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Pregnancy

Pregnancy advice

7 replies

stripeyorangesocks71 · 27/04/2016 09:44

Hello all :)

So at the weekend I found out I was pregnant with my first, how exciting, daunting, nerve wracking etc! Only just come off the pill a month ago so it's a little surprising how quick it has happened! (Body must have been ready!).

Anyway, aside from not knowing for sure until Saturday just gone, I have felt a little queasy on some days and fine on others, is this normal? We went to a gig weekend before last (seated) and I was fine throughout and on the drive home. As soon as I got in my stomach turned and I felt dreadful - will feelings happen very suddenly?

Some things I can eat and I feel fine, and other things leave me feeling uncomfy and quite nauseous. Mainly my sandwich at lunchtimes that I always usually have (ham and cheese) has left me feeling awful so now I can't bring myself to make it in the morning. All I seem to want to eat is dry things (Oatcakes, biscuits, crackers) etc. But my evening meals seem to be going ok and there is nothing I have stopped eating with those (yet!).

We haven't told anyone else yet as its early days and I want to tell people face to face rather than via phone/social media.

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Sanch1 · 27/04/2016 13:18

Congratulations! All sounds perfectly normal to me :-)

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KeyboardMum · 27/04/2016 14:16

Congrats! Welcome to the pregnant bird club! It's an interesting ride ;)

I found that, despite being dubbed 'morning sickness,' nausea likes to occur throughout the day and at the most inconvenient of times. It's normal to feel nauseated randomly. Nibbling on dry snacks - like oatcakes, crackers and biscuits (as you've already mentioned) to prevent an empty stomach, lying down, and drinking icy water helped to stave off mine. Because I work from home, I used to crash on the sofa and sleep through it if it ever got unbearable.

Eating too little can cause you to feel sick.
Eating too much can cause you to feel sick.
Eating something that you loved before, can cause you to feel sick.

Mine was bad in the first trimester, vanished during the second and has now decided to rear it's ugly head in my third. Aarghh there's no escape! :P

The sickness is good though, it shows that everything is working properly. Nutritionally speaking, if you literally can't keep anything down and are running the risk of dehydration - have a word with your midwife.

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stripeyorangesocks71 · 04/05/2016 09:44

Hello again thanks for your kind words!

So the nausea and tiredness feelings have ramped up a bit, feeling very strange and icky over the past few days/week. How did you guys get through work? I feel like just going and staying in bed all day but realise it wouldn't be practical and I'd soon lose my job! Want to tell my boss in confidence just so he is aware that I'm not my usual self but scared of telling him! How he will react etc. He is a nice guy and would understand but then is it too soon to say anything? As far as counting from 1st day of last period I'm around 7 weeks.
Noticed my sleep has completely changed as well, not comfy at all (front sleeper) and so that's having an affect on me!

Oh the joys, sorry for the moan!

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LisaTheGreek · 04/05/2016 10:13

Stripey - to be honest, I don't know how I coped with work, looking back on it.

I'm now 18+2 and still struggling, but it's better than it was. I definitely had a few wobbly moments where sickness was so bad I broke down in tears at night and didn't know what to do with myself. My poor DH felt (and still feels) so helpless and bad about it.

I would say there are three things that helped me, but in the end I just took each day at a time and focused on getting up, getting on the train (vom wagon) and going to work.

  1. Drink so much water. Like 3L a day. Not good if you can't be near a loo, but it does help.


  1. No carbs. The more I could eat protein and other stuff, it did actually help. Can't say I always stuck to it, but the midwife advised it and she was right (for me, at least).


  1. Eating something every two hours. Even if it's just a piece of whole meal toast. I now have reminders on my Fitbit to remind me it's time to have something.


Good luck! And congratulations!
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missybct · 04/05/2016 10:38

Congratulations! Flowers

I'm fully prepared to admit I've not coped with work at all. In fact, I'm off as we speak. I was never full on toilet hugging, but moving definitely made my nausea worse and I had days where if I didn't lay flat still and cool (imagine using a fan in mid February!) I would feel absolutely vile. I had hideous migraines as well, starting from implantation day, and by far the worse week for all of this was week 10.

