Surviving The First Trimester With A Toddler

Before I get started, I know I haven’t posted since October of last year.

But if you all have been following me on Instagram (if you don’t you can follow me here), then you would know that I found out that we are expecting another little one!

And not only that!

We are expecting another baby girl!

My daughter is getting a little sister!

I actually found out that I was pregnant in October and almost immediately after finding out that I was pregnant, it was as if every pregnancy symptom hit me at once.

It started with that awful pregnancy fatigue and then here came all those awful nauseous feelings.

And then those nauseous feelings worsened.

When I made it to the second trimester, I just knew that I would start feeling better because that was when I started feeling better with my first daughter.

But nope.

The nausea was still very much present and so was the pregnancy fatigue.

In fact, I did not start feeling better until I hit 20 weeks in this pregnancy, and guess what is still happening while all of this is going on?

I still have a 2-yea- old that needs to be taken care of.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I obviously did not have any other children to care for.

So when I was feeling bad, I would just simply take a sick day which consisted of laying in the bed the majority of the day, resting, or doing whatever I needed to do to feel good again.

That is just not realistic with a 2-year-old on the loose.

And I figured out that rather quickly when my daughter was showing up in my room bright and early in the morning wanting breakfast and here I was too exhausted to even get out the bed.

Laying in bed for long periods was not going to be an option no matter how much I wanted to.

“How on earth am I going to survive the first trimester with a toddler?”

These were my exact thoughts initially but, I did it. And you can too.

Here, I will be providing some tips on how I managed to get through the first trimester of my pregnancy with a toddler.

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What To Expect In The First Trimester

Before we dive into I got through the first trimester with my toddler, let’s discuss what to expect in the first trimester.

If you are one of the lucky few who does not have many symptoms, my hats off to you because everyone is not able to.

For my ladies who experience nausea, fatigue, sore boobs, and headaches, I am right there with you.

I am currently no longer in the first trimester where I was experiencing the worse of those symptoms, but those symptoms still haunt me.

I know most moms-to-be are familiar with the book What To Expect When You Are Expecting.

It is essentially the pregnancy bible because it is packed with so much information on what to expect from conception to birth.

The sections I found myself focusing on a lot more were the sections in the first trimester and third trimester.

I wanted to make sure that the symptoms I was experiencing were normal and also be prepared for what to expect during birth.

According to this book, first-trimester pregnancy symptoms can consist of:

• Fatigue
• Frequent Urination
• Nausea (With or Without Vomiting)
• Food Aversions
• Excessive Saliva
• Constipation
• Breast Tenderness
• Heartburn
• Bloating

Like I said above, there are a few lucky women who don’t experience much, but I am not one of those women.

These symptoms hit me hard after I saw that big fat positive and did not let up even with a toddler in tow.

What To Expect With A Toddler

This leads me to my next point which is what can you expect from a toddler.

I will be speaking more so from the point of view of what my 2-year-old daughter is doing so this may not apply to all toddlers, but I still want to share in case any other mommas can relate.

If you are familiar with my blog already, then you know I shared my toddler’s daily routine that was working really well for us that many of you really enjoyed.

Well, that routine completely went out the window during the first trimester due to me feeling the worst in the mornings.

I have always considered mornings to be imperative on getting a good start for the day and I had a morning routine that I liked doing before my daughter woke up.

However, when the pregnancy fatigue kicked in, my daughter was up before me and became my alarm clock.

And to be specific, my hungry alarm clock.

My daughter is used to waking up and getting something to drink and a small snack while I make us some breakfast.

She does not comprehend that mommy is not feeling good so what does she do? S

he whines and begs for mommy to get out of bed to get her something to eat.

This does not her selfish. It just makes her a 2-year-old toddler.

My daughter is very independent but at the same time, she still very much needs me.

Throughout the day, she is hungry and will need me to get food.

She will need me to change her, brush her teeth, and do her hair.

These are things that have to still be done regardless of how I am feeling.

And of course, she will want me to play with her, but the last thing you want to do when you are feeling exhausted is playing with an energetic toddler.

Toddlers are known for their high energy and that holds very true with my daughter.

She knows one speed and expects me to be on board with it as well.

Toddlers are also a lot smarter than we give them credit for.

They pick up on our moods and emotions and can tell if something is off and my daughter definitely knew that something was off with me.

She became very clingy and only wanted me in my first trimester.

I knew that if I was going to survive the first trimester with a toddler, I was going to need to figure out a new normal to navigate the days until I started feeling better.

How To Survive The First Trimester With A Toddler

Now that I have discussed what we can expect in the first trimester and from a toddler, let’s dive into how I survived the first trimester with a toddler.

Lower Your Expectations

That’s right. Lower those expectations momma.

The laundry may not get done.T

he dishes may not get washed for a day or two.

And that’s ok because your body is making a baby.

Being pregnant will make you lower your expectations.

