We’re Pregnant: 1st Trimester Update

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The secret is out – we’re pregnant! Our biggest adventure yet begins in July 2020 and we are absolutely thrilled! Being first time parents, we have NO IDEA what we’ve gotten ourselves in for, but we’re excited for whats in store! 

We’ll talk about how we found out about our pregnancy, how we told our families, my first trimester, and how the blog will (or won’t) change during pregnancy and after the baby arrives! 

How We Found Out We Are Pregnant

After feeling unusual for a whole week, we became suspicious that we could be pregnant – which is what we were hoping for! We waited until 4 days after my missed period before we tested, to make sure we had better odds of the pregnancy hormone showing up in my pee. We also decided it would be nice to do it on Saturday morning. During the week, if we received a positive pregnancy test, we’d get a solid 2 minutes to celebrate before we’d need to go back to normal morning routine mode and head to work. So, as difficult as it was to wait a few extra days, it made the experience of finding out all the better!

We did 2 pregnancy tests on the morning of November 9th. Unfortunately for us, the first was faulty! And as we did it early in the morning, we had to wait until 9am for the pharmacy to open so we could buy another test and try again! With the anxious wait at home, I was thankful that within seconds of testing the new pregnancy test we found out that we were pregnant!

Naturally, I cried! It was such a surreal moment to realise I was actually pregnant and the thing I want most is happening! We decided that we would spoil ourselves for the day because hey – we’re pregnant! So we got dressed and headed out to brunch and went shopping around the centre of Amsterdam. We found a great first ‘we’re going to be parents’ gift to ourselves along the way. 


How We Told Our Families We Are Pregnant

My Parents

As my parents live in Australia, we wanted to make telling them extra special. However, the special gift we sent to Australia came all the way back to Amsterdam right before Christmas – so we had to quit that plan and come up with a last minute option! We made a Christmas card for my parents to take with them on their Christmas holiday to Papua New Guinea, which told them via the front and inside of the card we were expecting! 

Their faces when they realised we were telling them we are pregnant was priceless! They were both very happy but also totally expected this news. Shortly after we told them, my father had already told half of PNG our good news! 

His Parents

We took a trip over Christmas and New Year to Cape Town, South Africa with my husbands family (& extended family!) so we knew when we got pregnant that this would be the perfect time to tell! 

First we spent Christmas with my partners parents, brother, sister and their partners on a Game Reserve from 24 December to 27 December. So we decided the best way to tell would be to give everyone a small Christmas gift. The gift was a clear Christmas ball with a photo of our ultrasound inside! We gave everyone their gift at the same time and shortly after unwrapping there was screaming, chanting, squealing, and a bunch of tears! 


Symptoms I’ve Suffered During The First Trimester Being Pregnant

Pregnancy Tiredness

Before I knew officially I was pregnant, I ‘felt’ pregnant. I had some mild nausea and stomach pains, as well as being extremely tired. I would call it ‘wiped out’. For a few days it would get to 4pm and I had nothing left. I struggled to get through the work days and when it was time to go home, I would struggle to get home awake! Yes, the first few days really knocked me off my feet.

So, to counter the tiredness, I decided to start eating more often. I tried to take a small breakfast (banana), a small protein rich snack at around 11:30am (yoghurt & berries), a small lunch at 1pm (crackers), another small lunch at 3pm (apple) and a small snack at 5pm right before I went home (muesli bar), to get me through the day. From the day I changed my eating habits, it helped a great deal with my tiredness levels and I was able to get through and use my brain all day at work! 

But the tiredness was still there. And when I got really tired, I knew I just had to eat something to get some energy back. I also tried to get more than 8 hours of time in bed every night too. I say ‘time in bed’ because I wake up a lot to pee ever since getting pregnant. So, I have not gotten enough sleep at night. 

Pregnancy Nausea

From about one week prior to our BIG FAT POSITIVE (BFP) I was feeling nausea all day. From the first day of nausea I had a feeling I was pregnant because I was also tired, and had to go to the toilet a lot. And after 4 days of nausea I thought “If I’m not pregnant, I need to see a doctor to figure out why I feel so crappy!”

I felt stomach pains all day long which sat really low, below my stomach. The pains were basically the same as mild period pain, so – manageable. It’s also more manageable because hey, I’m over here growing a baby – which I love so much already! The nausea which I have been feeling in my upper stomach and into my throat got more intense in week 7. From the moment I woke up until the moment I went to sleep I felt like vomiting. So, this part wasn’t great. But you deal with it! The first trimester really has a lot of changes to the body!

