It was 1 week before my 5th son’s 2nd birthday, and, surprise, I was pregnant with baby number 6. There were so many thoughts and emotions racing through my head. The one looming large and in charge in my head was, “OMG I am going to have 6 kids!” All 5 kids were home. The 3 oldest were being homeschooled. The 2 youngest were not yet in school. I was working to build my business and to start another business, my blog. I was planning for this blog to be launched a year earlier. But finding out I was pregnant changed those plans.
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When Pregnancy Symptoms Hit and How to Deal with Them
Whether you are still working in an office, or you are home working with your kids. When pregnancy symptoms hit, you have to deal with them to keep functioning. You would think by baby number 6 I would be used to them, but I am not.
The first trimester of pregnancy can really knock you out. Between exhaustion All. Day. Long. And the nausea, how can you cope?
The good news. More than likely, these symptoms will disappear around 14 weeks. Some moms, do experience them longer, but, for most of us, you can start checking the days off to week 14. For moms who still experience these beyond week 14, you have my deepest sympathies.
But I’ve learned a few tricks along the way that help ease them and get through them. Just a small note, I am not a doctor. I’ve just had a lot of kids, so all of these tips are what I have personally experienced. In no way should they replace your doctor’s advice. When pregnancy symptoms hit they can really knock you out of your day. How do you balance raising kids, running a business, and keeping your sanity?
Pregnancy Symptoms: Exhaustion…What’s a Mom to Do
Pregnancy exhaustion, that is every nook and cranny of your body is tired. It always kicks my butt. The only thing that gets me through it, is I know it will end. Pregnancy exhaustion is one of the early signs of pregnancy. So it is a good thing, right? Just keep telling yourself that when you are ready to take your 5th nap for the day.
It is one of those early symptoms that truly interrupts your day. The only way to deal with it is to take a nap. Rollback the expectations on yourself, cut some things out, and take naps. If you have a list of goals put them on pause for a month. With my last pregnancy that is exactly what I did. I put my to do list on hold, so I could rest and not feel like there was extra to do.
Pregnancy Symptoms: Nausea
Nausea, this is another good first trimester sign. Feeling like you are going to puke all day long is a good thing. Every mom experiences this differently. Some don’t get sick. If you are one of them, lucky girl. Others never throw up, but just feel like they are going to all day. Even others do throw up. And there are more variations of this blessed symptom.
No one likes to feel pukey all day long. Between running to the bathroom because you have to pee all the time, and now going there because you feel like you will puke. You may as well set up a desk in there because you will get to know your bathroom better than you want to.
The good news is you may not throw up. I never did. And here’s another anecdote to add to your old wives’ tale bucket, when it comes to pregnancy. When I was pregnant with the boys, I was most nauseous in the morning. When I was pregnant with the girls I was most nauseous at night. Don’t get me wrong, I was nauseous all day long, but these were the most intense moments.
I do have a few tricks that helped me get through this part.
1. Keep something in your stomach
I know this is a cruel contradiction, but you need to eat something so you don’t feel nauseous. And it does help. I found that if I got hungry the nausea intensified. If I kept something in my stomach, it kept those pukey feelings at bay.
2. Chew gum
I am sure there is some science to this. Activating your saliva or something like that. All I know is that it helped. I would chew the strong peppermint flavored ones.
3. Salty and bland food
These were the best foods to eat. Baked potato was my go to meal. Almonds really helped too. These are high in B vitamins and B vitamins help with being nauseous. Triscuits had the right combination of salty too.
4. Preggie Pop Drops
I discovered these for my last pregnancy and they really helped. The only thing I didn’t like was the size. They were really big, so you sucked on them for a while. And the sour taste started bothering me. I like sour candy, but tastes change when you are pregnant.
5. Exercise
I know I’ve heard this but never really believed the experts. With my last pregnancy, I was determined to continue to work out (for the most part I did). I found that it actually did help with the nausea.
All of these things mentioned above only helped. There is no quick fix for pregnancy nausea, except to wait until the second trimester. But all of these things did help to cope with it.
Pregnancy Symptoms: Cravings
I find this pregnancy symptom to be so mean. You are nauseous and too tired to eat, but you will still have cravings. Some can be weird, and others are perfectly normal. Like deep fried Mexican food from your favorite hole in the wall. That is perfectly normal.
It is ok to indulge your cravings. Don’t go crazy. But if you are struggling to eat, and your body is telling you it wants something specific it is ok to eat it (as long as it is on the approved eat list).
My best tip for this is to indulge your cravings in small portions. Only eat half of the chimichunga at one time. Or even a quarter. This will also help with the nausea.
When pregnancy symptoms hit it can feel like it will never end. But, I promise you that it will. Every mom has their tips and tricks that worked to get them through the first trimester. So mamas, we need you to share. Tell us what got you through nausea, exhaustion, and cravings…Oh, my!
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