When pregnancy looked beautiful on the outside but was already negotiating with my stomach.

Disclaimer

This series is based on my personal pregnancy experience and is shared for storytelling, education and entertainment. Every pregnancy is different, and my experience may not be the same as yours. The information shared is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always speak with a qualified healthcare professional about your own pregnancy, symptoms or concerns.

Let me start by saying this: Nobody warned me about the thirst. Not normal thirst o.

I’m talking about the kind of thirst that makes you feel like your throat has relocated to the Sahara Desert.

Every five minutes, I needed water.

If I didn’t have water beside me, my throat and tongue would become so dry that I would start looking for my bottle like my life depended on it.

And because I was still very early in the pregnancy, I hadn’t even connected everything to pregnancy. I just thought my body had suddenly become dramatic.

Looking back now, I realise that the first few weeks were actually a strange combination of hunger, thirst, heartburn and me eating like there was a prize for it.

The Hunger Was Something Else

One of the things that surprised me most was how strong I felt in those early weeks.

Honestly, sometimes I would forget I was pregnant.

No constant vomiting.

No lying down dramatically because I couldn’t move.

No excessive spitting.

No morning sickness scenes worthy of a Nollywood production.

Nothing.

If anything, my biggest reminder that something was happening inside me was:

HUNGER.

And when I say I ate…

I ATE.

Like a hoodlum.

Pregnancy had apparently opened a branch of “Come and Eat” inside my stomach.

I could be fine one minute and suddenly feel like I hadn’t eaten in three business days.

And because I wasn’t experiencing the stereotypical pregnancy symptoms I had always heard about, I sometimes genuinely forgot I was pregnant.

The hunger and the dry throat were basically my personal pregnancy notifications.

“Ding! Ding! Baby is still here.”

Wait… Where Is My Morning Sickness?

This one actually baffled me.

Before pregnancy, I thought pregnancy came with a standard package:

Morning nausea ✅
Vomiting ✅
Spitting everywhere ✅
Food aversions ✅
Looking miserable before breakfast ✅

At least, that’s what movies, stories and other people’s experiences had taught me.

But mine? Nope.

I barely vomited throughout the pregnancy.

In fact, I could count the number of times I threw up on my fingers.

And eventually, I noticed something very interesting.

It seemed to happen whenever I ate eba with afang soup or vegetable soup.

Once I noticed the pattern, I simply stopped eating them.

Because please…

I was not about to conduct further research.

And honestly, I’m grateful.

Because whenever I did throw up, I could feel how empty and hollow my stomach became afterwards. Sometimes it even felt sore.

So imagine having to go through that every single day.

No, thank you.

I genuinely don’t think I would have enjoyed that pregnancy at all.

And I can’t even sit here and say, “I was strong.”

God was kind to me.

I hate being sick, and the fact that I didn’t have to spend my first trimester constantly vomiting is something I will always be grateful for.

It could only have been God.

Then Heartburn Came to Introduce Herself

Ah.

Heartburn.

I had heard people talk about it before.

I had seen the word.

I knew it had something to do with burning.

But did I understand it?

Absolutely not.

Until pregnancy decided to personally introduce us.

Suddenly, after eating, I couldn’t just lie down comfortably anymore.

My chest would start burning.

And I’d be there wondering:

“So THIS is heartburn?”

Oh.

So this is what you people have been talking about.

And because I am me, what did I do?

I started researching.

I wanted to know what was causing it, what I could eat, what I should avoid and how on earth I was supposed to sleep after eating.

And that’s when I began noticing that certain foods were simply not my friends anymore.

Beans?

Heartburn.

Yam porridge?

Heartburn.

Oily foods?

We had serious issues.

Pregnancy had apparently cancelled my membership in the “eat whatever you want” club.

And I had to start paying attention to what my body was saying.

My Little First-Trimester Heartburn Hack

One thing I found helpful during that first trimester was sipping warm water.

