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.

@Banoffe yeah I just commented on that, I knew I saw that you should drink hibiscus in pregnancy but I’m glad someone else has agreed it’s a no no.

@ODFOx oh great I will give it a try.. I thought that would be unhealthy or something but if it works it works 🤗

@Keroppi a Chilis bottle? I haven’t heard of those but will search Amazon for sure (is it plastic free?) oh what is the metal one called? That sounds ideal! I haven’t tried tonic waters or blueberry juice but Im wondering which ones don’t that that weird bicarb taste? Like seltzer’s.. I find a lot carry that weird carbonated flavour. I will have a look out for Nexba waters.. haven’t seen them and we don’t have a local Tesco, just the extra ones which stock less but still worth a try..

thanks everyone for the suggestions

You can make any water infusion just by roughly chopping up the fruit or vegetable and putting it in the water and letting it sit for a bit. Things like berries don’t need chopping.

try chilling your beverages or adding lots of ice

you should consider revisiting previously discarded flavors like ginger. If you are going off flavors you enjoy, you may find that something you previously hated suddenly is wonderful. Ginger ale comes on various strengths. Most of the time I like the kind labeled ginger beer that could practically bite your tongue it is so spicy, but the standard ginger ale is very mild and is often given as young children when they are sick even though they abhor anything spicy.

my problem was hyperemesis, but staying hydrated was a real challenge. that influences my advice

splashes of real juice in sparkling or still water are much tastier than the artificial flavored waters for sale.

if you get a craving, indulge it, even if it isn’t the healthiest. A small quantity of sugary beverage or even caffeine isn’t going to hurt the baby and might settle your stomach in a way that lets you eat or drink something healthier later. As long as it doesn’t become your main food or drink, don’t worry about it.

Make homemade ice lollies out of things like fruit juice. They will be hydrating and won’t seem too sweet.

I found ice water really good when I had severe morning sickness for the first 5 months it was about all I could keep down. The coldness and sipping at it did help. Otherwise I loved peppermint tea, decaf tea/ coffee. Orange juice with bits/apple and pineapple juice and fresh fruit smoothies packed with ice were great. Caffeine free Coke zero when i wanted something fizzy. I found dilute juice triggered acid but I did try a lovely apple and pear cordial that worked well for me. Tbh I just kept an ice filled water bottle beside me at all times and tried to sip away as often as I could. Baby will be just fine but I noticed my skin became unbelievably dry in patches which I've never had before so it was more for my own hydration.

@Tropicaliyes
there are various cordial brands, I did a search on Waitrose and they do own brand, belvoir, Robinson’s and others (example attached)
maybe have a browse on their website you could buy from any supermarket.
There are various berry, citrus and many other options.

@Tropicaliyes have you tried looking online for the American drink you mentioned? Might be more expensive but would be worth it. There are specific American sweets/drinks websites or you can sometimes find stuff on Amazon

I don’t really care for the one person that has said that I would be a bad role model and whatnot because really and truthfully I never said I don’t drink water because of the taste, nor did I say I never drink water ever.. I said I have recently been struggling with water and water was all I would drink before this point. Gastroparesis means you cannot absorb things correctly so anything that goes in my stomach will be staying there for over 12 - 24 hrs. My child won’t be having issues with drinking or eating as it’s not something that others would notice (and that’s also saying if I don’t eat because I’m on my tube then my child won’t pick up healthy eating habits which is nonsense and I’m not a single mum to be).

Exactly, and good for you @Tropicaliyes a handful of people are so small-minded on this site, they don’t consider the bigger picture or appreciate some details (which are probably obvious to some) are sometimes missed or not included, and so jump on and leave unhelpful and rude comments. Not sure what they are trying to gain or achieve but they shouldn’t be on here. I’m glad you are able to not let it bother you 🙂 my friend can’t drink plain water, she doesn’t have a medical condition but it makes her gag and nearly be sick, even a small sip. I’m sure that poster can’t stomach some things that others can, we are all different!

