Tips coping with HG and a 3yo

[RedRobyn2021]

I need some tips for how to cope, I'm struggling

Please try to keep comments as positive as possible, I'm not in a good place at the moment

OP sending hugs. HG and a toddler is so tough. Been through it myself. Are you on the hyperemesis support page on here? They were a lifeline and got me through my 2 hg pregnancies.
In terms of what I did was my partner got up did breakfast and got got little one dressed and playing so I could stay in bed until he went to work.
I tried to have activities at home my little one could do in the lounge so I could lay on the settee and in good weather he could play in the garden and I could watch from the French doors and had a camera installed so I could see him all the time.
My partner would then do dinner once he finished work and did bedtime.
Can I ask what medication your on? If you've not been offered xonvea and ondansatron I would highly recommend asking for it.

Also have a 3 year old and I'm 19+4 with HG so we're in the same boat!

Can you get any help with child care? Do they attend a nursery?

I often put DS in the bath with all his bath toys, bath crayons, etc and take a pillow and lay on the bathroom floor and he happily plays by himself.

In terms of playing I've explained to him mummy is very poorly and I lay on the sofa and he either plays by himself or brings some toys to me and I half heartedly play laid down.

When he comes home from nursery I get him a snack and he sits on the sofa and has the TV on for an hour

My work colleague's wife had HG with her third, and my colleague was granted some special leave to look after the kids and his wife for a few weeks. Obviously this isn't a solution for the whole 9 months, but it might be something your partner can look into whether he could take some additional time off when you're really struggling.

Good luck for the rest of your pregnancy, and I hope you manage to find some solutions to help ease it a bit.

Are you on meds, and if so it doesn't sound like they're helping? Call your GP and ask for something else if so.

Speak to Pregnancy Sickness Support charity if you need advice about medication. They also have a peer support service that I found super helpful for my mental health in my second pregnancy.

Other than that Im always too unwell to adequately care for a toddler for the first few weeks sadly. The kids temporarily did more sessions at nursery instead, and this time DH has had to take some annual leave too.

Thinking of you and hope it doesn't last too long.

@abbs1 I didn't know there was a page! I will try to find it thank you.

I know 1 of them is the frequently used cyclizine, I have 3 others but I'm not sure about those I'd have to look at the packaging.

I think I might not be sick this morning as I don't feel as horrendous as yesterday. I've definitely been overdoing it and not listening to my body.

@BeautyAndTheBump1

The bath idea is very good, my DD would spend ages in the bath happily.

Yesterday I couldn't even get up so it was bad.

She goes to preschool and I rang them and asked if she could go today as a one off and they have space thank god. She loves going so that helps too. She gets quite distressed when I'm being sick.

@cheesychips15 thanks, I'm only 6 weeks so have a long way to go. We have organised my partner going in a little later for the foreseeable so he can take DD to preschool. That will help. My mum is away on holiday but when she gets back I know she will help us if I need her, although I really don't like to ask too much.

Can you remember when your symptoms eased?

This is my second HG pregnancy, I'm only 6 weeks, I felt so low yesterday thinking of how long I'll need to overcome this for. It's just hell and I can attest it is harder with a 3yo. I remember being pregnant first time round and thinking, thank god I don't have another child.

@RedRobyn2021 19 weeks now and finally over the worst. Like u I have a toddler my little girl was so sweet she would rub my back and ask if I needed water. I felt so guilty. I laid in bed and let her have my phone for YouTube 😂😂 i felt bad but it helped and she was happy watching baby annable. Can't really offer advice apart from I hope you feel better soon. It's Awful. Have u got sea bands? I bought some and it was a god send as soon as I put them on I stopped feeling sick: obviously they work for some and not others but worth a go ! U can buy them from a chemist x

It is awful 😔

For me it always eases as time goes on and I was a little less severely unwell with DC2 as I was with DC1 (was hospitalised for a short while with DC1). And then I've been a little less sick with DC3 than DC2 as I've taken a lot less time off work than either of my previous pregnancies. I take Xonvea in this pregnancy which has definitely worked better than any other med I've been on in my previous ones as I haven't been as unwell. I'm 15 weeks now and back to work on a phased return. With my other two pregnancies I was mostly better by about 20 weeks and completely better by week 24, so I'm expecting similar this time.

Also one thing I forgot, there is a children's book called 'How to Be a HG Hero' which is great and I used to read this a lot to DC1 when I was sick and pregnant with DC2 and she loved it. I got a free copy from Pregnancy Sickness Support, I don't know if they still give out free copies or not. They're a great charity.

Hi, I’m so sorry you’re suffering. My son is nearly 3 and I’m 28 weeks, I think it might be easing up for me at last - I haven’t vomited for 4 days now. I’ve been on ondansetron since 10 weeks and it made an enormous difference. Before that I wasn’t keeping fluids down. I firmly believe that cyclizine is a waste of time!

I've been off work since Easter and it’s made a difference, I think if I try to do too much my body just says no. I’m supposed to be back next week though. I was also off for all of December while I was trying different meds and trying to keep out of hospital.

My family have been great and the childminder has been able to take my son for extra days when I haven’t been able to cope, which has been a godsend. He also watches way too much TV, and he’s happy to run around the garden while I lay on the ground.

I’d go back to the GP and ask for a change in medication as it sounds like the cyclizine isn’t doing much for you.

I don't I will give them a try

Your DD sounds very sweet. Mine gets bored after a while and then gets up to mischief

@WeightoftheWorld thank you, I'll look up that book that's really helpful, I have struggled to explain why I'm vomiting to my DD

Its under the pregnancy section. Hopefully you can get some online support there.

Xonvea worked amazing 2nd time for me. Its a fairly new drug in the UK but so many hg women swear by it.

Can anyone link the HG support board for me? I can't find it anywhere 🙁

If you search hyperemesis in the search bar it comes up under the pregnancy section.