Pregnancy Tips for Nausea, Sickness and more

Considering I have spent the last three months trying to deal with severe nausea, sporadic sickness and constant tiredness, I thought I would give you some suggestions of what can help to alleviate or at least minimise these symptoms (sometimes lol).

Dry Food

A number of people told me to eat something small and dry before getting out of bed in the morning, and this can help to reduce the nausea. I recommend a dry cracker or rich tea biscuit, as they are quite easy to eat at that time of the morning.

Most days this did help me, as it lined my stomach and would show me if I could keep things down before I attempted a breakfast. Some days I could not even keep this down, but it is less painful to puke up a cracker then it is to puke up a whole meal or even worse, being sick on an empty stomach which just burns!

Plain Foods

When my nausea was at it's worst, I couldn't bear the thought of all the healthy foods that probably would have given me the energy I needed- I could not touch fruit, vegetables or even some of my favourites like chocolate! I found that easy to cook (e.g. microwave meals or a lovely family member to do it for you) to avoid the smells, and keeping it bland (pasta, something on toast, toasties) went down and stayed down a lot easier.

The midwife told me that although I was not eating healthily, it is best to just eat what you can during the first trimester and try not to worry about the calorie content, as the main concern is to ensure you keep something down to give you energy!

Ginger

Most people are aware that ginger is supposed to help ease nausea. Ginger tea and ginger biscuits are what I have used occasionally, and I have had a mixed response to it. At times it has helped a lot, and other times the tea especially has made me vomit, possibly because it tastes awful! Worth a try though.

Vaseline

My mum, the font of all knowledge, suggested I put a bit of vaseline under my nostrils when I couldn't cope with having the sense of smell like a canine. I did use this on my worst days, and whilst it is greasy, it did stop other smells getting into my nose, so give it a go!

Energy

I have struggled with this area, because although I know that eating fruit and exercising would have helped me no end, I felt so drained and sick that neither appealed, so I wallowed in self pity instead. If you can manage to even have a little walk each day, then do it- trust me you will feel better for doing it.

When I first knew I was pregnant I completely stopped all caffeine, but on reflection, that didn't help in me feeling so tired. So I began to have one or two drinks with caffeine in them a day (tea mainly) which did help. Just don't overdo it, especially coffee, as it contributes to the risk of miscarriage. Chocolate also has caffeine in, so don't have too much!

Ice Poles

These are heaven sent! There were times I couldn't keep anything down, or even a glass of water did not appeal to me. I have noticed my mouth feels a lot hotter since being pregnant, so having a cool ice pole to suck on, both helps to keep you hydrated, and cools your mouth down! Stock up on them, try to avoid sugary ones, and suck away!

Heartburn

Not an easy one- all I can suggest is Gaviscon and keeping an eye out for what food gives you the heartburn in the first place, and avoid it like the plague! I get it all the time, so would actually love some more tips in this area!

Escapism

My mum always says that when you feel sick, it is important to do something to take your mind off it, as thinking about it can make the symptoms worse. I now see this, as some of the days when I would be unable to get out of bed, were the worst of the three months. Ask someone in your family or friends network to help force you to do something whenever you feel bad. My mum would take me to car boots, ask me to walk up to come for dinner, and generally try and keep my mind off it.

Films and TV are great too, as you are concentrating on the plot rather than your stomach. The internet is also great- I live on Facebook Scrabble!

If you have any other tips I could add to this post, then please let me know, I am still experiencing nausea and sickness, so any new ideas are always welcomed!