Goodness gracious. Morning sickness is so real. Also, whoever said it's just in the morning is a dirty liar. How about all day long sickness, including the middle of the night. I had heard other people talk about this, but I honestly didn't think that I would have it too bad... The reason? Oh I'm young, I'm only 23 so that means pregnancy will be easier for me, right? Wrong. So I was completely shocked when the nausea hit me at only 5 weeks, and then the actual vomiting started at 6 weeks. I realized I had to get this under control because I have a job that requires me to be a functioning adult. I have to be at work by 7:45 at the latest, which honestly is the peak of my nausea so I had to figure out as many ways as possible to prevent throwing up on my poor 7th grade students! Also, I had only told a few close friends at work, so I'm trying to prevent throwing up while hiding it form everyone.
Don't get too hungry.
This one was so big for me. The only time I felt decent was if I had some food in my stomach, but since I wasn't supposed to be eating any extra calories I had to find low calorie fillers. One of my pregnancy goals is not to gain too much weight. I didn't put a number on myself or anything crazy. I just don't want to give birth and then have to deal with losing a huge amount of pregnancy weight while I should be focusing on my baby! So back to keeping your tummy full. I found that soup is very filling! Potato soup and chicken noodle soup both kept me full and were easy to eat even if I was feeling nauseous.
Find foods that work for you.
I usually don't like veggies, but at the beginning of my pregnancy I loved celery! Celery apparently has a PH level that settles your stomach. The downside is that crunching on celery in the middle of teaching a class is a little awkward and loud. I also found that while I was waiting on dinner, pickles were a great appetizer. I also needed crackers in the middle of the night, and in the morning before I got out of bed to settle my stomach. Honestly crackers just made me feel better until I got out of bed, but didn't seem to really prevent me from throwing up.
Sip on something bubbly.
I found a few options to sip on all day with few or no calories. I love sprite, but I knew I couldn't drink that everyday! So I tried out lemon La Croix, but at first I hated the flavor. I have never been a fan of sparkling water, but once I had 3-4 cans I loved it. I had about 2 cans everyday, and it helped settle my stomach especially during class. I had one in my hand every second of the morning until about lunch time. I also used the "Sparkling Mama" drink mix that is a mix of ginger and lemon. You just mix it into 8 oz of water and it gets all fizzy. I loved it and the flavor, but it's kinda expensive! La Croix is way less expensive, but not as effective.
If all else fails talk to your doctor, and she can prescribe you Diclegis! This was a lifesaver for me. It's basically a B6 supplement, and Unisom on a time release. My doctor even suggested that I use that while waiting for my insurance to approve my prescription. I will honestly never go without Diclegis during the first trimester ever again. Next time I find out I'm pregnant I will request it immediately!
Every time I was crying my eyes out after throwing up all the crackers and water that I had eaten to settle my stomach, I had to remind myself why this was happening. I'm pregnant!!!! So even those mornings when I was sure that I would be late to work, and had no idea how I'd make it there, I was so thankful! Pregnancy is a time of celebration, but getting through that first trimester is so tough. If you're in those first 12 weeks it's so hard to keep what your struggling with a secret. I ended up telling a few coworkers incase I needed them to cover my class, and my principal so that he would understand why I was sometimes running late or acting weird! I really recommend telling people that you are with all the time so that they can support you. I would have felt like the worst employee ever if my boss didn't know that I was pregnant!
Hopefully some of these help you get through the first trimester, but honestly you're still going to feel terrible. If you don't, then I'm jealous!
xoxo,
kelsey