What's the source of your information about herbal teas? It sounds very inaccurate. There are also decaf ´normal' teas in every supermarket.

Have you tried the cold brew herbal teas? They are fruity but not overly sweet and come in a few flavours. I struggled with water when my nausea was bad in pregnancy but could handle the raspberry twinnings cold brew.

Never got on with the peppermint or ginger drinks.

I ate lots of orange juice ice lollies when I was pregnant. I couldn't get enough of them! Just bog standard ones from Tesco or Sainsburys, but if on offer the proper 100% orange juice ones were the best. I also loved lemonade ice lollies.
A drink I like is just a slide of lemon in some cold water. It's strange how just a slice can change it and make it more refreshing.
Elderflower cordial with soda water is also very nice.
I hope you find something you both enjoy and tolerate. It sounds like you are really trying your best with this challenging thing you have to deal with.

My aunt infuses water with different things: mint, cucumber, lemon, strawberries, ginger. You get a pleasant hint of the taste, but it's not overpowering. No sugar either

Haven't RTFT yet but can you dilute the orange juice with plain water or fizzy water

Oh and lemonade ice lollies or raspberry ones?

What about lime cordial with fizzy water? The lime seems less sweet than lemon or orange and you can adjust how much you add.

Herbal infusions - camomile, redbush, berry et.

peppermint, lemon & ginger are fine, they have a slight laxative effect but that's not going to be an issue at 6 weeks?

Water - have you tried adding fresh mint/apple/cucumber/lemon/orange/whatever?
Add ice?
Sparkling?

I'm in London to with very hard water - we have a Brita jug which makes a big difference to the taste and the amount of limescale in the kettle. Might be worth trying in order to cut back on plastic bottle waste, also it's not very safe to drink water from plastic bottles as chemicals and plastic leak into the water.

What about a vegetable stock drink?

i use a vegan bouillon, one teaspoon in cup of boiling water

Soup & other wet foods? Ice lollies? watermelon? Herbal teas like ginger, hibiscus, mint? decaf coffee? slushies? frappe drinks from the coffee shop? Miso soup?

OP look at Pukka teas: www.pukkaherbs.com/uk/en/category/organic-teas

you can filter for caffeine free ones, and the ingredients are clearly listed. They taste great.

I agree with others that adding fresh juice to plain water is often a lot nicer than cordial. Belvoir cordials are pricy but good at not having sweetener etc. I said earlier I liked the ginger one - it’s v gingery though so you’d need to like ginger!

You can get ice cube trays that make the ice cubes in long sticks - great for adding to water bottles: www.amazon.co.uk/Lilys-Trays-Narrow-Stick-Bottles/dp/B01A7G2W5W

I would try flavouring some water with natural ginger or mint, as they’re both things that help me if I feel sick. I do hope you can find some relief, must be awful.

Warm drinks may be easier on your stomach and less likely to cause vomiting.
If fruity sweet things aren't working go veggie.
Apart from the marigold stock (as dilute as you like), try cucumber water, celery water or even broccoli water. Pour boiling water on and let them cool to warm before sipping. Sounds odd but it is surprisingly soothing and less likely to upset your stomach that something really cold or sweet.

Slush
Bovril
Jelly
Ice pops
Cup a soup

Do you like miso soup? You can get the instant sachets (like a cup a soup) - the Clearspring ones are quite nice. I don't know if the salt content may be an issue but you could always try diluting it by only using half a sachet if so? I also hate sweet things/can't have sweeteners so I feel your pain!

I just wanted to ask, i done a search for some of the listed drinks here and am finding the majority of them contain added sugar or sweetener .. does anyone know of any ones with only naturally occurring sugar.

I have added some Redbush tea to my shopping basket and feel a bit annoyed as when I searched the “low to no” caffeine sections this didn’t come up at all! Instead it was their herbal teas with pieces of dried apples and other fruits and the smell gave me a headache! Luckily my girlfriend will consume anything I test buy but I’m glad I have been recommended these now!

