Coping with nausea at work

[Newmrs22]

Help! I need some advice. I’m 6+1 with baby number 2 and the nausea has kicked in this morning. Spent the last two hours at work feeling awful. As last time I felt like this until 14 weeks, I feel a bit like crying at the thought of trying to cope for another 8 weeks. Does anyone have any strategies for coping with nausea at work?

I'd feel sick whenever I had an empty stomach so just made sure I had things to nibble on in my drawer, Ceres bars, biscuits, fruit, nuts etc. Just something small that helps take the edge off that you can graze on throughout the day x

Cereal bars*

Drinking coke or lemonade when no other liquid would do. Keeping a plastic bag in my pocket “just in case”. Elevating my feet with a box or footrest. And most of all,coming in late, avoiding rush hour and getting the vomiting done at home. Might not be feasible for everyone and depends on your employer. Please make sure you don’t get dehydrated because that’s when it gets dangerous and if things get really bad I would recommend the hyperemesis thread on here for better opinions.

Smells really got to me (particularly food!). I spritzed a scarf with perfume and breathed in the smell of that to help. Also fizzy drinks were oddly settling.

Vitamin b6 is supposed to help x

A desk fan?

I commend any woman who can still commit to life's responsibilities with pregnancy nausea/sickness (work, school etc - I didn't go into university for a whole term, and instead studied from home). My life literally stopped when this dreaded symptom kicked in at around 5 weeks (it lasted until around 18, which is quite long). It was horrible and I found that I couldn't cope (I also discovered that I have emetophobia - an intense fear of vomiting). I appreciate that if I had other kids or didn't have the crutch of student loan to financially support myself, this would not have been possible, and luckily I had some support.

My advice for you, though:

1. Don't. Let. Yourself. Get. Hungry - ever! Eat little and often. Just EAT!
2. Try to avoid the smells that make your stomach churn as much as possible (I had to beg the people I live with not to leave meat marinating with onion and garlic in the fridge, for example).
3. Slices of fresh lemon in warm water (ginger tea or ginger anything didn't work for me 😔)

^ That's pretty much ALL that helped me! 😭

Things that didn't work for me but may work for you:

1. The ginger thing - ginger tea, ginger biscuits, ginger sweets, ginger capsules, sucking on pieces of ginger...
2. 'Sea bands'
3. Dry foods such as crackers, bread, pasta, salty crisps...

Sorry if any of the words/phrases I used were triggering for your nausea (certain words, images, even THOUGHTS did it for me). Do know that it will pass, though. I thought I'd never get out of the stage you're in, but I did!

Good luck!

Sorry, just realised that this is your 2nd child so ignore the words of assurance that this stage will pass - you know it will! 💪