If you follow me on social media, you might have heard the news that I’m expecting my first child. Yes, I’m pregnant! I just wrapped up the first trimester of my pregnancy, and I’m getting the second trimester started. We are in week 17, and I just felt the baby moving for the first time – so exciting!

To be honest, even thought I’ve been around pregnant people before, I never really knew what to expect besides throwing up and peeing a lot. So like any modern day mom with an iPhone would do, I downloaded a few pregnancy apps like The Bump, What to Expect, and BabyCenter to help guide me through the process between doctors visits.

What I like about these apps, is that they give you weekly updates that include what you can expect to experience during that week of pregnancy. While some things I was expecting to feel, like fatigue, vomiting, and frequent trips to the bathroom, there were some symptoms I had no idea were even a thing.

Here are a few of the first trimester symptoms I wasn’t expecting but definitely did experience!

Vivid dreams. Around week 8, I started to have very vivid dreams. In the past, I never could recall most of my dreams or if I even had the. But during the first trimester of this pregnancy, the dreams were consistent every night and so (while strange at times) real!

Congestion. This was one of the symptoms I’d never heard of anyone talking about. But I definitely had (and still do) a lot of congestion. I experienced a stuffy nose and sinus congestions daily. While I’ve tried saline nasal sprays to get some relief, nothing has really worked to eradicate it. But sleeping with a small humidifier has helped.

Stomach Issues Besides Vomiting. I fully expected to vomit during my first trimester. Never did I imagine that I would wish I could vomit for some relief! Morning sickness turned into all day sickness for the majority of my first trimester, and I still experience some now and again during the second trimester. I also had terrible bloating constipation that made me look way more pregnant than I should (I know we are getting personal here so forgive me) and still experience it at times. I try to drink tons of water to combat it, and I started a fiber drink mix as well to help with irregularity.

Insomnia. Not sure if this is from having so much on my mind or hormones, but I had a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep most nights. My husband and I are generally night owls so I’m used to staying up late. But this was different. I would sleep only a few hours at a time at night, then wake up at 2 or 3am and not be able to get back to sleep.

Dry skin. Even though I’ve increased my water intake, my skin has been very dry. At first I just thought maybe it was the weather, but after a few weeks I realized that was not the case. I decided to do a hydration skin mask and since then, my skin has been doing much better. So I’ve just incorporated more hydrating products into my skin care routine and I’ve noticed a difference.

If you’re in your first trimester or trying to conceive, these are a few of the unexpected symptoms that you might experience. Any moms out there who experienced these symptoms or ones that I didn’t mentioned? Let’s talk about it – leave a comment!

Want to watch our family and friends reaction to our surprise pregnancy announcement? Watch it now!