The fatigue seemed to arrive like a 300lb gorilla just around the same time as the nausea. It was absolutely overwhelming. Feeling drugged I found myself panting as I pushed my daughter’s stroller up the high-street in the evening, and I would have to catch my breath as I climbed some stairs. Like my tender boobs, this seemed to be another physical manifestation that something profound was going on in my body.

Suddenly I wanted to take little naps around the same time as my two year old in the middle of the day and bedtime at 10am couldn’t come soon enough. Still, I made a few mistakes….Too much sleep in the day (and definitely not after 4pm unless it’s a quick nap), would mess up my nighttime clock (30 mins to 1 hour seemed to be my max) and for some reason I started drinking milk at night thinking that would give me an even better night of sleep, but it actually started to interfere with the calcium/magnesium pills I was taking and made my legs restless.

So here are some tips on how to get through the first trimester exhaustion, which I realize, not everyone suffers from, but continued for me until at least week 18 and then suddenly, whoosh, the energy came back.

Get More Rest
Whether you like it or not, your body is definitely telling you to SLOW DOWN! It’s hard I know, even if you have had a kid, you forget what those first few weeks are like and you are still functioning in pre-baby mode. I know a lot of women keep their first trimester under wraps which is understandable, too many variables before the fanfare begins, but it can mean you are going around with your amazing secret feeling miserable.

Dr. Kathryn Lee of the University of California at San Francisco recommends in an article issued by the Sleep Foundation that first-time mothers plan for sleep the way they plan and schedule the rest of their lives. In a study of first time mothers vs. experienced mothers, the experienced ones got an extra 45 minutes to an hour of sleep each night. That extra sleep can help make pregnancy a more positive experience.

Amazingly, even if you aren’t paying attention to anyone, mother nature and her exhaustion drug (in this case an increase in the hormone progestrone ) will be pushing the stop gear, and there isn’t much you can do.

You Won’t Feel Wiped Out All the Time
Again, your lifestyle is going to factor into how hard this period is…. for most women, they are working full or part-time, they may have other children and family to attend to or they may still be on the exercise schedule they were on pre-baby and wondering why they just need to sit down in the middle of class. Try to make adjustments where you can. You may need to see a few less friends in the evening, lie out on the couch for 20 mins before you think about the evening’s activities, leave the dishes in the sink until tomorrow and it’s probably advisable to moderate your exercise regime (ie. don’t start a new hard core pilates program).

Get A Little Bit Intuitive
With all the tech modern lifestyles we have, it is hard to be in touch with nature and our bodies. Pregnancy, post partum and of course motherhood, is an incredible opportunity for you to get in touch with your inner self and start to see signs and symbols in new ways. Right now, something major is going on in your body and while you may not be able to articulate it, fatigue is one of those physical manifestations that cannot be ignored. It’s the beginning of a new journey, try to embrace it even if you are feeling sick and weary.

Exercise
Most doctors say it is OK to continue with a slighly moderated sports regime ie. If you were running for 45 mins, try running for 30 minutes now. Again, your body will probably tell you how far it can push itself and you might just find an incredible desire to slow down and do nothing for a while. Great exercise regimes throughout your pregnancy are swimming, walking and prenatal yoga and it’s certainly worth asking your doctor about an optimal exercise program.

Ask For Help
Partners can be very helpful during this period. You may not be used to asking for help and your partner may not be in tune with your needs…. but now’s not the time to be shy. If you can’t face going out, or the kids need picking up, or a take-out would be better than you thinking up some dinner plan, go ahead and say it.

Munch Munch Glug Glug
This time around, I ate many more carbs during the first few months and it probably wasn’t an ideal diet (ie. too many sugar spikes) but I couldn’t face fish or meat or too many vegetables (definitely not raw) except for the occasional local curry (??) which I really enjoyed. In short, my body was very clearly telling me what to eat and then quite suddenly (after the exhaustion and nausea started to fade) I was able to eat more balanced meals. Either way, try to stay away from junk –you need nutritious food to help ease this phase along and make sure you drink plenty of water, although try to drink less at night to avoid frequent bathroom trips which are also induced by increased progesterone. Also don’t try to compensate your fatigue by drinking more caffeine — A few studies have shown that even moderate caffeine consumption affects fetal heart rate and movement patterns.

Not as comfortable in my bed
This is hard for me… I like to sprawl out like a star-shaped frog with my belly firmly plastered across the sheet. With tender breasts, this position becomes more difficult and you might as well get yourself one of those long tube pillows and start practicing sleep ideally on your left side (but don’t panic if you find yourself in the morning on your back snoring) which improves the flow of blood and nutrients to your fetus and helps your kidneys get rid of waste and fluids. You might also find your sleep is lighter and that you are waking up…. look into an evenly balanced (ideally equal quantities) magnesium/calcium pill to take when you go to bed. Dr. Raffelock has a great nighttime formula: http://www.pregnancyrecovery.com/program.cfm

This supplement should also help relieve some of your restless legs and potential muscle spasms you may have in the middle of night. I suffered from that a lot in my last pregnancy and also in the beginning of this pregnancy until I figured out how I need to be taking my calcium and magnesium supplements which should also be balanced with potassium. It is often easier to take a single formula which contains all three minerals. This looks like a good blend:
http://www.country-life.com/moreinfo.cfm?Category=10&Product_ID=166

Am I anemic?
Between 10-15% of women become anemic during pregnancy although usually later than the first trimester. Your health care provider should be performing simple pre-natal blood tests and detection is pretty straightforward. Symptoms of anaemia during pregnancy can include: Fainting, exhaustion, weakness, palpitations, and a very pale complexion. If you end up taking an iron pill, there are products on the market now that do not give you constipation. I tried out a natural product from the health food store first, Floradix, but it was not that effective (although some of my friends swear by it) and now I am taking Ferro Sequels which you can pick up at any major pharmacy. MSN Health also writes: Women with more than one child in the womb have an even greater requirement for iron, and for each additional child in a multiple pregnancy the need increases. The same sort of logic applies to mothers who have their children very soon one after another, when the body has not had sufficient time to “restock” the iron pantry.

So finally… Some first trimester survial tips from The Sleep Foundation

- Plan, schedule and prioritize sleep!
- Sleep while you can. In order to stay out of sleep debt, get extra zzz’s wherever you can.
- Drink lots of fluids during the day, especially water, but cut down on the amount you drink before bedtime.
- To avoid nausea and energy lows try to eat bland snacks throughout the day — like crackers and cheese.
- Sleep on your left side to improve the flow of blood and nutrients to your fetus.
- Put a nightlight in the bathroom instead of turning on the light to use the bathroom — this will be less arousing and help you return to sleep more quickly. (I didn’t do this, but it seems like a good idea).
- Add daytime naps as necessary (a luxury for some but there are always weekends).

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December 3rd, 2006 | Permalink