Need help (big news!)...

[migirl]

I wasn't going to start telling people until the second trimester, but I need some advice so here goes...

I'm pregnant!

I'm about 7 weeks along, due 6/1/05. This is my first pregnancy, so I'm excited, nervous, cautious, and freaking out in general.

My problem (right now) is morning sickness. :help Or, in my case, 'all-day' sickness. I just don't know what to do. Nothing sounds good to eat, but I know I have to eat so I pretty much just force myself. I've tried eating small, frequent snacks of bland foods. It seemed to help a bit, but today I'm feeling sick even after I eat. I've tried sipping on ginger ale, which seems to make things a little better. Even drinking water makes me feel ill. I'm thinking about trying one of those wristbands, did those work for anyone? Work has become just about impossible, I just sit at my desk and think about how nauseated I feel and eat every hour (I'm going to be 800 pounds by the time I have this baby. )

I've also been getting horrendous heartburn, which I've never had before. The last 2 nights I haven't been able to sleep because my heartburn has been so bad. Last night I tried baking soda mixed with water, it didn't help right away but I think it worked because the heartburn was gone by morning.

I also have to say, I am absolutely shocked by some of the things that have been going on with my body these last few weeks. I had no idea about some of the symptoms that occur during pregnancy. DH said last night that he doesn't envy me (thanks), but that in the end it will be worth it.

[mommax3]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

So sorry about the morning (all-day) sickness. I had it, too, so I really do sympathize. I have had friends who were helped by the wristbands, so they are worth a try. You are probably at the height of the yuckiness right now, if that helps any. Do you actually throw up, or just feel sick? Do smells get to you, or the taste in your mouth? (I always felt like I had a yucky taste in my mouth.) If so, try chewing gum.....that really helped me, the first time in particular.

The way my sickness worked......it would get worse when my stomach was empty, but I couldn't eat anything except the ONE thing that I craved, and then I just wolfed it down (usually it was full of fat ). Then, for a while, I felt much better, so I learned to anticipate the hungry feeling and just ate prophylactically! Thus began my weight issues. Seriously, if I wouldn't have fallen into the habit of eating like that for the ENTIRE pregnancy, and had just confined it to the weeks where I felt sick, I would have been fine because during the first and part of the second trimester, I hardly gained any weight (>5 pounds) all three times. So don't worry about your weight gain.

There are medications for the nausea, if you are throwing up and getting dehydrated, but they will make you really sleepy, or at least they did me.

As for the heartburn, mine got worse with each pregnancy.....but chewing the Tums things helped, and with the last pregnancy, there was something DH said I could take for it so I didn't have to chew the chalky stuff......I will find out what it was. I learned to avoid spicy foods and anything with tomato in it, particularly in the evenings. BUT I also found that a nice bowl of ice cream or a shake would calm things right down!

Take care of yourself. I know the time seems to drag when you are feeling sick in the early weeks. Most people seem to find a "trick" food that really helps them get through it, and they end up never wanting to see it again after the pregnancy.......hopefully, you will find something that will help you and taste good.

Keep us posted!

Sally

CONGRATS! What a terrific birthday gift. My only answer to the sickness PREGGIE POPS! They are known to work like a charm. Don't worry 2nd Trimester will be here before you know it and then your appetite will probably come back with a vegenance!

Well congrats again!

[BonBon]

Jane, congratulations!!!

That completely sucks about your all-day sickness. I was there myself last year, and anticipate being there again soon. I tried the motion sickness bands and they did squat for me except put HUGE divets in my wrists. They were expensive too, so take them back if they don't work.

My ob/gyn suggested Unisom and vitamin B-6. Apparently the combination of the two is the same as an anti-nausea medication that is marketed in Canada. I only took the B-6 and it really seemed to help.

Like Sally, I found that fulfilling those cravings helped a LOT. Mine was always red meat. Another thing that helped HUGELY was drinking a can of ice cold Coke. It sucks because the coke is complete empty calories, but it works. When I used to work in pharmacy, we sold bottles of coke syrup to pregnant ladies for their nausea. You might want to try that, but personally I think carbonated coke is much more palatable.

For the heartburn, I took zantac and I took it every night.

I know it seems like forever. It sucks to have your mind so focused on feeling ill. Hopefully, someone will offer something that works for you.

I also have to say, I am absolutely shocked by some of the things that have been going on with my body these last few weeks. I had no idea about some of the symptoms that occur during pregnancy.

I KNOW!!!!

You have to read Mothershock. It is a very realistic view of what life will be like. I'll bump up the review. Sally, was it you that recommended it? If so, thanks!!! Such a great book!

Good luck, Jane, and keep us posted!!!

It *might* also be helpful to know that your sickness is the sign of a good, healthy pregnancy.

I've always wondered about that. When I was pregnant I had none of the symptoms. I didn't even show until I was 6 months. There were people that also told me being sick was a good sign, and that my lack of sickness or food cravings or whatever may mean the baby isn't as strong as she should have been. Someone actually told me to watch for miscarriage signs . Our daughter turned out to be very healthy, but I worried about it the entire nine months.

But anyway, CONGRATS! That is so exciting!

JANE!!! Congratulations!!!!!

I saw another post by you and the Lily Pie thing at the bottom and thought....um, is there something she would like to share with us?

