10 Tips for Dealing with Morning Sickness

Ok, its official, baby number 2 is on its way and we are super excited about it 😊

However, for some reason my morning sickness was worse the second time round…I struggled to get out of bed, I couldn’t watch food commercials or even read my goodfood magazine without my stomach churning. And I wont even mention what happened if I tried feeding Bee the dog or changing Fee’s stinky nappy…

Sorry if you are reading this with morning sickness and I have just pushed you over the edge. I’ll get to the point.

As my morning sickness was pretty bad this time, I decided to keep a list of the things that helped me get through it. Unfortunately I don’t have any miracle cure here, just some handy tips that were really effective for me.

I know that eating is the last thing you want to do when you have morning sickness, however I found that my morning sickness was 10 times worse when I was hungry. So I made a point of grazing throughout the day on things that I could stomach and kept my meals small and frequent.

Here are some of the things that I would snack on:

1. Ginger Biscuits
2. Toast
3. Nuts
4. Pretzels and salty crisps
5. Flavoured rice cakes (salt and vinegar were a favourite)
6. Crunchy Apples (cold from the fridge)
7. Ginger and Lemon Tea (hot)
8. Banana pancakes
9. Cold Drinks: Ginger Beer / Sparkling Lemonade / Coca Cola (keep some cold cans in the fridge)

Keeping a stash of snacks in my bedside table drawer really helped me stave off the nausea in the mornings. I would nibble on some biscuits, nuts or pretzels before I got out of bed and also kept a glass of squash nearby to keep me hydrated.

Note: Remember to keep this stash secret as kids are like sniffer dogs when it comes to snacks as I found out with my daughter Fee who would come into the bedroom and ransack mummys food drawer when I wasn’t looking…leaving me just with the crunchy apple.

Even just taking Bee and Fee the dog out for a quick walk round the block made me feel a lot better. I’m not sure if it was the fresh air or distraction element but I really found that if I was out of the house doing stuff and keeping busy my morning sickness was less severe.

If you are at work, try to have lunch out of the office and not at your desk.

Wherever you are, just take regular breaks and step outside for some fresh air and change of scenery.

As an added bonus to my morning sickness, I also found that I developed motion sickness every time I travelled by car or train or bus. While I couldn’t avoid travelling by car/public transport completely, I really tried to keep it to a minimum. If you do have to travel by car/public transport, try to sit by an open window or by the doors close to the fresh air.

I am the designated cook in the house and while I still tried to cook for Fee and Mr E, I often found that the smell from cooking foods was enough to put me off the food I was cooking. If you can, try to have someone else cook or prepare meals for you. I didn’t have that option so I would try to grab something to eat while I was out of the house or buy pre-prepared meals for me to eat, it wasn’t ideal but it did get me through the worst of it.

Not talking water sports here but about the using your smartphone, tablet, laptop computer…etc. I am usually glued to my smartphone or ipad, but I found that using them to surf the web was making me feel even more queasy. Apparently this can be because the screens can cause eye strain which can make morning sickness even worse. You can try to reduce eye strain by increasing the font size or changing the background colour to a more neutral tone such as tan. Alternatively cut down on using them altogether and have regular breaks away from the computer.

Tight clothing or anything that pressed against my stomach made me feel queasy during the first trimester, so I tried to wear loose clothing like baggy tops and stretchy trousers. I even dug out some of my old maternity trousers early to wear around the house. Agreed, I wasn’t going to win any mummy Vogue awards, but at least I was comfortable…

When I was out and about I would carry the following items with me (just in case): Mouthwash, mini toothbrush and toothpaste, boiled sweets or mints, mint chewing gum, snacks, drink… and a plastic bag.

Along with morning sickness, you are also likely to feel pretty exhausted in the first trimester, so keeping a preschooler entertained can be a challenge. When I was really sick I would snuggle up in bed or on the sofa and entertain Fee with the following activities:

1. Reading books
2. Puzzles
3. Colouring in and sticker books
4. Lego / Mega bloks
5. Magnet boards and shapes
6. Tea parties with Mr Teddy and Co

I hope these tips provide some relief to soon to be mums suffering with morning sickness. It can be really horrible, but in most cases it does ease up after the first trimester, so take it easy and look after yourself.