Sometimes I would also boil the water with a little ginger, and that became one of the things I reached for when the heartburn was acting up.

Did it magically cure pregnancy heartburn?

No.

But for me, at that stage, it gave me some relief.

And honestly, I was grateful for anything that made my chest feel less like somebody had lit a small fire inside it.

The funny thing?

This worked for me in the first trimester.

By the third trimester?

Let’s just say heartburn upgraded its subscription.

But that’s a story for another day.

And Then… THE GLOW. 

Now let’s talk about the part that almost fooled me completely.

The pregnancy glow.

Oh, I was glowing!

My skin was fresh.

My face looked good.

Everything just seemed…soft.

I remember looking at myself and thinking:

“Ah. So this is what they mean by pregnancy glow.”

I genuinely thought I had won the jackpot.

I was ready to tell people:

Pregnancy is beautiful o!

Little did I know…

the glow was a decoy.

A beautiful little pregnancy scam.

Because while my skin was out there giving “God has favoured me,” pregnancy was quietly preparing another chapter.

My skin would later betray me.

Completely.

But at this point?

I didn’t know.

I was glowing.

I was eating.

I was drinking water every five minutes.

I was learning what heartburn meant.

And I was feeling surprisingly strong.

So naturally, I thought:

“Maybe this pregnancy thing won’t be so bad.”

Dear First-Trimester Me…

You were so innocent.

The Weirdest Part? I Felt Almost Normal

Looking back, I think this was one of the strangest things about those early weeks.

I expected pregnancy to completely change how I felt.

Instead, I mostly felt like myself.

I could work.

I could function.

I wasn’t constantly sick.

Sometimes I genuinely forgot there was a whole human being quietly developing inside me.

Then my body would remind me:

“Excuse me, madam.”

Hungry.

Or:

“Madam.”

Water.

Or:

“MADAM.”

Heartburn.

And just like that, I remembered.

Oh yes. I’m pregnant.

What I Didn’t Know Then 

One thing pregnancy taught me very quickly is that there is no single way to “look pregnant” or “feel pregnant.”

Some women experience significant nausea and vomiting.

Some barely vomit.

Some develop strong food aversions.

Some don’t.

Some notice heartburn early.

Others experience it later.

And some symptoms come and go so randomly that you can spend half your day wondering:

“Is this pregnancy or am I just being dramatic?”

My experience was simply my experience.

It wasn’t a template for what pregnancy should look like.

And that was something I had to learn as the weeks went by.

Pregnancy Myth or Fact? 

“Every pregnant woman must have morning sickness.”

MYTH.

Not every pregnancy comes with nausea and vomiting.

Pregnancy symptoms vary widely from person to person and even from one pregnancy to another.

So if you don’t wake up every morning running for the bathroom, it doesn’t automatically mean anything is wrong.

And if you do?

Please, don’t use my pregnancy as your measuring stick either.

Your pregnancy is allowed to have its own personality.

The Takeaway 

If I could go back and talk to that version of myself, I’d tell her:

Pay attention to your body.

Not every pregnancy symptom will look like what you’ve seen on social media.

Not every pregnancy will come with the same experiences.

And sometimes, your body will surprise you in ways you never expected.

For me, the first trimester was surprisingly gentle in some ways.

I had my appetite.

I had my strength.

I had my glow.

I had my water bottle permanently attached to my hand.

And I had heartburn introducing itself to me for the first time in my life.

But most importantly, I had God’s grace carrying me through it.

Because when I look back at those early weeks now, I know I didn’t have the strength because I was somehow exceptionally strong.

God simply made the journey lighter for me in the ways He knew I needed.

And for that, I will always give Him the glory.

And then…

I thought the glow meant I had cracked the pregnancy code.

I had absolutely no idea what was coming next.

Because pregnancy was just getting started.

And apparently…

my skin had a betrayal planned.

To be continued…

Did you miss the first episode? Catch up here … Pregnancy Shege Ep1: The Gift I Thought I Lost