Morning Sickness

Morning sickness. For some women "All day Sickness" would be a more appropriate name for it.  Two weeks after gaining a positive pregnancy test this kicked in full for me.  (Though I know some people who only took a pregnancy test because they were experiencing this all too common symptom.)  For me getting out of bed caused me to vomit every day, until I took to eating a few crackers before getting out of bed.  Though I still felt nauseated most of the day, with the feeling intensifying before bed.

There are things you might want to try to help alleviate your nausea.  Just about anything with ginger in it seemed to provide temporary relief.  I also found candies that were specially designed to make morning sickness less of a problem.  (They were hard candies, and as long as a sucked on them I felt better, however when I stopped it all came back.)  I saved the candies for car trips only, being in the car was hellish without them and tolerable with them.

Morning sickness paired with the enhanced sense of smell pregnancy provided made for a miserable first trimester.  My morning sickness slowly faded away over the course of my second trimester to quickly be replaced by getting kidney kicked by my pending baby every night. (Until the day he was born.)

And because of this I was drained of energy most of my pregnancy.  A situation some of my friends and family were considerate of while others saw fit to take offense where none was intended.

So for those of you who are friends with someone who is expecting, just try to think of it like this:  Even though your pregnant friend outwardly may have the appearance of free time and somewhat antisocial behavior, cut your friend some slack.  It takes a lot of energy to make a human from scratch.  And the pregnancy symptoms make many feel like they are sick with one thing or another for nine months straight.  (And that's if they are perfectly healthy throughout the entire event.)

If you're the sort of person your friend can take a nap around, you might be good for hanging out.  Just remember when you visit a pregnant lady, what she says goes.  It's what she feels comfortable with that matters.  If she asks for help, by all means feel free to pitch in.  Likewise if she tells you not to trouble yourself, back off!  She is tired and has her reasons.  Don't push too hard or you might be informed that you are no longer welcome.

I frequently refused help while I was pregnant not because I had the energy to spare for a task, but because I really didn't have the energy to undo what someone else so "helpfully" felt compelled to do for me.  And I got to say it permanently damaged relationships when people did not listen to my wants and needs while I was pregnant.  (Same can be said for people who did not respect my decisions regarding my son.)