I am so sorry you are having such morning sickness. It really, really sucks. It will get better in a few weeks, but that isn't much consolation when you feel like throwing up all the time. Here are a few things that worked for me....
I kept crackers (saltines or grahams) by the side of my bed and would eat a few before I got up. I would sip ice cold coke all morning. I agree about the cravings -- eat what sounds good. Now is not the time to read the "Best Bet" diet in "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" (honestly, just skip that book but thats another post). If I got too hungry, I would feel much worse. It's sort of counter-intuitive; usually when we feel nauseated we decide not to eat but I think it's the opposite with morning sickness. Try to take little snacks all the time if you can. With my second pregnancy, anything sour and citrus-y helped so I always had a Nalgene bottle with a lemon or lime floating in it. And....all of these helped but didn't make it go away.

I tried those wristbands (thanks to Jlynnb!) and I think they helped. Or it was just a placebo effect. If you would like to try them, I'll mail them on to you.

I think the B6 worked for me. Not sure of the appropriate dose but I took the Premesis (sp?) pre-natal. It has the b6 and also has folate and calcium. Regular prenatal vitamins made me SO sick and I stopped taking them and switched to a regular multivitamin for the rest of the pregnancy (I never had low iron). If you are taking those now, try taking them at night to see if that helps.

I never had heartburn until pregnancy -- I finally got why there are so many TV ads for those products! I had to avoid chocolate and made sure not to eat a few hours before going to bed. Tums helped most of the time but it got so bad at the end of the 2nd pregnancy (it comes back!) that I started using Zantac. You could try the health food store too, but make sure not to take anything with goldenseal in it as that is in some heartburn remedies and not safe during pregnancy.

Congratulations again!

Congratulations, Jane!! That's so exciting!

My mom used to make a home remedy for her friends when they were pregnant-- all I know is it's highly concentrated ginger. It smells awful, but she says it works. If you're interested, I'll ask her how she makes it, but I understand if you're suspicious!

[migirl]

Thanks guys! We're both really, really excited. I think DH is being a little cautious and slightly detached to the whole thing because he thinks about all the stuff that could go wrong. He hasn't actually said that's what he's feeling, I'm just guessing. I think he'll get more excited as I progress further. (He's definitely a pessimist which drives me - the eternal optimist - crazy sometimes, but hey, that's who he is!) We haven't told our families yet, we wanted to wait until after the first trimester. I'm really looking forward to telling our parents, it will be the first grandchild on both sides!

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good (minus the nausea and heartburn, of course). I had my first appointment today, and the nurse said that I'm progressing well and that my symptoms all point to a healthy pregnancy. We get to see the heartbeat on 11/15, in about a month. I can't wait!

I'm going to try the eating-before-I-get-out-of-bed thing, I've been getting up and eating a piece of toast right away but maybe I need to eat even before getting out of bed. My desk at work looks like a convenience store, I have bags of graham crackers, saltine crackers, pretzels, vanilla wafers, and cashews all sitting on it. I'm also going to pick up some Tums on my way home tonight, hopefully that will help with the heartburn. I've never had heartburn before, so this is an entirely new thing for me. I haven't had any cravings or specific food aversions yet, I'm still waiting for those.

Jane, Congratulations!

As far as the sickness, I can't help you there...I didn't have any!

When DW told me that we were going to have our fist baby, I didn't exactly sing it from the rooftops. I am sure that your husband will be when you start telling people!!

[Sheherezade]

Congratulations Jane!!

Everyone has given such good advice about the morning sickness. I had it constantly with my first--what worked for me: crackers by the bed, sugar in drinks (like coke or coffee with sugar), gingerale/ginger tea. I also had nasty heartburn. Here's something I don't think was mentioned that worked for me. I ended up raising the head of our bed several inches so I slept less "flat" and more inclined. You can do the same thing with a bunch of pillows if DH doesn't want to sleep on an inclined plane . (Personally, I say let's disrupt the father's sleep pattern during pregnancy too ) This helps if it is a reflux type heartburn. Flat on you back or side isn't good for that. I don't know if it will work for you, but give it a try if it keeps up. Sadly, I am an expert on heartburn and its many forms.

Congratulations again!!

Angie

Yay! Congrats!!! Sorry to hear about your morning sickness, though I have to agree that I had no idea that pregnancy would affect me in the way that it has been - it's really hard, isn't it?? Every day is a new symptom. My second trimester honeymoon phase is definitely over! I'll be 27 weeks next week and in my third trimester - it's flying by.

My DH was also a little reserved until the 20 week ultrasound - then he got super excited and into it! It was very cool to see. It also becomes very real at that point so it's easier to start the bonding process.

I'm so happy for you!!!

P.S. I found saltines and lemonade to help with nausea.

[SueC]

Congratulations!!! That is really exciting!
I'm sorry to hear about your all day sickness, that really sucks. I found lemonade to be helpful also, don't ask me why. My neighbor tried the wrist bands and thought they were somewhat helpful, seems like it would be worth a shot. Another friend of mine was puking all day and ended up taking some medicine prescribed by her OB which I think she found to be helpful.
I hope it subsides soon so you can sit back and enjoy the pregnancy!

[Phoebe]

Congratulations Jane! Sorry to hear about your all day sickness. I probably don't have anything to add, but empathy. I had morning sickness 24/7 with my last pregnancy. It finally subsided at 14 weeks. I tried to eat lots of protein like yogurt. Cheese sandwiches and Coke seemed to help in my case. I tried pretty much everything except medication. I hope you find something that works for you.

Jennifer

[Meenah]

Congratulations!!!!!! Frequent healthy snacks.
Luanne

Congratulations, Jane! I am sorry to hear about the morning sickness. I hope that it'll pass soon! I wish you all the best with your pregnancy!
Erica