Vegan Pregnancy: First Trimester

Surprise! I’m pregnant! 🤰 I will be sharing with you my journey and my experiences, as well as things that I have learned while navigating a vegan pregnancy. Today, we’ll start in the first trimester.

I am not a dietician or a doctor. Everyone is different, and every pregnancy is unique. I am simply giving you a framework for what has worked for me. You should always consult with your OBGYN and a specialist or dietician who is familiar with vegan pregnancies. 

First Symptoms

My first trimester was rough, y’all! 🤪

Truth be told, it still hasn’t fully sunk in yet! I’m sure it won’t until we bring that baby home from the hospital and we’re on our own for the first time! 😆

For me, my very first symptom was extreme fatigue. Before I even knew I was pregnant, I was inexplicably tired. And I just felt “off.” I was queasy too, but it wasn’t full-on nausea. That little gem would come later…

And what is with peeing every 15 minutes?! I thought that didn’t come until later in pregnancy, but boy was I wrong! 😳

Morning Sickness

Let’s talk morning sickness. If you have gone through pregnancy and never had morning sickness, we are no longer friends. (Just kidding–I’m just super jealous!) 

For me, week 6 hit with a vengeance. I lived off of mashed potatoes, plain bread and pasta, and ginger ale for weeks. If you’ve suffered from morning sickness, you know this scenario: you’re extremely hungry, but nothing sounds good; you finally eat something, but your body rejects it. It’s an incredibly frustrating cycle! 🤷‍♀️

My morning sickness tends to get worse as the day goes on. So, I would eat my best meal of the day for breakfast, and take my vitamins and supplements at this time. I almost always included a smoothie with my breakfast to pack in as many fruits, veggies, and added nutrients as I could. Like, “Quick! Before my body realizes I’m awake and eating something healthy!” 😏

Oh, and driving or riding in a car? Yeah, that’s not happening either. On the rare occasions I actually have to get into a car, gingersnap cookies are now in my go-bag.

If you’re one of the lucky ones suffering from morning sickness, remember to drink plenty of fluids and stay hydrated. Also, headaches from lack of fluid intake is no fun to deal with, on top of everything else. Trust me.

All of this being said, I was extremely happy to be dealing with the “awful” symptoms of pregnancy. Every time I felt sick or could barely get out of bed, I was incredibly grateful to just be pregnant.

All of those negatives of the first trimester were a constant reminder of God’s faithfulness and that there was a miracle growing inside of me. 🥰

How it started vs. how it’s going ha! 🤦‍♀️

Vegan Pregnancy: Combating Morning Sickness

What has worked for me: 

• small, frequent meals (even though I’m extremely hungry due to throwing up most of the day!) 
• peanut butter (don’t ask me why–it just worked for me!)
• ginger: literally, everything ginger
  • ginger ale, ginger tea, ginger lemonade, gingersnap cookies, fresh ginger, ginger in a jar, ginger in everything
• plain carbs
  • potatoes, pasta, bread, rice
    • for added protein and nutrition, I like chickpea or red lentil pastas and all whole grains
• eat what sounds good and don’t feel guilty (both easier said than done!) 

Give yourself grace–you’re growing a human, after all! ❤️

Mommy Guilt

Now let’s talk about that mommy guilt. Before getting pregnant, I had done my research and had a plan for what I needed to eat throughout the day to get all of the nutrients I needed and have a successful vegan pregnancy. (I know, I know–making plans in pregnancy and motherhood are often futile efforts. I learned this quickly!)

It was survival at best. Get through the day and just eat something that I can keep down. All that sugar in ginger ale? Didn’t care. It tasted good and settled my stomach for the moment. Eating mashed potatoes and vegan butter for more meals than I’m proud of? Yep, didn’t care about that either. It was: get through the day and do the best you can.

I felt incredible guilt; I was letting my baby down. And I had a plan and everything! 🙄

Quickly, I had to learn to let that go. My experience was not an isolated incident, and plenty of other women have navigated the trials of the first trimester successfully. I was doing the best I could do, and that’s all this baby needs right now. ❤️

So take all of your careful planning and be ready to throw it all out the window.

Cravings

If you think I’ve had any cravings, you clearly haven’t read the first part of this article. 🤪  I’m sure cravings will come, but at this point, the goal is keeping food down and trying to find just one thing that sounds good enough to eat.

Vegan Pregnancy: First Trimester

If you’ve had a successful vegan pregnancy, what are some of your tips? I’m currently still in the thralls of survival mode, so any advice would be great!

And for those of you who someday want to have a vegan pregnancy, it is possible! There are a lot of vegan patients in my OB’s office, and according to the doctors and nurse practitioners, they are some of the healthiest and well-educated patients. Does it take a little more thought and effort? Maybe a little, initially. But it’s so worth it! And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

For more resources on a vegan pregnancy:

• My Favorite Vegan Foods and Recipes for Pregnancy
• Vegan Pregnancy: Second Trimester
• Guide to a Healthy Vegan Pregnancy
• Vegan Pregnancy: Third Trimester
• My Vegan Pregnancy Journey

So, thank you for going on this journey with me! Our sweet little bub is due in early spring. In the meantime, I will be sharing this adventure with you. ❤️

If you don’t already, like and follow A Case for Plant Based on Facebook and Instagram. The next few weeks on social media, I’ll be walking you through my first trimester, and then the pregnancy journey throughout after that.

Also, be sure to check my stories on Facebook and Instagram, too, because most of the content will probably end up on there. 🥰

First time mom advice?

Must-haves for baby?

Vegan baby products you recommend?

Tips for combatting pregnancy symptoms?

Advice for my husband?

Advice for the dogs with a new baby?

Lay it all on me! I need all the advice and recommendations I can get!