Taste Aversions in Pregnancy

Yes – this symptom reared it’s ugly head in about week 8. My go-to foods (a lot of vegetables) went off the list. Most vegetables became completely disgusting to smell and eat! I never eat potatoes – yet mashed potatoes became my favourite thing! 

Also, fruit became a big love of my life, and chocolate way less interesting. In fact, every time I eat chocolate or desserts I haven’t gotten any joy from eating them, the way I used to. I’ve always been a sweet tooth so I’m really surprised by this aversion!

Frequent Peeing

Yes, I have to be honest. This is totally a thing. It’s like I’ve been drinking bottles and bottles of water all day, except I haven’t. During pregnancy you should stay hydrated, which I’ll admit I’m not the best at. I drink when I’m thirsty, which I think is already too late. However, even before I knew I was pregnant, I was perplexed as to why I was needing to go to the toilet so much! Well, it turns out this wonderful side effect of pregnancy is here to stay. I now am used to needing to pee very frequently. Annoyingly, I often wake up 5 or 6 times during the night because I need to pee. 

Pregnancy Mood Swings Are A Thing

Every time we find an item for our baby (a toy, an item of clothing etc) that I feel is for OUR baby – I cry. We bought this amazing toy which plays Stevie Wonder’s song ‘I Just Called To Say I Love You’ instead of an annoying lullaby. When we played that song in the store, I felt this overwhelming urge to ball my eyes out. So we bought it. A few days later we opened the package and played the song and I cried, thinking about how we will play this to our child to settle him/her. 

When I think of how happy I am, I burst into tears (and laugh at myself for doing so!). My husband told me he would pack light for our trip to South Africa so he could also carry my bags – so I burst into tears. I open my pregnancy tracking app, read a little about the baby’s size or growth and cry. Watch a sweet moment on a tv programme and I was balling. I felt sick so I began to cry. There’s a lot of tears during my pregnancy so far! Mostly, it’s funny. I cry at the drop of a hat and I am fully aware that it’s silly to be crying. But it happens! 

Bigger Boobs

This one’s the one your partner will enjoy the most! Before I noticed my boobs got bigger, my partner had already begun starring..! It’s also a very nice side effect. As you start to feel less attractive due to feeling tired, nauseous and crampy, your partner is looking at you like you are a snack! It certainly helps with feeling more like yourself!


How Will Our Life and Travel Change During Pregnancy?

Well – probably a lot! One thing is for certain – those lazy Sunday sleep-ins probably won’t be happening anymore! We have spent a lot more time shopping online and in person for baby stuff!

Pregnancy has slowed me down regarding travel. Originally we had plans to travel every month up until the baby is born. However, most of those plans we cancelled due to changing financial obligations and my body not wanting to travel as much. Our priorities have shifted – so we’ve decided to take fewer more valuable trips during the pregnancy! We will visit family in Qatar, visit friends in Ireland and go on a baby-moon to Greece between now and July. 

What Will Happen To The Travel Blog?

The plan is to document our travels as usual. However, there will be an added viewpoint for travelling whilst pregnant. And travelling with a baby! We have a niece and nephew and have travelled with them and their parents before, so we know travelling with a baby requires energy. Babies come with so many extra things to carry!! But aside from that, you cannot travel the way you may once have.

Things will be slower, plans may get ruined. And that’s just fine! We hope to show you how we make the most of our travels with a baby/toddler/child and fingers crossed web can inspire someone to take that trip!


Travels After Birth

We are so excited to become parents, and we still plan to travel with our child! The baby is due in July 2020, and we already have a few trips planned after that date, including a trip to London in October to be introduced to our friend’s nugget who is due in February – though now it’ll also be about us introducing our baby to them and their baby too! 

Travel plans post-baby in 2020

We hope to take a weekend trip within the Netherlands to the beach during summer with our little baby – let’s see if we can manage that! And also, a late summer vacation somewhere relaxing and sunny – possibly the south of France! 

We will be heading to Australia for Christmas which is so exciting for us. We can’t wait to introduce our baby to our dear friends and family living in Australia!


I want to hear from you

So, now over to you! How do you think pregnancy will change travel?

Have you traveled while pregnant? Any tips for this newbie?!

Thanks for reading! 

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4 thoughts on “We’re Pregnant: 1st Trimester Update

  1. My travel plans are now all about coming to see you and your new baby in October. I’M SO EXCITED FOR YAH!

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