Today actually marks 9 weeks but this post has been sitting in my drafts since last Tuesday, waiting to be posted.
But here is my 8 week photo because…well…this is where/how I spent the majority of the last 4 1/2 weeks.
Symptoms and Nausea “Cures”
From about 2 weeks, I started to get really tired. 4 1/2 weeks is when the nausea hit though, and it’s basically been non-stop nausea…until, well the last 4 days have been pretty good. Last Thursday was the first day I didn’t nap in over a month, and other than a couple hours of nausea in the evening, I felt pretty good. Today is good so far, with just a few moments of quease. So here’s hoping that we’re on the up and up out of the first trimester. I’m not convinced that there’s anything that can take nausea away completely. It’s one of those thing that you “Can’t go over it. Can’t go under it. Must go through it.” (Except maybe the lucky few that don’t have any nausea symptoms!) But the ideas below did help keep the nausea at bay and manageable. Some days though, I just had to take up my perch on the couch and sleep it off. And during the days that I did have to go out and get.after.it even though I felt like crap, I took inspiration in the mama’s at my church who are pregnant AND have other kids to take care of. Or like Madame Patton.
Ginger anything and everything
Deb recommended Reed’s Ginger Candies (I purchased them at Amazing Grains here in Grand Forks). They definitely helped in a pinch – like after a meal, or when I woke up and really needed to go somewhere and I didn’t have all the time in the world to take it slow. I also bought ginger tea, but then the box said to consult a doctor if you’re nursing or pregnant…so haven’t used that. I did have some ginger root on hand though before I bought the candy, so I grated it up and put it in hot water (add lemon and honey to make it better).
Foods
If I didn’t eat, I felt sick. For a while after I ate, I’d feel sick. There was about a 10 minute window where everything was good in the neighborhood, and then we’d start the cycle over again. Thankfully for me, I haven’t thrown up so I don’t have trouble keeping food down. Just alot of foods sound…blech. Even thinking about drinking a glass of water makes me gagville. But I did manage to find a few foods to rotate between.
- Greek Gods Strawberry and Honey yogurt – sometimes I just eat it plain when I’m feeling the nausea kick in, but I’d also make smoothies with yogurt, milk, peanut butter, spinach, strawberries and bananas.
- As suggested by Kristen Kipping-Ruane, steel-cut oats with peanut butter for breakfast. I also added a little milk and some granola.
- Bananas and apples and clementines. so many clementines.
- Scrambled eggs and toast
- Hummus, (unmentionable amounts of) cheese and crackers. If it says cheddar on the label, I want it.
- Almonds
- Pretzel crisps
- Granola bars
- I only ate it once, but I think about sweet and sour chicken almost every day.
- Bagels with melted cheese. Again with the cheese
Foods I wanted that didn’t make me feel wonderful but I ate them anyway:
Pizza, kettle chips (I also think about these on a semi-obsessive basis), thai food, boxes of mac n cheese (I’ll still eat it anyway cause i lerve it), stir fry, tots and more. It’s possible that in general these foods often don’t leave a person feeling good and healthy…just extra sensitive in the tum right now.
Vitamins
I usually don’t have any problemos swallowing pills (despite that fact that as a child, I liked my medications coated in butter to swallow more easily. Or just because I liked the butter. we may never know). But with the nausea I couldn’t even stomach the idea of swallowing giant pre-natal vitamins. One wise mama of 9 kiddos at my parish said she just switched to children’s chewables during the times she didn’t feel up to taking on the giant. So I let go of my vita-guilt and got back on the Flinstone train.
Exercise
Don’t let me fool you. I have not been a faithful gymmie in the last couple months. I blame it on the never ending winter (like I do with everything else). But I DO feel better when I get some movement in my life. I try to stretch regularly at home and I have recently taken up water aerobics 1-2 times a week. I’m hoping to walk more once it gets above 50 degrees (so you know, July) and I do hit the stair climber from time to time. All in all, even though moving is often the last thing I want to do, sometimes it is what helps the most and can make a huge difference in my overall well-being for the day.
Other things – not nausea related
I’m not opposed to seeing a doctor (obvs), but I do feel extremely overwhelmed (“analysis paralysis”) by the idea of starting that process. All the medical stuff and the sifting through information… Like insurance (military can be complicated – knowing what options are covered/if you will go a different route/I’m still under my mom’s insurance because of Obamacare so that’s another layer. I KNOW I’M LUCKY THAT I HAVE TWO INSURANCES IT JUST MAKES IT CONFUSING). I know I need to just get in there and tackle it, but when I’m tired it’s the last thing I want to do.
