Morning Sickness and Nutrition

Committing to writing in the past week has been incredibly difficult, thanks to the glories of pregnancy symptoms. Specifically, morning sickness has kicked my butt seven ways from Sunday.

When they named it morning sickness, it was clearly just a vicious attempt to mislead women about the duration of the symptom. You see, it doesn't just happen in the morning. It first rears its evil head in the morning, but that's just because you can ignore it when you're asleep.

By the time you crawl out of bed, your stomach is in revolt. The idea of food is revolting, and yet, you're starving for just about anything. I've had days where I literally eat nothing but saltine crackers and sip ginger ale, and even that is touch and go. Certain smells will send me running for the bathroom, and it's all I can do to force myself to eat foods that are nutritious and inoffensive.

I've tried to describe it to my friends who have never been pregnant and likely never will be. Imagine your worst hangover. Take away the headache and the cotton mouth but add a strong sensitivity to smells and a weird metallic taste in your mouth. Now spread that out over three weeks. That is morning sickness.

Even as you're trying to choke down any sort of food to get through the day, everything you read about pregnancy emphasizes how crucial these early days are for development of your little one. You have to get the right amount of protein, iron, calcium, vitamin C, folic acid, fiber, and just plain calories, and don't you dare risk dehydration, or it all goes to hell. So you're swallowing horse pills full of nutritional supplements, hoping that does the trick, but even that is best taken with food, lest it upset your stomach.

It's enough to drive you mad.

Thankfully, I have managed to find some workarounds that work for me, and I'm reading all the literature to find new ways to trick my body into keeping food down. Still, the only solution is to wait this part of the pregnancy out and hope the morning sickness subsides by next month.

If you're having trouble with morning sickness, here are a few easy snacks that work for me. Yes, they are a lot of small pseudo meals, and you will feel like all you're doing is eating or getting ready for your next meal, but it really is important to get those nutrients and hold yourself together.

Recommended food:

• Frozen grapes - recommended by a friend of mine who also suffered from morning sickness early on. They feel like a treat while giving you something to keep in your stomach and keep your blood sugar up. It's also much easier to eat slowly if they're frozen, giving your stomach time to adjust to food.
• All-fruit popsicles - In the same vein as frozen grapes, popsicles with chunks of fruit can get you a lot of nutrients in a way that helps soothe your stomach. Stay away from the popsicles that are little more than sugar and flavored water. You get nothing out of them, and some of the dyes may irritate your stomach lining. Stick with organic or 100% fruit options for now.
• Homemade guacamole on whole wheat crackers or toast - For some healthy fats and a good dose of vitamins, smash up some ripe avocado with chunky salsa and slather it on whole wheat crackers or toast. The carbs will fill you up while you get a good share of vitamins you need.
• String cheese - I bought some low-fat mozzarella string cheese, and some days that's the only way I get calcium in my body. The taste is bland enough that it won't upset your stomach, and the process of eating it allows you to take small amounts at a nice slow rate.
• Greek yogurt with fruit - Sometimes it's a bit too much for me, as Greek yogurt is much thicker and heavily fortified than regular yogurt, but adding in a bit of honey and extra fruit helps me get the calcium and protein I often desperately need.
• Cheese toast - This is a comfort food for me. Cheddar cheese on whole wheat bread, toasted until the cheese is nice and melted. Pair it with tomato soup if you're feeling adventurous for a well-balanced lunch.
• Scrambled eggs - Eggs are a serious super food, and if you scramble them up with a little cheese, or peppers and onions, you can get a hefty dose of energy first thing in the morning. Sautee the peppers and onions first to soften them up, and add your beaten eggs and cheese after a few minutes. You can even make an omelette if you're feeling adventurous, but sometimes the firmer texture of omelettes didn't agree with me, while softer scrambled eggs almost always did.

The trick is to find foods you like that you can actually eat. If you have a craving for cereal and that's all you seem to be able to eat, go for out. But try adding some blueberries or banana on top to sneak in some nutrition. If you're dying for a turkey sandwich, use oven roasted turkey instead of the over-processed deli meats, and add a slice of cheese, some lettuce and tomato to it. If all you can eat is crackers and ginger ale, well, honey, I've been there. You eat what you can, and I hope you feel better tomorrow.