'Morning' sickness and healthy eating.

[Owlette31]

Please tell me how I'm supposed to eat a healthy balanced diet when I'm currently feeling sick 24/7 (literally no break from it) and can only stomach mashed potato, crackers, plain chicken and buttered bread/toast (I'll turn in to a carbohydrate at this rate! Haha.) Also trying to drink anything is difficult because even water makes me heave.

I lost my previous pregnancy at 6 weeks and I'm currently 6 weeks 1 day with this one so I suppose it's a good sign? but my gosh it's kicking my a**e and being someone who is big in to fitness and healthy eating being unable to eat anything else or do much other than sit with a bucket between my legs is killing me.
Any advice please!

Eat whatever and whenever you can tolerate a food. Baby will take nourishment from you.

There's usually a long running thread about HG - pregnancy sickness- they are very wise

I intended to keep fit through my pregnancy but ended up pretty much living on cereal and frazzles. I'm now 8 months pp and slowly getting my weight and fitness back to where it was before. I think just do your best but how well you're able to manage is likely going to be down to factors outside your control.

This isn't the HG thread, I couldn't find it, but it has some good ideas

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/pregnancy/4935187-hyperemesis

I could only eat beige food for months & constant eating was the only way to pause the nausea.

I also really struggled with drinking & had to have IV fluids a fair few times.

Just eat whatever stays down.

Hi, I'm 6 weeks and 4 days today and have struggled with food (luckily not throwing up but constantly feeling sick), think it's really taken me by surprise that it's so early.
My eating is usually a balanced diet with a very sweet tooth but the thought of anything sweet makes me want to vomit bar a few ginger biscuits that I've found help with taking the edge off the sickness.

Like others have said you just need to eat whatever you can keep down at this time. I have managed a tin of chopped tomatoes today so may be worth trying other very simple things, rather than thinking of a meal.

Regarding water, I'm very much the same and also gone off tea. I have found honey and lemon with hot water has helped.

Re fitness I usually do 4 classes and 4 swims a week. Was really determined to get back to my classes and have only managed a few without feel drained the next day.

I hope you feel better soon x

Eat whatever you can keep down. Take a pregnancy vitamin if you're worried (although these made me feel sick), but you should be fine.

Very very cold fruit smoothie was something I could manage to sip, and was more healthy than the crackers and salt and vinegar crisps I was eating the rest of the time.

Thank you! I'll have a look on there x

Thank you for all the replies :) I appreciate you all taking the time to comment. Think I'll go with the general consensus of eating what I can for now & just keep in mind that, at the minute, there's a little embryo forming and if all goes well (the pregnancy anxiety is real) it will be completely worth it in the long run x

Also remember that for most people sickness eases off somewhere between weeks 10 and 14. So it's likely to be just a few weeks of being a potato, and then hopefully you'll be able to be more balanced. I definitely think the first tri is about survival.

And if you're struggling, especially with hydration, go and see your GP as they may be able to prescribe something to help.

Also remember that for most people sickness eases off somewhere between weeks 10 and 14. So it's likely to be just a few weeks of being a potato, and then hopefully you'll be able to be more balanced. I definitely think the first tri is about survival.

And if you're struggling, especially with hydration, go and see your GP as they may be able to prescribe something to help.

Please try not to worry. I lived off tiny bites of toast and ready Salted Crisps. In my first pregnancy it eased off and by the second trimester I was absolutely grand and eating everything in the world. Both healthy and not! It really is okay to just have what you can at this point. It's not long in the grand scheme of things (plus, what good is healthy food if you can't stomach it!)

Second time around which sadly ended, I had hyperemesis and didn't eat a bloody thing without throwing it up. So I figure whatever you get in and keep down is a bonus.

Congratulations and good luck!

Definitely just eat what you can keep down! Up until about 18 weeks I lived off beige foods, I got my moneys worth out of my air fryer that’s for sure🤣

I was the same!

For the first 12 weeks, I had a lot of pasta, apples and mcdonalds chips

I tried to force a salad one day and instantly vomited

I couldn't stomach water, but sparkling water and squash were sometimes tolerable

Try not to stress and just eat what you can keep down.

My nausea began before I missed my period but the first few weeks after that weren't too bad. I ate lots of my usual food - veg curries, veg chillies etc. The nausea ramped up around 6 weeks and I had to start eating plainer food. I'm now 10 weeks and eating mild dishes with lots of snacking in between. Breadsticks, toast, crisps, nuts, etc. I had my booking in last week and midwife said not to worry, just eat what stays down and the sickness will most likely ease in the next few weeks.

Lots of my friends had to eat a beige diet of crisps, chips, toast etc. during the first trimester. None of their DC seem to have been negatively affected in any way.

Right now just focus on eating SOMETHING, whether it’s mash or crackers, it still means you’re getting sustenance. There’s plenty of time later on for healthy eating! My sickness stopped at 12 weeks and I was able to focus on eating a balanced diet after that. Before then, I was just trying to survive each day! Xx

I’m in the same boat! I’m 11+1 today, if it isn’t carbs I can’t eat it! I feel disgusted with myself at the moment, I’m packing the weight on. All I want is salty fries/ sweet potato fries/ ice lollies/ cheese sandwiches. I can just about tolerate bananas, but the thought of a tomato or piece of cucumber is repulsive 🤢 Plain water is disgusting as well, I can only stomach Fanta/ 7up.

Desperate for this phase to pass. I have to eat constantly, soon as I start getting hungry I want to be sick.

This is me too. Third time. Just get through a few more weeks and then worry about healthy eating!

No words of advice really but with my 2nd pregnancy I was so sick for the first 18 weeks. The first 8 weeks or so, I survived on flat cola, Haribos, plain biscuits and ice lollies.

Everything went out of the window with that one. I guess I'm trying to say, eat what you want, when you want it.

Did any of you end up taking time off work? I'm a trainee nursing associate on a busy dementia ward and there's no way I feel up to my duties today so I've had to ring in sick. I feel silly though because I know pregnancy isn't an illness and no reason to ring in but I feel so dreadful. I'm supposed to have my uni day tomorrow too, which is an hours drive, and can't see me making it. The only people that know about the pregnancy are me and my partner and my boss too which makes me feel even worse taking time off.

I haven't had to take time off sick but that's only because I've been able to work from home. If I had a job where I couldn't WFH I would definitely have had to call in sick. Many days in recent weeks I would have struggled to do a day in the office, let alone a job on a ward where I'd be on my feet.

If you had a stomach bug causing vomiting and nausea you'd be calling in sick. Just because the cause is pregnancy doesn't change the misery of your symptoms.

My partner works from home and I've jokingly said I'll trade jobs with him for the next few months...he works in sales so respectfully declined my offer 😂 but our previous boss made one of my colleagues lives hell due to how poorly she was through her pregnancy and I guess I'm just worried of having the same repercussions. Luckily we have a new boss now. But you're right with what you're saying about the stomach bug situation. Im just hoping it doesn't stick around for too long and starts to calm somewhat. X

I’ve been off my whole pregnancy. I also work in the NHS but as a physio and there’s no way I could do my job. Speak to your GP who can sign you off as pregnancy related illness and it can’t be used against you for any disciplinary action. I tried going back to work when I was 14 weeks pregnant and ended up going back off sick for the rest of the pregnancy. It’s hell trying to work with bad nausea, impossible I would say!