Similar to my pregnancy with Carter, my stomach has been quite sensitive this entire first trimester with baby #2. The past 12 weeks have been filled with me getting easily bloated, stomach upset and nausea. All of these symptoms are commons as the uterus expands and our insides get moved around a bit all whilst our hormones fluctuate.
Foods that I normally tolerate will randomly cause digestive distress. It can be pretty frustrating at times but here is what I’m doing to help manage all of these symptoms.
Nausea:
1. Take your prenatal vitamins every day and supplement with extra B6 if needed. General daily dosage is 10 mg to 25 mg, 3 times a day so check what’s already in your prenatal. If you are having trouble swallowing pills, this prenatal protein powder is fabulous (and I can get it for you 20% off). One scoop covers your daily requirements.
2. Avoid letting your blood sugar get too low by eating small, frequent meals. Do not eat until you are beyond full.
3. Carry high fat & protein snacks with you at. all. times. You never know when you are going to get hungry or nauseous.
4. Snacks. While we want to reach for carbs in in the first trimester, eating high carb foods alone can spike our blood sugar and cause even MORE nausea. Combine fat and protein with carbs to avoid the spike.
My favorite snacks right now:
-Beef sticks with plantain chips
-Apples with peanut butter and cinnamon
-Bone Broth
-Olives
-Crackers with salami
-Cucumber, kalamata olive, avocado and tomato “salad” with any of @tessemaes dressing
-Low sugar smoothies loaded with fat and protein. I love Kelly LeVeques blood sugar regulating smoothies.
5. Keep snacks at your bedside. Many times I wouldn’t be able to eat much at dinner I woke up a few times starving in the middle of the night. Opt for snacks with protein or fat like trail mix or plantain chips. (p.s. you might have to apologize in advance to your partner because chewing in the dead of the night is quite loud).
6. Sensitive to smells? It may sound funny but avoid eating at restaurants with overwhelming smells. Eat outside at restaurants when possible. Grocery stores can be equally as offensive to our extra strong sniffers so two ways to combat this is: carry a lemon in your purse and pick at it when you feel a bout of nausea coming on. The other option is to put essential oils peppermint and orange on a little piece of kleenex or a little cotton round and tuck it into your shirt. Essential oils are debated during pregnancy and are sometimes not recommended for topical use during the first trimester. There are no studies showing they are harmful but there also aren’t any studies showing they are 100% safe. I personally feel comfortable using them from time to time and this isn’t a topical use of them.
Upset Stomach & Bloating:
1. Peppermint tea is great for settling the stomach. You don’t want to overdo it with tea but one cup a day is fine.
2. Avoid carbonated beverages, they can cause extra bloating
3. I just ordered this tincture from Amazon after hearing great things about it. Stay tuned!
4. I keep the essential oil blend Digize with me for when I’m out and about and feel a stomach ache coming on. You put one drop on your stomach and it really helps relieve pain! Again, essential oils should be used sparingly and I only used it maybe 3-4 times in 12 weeks.
5. Taking a probiotic might help digestion. This is one of my favorites. You can also get that one through me through Fullscript at 20% off.
I hope this is helpful!! Did you experience these symptoms too? Wondering how to handle pregnancy cravings and aversions? I’ll cover that in an upcoming post