AS PART OF TheJournal.ie’s weekly Family Magazine, we wanted to create a space for parents to share their views. A place where mums and dads could share their experiences, lessons learned, and even mistakes along the way.
In the early stages of pregnancy (and beyond, if you’re unlucky), nausea can be a near-constant presence. There’s the general queasiness, the sudden aversions to particular food, and when things get really bad… the vomiting. Add that to a weighing sense of exhaustion no matter how much sleep you get, and you’re in for a fun ride.
So what’s the solution? Or is there one?
This week we’re asking our panel…
What are your tips for surviving nausea and tiredness during pregnancy?
Here’s what they had to say…
Acupuncture was a game changer: I had nausea 24/7 for nine months of all of my pregnancies. It was like constant car sickness. Even smells had me gagging (garlic was the biggest culprit). But by pregnancy number three I had discovered acupuncture. I had regular acupuncture through the nine months, which helped me to feel so much more normal. The nausea never disappeared completely, but it definitely helped!
- Trina Dooley
I rejigged my antenatal vitamins: I only experienced a bit of nausea during first trimester but then I realized I was taking my antenatals at the wrong time. Once I sorted that out things settled down, and changing to a smaller tablet helped as well.
Exhaustion is a killer, so I played around with my routine a bit. I have always cycled to work and I thought that it wasn’t very tiring, but as soon as I started walking to the Luas instead it made a huge difference in terms of my energy levels.
- Kait Quinn
I just had to wait it out: I had no sickness at all with my first two but my last pregnancy with Ellie Mae (3) made up for it. The first thing that alerted me to the fact I might be pregnant was the nausea, and it didn’t let up for the next three months. I tried everything that everyone suggested, dry toast, ginger biscuits but nothing worked, it ended up so bad that the sight of food ads on the TV used to make me throw up. It was the longest few months ever. In my case I just had to wait it out… but it does go away!
- Denise Cumiskey
Some days a fizzy drink was the only answer: I gave birth to our son four years ago, and my wife is currently pregnant with our second. So there is a bit of note comparing going on! We both suffered with morning sickness early on in the pregnancy, although my wife has had it quite a bit worse than I did. For me, any “sloshy” food made me feel awful (soups etc). I found that some days water made me feel worse and the only thing that helped was Coke! Not the healthiest but I reckon my body was craving something in it.
My wife finds she’ll get really bad (to the point of vomiting) if she doesn’t eat regularly enough, so she needs to snack every couple of hours, which can be tough to remember. As for the tiredness, the only thing that helps is napping! I found 20 minutes each evening was enough, and this time around my wife often needs an hour or two in the afternoon.
- Olly Keegan
Certain foods were no-nos: I didn’t really have any morning sickness in either of the pregnancies but there were things I just couldn’t eat because they made me feel queasy. I soon learned what they were and left them out of my diet. As for the tiredness, plenty of extra sleep and a daily walk really helped.
- Marta Lisiecka
Dry crackers by the bed: Keep something plain like crackers beside the bed, and eat them eat as soon as you’re awake. The key is to avoid an empty stomach as that’s when nausea seems to set in, and then you’ll find you don’t want to eat. A fruit smoothie in the morning is great (they say banana helps with morning sickness) and a few cereal bars in your bag to keep hunger at bay throughout the day.’
- Caitríona Jones
Don’t eat too late in the day: Karen had morning sickness much worse the second time round (not that it was limited to mornings by any means). Limiting how late in the day she ate helped, and it helped her to sleep better too.
- Ken Hyland
Each week we help solve a reader dilemma in our Am I Being A Bad Parent? feature. Have a situation that’s bothering you? Let us know anonymously in our survey here and we’ll put it to the real-life experts: your fellow mums and dads.
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