I'm 8 weeks into my first pregnancy and it has opened my eyes to the suffering that many women go through. None of my friends or relatives ever complained about more than a tiny bit of morning sickness, so I thought it was a joke (I remember rolling my eyes when Kate Middleton went to the hospital).
Now the joke is on me. I have been virtually incapacitated by this. I consider myself a tough person. I am an athlete. I've fought forest fires. I've climbed mountains, including several between 14,000-20,000 feet. When altitude sickness got me, I always continued climbing. I threw up 7 times on one mountain, but still made the summit (fast). I say all this because so many people seem to think that women suffering from morning sickness are wimps or princesses. I am not a wimp. I know how to march on.
But this is the hardest thing I've ever dealt with. I feel as though I've been poisoned. While I am only vomiting occasionally (1x a day); I dry heave and wretch, and I feel very, very ill all day long; the seasick/nausea feeling is constant and I feel dizzy, weak, and knocked down by fatigue. I wake up in the night to wretch.
I am incredibly lucky in that my job allows me to work from home and have been able to get my work done from bed. But I don't feel like I can take a day off or be honest with my employer about what's going on because of the stigma; morning sickness is something that's joked about and they'll think I'm acting like a princess.
My husband has been wonderful, doing all the cleaning and shopping while I've been sick. My heart goes out to all the women who are on their own, or have to go to an office, or care for toddlers. I keep thinking about women who have to work in factories or around chemicals or strong smells. I cannot imagine.
The hardest thing is how relentless it is. And thinking that I will have to deal with it for weeks, maybe months more.
I have found that constantly eating (like every hour) is the only thing that helps. Prior to this, I was a obsessed with nutrition, eating all organic whole foods, tons of kale, etc. Now I am living on refined carbohydrates because it's the only thing that keeps the nausea down. Here are some of the things I've found helpful:
-lime soda
-lime jello
-popcorn
-rice pudding
-bananas
-applesauce
-string cheese (this really helps, because of the protein)
-sparkling water (i can't drink flat water anymore)
if i'm feeling pretty decent, i've also been able to eat:
-fried rice (with just oil and egg), I felt much better after getting a few bites down
-bagels with cream cheese
-carrots and celery with cream cheese
-macaroni and cheese
I also tried the combination of 1/2 a unisom tablet (12.5 mg) with vitamin b6 (50 mg) and found it keeps me from waking up sick at night, and also makes the morning slightly better so i can get my work done.
I wish someone had warned me about this. My first trimester is turning out to be one of the most miserable experiences of my whole life.
but it is a good sign all is well! Try not to get too down and stay hydrated. I hope it ends quick for you!!!
hang on in there.
