#51 - NOURISH YOUR FLOURISH NUGGET | Fertility Awareness: Navigating Your First Trimester

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Excerpt from the Natural Pregnancy Guide:
Congratulations! You have decided to provide your baby with a firm foundation based on health and wellness. Keep in mind, though, that your baby does not come into this world without you. This decision is about the pair, healthy mother and baby. 

Now that we’ve given you have a baseline for establishing healthy habits during your pregnancy, you can continue pondering the specifics about details of what an unadulterated pregnancy means… to you. For every expectant mother, this aspect of the book (and your life) will be different. There is no wrong approach. Conception, pregnancy, and delivery are natural life experiences. Even though your body is impeccably designed for this work (yes, work), like any job or task worth doing, bringing your baby into this world requires intentional preparation coupled with the strength and stamina necessary to sustain a healthy, flourishing pregnancy.  

Your first trimester extends from week one to week thirteen. Most people refer to pregnancy in terms of months; however, your health care provider will calculate your pregnancy in weeks based on the start of your last menstrual period (if your periods are regular). If you have missed a period and have taken a home pregnancy test with a positive result, then you are already at least two weeks pregnant. You might have been well into this trimester before you even knew you were pregnant. This is the beginning of your pregnancy journey and this could quite possibly be the most difficult trimester for you. During the first four weeks, you will not look pregnant, and though you’ll probably start to feel pregnant with (tender breasts and minor fatigue). Weeks five to eight bring about some subtle changes that you may barely recognize or might merely consider annoying nuisances (frequent trips to the bathroom, bloat, extra saliva, and increasing fatigue) more than actual pregnancy challenges. Exhaustion coupled with nausea and vomiting, the hallmarks of morning sickness, may accompany the last weeks of the first trimester, but hearing the beautiful first sounds of your baby’s heartbeat will make it all worthwhile. 

Resources mentioned:
Akoma Counseling Concepts
Natural Pregnancy Guide