This is especially true in the first trimester if you are dealing with all those awful symptoms that I have been talking about.

Just like I stated above with my toddler’s daily schedule being thrown out the window, throw those expectations out the window as well.

Pregnancy is one of those things where you don’t exactly know what to expect because our bodies are going through some pretty dramatic changes.

One day, you may wake up and feel awful.

The next day, you may wake up and not feel awful.

You just never know how you going to feel from one day to the next, so it is best to remain open to the different ways you are feeling from day to day.

Create A New Normal

The next thing you want to do is create a new normal until you start feeling better.

I know for me personally, I created a routine since I have been pregnant based on the trend of my symptoms because morning sickness was one of my worst symptoms.

But we all know that morning sickness is not just confined to the morning.

Some women experience nausea throughout the entire day, but there are usually periods where those nauseous feelings let up.

If you are noticing that you feel worse in the morning, then give yourself some grace and allow yourself to be more restful in the mornings.

This can be tough for individuals who are morning individuals like myself, but I knew starting my day off at 7:30/8 like I am accustomed to doing was just not working for me.

So what did I do?

I allowed myself to lay in the bed longer until I felt like I could get myself out of the bed which became closer to 9/9:30.

But I know what you are going to ask next.

What about your daughter?

She is not sleeping in that late nor is she waiting that long to eat.

Well, this leads me to my next tip.

Prepare For Your “Sicker” Periods

During the times when you are sicker, you want to be prepared for those times.

As I was saying above my “sicker” and more tired period was in the mornings.

I had a hard time getting out of the bed just from being exhausted and when I finally tried to eat something, it would just come right back up.

Mornings were a major struggle for me, but I couldn’t let my daughter struggle with me.

What I had to start doing was preparing for the mornings at night because I felt better in the evenings.

I would have her a morning snack and her cup of diluted apple juice sitting on my nightstand the night before so when she woke up and came into our room the next morning, she could climb into the bed and eat her snack without me having to get up at that very moment.

That would hold her over until I would get up and make her something else to eat.

This worked for us because I was able to get a little more rest and she was able to satisfy her hunger for a short period.

Have Your Toddler Engage In Independent Play

Independent play will be your best friend during the first trimester with a toddler.

If your toddler does not know how to play independently, this is a great time to start.

Independent play allows you to get some time back to yourself.

Normally if I weren’t pregnant, I could utilize this time to work on my blog, clean up around the house, or do whatever I was needing to get done.

But pregnant me mostly utilized this time to mostly rest and just catch my breath.

The way to get started is by creating a safe “toddler-proof” environment for your kiddo.

We don’t have an actual “playroom” in our home, so her room is ultimately where we keep her toys and play-based learning activities.

We keep anything that we don’t want her playing with without our supervision up high and out of her reach such as paint or playdough.

What also helped me was bringing a storage bin with her toys into our room so I could lay on the bed and she could play with her toys quietly while I enjoyed a moment of peace.

She was occupied and I was able to rest.

If you are interested in getting your child started in independent play, a great article to check out is this one from The Military Wife and Mom.

Rest When They Rest

This is an absolute given.

Lower those expectations like mentioned earlier and leave that housework alone until you feel up to it because it can wait.

If your little one still naps as mine does, take full advantage of their naptime as your naptime as well.

In fact, I would have my daughter lay down with me and we would nap together.

She loved being close to mommy and I did not have to deal with a toddler fighting her nap.

You got to do whatever works and once again, napping together worked for us.

Ask For Help

This should be another given, but you would be surprised how often many mommas go so long before finally reaching out for help.

As a stay-at-home mom, I have my daughter the majority of the time during the week because my husband works during the day, so I’m pretty much alone all day with our daughter.

And now that I’m pregnant, I’m also sick and pretty much alone all day with our daughter.

In order for me to get through this first trimester and pregnancy in general, I was going to have to lean on him for help.

I was going to have to get my husband involved in my pregnancy and communicate to him that I need help.

Whether it be bathing our daughter and putting her to bed on weekday evenings or taking her to the park on weekends so that I could get a few hours of uninterrupted rest.

My husband has been very supportive and helpful during this pregnancy and I’m not sure that I would have survived the first trimester with a toddler without him.

I know not everyone has a partner that they can lean on, but I encourage to you reach out to someone that you trust for help during this period.

My sister was also someone I leaned on during the day when my husband wasn’t available.

Don’t allow yourself to not be ok.

Depression and anxiety during pregnancy can lead to postpartum depression and anxiety.

Your Turn

Now that I discussed how I survived the first trimester with my toddler, I want to hear from you. How did you all manage to get through the first trimester with your toddler? I know that pregnancy consists of 3 trimesters, but the first trimester is always the worst for me, followed by the third, and lastly the second. I would love to hear from you all in the comments and while you are still here, check out my previous post below. Until next time!

• Read More: Reasons Why Everyone Should Go To Therapy

Love,

Just Jass