People ask what I’m doing to prepare for the baby. Um, not much. I feel like I’m just trying to get past the symptoms and then maybe I can do more thinking about what’s to come. But right now I’m just trying to keep the baby and myself healthy.
I guess I am reading books, though. Here are the books I’ve picked up, but have not finished:
Husband Coached Childbirth by Dr Bradley – This is my favorite one by far
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Sarah J Buckley
What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff- Not crazy about it. Many pregnancy/birth books are really redundant and again MORE information to process. I like the books that are written more in story format; I feel that I learn better that way than looking at tables and charts and bullet points.
Be Prepared: A handbook for new dads (that’s josh’s, but it’s pretty funny and I like it)
Well. That’s the long and long of it. And that is also enough for now. More to come, of that I am sure.
a dillightful adventure 
Congratulations!!!! I’ve been praying for you ever since you told me you were going to be TTC when Josh came back! So many prayers for you!!!
Thank you, Rebecca! 🙂 🙂 🙂 I need to catch up on your blog – been slacking as of late! But please be assured of our prayers as well!
Great news for a wonderful couple. The Nausea is no fun but worth it in the long run. Keeping you all in my prayers. Hugs!
Thanks, Bernadette! The prayers are ALWAYS appreciated! 🙂 xo!
Congrats!!! I was terribly sick too… And then found out it was because of twins! The dr prescribed me diclectin and it was a life-saver!!!
is it bad that your pregnancy diet sounds like my normal diet?
get on those flinstones. heck, why not gummy bear vitamins?
lerve ju.
You go girl! Eat healthy. How have you been feeling since you’ve cut the dairy out? Do you avoid all dairy or just some particular forms of it that leave you feeling less than wonderful?
I guess many of the foods on my list I ate before the wee babe…it’s more just those seem to be the ONLY things I can eat without regretting it for the next 3 hours.
I did look at the gummies! They were tempting, but the flinstones were cheapaaaah. Dolla dolla billz yall.
i particularly resonated with “all the mandarins” and “all the hummus”…not sure how healthy i actually am.
no dairy for me except for occasions when i take a lactaid! i sub almond milk and soy cheese and earth balance butter. but i miss lasagna. and mac & cheese. i do not miss burping all the time.
look at you getting all over those price comparisons. #onit #deals #clippincoupons
I was talking with a mother here at the parish the other day – one of her girls is lactose intolerant. However, they buy their milk from an amish community in the area, and its unpasteurized. Apparently her dairy free daughter has no problem with the amish milk – makes me wonder a little about the pasteurized milk that I am consuming…but anyways, if unpasteurized milk is an option in your area, it may be worth a shot!
Congratulations to you Muscles and Josh! What wonderful and exciting news; very excited for you both. This is not a food cure for nausea but it does help in a pinch- there is a pressure point just under your nostrils, kinda where your nostrils end and the cleff begins. If you hit that spot with a some pressure with your middle and index fingers a few times it will rid you of nausea. I’ve used this many, many times thanks migraines. It works.
Sending thoughts and prayers your way for a healthy pregnancy. Take care of yourself and sleep as much as you can!
Shelly
Shellster! Thanks a billion! And thanks for the trick! I will be trying it out today as the nausea seems to have made a reappearance! 🙂
Hi Ashlie! A belated congrats on the beautiful new life inside you and addition to your family! I hope you’re past the morning sickness stage and I’m sorry you had such a rough time. Mints, ginger chews, and peppermint/chamomile tea helped me. I’m glad you’re reading a few books, especially the Bradley Method one. I received What to Expect from an in-law but did not open it, as I was advised through Amazon reviews that it’s full of scare tactics and not worth reading for sanity’s sake. I’d also like to recommend Birth Without Violence (free online if you search Google) and The Happiest Baby on the Block. The first is an epic poem about gentling welcoming babies into this austere world, and the second provides five ways to calm fussy babies and recreate the womb environment. I hope you enjoy them if you end up picking them up! Prayers to your family during your move and for a healthy pregnancy!
Floyd and I also watched the documentary The Business of Being Born together before Jude was born. I wanted a water birth with both Jude and Clare, but God had other plans!
Rochelle! Thanks for dropping by and for the congrats. I am feeling MUCH better – normal tiredness and some round ligament pain, but nothing crazy 🙂 I am actually in the last chapter of Happiest Baby on the Block and loved it. I’ll check out Birth Without Violence – thanks for the rec! Right after you had Jude you suggested watching Business of Being Born and Josh and I watched it. So fascinating and has definitely given us a better idea of what to look out for in our birthing options, and what questions to ask. But like you alluded to – you can plan all you want, but God will have His way 🙂 I’m trying to form what kind of experience I hope to have, while also remaining open and flexible to God’s will.