Any tips for pregnancy/morning sickness

[bonnieUK]

Hi all

I'm 8 weeks pregnant (yay ) but suffering quite a bit with all day nausea. I've had some relief from travel sickness wrist bands thankfully, and never letting my stomach get empty helps a lot.

No s diet has gone out the window as I'm just eating what I can when I can. I have a very strong protein and vegetable aversion! (I'm told this is normal).

Here's what I eat at the moment:

05.00: banana while still in bed.

07.30: instant oats (I try to sneak some protein powder in if I can face it) and a cup of weak tea.

10.00: half a bagel with almond butter.

12.00: a few plain crackers or another half bagel.

13.00: Small plate of whatever I make for lunch - I can usually eat some protein at this time of day so will make the most of that.

15.00: toast or crackers, sometimes I get some toddler snacks (mini packs of potato chips/corn puffs etc.) as I find the ones made for toddlers have small serving sizes and less junky ingredients.

18.00: Same again as at 15:00.

20:00: Dinner - we usually have leftovers from lunch but I find the look/smell/taste of leftovers repulsive at the moment, so have more toast or oats.

Before bed - I try to drink a protein shake if I can manage it.

This baby is going to be made of toast and oats at this rate I am taking a prenatal vitamin and omega 3 supplement though.

Does this frequent eating thing ever settle down or is it like this throughout pregnancy?

[vmsurbat]

No help on the tips--my youngest is off to college, and as the youngest of five, that pregnancy is shrouded in mists anyway.

BUT, I do want to say Congratulations! Here's to a healthy baby and Mama!

[elegantportions]

Congratulations! Here's hoping for a healthy pregnancy for both you and the baby.

From what I remember, 8-12 weeks was the worst, so hang in there, you are almost to the point of it getting better (hopefully). Sounds like you are doing the best you can for where you are. You definitely want every calorie to be as nutritious as possible. As you pointed out, avoiding an empty stomach is crucial. Sorry I can't be more helpful, but for me, protein was the ONLY thing that helped...

Of course, following your doctor's advice is Number 1, but NoS should be compatible with a healthy pregnancy once you're beyond the "sick" stage. I would recommend scheduling 5 or 6 meals per day rather than just eating whenever. You really want to preserve the no-permasnacking habit if at all possible.

[bonnieUK]

Thanks and good tip re: 5-6 scheduled small meals per day, I'm aiming for that as I figured that eventually I'll have less stomach capacity for big meals anyway so best to get in the habit now.

A good thing is that I also have an aversion to sweets at the moment, so at least I don't have to worry about sugar calories

[oolala53]

If you go through the process with curiosity, honesty, and persistence, you will likely not have to worry about sugar calories even when there is no aversion. The process is not over in a few weeks or months. So what? The alternatives have even worse odds in the long run. This is as close to being "the house" as it gets when you look at things globally rather than from the perspective of relatively small populations on "diets."

[wosnes]

Congratulations!

Generally the nausea subsides after the first trimester. Sometimes it doesn't, but that's not all that unusual. I was nauseated every day throughout both pregnancies, but it was only bad first thing in the morning. Every pregnancy is different and there is a wide range of normal experiences. The only food aversion I had was Brussels sprouts and I didn't have any strong cravings. (My babies are now in their 30s and I STILL have trouble with Brussels sprouts!0)

Once you get past the nausea, you should be able to eat more along the lines of No-S with your doctor's approval. It only takes 300-500 extra calories daily to grow a healthy baby. Just a little extra at meals and maybe a snack should do it.

If you look at the No-S rules, sickness is an S. While pregnancy isn't necessarily a sickness, it is a special circumstance and a time for some extra calories. Three meals and a snack would still be consistent with the rules of No-S.

[automatedeating]

One of my (adult) students told me after I finally announced my second pregnancy -- "I knew it! I knew you were pregnant because you were always carrying those little baggies of cheerios around!" Enough said?

And yes, for many women eating gets almost normal in the 2nd trimester. But then good luck again in the 3rd trimester--between heartburn and squashed tummy issues!

Congratulations!!

[>:jess:<]

Hello and congratulations! For pregnancy nausea (whoever called it morning sickness was very wrong), I second everyone else's suggestion of not letting your stomach get completely empty. The other thing that helped me was ginger. I drank copious amounts of Traditional Medicinals Ginger Tea, and went through a lot of ginger chews. It's not my favorite flavor-wise, but it really calmed my stomach.

I hope you find something that works for you, and that your nausea is short-lived. I had next to none with my first baby, but this second one had me sick for quite a while. I think it let up around 14 weeks.

[uschi]

Congratulations!

I had a very tough first pregnancy with nausea--then it got even tougher my second time with a combination of nausea and stomach flu I could not shake; I was steadily losing weight for weeks and terrified for my baby. So here's what I learned the hard way-- and what made the next two pregnancies a piece of cake.

The multiple frequent meals are good. But try to include a little more fat and protein in every meal. All carbs will make your blood sugar spike and then plummet... and nausea is one of the symptoms you get when that happens! With coconut oil readily available now, that might be worth a try for your fat, for cooking or as a spread on toast or crackers--it's so mild tasting. Try yogurt for protein. If you're placing your banana on your nightstand the night before, a little covered dish of yogurt will keep overnight too.