I found Bottlegreen Elderflower and pomegranate light presse doesn’t have sugar so I added that also along with Nexba strawberry peach kefir (haven’t tried kefir so not sure what to expect). I have been trying to order the highland sprinkler sparkling white pear and elderflower drink for weeks now and it’s always out of stock so may try looking elsewhere.

Im going to make some homemade ice lollies but was wondering If anyone knows if there is such a thing as a plastic free mould? Not silicone either?

@Lcb123 yeah the only plastic I now use is for my water but I don’t use those bottles of water, I use a 10l box which has one big bag in it so as much as it hasn’t gotten rid of the plastic, it’s a lot less than the many little bottles that would otherwise be used. As for Brita Filters I actually thought they were quite counter productive for this one purpose as they themselves are made of plastic! I have actually considered one of those under sink filtration systems that are built in.. a bit costly however overall it will pay for itself and we will save on buying water.

I tried infusing my water with orange a few weeks back and it was dreadful! I’m not sure if I done the wrong thing or what but I thought I could put some segments in the water and squash them a little bit and leave it to sit and it should be fine? It tasted like you had squash and over concentrated it! It made my glass bottle taste funny for so long after and then getting all that stuff out after wasn’t great! How am I meant to do it? Because I must be missing something.. do I crush the items or leave them slices and let it just sit there and hope for the best? Do I need to add more for a stronger flavour?

I love peach and have been trying to figure out a way to make a peach juice also but I’m not getting far on that one either so bought Santal sugar free peach juice and that was okay.. a little thick but I will buy it again for sure! (Was kind of like a purée actually).

@Talipesmum that pukka link is actually quite useful! Some options actually look alright too so I will go through each one’s ingredients.. I likes the sound of the peace one however saw it had liquorice root in it.. google says liquorice is fine but not the root, but I’m sure I will find one 😊.

@Footle i just used plain old Google and searched individual items and pregnancy and you get things like babycentre and live strong and I tried to check out as many sources as possible to see if they all say the same.. the NHS website is quite vague as it said Herbal was fine but limit to like 3/4 cups or something… but no mention of the many herbal combinations and if they are okay. Many sites say to stay away from things in the first trimester but say they get used towards labour to help delivery.. then you have people say they safely drank the same things throughout their pregnancies.

@OrcaBlondie yeah i actually found them at another place but it was still so expensive, like £15 for one 500ml bottle of grape.. they have ice lollies also so I added those to the basket and when I clicked checkout for just 2 items they wanted £70! I’m considering asking some american friends how much it is for them over there and seeing if the shipping cost including the product cost would be more doable and reasonable. Our options are so horrible tasting and doesn’t help that my aunt forced us kids to drink it hot when we were sick with a bug! Such bad memories 🤮.

@Ponderingwindow yes you are correct, I am going to revisit flavours because as much as I haven’t found something I use to find horrible now okay, but I have had the opposite.. things I use to enjoy I no longer do so there is no harm in thinking the opposite is true. So far I haven’t really had many cravings but I’m going to eat or drink whatever I can when it comes because everything seems quite a struggle.. I don’t have morning sickness per se but I do feel a bit unsettled.. I find if I don’t eat when I feel hungry I start feeling a bit queasy which makes eating and drinking in general harder… haven’t had any actual nausea and vomiting but this feeling is enough so I can’t imagine what your experience is like!

I will get some store bought ice lollies until I figure out a suitable mould.

I want to thank everyone again as you have all be so helpful and I feel a little more empowered to try different things with confidence now! The responses could have gone either way and I’m just really happy the majority have been positive and really helpful!

@WildSheep i bought a white miso paste and the flavour was just okay but I haven’t written it off entirely.. I will search for clearspring and see what I can find as I like soups and broths and such. Thank you.

Plain sparkling water
Maybe with lemon
Or lots and lots of ice ?