Preparing for baby number 1. Trimester 1
Grab a glass, let’s chat!
The day that pregnancy test was positive was such a whirlwind. This time is SO different for every single mum I’ve met so far. If you’ve been trying for some time now those two lines might have brought so much excitement, if those lines were a bit of a surprise maybe you’re feeling a bit scared.
Me? I was all of the above.
My partner and I had been together just over a year when we found out I was pregnant with our first baby. We knew it could happen and weren’t actively preventing it but weren’t officially “trying” yet either.
I was on a work trip out of town when a colleague said to me “your skin looks so great!” I jokingly said back “maybe I’m pregnant”. She looked shocked. Although I was joking I told her it could be possible because I was a few days late for my period.
On the way back into town we stopped for fuel and I grabbed a test anyway, just out of curiosity. I took the test and popped it in my handbag to develop (wrapped up of course). In the back seat of my managers car is when I first saw that very faint second line appear.
My partner was surprised, but on board. I remember him saying “oh boy” so clearly, and then I remember following it up with “or girl, you never know”. It didn’t break the ice like I expected.
Because it was our first baby we had no idea what to do next. Here’s a list of a few things that (I didn’t know) needed to be organised from there.
You just found out your pregnant, to do list;
- Book in with your GP/Check your insurance
- Pre natal vitamins
- Confirmation blood tests
- Apps
- Book the hospital
- Choose your model of care
- 8 week scan
- To nipt or not to nipt
- 12 week scan
- Breathe
1. Book in with your GP
This one is the most logical first step and probably something you already knew to do. The GP will give you your next best steps and all the imaging and pathology referrals you’ll need! I asked for 8 and 12 week imaging referrals because where I lived booked out 2 months in advance and I needed the referral form to book in.
I’m in NSW, Australia and none of my pathology visits incurred costs. However my ultrasounds were generally around $150-200 after subsidy from what I remember.
Now is also a great time to check on your health insurance. Do you have private cover? If so what are you covered for? I wasn’t covered privately for pregnancy/birth and where I was living at the time I didn’t feel like I needed to be. My local hospital’s maternity unit had a great reputation.
2. Prenatal vitamins
I’ve made this an equal step 1 because it’s good to start prenatals as soon as you can. If this pregnancy is a little bit of a surprise maybe you haven’t started any yet. Something you can do today is pop to the chemist and grab some, they’ll walk you through the different brands- what’s effective, what options are good, when to take them etc.
3. Confirmation blood tests
Confirmation blood tests
Super easy to do. I didn’t even have to make an appointment for any of these I just showed up with my referrals and was good to go.
4. Apps
This is the fun part, downloading baby apps and following along for what size baby is at what time and what symptoms to expect and which human organs you’re growing that week! I had two, not for any real reason other than they had different comparisons and one showed hand/foot size.
The ‘What to Expect’ https://apps.apple.com/au/app/pregnancy-baby-tracker-wte/id289560144 app (purple app on the right) had fruit and nostalgic items and the ‘Ovia pregnancy’ app (teal app on the left) had the hand and feet sizes. More often I checked the What to Expect app, it had things broken down simply and it was easier to digest the information they were giving. You also get access to the What to Expect forums online- take this with a grain of salt.
5. Book in at the hospital
Call up your local hospital, let them know you’re pregnant and looking to book in. You’ll organise a few initial appointments with them, one is just a general intake over the phone and the next one you come in and chat with a midwife. I always thought you just show up when your water breaks but that’s not quite how it works so make sure to book in nice and early.
6. Choose your model of care
I wasn’t sure where to place this step so here seems good. At the time I lived in NSW, Australia and we have a few different options of care. I chose shared care which means I alternated appointments with the midwife at the hospital and my GP. In my town you had to choose a GP that was also an obstetrician/gynaecologist. There are only a select few and mine was tricky to get in to see so it was good to know this as early as possible so I could transfer all my care to her from her nearest appointment.
7. 8 week scan
This is your dating scan and when they’ll give you a more accurate due date. This was optional and with my first baby I skipped it, I had very regular periods and could work it out roughly on my own. At this scan they’ll check a few things but it’s not super in depth. This may be an internal ultrasound for some if your pregnancy is earlier along than you thought which is nothing to be scared of, it doesn’t hurt at all and they should make you feel comfortable during this time.
8. To NIPT or not to NIPT
NIPT test or Non-Invasive Prenatal Test is essentially a more in depth blood test. This was optional for me and was around $450-500 out of pocket. If you are at greater risk of chromosomal abnormalities or are a higher risk pregnancy for other reasons the doctor may recommend you get the NIPT test, you can also choose to get it if you’d like to know the sex of your baby earlier. If your pregnancy is considered low risk you’re generally given the option of NIPT test or not.
I chose not to with my pregnancies and just had the regular blood test and a longer 12 week scan, I discussed this with my doctor and she had suggested that if there were abnormalities from our scan we could be sent for the NIPT anyway so I wasn’t too worried.
9. 12 week scan
This scan should be beautiful however I will have a blog post up regarding loss if this scan was not what you were expecting. To prepare for the 12 week ultrasound they suggested to me to empty my bladder 2 hours prior to my booking time, then drink 400ml of water. This helps get better images of your baby, it pushes baby up a bit but it also means if baby isn’t in the right spot sometimes you can go to the toilet and it will change bubs positioning. During the appointment they checked baby’s heartbeat and took a lot of measurements. This is also the best scan to get a photo of your baby, they are still big enough to have their whole little body in the one image and look more like a baby than a bean.
10. Breathe!
The first trimester is hard work! It’s scary and exciting and beautiful. Take it in, let it be, don’t fight the morning sickness and cravings. Eat healthy if you can but if all you can keep down is chips and water don’t be too hard on yourself. Just get through it.
Something that sometimes comes up is when to tell people. There seems to be this rule that you don’t tell anyone before 12 weeks and I’m personally not for it. I think you should tell people when you’re comfortable and when it feels right. I think the rule is also “in case something happens” and for us we told people that we would want to talk to if we experienced loss anyway. Close family and a few of our friends that we knew we would lean on for support if we needed it.
But girl you’ve got this. I found my morning sickness eased around 14 weeks so go with it. Enjoy this beautiful time. I’ll see you in the next post ❤️
Lots of love,
Sam
