Mom Life,  Pregnancy,  Wellness

How to Beat Pregnancy Fatigue

December 30, 2022 /
I am not a medical provider or healthcare worker. This is a personal blog filled with my opinions. For all medical needs and medical decisions, consult your doctor.

If you found your way to this page, you must be struggling with pregnancy fatigue. I am going to tell you how I beat pregnancy fatigue during my first trimester. Thankfully my symptoms were pretty mundane during the first trimester. I only struggled with extremely fatigue and sore breasts, maybe some mood swings if you ask my husband, but no consistent morning sickness. You may also be able to tell from my website name that I am a teacher. That means my weekdays are filled with virtually NO rest time. I’ll share with you how I beat pregnancy fatigue.

Get Plenty of Nightly Sleep

You are pregnant and you are tired. Do not feel like you need to follow your normal bedtime routine of getting 7-8 hours at night. I adjusted my dinner schedule to an earlier time, took a shower and put on pajamas around 7 pm, and headed to bed between 8:00-8:30 each night for weeks. I would then sleep until my alarm went off nice and early at 5:30 the next morning. On weekends, I just allowed myself to sleep in as late as I needed. You are growing a human AND a placenta. Plus your blood supply is increasing by about 50%. All of that takes a lot of work. Rest and don’t feel bad about it. Be sure to speak to your spouse/partner about your sleep needs, too. I am sure they won’t mind if you eat dinner before they’re home from work, or if they need to take care of the dog in the mornings on the weekends so you can sleep. This is their way of putting in extra work during the first trimester while your body is in overdrive.

Eat Vitamin-Rich Food

Eating food that’s rich in iron and B12 is going to help boost your energy. It’s also really good for the developing fetus. If you think about it, food is fuel for your body. If you fuel your body with good stuff that it can turn into energy you’ll be less tired. If you fuel your body with a bunch of fried food and fries from Chick-fil-a (like I did quite a few times when I just didn’t want to cook dinner) it’ll make you even more tired and sluggish. Meal prepping on the weekends can be a good idea since you will be so tired after work, or once again ask your spouse/partner to take on the meal prepping task for your family during this time.

Exercise

Exercise is the last thing you’ll feel up for, I get it. However, if you can set aside time to walk the dog, hop on your exercise bike, or lift some weights you’ll be so glad about it. Exercise gives you endorphins which boosts your mood, your cognition, and your energy. I found that while the energy I got from exercise didn’t last me all day, it definitely helped. Plus it felt good to move my body and do something productive that I knew would help my body and my growing baby. I recommend getting workout equipment for your house, or taking “hot girl walks” instead of dragging yourself all the way to the gym.

Nap or Brain Break When Needed

The midday exhaustion hit me hard- especially at work with twenty-two sweet eight year olds to teach. I obviously couldn’t nap during the school day, but I did allow myself “brain breaks” during my planning time. If I felt too tired or had brain fog from exhaustion I just allowed myself half or all of my planning to put my head down or just sit and breathe. It’s okay to slow down and not use every minute to be productive like you may have otherwise done before this unexpected tiredness took over your mind and body. On the weekends definitely nap, and nap for as long as you want. Be sure to not overextend yourself on weekends either. Like I keep saying, growing a baby is no easy feat!

Stay Organized

I mentioned earlier that the fatigue and exhaustion can cause some major brain fog. I had some girls tell me that there was no way I could have “pregnancy brain” this early in pregnancy, but not only was I living it, I had lots of teacher mama friends assure me it was totally possible! When you are a type A, fast-thinking person the fatigue can really slow you down, even mentally. One way I combatted that was to be very organized. I made checklists with exactly what tasks needed to be done each day at work so that I could assure they were completed. My sweet husband took over all things home-related during this time.

Will it Ever End?!

You may be worrying that being tired is now your new personality, but I am here to tell you it will pass! Not long after you exit the first trimester you start feeling like yourself again. Hang in there, be patient with yourself, be kind to yourself, and follow these tips for combatting pregnancy fatigue.

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