So far this pregnancy has seen me give up wine (sob), bread (double sob) and milk. But that’s not all. I’ve also given up late nights and adjusted the hours I spend sitting in front of my computer working. Gone are the 11pm marathon I’ve-Got-To-Meet-This-Deadline evenings and in are early nights and evenings wallowing in the bath.

The first trimester hasn’t been a particularly easy one. I’ve had horrible sickness, extreme exhaustion and felt generally crap. I wrote in my last post about some of the things that have helped, but I want to dedicate a special place in my heart and on my blog to one particular first trimester saviour: Netflix. 

Thank you Netflix, with your steadfast support of this tired, sicky pregnant lady. Thank you for always being there with a handy film or addictive series suggestion. Thank you for being my companion when nausea was stopping me from sleeping but exhaustion meant I couldn’t read a book. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

February and March have seen me devour the entire first season of Orange is the New Black (thank you to Charlotte from Write Like No One’s Watching for the recommendation on that one). This is a brilliantly written series set in the US about a very unlikely female convict. It made me laugh and cry and immediately click on “next episode” once I’d finished watching. I was distraught to find the next season hasn’t even been filmed yet. Can’t wait for that one.

I also finally caught up with the rest of the world and finished the last season of Breaking Bad. Now it’s over there’s a Walt and Jessie shaped hole in my life.

I’ve watched countless films (including the ever-highbrow Katy Perry: Part of Me) and got hooked on the first series of Mr Selfridge after missing it on TV the first time around.

My current best friend in the Netflix department is the gritty detective series called The Bridge. This was a recommendation back in 2012 from a Sweden-obsessed friend of mine but I haven’t had time to start watching it until now. It’s set in Sweden and Finland and makes compelling viewing. Even my subtitles-hating husband has become a fan.

So there you go. A few recommendations for you to try out if you find yourself pregnant, sick and needing an early night with an iPad and Netflix. You’re welcome.

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Disclosure: I am a member of the Netflix Stream Team. As ever, all views in this post remain my own. 

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They say no two pregnancies are the same and, so far, this is proving very true in my case.

With Frog, I spent the first trimester utterly exhausted. That kind of tiredness that just seeps right into your bones and leaves you able to do nothing but sleep. Although I spent many evenings feeling nauseous, there wasn’t actually too much sickness. I just felt bloated, tired and generally crap.

With this pregnancy I’ve felt all that and more. The biggest difference is the sickness. I’ve never experienced anything like it. From the moment I opened my eyes in the morning until the moment I closed them at night I battled against extreme waves of nausea. It meant there’ve been many afternoons when I’ve had to cancel plans to take Frog out because I physically can’t be more than two metres from the toilet. 

Add to this the fact that I haven’t wanted to share my news, so have spent many moments fighting back nausea and pretending I’m OK, and you can safely assume my mood hasn’t been the best.

Luckily, since I passed the twelve week mark (last week) I have felt about a trillion times better. But some habits I picked up in my first trimester look likely to hang around. These are products, foods and clothes that have made me feel better, more comfortable and less, well, minging.

Fancy facial products

A few weeks ago, when I was at my lowest in terms of sickness and exhaustion, I ordered a pot of Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser and Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Moisturiser. I will never again underestimate the effect of a good cleanser and moisturiser. For those few minutes in the morning and at night, after I had washed and moisturised, I felt refreshed and more awake. It was like a little moment of relief in the long slog of each day.

Comfy clothes

I’ve heard that if you’ve already had a baby you can develop a bump quicker than with the first pregnancy. I heard that but didn’t believe it… until at just 8 weeks I could no longer fit into my favourite pair of jeans. My pelvis area ballooned and there was a visible bump there by 9 weeks. So I now felt fat as well as sick and tired!

I bought a pair of these trousers from Asos, thinking they’d be an alternative to jeans. But the jersey fabric and cut makes them more harem than peg cut, so I’ve ended up just wearing them around the house. They’ve now become my preferred lounge wear and are HUGELY comfy.

Erica at Modern Mum Must Have is one of my buddies over at The Motherhood. I totally trust her style advice (well she is a Fashion Editor after all) so when she pointed out this top on Asos I bought it immediately. It’s floaty, loose and ever so comfy. It’s helped hide the bulging belly and there’s plenty of room for the bump to get even bigger in it.

Baths

Because I’ve been good for nothing in the evenings, if I’ve had a work deadline to meet I’ve chosen to get up early in the morning and work before Frog wakes up. This has left evenings free to relax and, mainly, sleep. A warm bath, an episode of an addictive series (hello Breaking Bad, Orange is the New Black and Mr Selfridge) and a face mask and I’ve felt almost human.

Lemons, soya milk and herbal tea

I haven’t been able to drink milk since around the eight week pregnancy mark. For some reason it’s just turned my stomach. When I’ve had it in tea it’s not been long before I’ve been throwing up and – whether it’s an association thing or an intolerance thing – I haven’t wanted to risk drinking it again. I’ve switched to a slice of lemon in my tea and soya milk on my cereal and, actually, I haven’t missed milk at all. Bread has (sob) also had to go, as it’s left me bloated and full of really attractive wind (tmi – sorry). I’m still mourning the loss of bread and hoping its disappearance from my diet isn’t a permanent thing.

Sickness bands

When Jane from Northern Mum came to visit a few weeks ago, I spent much of the time with my head down the toilet. She recommended trying sickness bands, used for travel or morning sickness. They’re bands that go around your wrist, a bit like a Rocky-style cuff, with a little bobble that presses on your pressure point on your inner wrist. While they didn’t banish the nausea completely, they did provide some relief. Ultimately though, when the sickness made an entrance there wasn’t much that would keep it at bay.

What have I missed off the list? What helped you endure those difficult first few weeks of pregnancy? 

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