Sometimes my first gear change is a bit harsh. If feels like the car was pushed from behind (a liitle bit). It specially happens when the car is cold. I do not know whether it is normal with four cylinder cars.
Try to match rpm's when you shift. Drain the tranny and see if there are any metal fragments in the fluid(hope there's none!)I once had an old '81 Toyota pick-up that started doing that(except it was 2nd to 3rd)... I soon traded it in for my Sunfire