What to drink when water is off the table?

[Tropicaliyes]

I’m 6 weeks pregnant and keeping my fluids up is not going well at all! I’m usually a water drinker but this year for some reason I have been struggling with my usual water.

I started drinking tea a few months ago and went from black, to white, to green then to decaf green I liked the taste of however as soon as I got pregnant I knew I would have to watch the caffeine in the tea so I intended to cut down but suddenly they started tasting horrible! I was drinking them with plant based milk as I didn’t like the strong taste of tea to start with and the milk made it somewhat palatable however I went off the taste of that so started drinking them plain with a little date syrup. Ultimately I went off that too so now I don’t drink any tea full stop.

I have been totally off chocolate since I have been pregnant so that also excluded drinking chocolate.

I thought maybe I will try some flavoured fizzy water so bought dash water and I hate it, even tried mixing it with orange juice and hated that more!

I don’t like coconut water as it made my stomach upset even before pregnancy so haven’t bothered during.

I don’t drink squash as I grew up with a Vomiting disorder and that’s what I would drink when sick so I could bring something other than acid up when being sick so obviously now the thought turns my stomach as it reminds me of being sick!

I have never been a fan of sodas but have found very few like sparkling fruit juices to be okay but haven’t found any lately.

I have been trying to eat things like watermelon or cucumber or things with a high water content but I know it’s not doing much!

I will take some folic acid with a swig of water when I wake up, will maybe take some sips throughout the day and a little before bed but all in all its most certainly under 500mls of fluids (most likely 200-300mls)!

I was going to go to one of those IV hydration places that have popped up around the place however when I inquired recently they said they won’t treat me as I’m pregnant!

I really don’t know what to try now.. tried boiling some fruits in water and then letting it cool and refrigerated and it tasted too much like a dilute juice it wasn’t for me (my gf drank it). When I was looking for herbal teas that I haven’t tried they say to stay away from most during pregnancy also!

I bought some pure orange juice which I am fine with drinking however it’s really sweet and I’m not a sweet person (been off sugar also) so I can only drink small amounts so not the answer to my fluid needs.

Has anyone else had a issue drinking water and if so what did you find to keep yourself hydrated?

I don’t think it helps that I was left dehydrated from years of sickness before this anyway so now I’m dealing with the repercussions.

@Tropicaliyes, would chilling the water in the fridge or freezing it help, do you think? I hated drinking water in pregnancy, but found it easier to tolerate if cold. I also craved ice, but that might have been to do with low iron.

How rude are you! So uncalled for. Have you read OPs post? I know a few people who can’t stomach water for different reasons. Try having some understanding of others situations and realise what might be easy for you is impossible for others. People like you ruin this site.

@Tropicaliyes have you tried Powerade or Gatorade? I don’t find it too sweet and helps with hydration.

If you don't like sweet, cranberry juice or pomegranate juice are quite sharp. Maybe pineapple juice.

Jasmine tea? Rooibos?

Something lemony or limey?

Ice tea?

Elderflower cordial type things?

Have you tried diluting fresh juices with some water? To weaken them and then they may be less sweet?

I basically just sucked on ice cubes when my nausea was really bad. Or I'd fill a glass with them and sip the just melted water while it was still ice cold.

I also don’t like strong ginger but found ginger ale very settling in pregnancy. I mixed cloudy apple juice and ginger ale, not too sweet.

I fibd red bush tea an almost savoury taste, you may like that.

Tomato juice is good, not sweet.

I think herbal teas would be on the nhs avoid list if they were actually unsafe. I drove myself mad with worry after eating a whole portion of tabbouleh which was mostly parsley after embryo transfer. My herbal book says parsley is an emmenagogue and can bring about an abortion, but that was the only cycle where I actually stayed pregnant and got my baby.

I’d go for a mix of herbal teas so you’re not having any one thing excessively, and try not to worry.

If you can stomach cucumber, then how about making cucumber water?

Get something like Jasmine tea bags - the trick is to just dip the bag in and out a couple of times only, just to get a hint of taste.

Or, have you tried plain water but hot rather than cold?

How about fruit teas? Twinnings Strawberry and Cucumber (tiny bit of caffeine, not enough to worry about! green tea but doesn’t taste of it at all).

If you stomach salty better than sweet there are other ways to up liquid in food in addition to cucumber and watermelon.

Things like noodle soups, vegetable soups with extra stock, bovril.

Also porridge/rice pudding made with extra water/milk.

ice cubes/ice lollies/ice cream

if you are not used to drinking it is harder. Is your nausea causing you to vomit up lots or just not try eating/drinking?

How about something like oasis, or capri sun? Milk? Or lolly ices/ice x

Unless there is a diagnosed medical condition then I stand by what I say. If you can drink fluid then you can drink water.

Kids are expected to in schools. We were literally designed to drink water. Animals all drink water. It’s ridiculous to pander to this level of fussiness.

When we had a sick bug as kids, my mum always boiled lemonade and let it cool down for us to drink. I couldn't drink it day to day as similar to you with squash, that sweet taste only reminds me of being sick. But there's something about the acidity in lemons that helps with nausea - Google it! Might be something worth trying.

Hopefully you'll start enjoying water etc again once you're through the first trimester.

When I found out I was pregnant I went straight out and bought decaf coffee as I couldn't imagine getting through a day without a couple of cups for 9 months. Within a week even the smell repulsed me and I couldn't stand to be around it. I started craving the odd cup again at some point in the second trimester.

I'm drinking so much appletizer in my pregnancy, can't get enough! Recently discovered apple juice and soda water (50:50 mix) with loads of ice in the top is super nice and hydrating too. And costs loads less than all the appletizer I'm drinking!

@CiderJolly she literally said in one of her posts that she used to have a feeding tube that her fluids went into so clearly there is a medical condition playing a part in this... no need for such a harsh and callous response.

What about bitter lemon, I love this, very unusual taste.

Apple juice diluted in sparkling water can be refreshing and you can change the strength to your taste.

If you like the peppermint tea go for it. If it was that likely to cause issues then it would be on the banned list like cheese, liver etc. The risks of being dehydrated are more of an issue than some very remote risk of cramping.

I could only drink weak Ribena. Like so weak it literally just tinged the water slightly pink. It just took that sicky edge off water. And peach ice tea. I love peach ice tea.

It's also hardly an unusual problem for certain tastes to trigger nausea in early pregnancy, so don't worry OP, you aren't the only one.

Lime cordial with soda water. I drank loads of this in both pregnancies but never at other times.

Yeah she said she pulled it out… so couldn’t have been that essential surely?!

It’s all just post after post of what she can’t drink/doesn’t like. At the end of the day, if you’re pregnant you have to drink, so does the kid as it gets past the breast milk stage.

You gotta get over it. It’s just water. We are so fucking lucky to have access to unlimited clean water- there are millions of children worldwide who walk miles for water and the op is hand wringing about the taste. I still stand by what I say- this is a ridiculous ‘problem’.

I Feel for you op. I was medicated for sickness but still couldn’t drink anything for weeks, maybe until the sickness naturally subsided around 24 weeks (I get it really bad) but coke worked for me to an extent as bad as it is, I also had gestational diabetes so couldn’t really try much else so went onto Diet Coke which did the job for me to take my meds at least, now I’m a managing mineral water out of the fridge, can’t go anywhere near tap water or room temp mineral water. I feel I have really damaged my baby but it’s been about survival for me sadly. I hope you don’t suffer like me but give cold still mineral water a go

Fresh orange and lemonade
Lime cordial