Morning Sickness

The joys of pregnancy are marred for many by morning sickness.

Morning sickness or Emesis gravidarum is the uneasy feeling, nausea with or without vomiting that occur during pregnancy, particularly the first trimester. The term morning sickness is a misnomer really. It really occurs at any time of the day.

There are many other reasons for vomiting in pregnancy, leave the diagnosis to your doctor!

Basically vomiting and nausea are caused by the massive hormonal changes happening in your body. Its normal, unless its severely impairs your food intake, causes dehydration or such problems, in which case, rush to your doctor!


Symptoms of Morning Sickness

Uneasiness, nausea and retching with or without a small amount of vomitus. Typically aggravated by strong aromas or smells, sights or even  by hunger, fatigue and prolonged starvation

Like mentioned, it may occur any time of the day

Mostly is self limiting and avoidable with a few simple measures

It disappears by 14 weeks and is mostly easy to treat


Few Remedies that worked for me

Before getting off the bed, nibble one or two marie biscuits. Works fine for me, some women don't like it though 

Don't get off the bed immediately, lie around for a while, move your limbs before getting off.

When it occurs during the day, just take a stroll. Or have a sip of water, juice, buttermilk-- basically anything you like. For me mildly spiced buttermilk or orange juice, at times even sips of water work well

Chew on something tangy like amla supari, dried apricots, lemon drops. 

Lie down for a while and rest

Get distracted. Sometimes its just our mind.


Prevention Strategies that Worked for me

Eat small non spicy meals every 2 hours

Avoid oily food, or any food that triggers nausea. For me its asafoetida! 

Sip water all day. Staying hydrated is very important

Take your Folic Acid supplement at night before sleeping, and not in the morning. Really made a difference to me

Have an early dinner, and a glass of milk before you sleep

Treatment

Is for bothersome cases, with simple drugs. Follow prescription as recommended by your Obstetrician. 

First Scan and Wrap up of First Trimester

Went for my first scan, to check heart activity of my baby, about a week ago. When I was around 6 weeks and a few days.

But my baby in my scan was over 9 weeks old! I did a recheck scan by a senior sonologist and by that also I am atleast 3 and half weeks ahead of my dates! So when I was crying hoarse in March, I was pregnant, without any symptoms. OK, some fatigue and a massive appetite, but largely unaware!

Glad I stayed away from antibiotics and cough remedies during my fever and cold in April!

So today I am 11 weeks, just a week and first trimester is over!

Highlights of the first trimester

1.  Nausea and sickness, not too overwhelming but certainly there
2.  Increased hunger, but inability to eat much at one go
3.  Aversion to stuff I otherwise enjoy- tea, pakoras, sea food
4.  Craving for sweets and tangy stuff
5.  Fatigue and somnolence- especially after work. On weekends, I'm largely sorted
6.  Rarely ever any mood swings. I think my hubby has more mood swings than me these days. 
7. Lot of pampering, largely excused from cooking at home. Hubby is more attentive to small needs like getting water, getting me marie biscuits by the bedside and generally caring!

Whoa!

Murphy ji at his best!

So, I had fever midcycle. I did some baby dance, I was sure it wasn't enough. I got new tailor made fitted dresses. No I didn't buy She Cup and Ecofemme Pads, call it my laziness.

Then I patiently awaited my period. I gave my body some time, since my cycles have a surprise element, ranging from 28 to 36 days.

Then one day, I retched. Yes I had a wave of nausea . It shook me. It surprised me. And it made me believe I may be pregnant. After a few days of wait, and daily retching, I took a urine pregnancy test. Which was positive. POSITIVE

Positive when I least expected it.

Few days before I missed my period, I heard from two of my closest friends of their good news. I was happy for them, yet feeling left out. Now I am glad I have two of my closest friends delivering just before me. Now I have gals to share my fears and experiences real time. These were my classmates in college. We had exams, successes, failures all together. Now this life changing experience.

I am thrilled to bits!

The Two Week Wait

The two weeks between trying and knowing are the slowest two weeks ever! While I am at the last few days of the week, each day has been eventful.

For a few years, my husband and I were pretty reluctant to consider parenting, given our hectic lifestyle, odd schedules, uncertain careers and a general dislike of the city life. But then finally the fear of running out of time, and the feeling of missing something important caught up with me and we finally gave in to the temptation. And also, going DINKs in India requires tremendous courage and some "I don't care" attitude which I honestly don't have. 

Seeing most of my batch mates sport pictures of their chubby pregnant faces, chubbier babies and such was no relief either. So starting this year, I got my teeth fixed, started eating good and Folic Acid supplements and we decided to take the plunge few weeks ago.

Now call it my mind, or am I so in tune with my body, past one week I have noticed a few things which lead me to believe I may be pregnant! 

Starting with lower abdominal cramps, although mild, and all over the place. No preference to any side.

Then the extreme crazy fatigue. Just the journey from home to work exhausts me. Staying up beyond 10 pm is a task. Point in case- while making this blog, I had to key in the Google Word verification at least 15 times. OK, 10 times. Good thing- I know my new password by heart!

Extreme distaste for tea which is my favorite drink for any given season. I have at least 5-6 cups a day, now reduced to 1/2 in the morning

One episode of nausea. Standing in the train, regretting the morning cup of tea!

Sore breasts- minimal value, those I have premenstrual as well.

Food cravings- which do not respond to any "baapre high calories!" warning from my better sense

Improved sense of smell- I have a pathetic sense of smell otherwise! I am the last to smell any perfume, farts, smelly armpits etc. But my sense of smell has certainly improved

I shared my stuff with the husband and he's been treating me like a princess! But somewhere a small pang of doubt has crept in my mind, which says "Is it all for real? Or am I imagining all of this? what if I'm not pregnant?" The thought scared me, but some rational thinking, sane advice from the hubby's sis and comforting from the husband has set things right. So today I had tea, felt less tired, but the cramping continues.

If I take the urine test now, it is likely to be negative- either a true or a false one, unless I am pouring hormones! Irregular cycles complicate things. So I have a UPT kit, hidden in my bag, which I will take only after I have really missed my period! Till then, God bless me with some patience