I am ten weeks pregnant and I count the days until the first trimester is over (14 days, yipee). I dont remember ever feeling this sick with my eldest (now a spirited 5 year-old) nor my second (the sweetest 2 year-old boy in the universe). Ok, I vaguely recall running to the bathroom after taking a whiff of a sausage roasting in the oven when I was pregnant with my son. The aroma of stickily burnt Cumberland still makes me feel queasy to this day. Or the time we were touring vineyards in New Zealand during our honeymoon and one particular glass of chardonnay had me spewing more that a swig into the spit bucket (or whatever you call those things).
My point is, that no matter how any of your other pregnancies went, you have no way of knowing what your present one will be like. In the past when I was asked whether I ever suffer from morning sickness, I would smugly reply, “No, I was lucky. Just a bit of nausea very rarely”. HA! This time around the nausea struck me as early as week 5 and has plagued me every day for the past 5 weeks. Not just in the morning, but pretty much all day. And the worst part of it is that I am starving too. So for the first time, I am having to live with this unsetttling condition, and although there are days where the nausea is so furious that all I can do is lie down in a darkened room, here are the three tips that have actually worked for me:
1. Keep plain crackers on your person at all times.
For some reason, the cheap, trans-fat laden kinds work much better than your wholegrain organic variety. Keep them at hand to munch any time of the day (even the middle of the night, mid-dream), and do so.
2. Drink club soda with lime
Ah, the magick elixer to get the bile down and head sorted. Have large stocks in your fridge and serve with lots of ice and a few drops of honey to curb the acid burn.
3. REST
I’m talking 2 hours MORE than your regular hours at night (that is, if you arent having a night of pregnancy insomnia which strikes mercilessly and often throughout the 9 months), and as many naps as you can possibly sneak in between meals. I just had one now, (after thinking I may suddenly pass out after writing point #2) and I feel great (ish). Remember, making a human being is the most exhausting thing in the world, and during this time your body will have spontaneous bouts of what probably feels like narcolepsy. Dont fight it.