6 simple tips to help with severe morning sickness (Hyperemesis Gravidarum) in pregnancy.

Why do they call it morning sickness when it happens all flipping day?! Are you a morning person? I for sure am not.. Until I’ve had a cuppa ☕️ at least!

HOW DID IT BEGIN?

So when I was in the early stages of pregnancy (around 7-12 weeks) I would wake up at strange hours, run to the toilet and 🤢! Now this was to be expected of course and is, as we know, very common in pregnancy. A difficulty I had was that hardly anyone new I was pregnant yet as I wanted to wait until after the first scan🤫! The strange thing was that I actually kind of liked throwing up every now and then as it was a little reminder that my dream of having a family was really coming true. Sneaking off to the toilet at work and just about making it wasn’t very glamorous but it was mine and my partners little secret for those few precious weeks and I just couldn’t wait to be a Mummy🥰.

As I went further into my pregnancy the fatigue became more and more persistent, the feeling sick was almost constant and the actual vomiting was increasing too, this affected my mood, my appetite, my performance at work, well - everything basically! If I had a pound💷/dollar💵/euro💶 for every time someone asked me ‘Have you tried dry bread, ginger biscuits, sipping water??’ I would have been a bloody millionaire! Nearly everyone I spoke to about how I was feeling told me it would wear off around 17-20 weeks and I was counting down the days! 4️⃣3️⃣2️⃣1️⃣

2️⃣0️⃣ ➕ WEEKS - Okkkkaaay this is getting a bit much now😓

I visited the Doctors 🩺 quite a few times, tried various medications but the further into the pregnancy, the less I seemed to be able to keep down - sometimes even water came back up! Because of this, the tablets 💊 and medicines weren’t even getting a chance to work! Every day was a struggle, feeling weaker by the day and riddled with the guilt that it was all my fault and my baby probably wasn’t getting all the nutrition they would need from me!

When it all started to turn around..

I worked for a car 🚗 dealership on the phones 📞 and it was getting to the point that I couldn’t have a 10 minute call with a customer without having to mute the mic 🔇while I gagged or had to quickly transfer to an available colleague so I could dash to the loo 🚾! Following ANOTHER doctors appointment, I was diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum aka morning sickness and referred immediately to the Maternity Unit at our local hospital 🏥 for treatment to rehydrate my body via a drip. After a long few hours of watching a film with my partner on my tiny phone screen waiting to be sent home I left the hospital feeling a different person🤩!

“I wasn’t going to let morning sickness defeat me”

At that point I knew I didn’t want to feel that way again and I wasn’t going to let morning sickness defeat me💪! I filled my fridge with grapes 🍇 they are easy to eat, nutritious and cooling as it was a hot hot summer🌞 that year🥵! I got bottles of water real cheap from Lidl and took a bottle with me everywhere - my partner constantly ringing me saying ‘Are you drinking enough water💧 How much have you had so far today??’

**Quick appreciation shout out 😘**

I just can’t write this and not mention he was bloody brilliant throughout all of this, constantly rubbing my back and holding my hair at all hours of the night🌌. Stopped going to the pub🍻as much because he didn’t want to leave me on my own🥰. He hated seeing me in pain when there was nothing left to come back up but it just still wouldn’t stop trying! Weirdly he started experiencing some of the same symptoms that I was battling but that’s a story 📚 for another day!

ALRIGHT GET ON WITH IT THEN!!!

My 6 tips for making this condition slightly more endurable are as follows:

• 1. GRAPES 🍇 - easy to eat, moreish AND part of your 5 a day! 🍈 🍉 🍌

• 2. Ginger Root capsules 💊- these were real cheap from our local family run health shop and were recommended by the worker.
• 3. Bottled water! 💧💧 Keep one in fridge or freezer ❄️and always keep one to hand! If you often forget to stay hydrated like I did - set a timer ⏱ or alarm 🚨 every so often as a reminder.. I cannnnotttt stress enough how effective this is!
• 4. Stay 🆒 and invest in some fans🌬 if it’s hot!!! Multiple cheap fans from Robert Dyas along with black out blinds/curtains 🖤 is a magical combo for maximum comfort!
• 5. CRAVE AWAY! Now guys I’m not recommending eating toothpaste or sponges 🧽 or some other strange things I’ve heard women crave! But if you do have a food craving which isn’t TOO bad for you - HAVE IT! It’s difficult to keep an appetite when you feel cr*p so if you fancy something take that chance while it’s there.
• 6. REST. SLEEP. RELAX. ☯️☮️💟 Wether your the meditation kind 🙏 or you love to sleep 💤 or love keeping busy 🐝 just make sure you slow down and listen to your body! Only do what you can! Don’t feel guilty for cancelling plans with friends👥, don’t over do it.. it’s not worth it! People that care WILL understand!💞

Well that’s it from me!

Suffering with severe morning sickness wasn’t my fault at all - I know that now! And a midwife told me you have to be severely malnourished before your little unborn peanut 🥜 struggles to get the nutrients they need as at that point they don’t need too much🥰! It’s just something that some of us will unfortunately experience, just for the record guys, it’s something I would go through 1000 times over if I had to and it would be worth it every single time to have my little healthy baby boy. He’s just coming up to 7 months now and he just is everything and more👣👶🏼!

Thanks for reading! I just wanna add..

-These tips may not work for everyone guys but if it helps just one of you then that’s brilliant 💖 xx

instagram📸 - Life_WithMissB