'Morning' Sickness

I’d just like to say firstly that, ‘morning sickness’ needs to be renamed to pregnancy sickness. Or ‘I’m-so-sick-I-can’t-remember-feeling-healthy’ sickness. Yes, It can show up in the mornings. But it can also show up at lunch time or in the afternoon or in the evening. Or, if you’re really lucky it will show up in the morning and hang around all damn day. And it might not kick in straight away either. It might sneak up on you & hit you a bit later in your pregnancy just when you think you’ve escaped it. Or, you might get it from basically the day you conceive. No matter what time of the day, or what stage of your pregnancy you get it, it’s not pleasant. In fact, it’s downright awful. Of course, the degree of sickness will vary from person to person. You might be one of the super lucky ones and never get sick. And trust me, if you’re one of those people, I hate you you should be very grateful! And despite old wives tales, if you’re not sick it doesn’t mean you aren’t growing a healthy baby. Your body can just handle the pregnancy hormone better then the next pregnant woman. I was told I was just ‘allergic’ to the pregnancy hormone. Awesome. Why couldn’t I develop an allergy to nuts or housework for 9 months instead?

When I used to imagine early pregnancy I imagined spending the mornings with my head in the toilet and wanting to vomit at the slightest whiff of fish or coffee. And yes, that happens. But, what I had no idea about until actually being pregnant were the food aversions. Personally, the amount of food that I can’t stomach far outweighs the amount that I can. Foods that you normally love and could eat by the bucket load pre pregnancy might now make you want to hurl by merely thinking about them. Even simple things like steamed veggies. I LOVE veggies normally. However, since being pregnant the thought of cooked carrot & broccoli makes my stomach turn. Yes, the one time in my life I really need to eat healthy and I can’t stomach it. Great. This makes meal times very difficult. And you might find that something you crave one day and eat 3 plate loads of will make you sick at the very thought of it the next. Cruel, I know. And it can get to the point where it’s depressing. I want to cry every time my fiancé asks me what I want for dinner. And after hours of deliberation the answer is usually hot chips. Or a buttered bread roll. Or roast pumpkin. Oh, or as a last resort, Weet-Bix. Yes, my diet is that exciting at the moment. If you find yourself feeling like this, just go with what you feel like/can actually stomach. If that means 2 minute noodles 3 nights in a row, then so be it. And if you want caramel pudding for dinner because it’s the only thing that doesn’t make you want to throw up, then go for it. My theory is, if I can stomach it, I’m eating it. Now that is not sound nutritional advice in any shape or form, and I know a lot of nutritionist and doctors will probably be shaking their heads at that statement, but they probably haven’t had pregnancy sickness and if you haven’t had pregnancy sickness you really really don’t understand what it’s like. And seriously, eating a bowl of apple crumble & ice cream is better then having nothing at all. And besides, it’s fruit & dairy, right? Make sure however, that you take a pregnancy multi vitamin every day. They come in tablet or liquid form for those who can’t seem to swallow tablets (like moi!). They will at least top you up on things like iron & certain Vitamins that you’re probably missing out on from the food you’re not eating. I know that taking them makes me feel slightly less guilty for not eating my 5 serves of fruit & veg every day.

There might come a point in your pregnancy where vomiting might be no big deal to you anymore. You could be in the middle of a conversation and excuse yourself, go & throw up and then return to the conversation without missing a beat. On the other hand, you could spend the majority of your pregnancy clinging to the toilet bowl for dear life. Then again,  you might not throw up at all. Like I’ve said, everyone is different.

If you’re not actually throwing up, you’re probably nauseous. Like ‘I’ve had way too many glasses of champagne’ nauseous. It’s gross. And if the only thing that makes you feel even slightly better is curling up in a ball on the cold ground, do it. Unless of course that cold ground is the footpath outside your work. Then maybe wait until you at least get inside.

You might even just experience a really ‘dirty’ feeling in the pit of your stomach. Like you might feel the day after a really big night out on the drink. Actually sometimes pregnancy feels like one big hangover. But without the fun night out.

I’ve noticed that there are waves of nausea too. And they can come at the most unfortunate of times and from nowhere. Like in the movies. I spent a good few minutes of American Pie Reunion looking desperately for something I could throw up in. Then there was the time it happened in the middle of dinner, in a lovely restaurant, where the toilets were way upstairs… or the time I was in the supermarket… Not my finest moments, let me tell you! I have mastered the art of preventing a looming vomit (well, some of them anyway) , so none of these situations managed to provide the embarrassment they threatened me with. But you might not be as lucky. Sometimes, when you have to throw up, you just have to and no amount of attempting to prevent it will stop it. May I suggest carrying around some plastic bags, or better still, a bucket, in your handbag, just in case. I hope, for your sake, that you never have to use them.

You can get prescribed medication as well as pharmacy bought remedies to try to ease the nausea/vomiting. I was taking ginger tablets for a while that did ease the nausea slightly. I was in love with these tablets for a good few weeks. That was until one day I threw them back up & they burnt the heck out of my stomach & throat. Then all I could taste was ginger for a couple of hours and my throat felt like it was on fire. Needless to say, I haven’t touched them since. I also was prescribed some anti nausea tablets by a doctor. And quite honestly, I found they did sweet bugger all to help. It was as useful as swallowing a tic tac, but without the sugary goodness.

Morning sickness is supposed to ease up at around 12 -13 weeks. I use the term ‘supposed to’ very loosely. I am 25 weeks pregnant and while I have thankfully stopped throwing up, I am still nauseous every day and my food aversions have not gone anywhere. So while people might mean the best when they tell you ‘it will go away soon’ they might also have no freaking idea what they’re talking about. I held onto the hope for weeks & weeks that my pregnancy sickness would magically disappear when I woke up one morning only to be disappointed every week when it did not. I’ve given up hope now and have accepted that I will be sick forever. Ok, well at least until the end of my pregnancy. But it feels like forever! I honestly cannot wait for the day when someone asks me ‘How are you feeling?’ and I can say good! I’m guessing that day will be in approximately 3 months time.. or maybe 18 years. Time will tell I guess!