Surviving Morning Sickness And The Struggles Of The First Trimester

I had a pretty strong feeling I was having another boy. For the entire first trimester, I felt exactly as I did with both Costa and Paolo. Extreme fatigue, nausea all day long, strong sensitivity to food smells…just constantly feeling horrible with no relief. Anyone who is experiencing it, or has, knows just how awful it can be. During this time, you are often waiting to tell people you are pregnant, so it's also exhausting just trying to act semi-ok when you are out in the world. While there was nothing that entirely made it go away for me (it stopped around 12-13 weeks with all my pregnancies), there are some things that at least made it more bearable. Here is what made a difference:

1) Eating more protein throughout the day.

This one was major for me this time around. I only ate bread and butter, rice, and quesadillas for the first few weeks and felt awful. Even though I didn't feel like I was craving protein, it dawned on me one day that it might help. So, I started forcing myself to incorporate it into each small meal and snack, having morning smoothies packed with protein, adding roasted chicken to my quesadillas, halibut over my plain rice, and eggs to my morning toast. The difference was immediate and significant. It reduced my nausea and gave me a little more energy and focus than I had experienced in those early weeks.

2) Doterra Peppermint Beadlets.

These have been a lifesaver throughout all of my pregnancies. When I first got pregnant with Costa, I was still catering all the time. The food smells, cooking, and taste-testing were so hard to manage in that first trimester. One of my sous-chefs introduced me to the Doterra Peppermint Beadlets. A small beadlet filled with peppermint oil dissolves in the mouth and can help with digestive discomfort. I always keep a bottle in my purse for any time I am feeling a little queasy.

3) Hydration.

It's all about the water bottle! Keep it close and keep it full. Cold water made me feel better, so I would keep a big tumbler filled with ice water by me at all times. Also, if the water bottle or tumbler has a straw, I end up drinking much more throughout the day.

4) Snack on fruit like watermelon, blueberries, apples, and melon.

Cold fruit is one of my go-to snacks during pregnancy. My favorite is cold watermelon. To make things easier, I like to prep fruit and put it into glass containers in the fridge for easy snacking throughout the day and on the go.

5) Taking naps.

Listen to your body and rest when you need to rest. This one is tough for me, as I am so used to living a go-go-go lifestyle. When the kids are at school, it's even harder for me to take time for myself because I feel like it's my only opportunity to get anything done. But, in those early weeks, it's so important to give your body that extra sleep. I've spent the past few months working from the bed as much as possible and taking naps in the afternoon as needed. Even a 30-minute nap makes a huge difference.

6) Super cold and thick smoothies.

I don't know what it is, but I am all about the super thick, super cold smoothie. It takes much longer to drink, and there was something about having just a little bit at a time that helped with my nausea. To make your smoothie super thick, reduce the liquid in the recipe.

7) Eating a little and then eating a little more. No giant meals.

Instead of eating a big meal in one sitting, I found eating small amounts of food throughout the day made a huge difference in how I was feeling. The few times I went too long without eating and then overate because I was ravenous always left me feeling tired and more nauseous after. I always keep a bag of simple snacks with me, especially if I know I will be out of the house for a while.

8) Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies.

I don't think the liquid form of ACV would have had the same effects for me…the smell alone was something I could not handle, but these gummies did seem to help me feel a little better throughout the day.

9) Switching my prenatal to a gummy vitamin.

I found it impossible to swallow a bunch of prenatal vitamins in my first trimester, so I switched to this gummy version for the first trimester. As long as I took it after eating breakfast, it never made me feel more nauseous. Now that I am finally feeling better, I have switched back to my Perelel 2nd Trimester Multivitamin.

10) Upping my daily dose of B6.

After speaking to my doctor about my morning sickness and nausea, she suggested that I start taking no more than 25mg of B6 a day to help. I had never heard of this before, but it seemed to make a difference once I implemented it halfway through the first trimester.