I can't believe we're already at the 6 month mark of our pregnancy! Helloooo, where did the time go? I'm well into my second trimester and thought it would be interesting to do a recap on my first trimester. Here are some questions I got and answered them as honestly as I could. Everyone has different experiences and I always like hearing about others' stories, so here's my recap! Hope you enjoy.

1. How did you find out?

hikari murakami OC LA makeup artist blogger pregnant

Besides the obvious peeing on a stick and going to the doctors, I'll tell you some of the reasons why I took a test in the first place. I went to Hawaii for a makeup/hair job from 2/6-2/9 and I remember feeling oddly nauseous this one time during the trip, and then when I came back to LA. The first time I noticed how nauseous I was, was after our 3 hour boat ride photoshoot. The weird thing was, I wasn't nauseous during the boat ride, but it was after. I don't easily get motion sickness either. At the time, I thought maybe it was just an aftermath from the waves and being off my center of gravity. I was also hungry because we hadn't eaten since early lunch time. By the time we got back to the dock, it was 7pm. Eventually after we ate, I did feel better. So I brushed off the nausea. On 2/9, When I landed in LA, I felt really tired and kind of nauseous. But this nausea felt like it was because I hadn't eaten a decent meal in hours. We got home and I tried to eat but could barely eat anything. I didn't want to throw up by eating (looking back, this was a mistake and I should of eaten something! I'll go into this more later). On 2/10, I was back at work but the whole day I was soo nauseous up until dinner. I forced myself to eat some Japanese udon and kind of felt better after. At this point, I thought something was off. I rarely get nauseous and even if I did, it doesn't prolong like that. And it was then that the actual thought of "what if I'm pregnant?" popped into my mind. So I took a test on 2/11. I'm bad about knowing exactly when my period comes, so I really had to look back to see how late I was. It didn't help that my periods are not exactly on time every month so this wasn't a primary indicator. So in my case, I went with my gut instinct and that I was abnormally nauseous as reasons to take a test.

2. How did you feel when you found out?

I share in depth in my last blogpost of how I really felt when I found out. Initially my reaction wasn't sheer joy but now that time's past and as my body is changing, I have a newfound excitement about this! Read about it here.

3. Did you have morning sickness?

I guess I kind of already answered this in #1, but yes, yes I did... good news is that, my morning sickness never got to the point of throwing up. Hallelujah! Contrary to popular belief, my morning sicknesses didn't happen in the morning. It happened sometimes during the middle of the day, and then in the evening. I did read that just because it's called morning sickness, it doesn't necessarily just happen in the morning, so this wasn't a surprise to me. My morning sicknesses were just these waves of nausea that would come and go. When it came, it really sucked because you feel like you can't and don't want to do anything. The thought of certain foods, or even thoughts, would trigger my gag reflex so bad. I didn't even crave coffee anymore, and you all know I'm a coffee LOVER. But nope, body said no during first trimester. If I thought about Thai food or KBBQ, which I usually love, I felt sick. Even the thought of me traveling, made me sick. Or when I scrolled through Instagram and looked at my phone for awhile, it made me feel sick. One time I was driving and the nausea hit all of a sudden, I had to breath so hard so I wouldn't throw up while driving, haha! But despite all this, I will say that I was one of the lucky ones that had a relatively easy first trimester when it came to morning sickness.

4. So how did you get rid of Morning Sickness?

I did several things that helped with my nausea. All thanks to the internet and finding tips that literally felt like it was saving my life. This was the number one thing I researched because I HATE feeling nauseous. I have pukephobia. I will do anything not to throw up. Haha! So here's a few things that helped me, and hopefully it'll help you too!

Snack, and snack OFTEN! Never go too hungry because it's when you get hungry that you can feel more sick. One of the worse things you can do is not eat when this happens. Usually when I nibbled on something, the nausea subsided for the most part. I've never been so snack prepared in my life. I was never the type to meal prep, but snack prep for pregnancy I did!
Ginger Ale or San Pellegrino (Blood Orange to be exact ha!). I don't know if it's the carbonation or what, but these 2 drinks made me feel so much better!
Grapes, saltine crackers, nuts, and yogurt. These are the snacks that I brought everywhere with me. I could only eat saltine crackers and grapes when I was in the middle of a nausea wave. Find foods and snacks that you can tolerate, and stock up on them. Listen to your body when the thought of certain foods make you gag vs. food that give you comfort.
Peppermint essential oil. I carried this with me at all times and sniffed when I felt nauseous.

5. what were the major body changes ?

Some of the things I experienced aren't necessarily first trimester specific, but it might be good to know it's completely normal if it happens to you too!

I lost weight. Usually you think pregnancy = weight gain and I thought this would happen right off the bat. But because you feel sick most of the time and lose your appetite, I found out you tend to lose weight in the first trimester. As long as you're eating, you should be fine!
I was thirsty. I'm one of those bad ones that didn't drink that much water, and would drink coffee more than water (oops). But once I got pregnant, I was THIRSTY and wanted to actually drink water. I got good about it too. I brought around a water bottle with me and filled it up whenever I could and made sure to drink good ole' H20. It almost became a comfort thing to drink water.
I got leaky. OK, TMI. But most preggos go through this. Your bladder control isn't as strong, your baby is pushing down, and your muscles down there loosen up. So if you laugh too hard or sneeze, you might...leak. Sorry mama.
I ran out of breath easier. Especially when walking up and down the stairs. Slightly embarrassing at work when I go to the bathroom and come back up to my desk and I'm huffing and puffing. But what can you do?
I didn't start "showing" until week 17 (second trimester). I felt my pants getting tighter towards the end of my first trimester, and noticed what seemed more like a not-so-cute bloat bump. But not a cute baby bump yet. Everyone shows at different times, and it's good to remember that.

All in all, my first trimester was thankfully easy. I felt that this transition was more of a emotional and mental one vs. hurdling the physical challenges. And as mentioned in my last blogpost, I didn't feel fully ready or actually excited about being pregnant until I hit the second trimester. As I'm writing this and comparing how I felt back then vs. how I feel now, it's affirmation that the mind and body does prepare and adjust to life changes, no matter what you think. Second trimester's been amazing and can't wait to recap this one for you too!