Since my pregnancy announcement, I’ve been wanting to create a blog post covering everything about my first trimester of pregnancy. And it is finally here!

I invite you to come to take the 12-week journey with me while I talk about things like my symptoms, aversions, and how I dealt with them, cravings, what I ate, addressing a lot of the questions you guys have asked me on Instagram.

I couldn’t be more excited for our little bundle of joy to get here.

Like we CAN NOT WAIT!

Trying to enjoy the whole pregnancy experience, and not getting too far ahead of myself 😉

I’ve heard some stories of women who have really intense morning sickness (or all day sickness really), but I’m lucky to be able to report that my symptoms have been pretty mild in comparison.

Most of my sickness was coming from food aversions which settled in around 7 – 10 weeks and went away around 12 weeks. But it was not bad enough to cause any vomiting thankfully. Of course I have a few tips and tricks for that, I will share in a bit here.

My First Trimester Symptoms

Food blogger Shuangy and her husband Tom are having their first baby announcement. They are holding a baby onesie.

First Trimester Food Aversions

At 6-7 weeks is when the not-so-fun parts of pregnancy kicked in. I began to lose my appetite along with a lot of food aversions.

I wanted nothing to do with all of the foods that I used to love pre-pregnancy. My apple-a-day habit was out of the window. Snacking on roasted veggies? Forget about it. Chicken breast was the enemy.

1. Sweets.

Yup, all the baked goods were off the table.

The early stage of pregnancy is NOT ideal for a food blogger. I didn’t bake anything until I was around 11-12 weeks and even just the thought of sweets was enough to make my stomach turn.

Around weeks 10-11 I was about to “want” some chocolates and baked goods from local bakeries, but before that, I pretty much lived on saltine crackers.

2. Vegetables.

If you know me, I loved roasted vegetables. I always have a big portion of roasted vegetables with my meals. But that changed in my first trimester.

Vegetable aversion is a fairly common one. Although leafy greens are highly recommended for a healthy pregnancy diet, most pregnant women are turned from them.

I was able to stomach some raw, fresh veggies like salad, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes, but my old favorites like roasted broccoli or brussels sprouts would completely turn me green.

3. Meat.

I pretty much became a vegetarian.

Some meats were okay (if it was cooked by someone else like a restaurant take-out. I know, spoiled momma over here).

I ate a lot of beans, dairy and eggs to get my protein instead.

4. Kombucha.

Although this is a controversial topic due to it’s potential traces of alcohol content and unpasturation, I am a regular kombucha drinker. So I was going to let myself enjoy one or two here and there.

But I wish! I turned on Kombucha completely. If you’ve been following me for awhile you know I LOVE kombucha, but I just had me drinking a lot of plain La Croix instead.

It is generally considered safe to consume if you were a regular kombucha drinker before your pregnancy. Of course, always consult with your doctor if you have any concerns.

Food Cravings during my first trimester

Food blogger Shuangy and her husband Tom are having their first baby announcement. They are holding a few of their baby's ultrasound photos.

Okay! Now let’s get into the more fun part! CRAVINGS!

Surprisingly, my cravings were all healthy foods. I thought I’d crave more pizza but NOPE! I ate a lot of rice, beans, and fruit.

1,. Mangoes, Watermelon, Berries, Citrius

I mostly ate mangoes which was totally random for me. I never used to eat a mango by itself after I came to the US. Now, give me all of that for dessert!

Watermelon was another fruit I ate a lot of, especially at night. That cold watermelon hit just right with the hot summer night air and the heat coming from the inside (that BABY though).

Bonus? It made my bathroom business fairly regular in the morning. Yup, it certainly moves things along.

Berries were another fruit that I was able to enjoy during my first trimester.

I would go through a big tub of blueberries in 2 days. I guess there is nothing wrong with that. Give this mama all the antioxidant!

2. Beans, Rice, Stew

Beans galore!

I ate SO. MANY. BEANS. My 8 Treasure congee recipe that has 5 different kinds of beans and 3 grains was my breakfast savior.

I made a lot of instant pot recipes, that contain chicken (catered to Tom), and beans for me.

I was constantly craving rice. The fluffy jasmine rice you guys!

It was pretty much a staple for me. I think it was the comfort flavors of home that were really getting me.

Some recipes that made my stomach happy and satisfy Tom at the same time:

  1. My coconut curry (I use both chicken and chickpeas in this recipe)
  2. Instant Pot Chili (I use both ground turkey and kidney beans in this recipe)
  3. Ramen

3. Takeout

Last but not least, we ordered a lot of takeout. During the pandemic, takeout was already making its increasing appearance in our house. With me not wanting to cook at all, we swept through many restaurants in Charlotte.

Give yourself grace mamas. It is OKAY to eat what you want, especially there are really not that many options.

Symptoms during my First Trimester

1. Nausea

Weeks 4-6 I felt pretty normal. I was symptom free with the exception of the occasional nausea during my morning workout.

Nausea and loss of appetite kicked in around weeks 6-7, but luckily it didn’t last very long. By weeks 9 – 10 my nausea has died down aside from certain food aversions.

2. Exhaustion

I knew pregnancy made you tired (I mean, you are growing a human) but this is a whole different kind of tired. I had to start taking daily naps around weeks 4-6 or I wouldn’t make it through the day.

My energy really started to decline around weeks 6-7, but weeks 7-8 I had a little pep in my step. Unfortunately our precious puppy, Muffin, was very sick that week so I guess it was my momma bear instincts that kicked in and got me going. I didn’t take any naps and I was eating everything I could.

Weeks 8-12 was rough. My poor little Muffin had passed, and I completely crashed for a solid week. I had no energy and loss of appetite as I was grieving my sweet pup.

Poor Tom lost weight too because I barely cooked anything. We ended up getting a lot of take out during this time. But hey, you do what you gotta do, right?

Bloat

The bloat hit hard during weeks 8-12. I felt like a balloon that was getting filled up throughout the day. As the day would go on, I would feel more and more bloated until after dinner, where it was just extreme. Very uncomfortable. So thankful for stretchy pants.

General Diet to Follow during pregnancy

Food blogger Shuangy and her husband Tom are having their first baby announcement. They are holding a few of their baby's ultrasound photos.

Now that I’m in my second trimester, everything feels much better and I’m able to eat a wider variety of foods.

Some foods recommended to eat more during pregnancy are:

Leafy greens– rich in folic acid and iron. Folic acid is one of the most important nutrients during pregnancy; it’s crucial in preventing neural tube defects in babies

Dairy- provides calcium needed for baby’s teeth and bones

Lean protein– supports muscle growth for mom and baby

Bananas– great source of potassium which helps with fluid balance in the body. It’s can also be good for queasy stomachs because it’s fairly bland.

Beans and lentils– great source of plant based protein (for when you can’t stomach meat) and also rich in fiber, iron and folate.

Give Yourself Grace

Food blogger Shuangy's comparison photo between 4 weeks and 10 weeks pregnant.

I know we all try to get in as many nutrients as we can for our precious growing baby, but sometimes the raging hormones may make it so things don’t play out the way we want it to.

It is A-okay if you can’t get any of the recommended foods in, especially in the first trimester. Just do what you can and when you start feeling better, get back to it.

If you find that you just can’t eat the recommended foods throughout your whole pregnancy, have no fear. Our bodies are like magic, they have plenty of nutrients in reserve, so do NOT stress pretty mamas.