Exhausted! is this normal?

[phobiageek]

Hi all. I'm 10 weeks and a first time mom to be. I was super nauseous from 5-8 weeks and that got a little better. But the past week I've been more tired than I've ever been in my life. I keep feeling like I'm about to get the flu. I go to bed, wake up fairly OK and by 2 in the afternoon I want to leave work and go to bed. I'm also getting bad headaches in late afternoon and I rarely got headaches before I was PG. Is this normal/? I feel like a big baby! Others make it look so easy. I hear you have more energy in the 2nd trimester. When did you get your energy back and am I just being a big baby? BTW, soooooo much respect for mommas with kids. Y'all are A M A Z I N G!

[scruffy too]

My energy was completely gone the first trimester.  I was sleeping 11 hrs a night, plus napping in the afternoon.  I was shocked at how tired I was ALL THE TIME.  So yes, it's normal.  And I'm a week away from my 3rd trimester, and the energy hasn't really returned - better the last couple weeks, but I was still exhausted for the majority of my 2nd.  I don't know how moms do it with young ones around!!!

[skycheattraffic]

It's TOTALLY normal! I was exhausted when I was pregnant with DD to the point where I could barely function. I got through it by going to bed early and taking naps as much as possible. It did get better and from about week 14 to about week 30 or so I felt pretty decent. Then I felt tired again at the end but it was nothing compared to the first trimester. I'm 7w 5d with baby #2 and the fatigue is back. It's not as bad but pretty sucky anyways. DD is 20 months old, energetic and curious and I can't keep up. I let her watch way too much tv and haven't taken her out of the house by myself in 3 weeks. I feel guilty but I just don't feel it's safe for DD without DH or my mom to back me up until this passes. Last time my first trimester was earlier in the year with warmer temperatures and I don't remember being so cold and shivering all the time. It does feel a lot like I'm just about to get the flu. I tell people "I'm not contagious, just expecting!"
Good luck and I hope this passes for you soon. Wishing you a happy and healthy pregnancy and easy birth :-)

[OSUvet]

It IS normal as these other ladies have said, BUT you may want to have your iron/hemoglobin checked at your next appointment. I did and mine was down to 9 (normal = 12-16). I started taking chlorophyll and focusing on iron rich foods and vitamin C, and two days later my husband was commenting on how much more energy I had!

[phobiageek]

Thanks all! So relieved it's not just me.

Scruffy too - congratulations! Guessing it's your first, too?

Skycheattraffic - I keep telling my SO that I think I'm coming down with the flu but then never do and he reminds me that I'm "just expecting". This wasn't planned so originally I did think I had the flu. Lol. Try not to feel guilty as much as you can. You're doing the best you can and better to be safe and know your limitations. I feel I pushed myself too hard today Bc it was the holiday party at work I'd been planning since before I even found out I was PG. I learned my lesson with aching feet and back. Next time I won't feel like its a big deal for me to say just how tired I get.

OSUVet. Thanks and good point! I'll tell my midwife at next appointment. It may be normal but better to double check.

[LeighPF]

See if she will check you vit D too. Mine did with my second, found it quite low and fixing that helped. But still felt so tired.

Since this is your first, nap. Love the sleep. Bask in it. With my first I went to bed at 6.30. I am just started cooking #3 and hopping the exhaustion will hold off until after Christmas.

[jldumm]

I second the iron!

Floradix

cloraphyll

lentils spinach

slow release iron
 

[SamSarah]

In terms of when it changed, while I am still tired (week 27). However, somewhere around week 16 there was a shift from feeling nauseous and sleepy  ALL THE TIME without differentiation, into a zone where everything kinda got separated out, and I could distinguish when I needed to sleep, when I needed to vomit (still happens every few days), and when I had energy.  Though I rest at least 14 hours a day, it was around 18 weeks where things felt balanced and like I knew what I was functioning within. This has been a calm and lovely place.  One of the things that was helpful for me, other than the Floadix (which I also support!), has been remembering that unlike when I haven't been pregnant, there are no stores of energy, thus "pushing through" as I'm typically accustomed to, is not an option.   I'm not sure how long this sense of balance will stick around now that I'm in my third trimester, but here's hoping.  

[Teles]

I was absolutely wiped during the first trimester, to a point where I started to wonder how I was going to be able to keep working during pregnancy if it was going to be that bad (I was literally losing 10 minutes at a time because I kept falling asleep sitting any my desk). The second trimester got way better, but now (32 weeks) I'm going back to feeling nearly that tired all over again.

[phobiageek]

Thanks SamSarah and Teles. Glad to know it does get a bit better. Good point on realizing that "push through" reserve just isn't there and I need to remember that and not push myself when I'm tired. I admit there's part of me that already feels I need to tough it out and be super mom because if I can't handle it now how can I when the baby is here?

[ananas]

Sounds completely normal. I would wake up, go to work, and have to go take a nap for a while in my car. Then I'd come home and take a nap all afternoon. I got my energy back in the 2nd trimester and then lost it again in the 3rd.

[akcowgirl]

I used to get up and work from 7-3pm come home fall asleep on the couch till dinner then go right to bed. It is normal.

[cynthiamoon]

My boyfriend asked me why women don't get first trimester leave yesterday because I've been SO ineffective for the last month! I told him that if we did, no one would hire women... sad truth. 

Also, when I told one of my professors about being pregnant, he told me a few stories about his wife, who is a high-profile doctor, and how she barely made it through those first months without falling apart completely. 

Really, if I didn't have such a flexible schedule right now, I dunno what I'd be doing. 

[phobiageek]

Originally Posted by ananas 

Sounds completely normal. I would wake up, go to work, and have to go take a nap for a while in my car. Then I'd come home and take a nap all afternoon. I got my energy back in the 2nd trimester and then lost it again in the 3rd.

I'm hitting my second trimester in a couple of weeks so really looking forward to that renewed energy for a while.

[phobiageek]

Originally Posted by cynthiamoon 

My boyfriend asked me why women don't get first trimester leave yesterday because I've been SO ineffective for the last month! I told him that if we did, no one would hire women... sad truth. 

Also, when I told one of my professors about being pregnant, he told me a few stories about his wife, who is a high-profile doctor, and how she barely made it through those first months without falling apart completely. 

Really, if I didn't have such a flexible schedule right now, I dunno what I'd be doing. 

You know I was wondering why I don't hear more often from friends or co-workers that have been pregnant how tired they get during the first trimester. I wonder if it has something to do with the whole job thing. I know I don't let on how tired I am at work because of that. Fortunately, my schedule is kind of flexible and I sit behind a computer all day. Downside to that though is because I'm not moving around I feel like I get more tired.

[1babysmom]

I have periods of exhaustion, too.  For me it seems to intensify in the 2nd trimester.  Kinda stinks.  But I do best whenever I'm supporting my adrenals.  Otherwise I just feel "blah" and tired most of the time.

[cynthiamoon]

I think people don't talk about it for a few reasons, but I know one of them has to be job security, and the other secrecy. I know we're not telling most people until the second trimester.

[sageowl]

Meh.  I think it must be some variation of normal.  I felt hideous during the first trimester, and now that I'm almost into the third, still feel tired and off my game.  No energetic second trimester for me.

[loveandgarbage]

With my first baby I felt beyond tired the first trimester and it eased up around 16 weeks. I had no idea one could sleep 12+ hrs a night and feel so drained.

[loveandgarbage]

Oh and OP, I get a lot of headaches the first tri, too. It's the surge of hormones and completely normal.