Definitely agree with Lisa on the water - drink, even if you don't think you need to - do it. Dehydration happens SO quickly and before you know it, you'll be feeling terrible and unable to figure out why. This is especially true if you are having to eat a lot of carbs to fight nausea - generally there tends to be a lot of hidden salt in this stuff (crisps, crackers) so counter balance it with water.

Nausea can and will come and go seriously quickly. I found my trigger points were:

  • not eating enough
  • eating too much at meal times
  • not getting enough rest
  • not sleeping great
  • being mentally tired


To eliminate some of those I've had to take time off sick. The tiredness should lift, and you should be able to make it through a day, but if you don't, don't force it through.
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stripeyorangesocks71 · 04/05/2016 11:09

Thank you both!

I am having lots of water during the day, always filling my bottle up. Only problem is the fact I need to pee sometimes every 20 minutes. Which is really bad isn't it? That's what is beginning to worry me about work because I work in an office and people will begin to notice that I'm always off visiting the loo. Past few days I've wanted to do a bit of exercise, but have just felt so awful that I haven't been able. I'm by no means "fit" but I find it a good way to keep me positive.

That was the other thing, I called the doctors up yesterday to book an appointment and they advised me seeing the midwife rather than doctor, I agreed, but then the receptionist said I had to be 8/9 weeks+ before I see her. So the appointment isn't for another 2.5 weeks and I feel a bit left out, lost, I have questions and things but have to wait. Is this normal? Does it happen to most of us when we are pregnant?

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missybct · 04/05/2016 11:24

Totally normal re: midwife vs doctor. Unless there is something specific illness wise, as in you are unable to keep fluids/food down, or you have an infection, a doctor won't need to see you. I don't think they even need to see you to confirm a pregnancy anymore, as home testing kits are just as accurate (if not more so) than the standard issue at surgeries. However, if you feel you are losing symptoms and/or have had previous miscarriages/fertility concerns, a GP may look to take blood and confirm you HCG level is rising (which indicates the pregnancy is continuing).

Any questions you have, have a look on the internet, or on specific pregnancy related webpages - here, Bounty, NHS. They probably give out as much if not more information than a GP can in a 10 minute appointment. Also, there are a wealth of really good books out there - "What To Expect When You're Expecting" is a bible of information - I got it around 6 weeks but tbh I end up looking at the internet more.

Not feeling up to exercise at this stage is TOTALLY normal. Nausea, tiredness, dizzyness are all things that really limit capabilities - even now at 19w I still feel yucky if I push too hard when bloody shopping, and no pregnancy is the same, so if you feel the need to exercise please start off as slow as you can (walking, swimming etc) and go from there.

Don't worry about the weeing - that should lessen by about week 10-12, and try not to worry about what other people think in your office about you needing to go. Ultimately, you're not taking the piss (pun intended) because you're pregnant, and you have every right to decide when to tell your colleagues - some wait until 12 weeks (like I did) and others don't say anything until 20 weeks! You do what is right for you.

I had to tell my manager of my pregnancy around the 6-7 week mark as I had bleeding and pain, something that is normal but needs to be looked at, and I decided that should anything go wrong, I'd want my manager to know anyway because a) she's supportive and b) she'd want to look out for my wellbeing at work, especially as we have other pregnant ladies in the business and we deal in an industry that has a tight affiliation with baby products. However, like above, this decision is entirely up to you - once you have told your manager, your pregnancy is taken into consideration and you may have to do a risk assessment. It also means that any absence taken during this period is not counted towards your general sickness total, although you'd need to double check this with your HR department. Managers have to make allowances should you need them during pregnancy.

Also, don't be alarmed if your company only considers the pregnancy to be viable (as in, taken into consideration in terms of arranging maternity pay) after 20 weeks - many companies don't really make these kind of decisions until you receive you MATB form, which is after 20 weeks, but the term "viable" when you can feel your baby kick and have seen them wiggle (as early as 15 weeks for some) can be distressing and offensive to some - but it's just clinical company speak.

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