Almonds are an excellent snack--nice balance of carb, fat, protein , and mild tasting.

Oats in particular are the best! A Scottish coworker, a grandmother of many and mother of eight herself, taught me to have oatmeal for breakfast, with just a "wee" bit of milk, eat it as slowly as you can, and "don't worry if it comes up again, it'll have coated your throat on the way down" for whatever that's worth-- but it worked like a charm. Get up early if you have to, to be able to eat peacefully, slowly and quietly. I would set up a glass measuring cup the night before, add water in the am, microwave, stir in milk, and curl up in a living room armchair with my cup and the news.

With number one, part of the problem was that I was overdoing the vitamins. I had came up with a regimen that included several tablets at every meal. Couldn't keep both them and meals down--would have been better to go light on the vites while the nausea was particularly bad, and keep more of the plain old food inside!

When I wasn't keeping anything down with number two, the doc told me go to the store, don't worry about any rules, get whatever looked appealing. I ended up with liverwurst, ice cream, raspberries and strawberries, salt cured salmon and who knows what else in my cart! Everyone jokes about cravings but learn to heed what your body's asking for. The typically craved foods often seem to be salty and nutrient dense.

Finally, be careful about hours-long screen use. TV and computers were tubes back then, but I eventually realized the flicker contributed to nausea if the session lasted longer than a few minutes. You'll have to see what this means for you, with the current technology.

Follow your instincts, doing your best for the little one growing inside you is the best motivator there is!

[ironchef]

I carried little salted crackers where ever I went! Like you, I was very averse to sweets and actually threw up when someone talked me into an Easter egg. Meat or eggs were so disgusting that I couldn't cook with them, let alone eat them. My sick feeling was all day (not isolated to mornings), but it faded by about the 14 week mark. My major craving the whole time was for pickles and anything vinegary and salty. I think I ate a cheese and pickle sandwich for lunch and dinner every day for weeks. Bub and I were both fine.

I was told to aim for an additional 1400kJ (so, that's the 300 - 500 cal) range in the 2nd tri, but the in third tri my doctor told me I only really needed an extra 500kJ a day, which is not much (a small cup of yoghurt with berries would do it).

One thing my doctor really stressed was folic acid in the 1st trimester. When I was really ill and couldn't keep the big pregancy multis down, my midwife recommended a really teeny tiny folic acid tablet that was easy to take.

Later in pregnancy I tested low for iron, so had to start taking a supplement, but no need for that unless your tests show you are low.

One thing that really helped me was getting some exercise. I know it seems like the last thing in the world you want to do, but I always felt better and less nauseated after a brisk walk or a pre-natal yoga class. The rules of thumb for exercise I was given were: 1. Don't take up anything new (e.g. I was running and weight training, so I kept them up, but it would be a bad time to start running) 2. Don't overheat. The old "heart rate" recommendations are not really current anymore, the overheating thing is the main one. I adored pre-natal yoga and my teacher was amazing. I credit a lot of my fantastic birth experience to her.

Finally, congratulations! Your body is doing something very special and important. In the words of Eddie Murphy "I make my own people!" Treating yourself gently and kindly is the key. If there is somewhere nearby that does specialised pregnancy massage I highly recommend it, especially in the later months. In the first year with a baby you'll be all about taking care of another person, so spend some time now taking care of you

[earl7z]

Congratulations!

As a man, I can tell you all you need to know about being pregnant.
*SMACK*.

Actually I have nothing to offer other than support. My wife was sick basically the whole way through with both kids... Listen to your doctor and your body, not necessarily in that order.

Be happy, be healthy, and God bless.

-e

[bonnieUK]

Just thought I'd update this. Thanks for all the replies!

I'm now 18 weeks and my nausea settled down about a month ago. I still get queasy sometimes but also feel ravenously hungry pretty much all day too (weird feeling!).

I had a great sweet spot for about a month where I could comfortably eat 3 large meals a day with no snacks, but lately an increase in both appetite and indigestion means I have gone back to eating little and often. I'm usually eating 6 small meals a day and not eating to my full appetite (which seems to have no off switch) just a comfortable amount to keep me going for a couple of hours. I'm still trying to figure out how to maintain some kind of routine so I don't feel like I'm perma-snacking. I also prefer real "meal food" to "snack food", so I'm making enough cooked food to have leftovers (I hated leftovers while I was feeling sick, so it's good to be able to eat them again now!).

My weight gain is just below average so it seems I'm not overeating. Another good thing is that I still have an aversion to sweet things except for odd occasions.

[gwenkkelly]

It sounds like you're doing great. Eating during pregnancy is tough, even when you're not nauseated. I found that my appetite was extremely varied and very specific—I had days when I couldn't imagine eating anything but enchiladas, for example, and days when nothing but grilled cheese would do. Maybe it would make sense to stop thinking of three meals as a goal and set a higher number, like five or six. You could still follow all of the No-S rules, just with more meals. This will also likely serve you well when you have a newborn. No way I could have gotten through the first six weeks or so eating three meals a day! (In fact, I only returned to the No-S lifestyle when my baby was six months old.)

Best of luck to you, and best wishes for a healthy mom and baby!

[clarinetgal]

Congrats! I second what everyone said about allowing for 5-6 small planned meals. It sounds like you're doing great!