
Thanks to being “blessed” with pregnancies with the works there was never any doubt I was pregnant from VERY early days! Like you I suffered horrible nausea, insomnia and was very breathless early on – apparently an effect of progesterone on the cardiovascular system – and then again later of course from the old space issue. And yet my very good friend who was pregnant at the same time had virtually no symptom apart from a growing abdomen. I think for most of us who are reasonably body / health conscious the weight gain thing is hard to feel comfortable about as we’re used to being reasonably controlled about monitoring food and activity. I actually ended up putting on a bit of weight in the first trimester just trying to get through the whole nausea / sleep deprivation scene (and boy do they feed off each other), then very little in the middle and a bit at the end again. Everybody’s pattern of weight gain is different, and I’ve been told that some obstetricians no longer do regular weighs (unless there’s an indication for it) as they have other technologies at their disposal to monitor mum and baby health. You sound like you’re eating well, and doing the best you can, but you also have to function at some level, because you’ve got things to do, but also for your own sanity. And eating very regularly, especially the carbs to keep a ready supply of energy, helps you do that to some degree. As the others have said, and it was my experience too, once the nausea settles and your energy levels improve then your eating (and weight gain)stabilises too – until later when you do want to see small regular gains.
Hi Sue I had three pregnancies and each one completely different. The first one the nausea wasn’t too bad, nothing a toasted cheese and ham sandwich couldn’t fix, the second really bad from fertility drugs, really cold water and very strong mints were the go with this one and the last was just food every three hours although my choices weren’t good (Belgium waffles and maple syrup) and resulted in a 20kg gain. Three healthy babies later and a bit of work in the gym and it was all good. Go with the flow and enjoy the experience. There is nothing like it.
Hi Sue,
Firstly congrats on being pregnant, it is one of the most amazing things a woman can go through watching our bodies change and then change back Awesome.
Anyway what I wanted to add was the best piece of advise I was ever given when I was pregnant, it was given to me by a wonderful midwife.
She said ‘ Everybody is different, everyone has different needs, everyone will experience different cravings, feelings, and emotions, so don’t let anyone tell you that you should be like this or that you just be you and follow what is best for YOU.
She also told me later on when I was having problems with my daughters sleep that we are all told how all pregnancies are different but when you are trying to get your child to sleep why do you get told to put you child in a routine like all other children, this applies to eating well everything about your child actually, you see they are all different as well and what a great gift we are given as parents trying to work this all out.
Think about it we are all amazing LOL
Hi Sue,
I would definetely not worry about putting on weight … I went from 56 kilos to 79.5 with my first pregnancy and I was sooooo fit and healthy before … I think I spent the first 3 months in McDonalds carparks drinking Vanilla thickshakes and eating chips (before dinner) … I could not get enough fast food and I had NEVER eaten that sort of stuff before… I went straight back to my 56 kilos within months as I had been so fit before and your body will do the same… breasfeeding and running around all day makes the weight fall off … don’t stress about it .. just enjoy it because it is the only time in your life when you can…
Hi Sue,
I agree with all of the comments above.
You are so amazingly fit and toned that your body will have a memory after the baby and get straight back into shape when you are ready to put a little time into it.
I was not as fit and in shape as you but lost the 20 kilos that I gained with each 3 pregnancies. Initially you can loose up to 7 kilos just by having the baby and loosing the fluid etc.
I think also in a way if you do put on a bit of extra body fat it can be very much hereditary as to how you mother or grandmother gained. It may not have too much with how you eat or exercise any how? Your body is doing what it needs to, to support the baby. Enjoy it (yeah, I kinda didn’t, so you may just have to let 9 months pass
)and the beauty of being on an internet website is that only your close friends and family need to see you near the end anyway.
I also suffered nausea and vomiting (all the way through though) and I just had to eat what I had to eat and what I could keep down or what levelled my nausea out. As you know that sick feeling it so draining and just the thought of feeling like you are always going to be or could be sick is just crap. Really anything you can do to stop that feeling is priority I think? There is also a pressure point between your forefinger and thumb that I used a lot to stop feeling like I was going to be sick in public at least. Not sure if your massage person knows the correct spot?
Also it is refreshing for people like yourself (our celebrity) and celebrities to be ‘normal’ at these times so an unrealistic ideal is not set for everyone else.
Probably dosn’t help too much when you feel crap, but hope it helps a bit.
Di