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First-trimester hounding

Hi everyone,

Forgive me if a thread on this already exists. I am looking for some advice. We just found out that I am 7 weeks pregnant. Some mornings I feel fine and some mornings I can't keep anything down. Today I have absolutely no appetite. I ate a few saltines and took forever to chew them up.

Any moms out there have any suggestions on what to eat for breakfast - to at least get something into your stomach - when experiencing morning sickness? I am looking for items that are light to carry to the office to help keep me filled. I bought a carton of milk and a couple boxes of cereal to keep at work but I find I use those mostly in the afternoon. If my stomach is empty I feel more sick.

I also discovered that I can no longer tolerate the smell of pork (my favourite meat!) or foie gras. I discovered this at our anniversary dinner. Beef seems to be ok in small-ish doses. Chicken poses no problem.

How does a food lover deal with morning sickness?

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  1. Not a "food" answer per se but I did a lot of ginger (tea, supplements, candies) and that seemed to help.
    My aversions and morning sickness went away around 3 months, so hopefully you don't have much longer to deal with this.
    I found cooking pretty pointless during this period, I didn't enjoy anything even my tried and true recipes.

    5 Replies
    1. re: julesrules

      Thanks jules, I've been reading that ginger is a great way to settle your stomach. I'm going to try to make some candied ginger this weekend and look in my Asian grocery store for some ginger candies. I will check my local tea shop for some ginger tea also.
      I really hope that I am like you and that my aversions and morning sickness die down by 3 months too. Being ill at the sight and smell of certain foods is making me a little sad.
      Thanks for the advice. :))

      1. re: ladooShoppe

        Trader Joe's carries Reed's ginger ale, which is VERY "hot". Not sure if they still have the version with apple and ginger, which also packs a punch. Stewart's also has a strong ginger ale. Sipping these chilled, with ice, settles queasiness well. I regard these drinks as medicinal - not something I'd ever gulp a bottle of.

          1. re: ladooShoppe

            Trader Joe's also makes ginger snaps with bits of real candied ginger in them. I found those much more palatable than any ginger candy, and they have the added benefit of putting something in your stomach (like crackers, but better). Don't worry about the nutrition (or lack thereof) with something like this. Baby will take all he or she needs from your nutrient stores, and you will make it all up when your appetite comes back.

            The being ill/food aversions thing is normal. I never had what people talk about as those "weird" cravings, but when I wanted something, I wanted it, and I had to have it repeatedly/daily until for whatever reason I had finally found enough. Orange juice, banana splits, even things I never, ever, ever eat like Whoppers.

            1. re: ladooShoppe

              Check out ginger tea at the Asian grocery as well - in TAiwan you can get packets of sweet, spicy ginger tea that just needs hot water added.

          2. Congratulations! I'm 14 weeks along, with my 3rd. Every pregnancy is different but what kept me going this time through the worst of the morning sickness (which is misnamed and can last all day) are these new granola bars I found in the dairy case. They each claim to have a full glass of milks calcium, and have to be kept refrigerated, but are yummy and don't stink up everything.

            Oh, and I love getting california rolls for lunches. Somehow those never bother me.

            Good luck, and just stick with it and take your vitamins. The worst of this sickness should ease up soon.

            2 Replies
            1. re: tzurriz

              Thanks tzurriz and greygarious for your suggestions. I have seen Reed's ginger ale in my local West Indian store before; will try it out, Thanks!

              tzurriz, do you remember the name of those granola bars? I agree that the nausea can last all day and it is very unpleasant. Congratulations to you as well!

              1. re: ladooShoppe


                Milkbite. I know, it's a stupid name, but the strawberry and blueberry ones got me through several days when the thought of food made me want to lose it all the way to my toes.

                Now, I'm not saying they are amazing, just amazing for 1st trimester. ;


                Remember, if you can get food into your system, the nausea does dissipate.

            2. Whatever sounds good at the moment -- even if it's weird!

              Saltines were always good to have on hand-- and I found that lemonade helped with the queasy. I wasn't ever physically ill, but I had quite a few days that I just. didn't. feel. good.

              Another voice that having something on your stomach helps the nausea -- and hang in there -- it should go away as soon as you get past the first trimester. The second trimester was easy for me -- I didn't have any problems with heartburn in the last trimester -- but it's pretty common.

              Congratulations on your bambino/a

              1 Reply
              1. re: sunshine842

                Totally agree on whatever sounds good at the moment. Don't worry so much about nutrition right now, just concentrate on keeping something in your stomach.

                There were times during my first trimester with my daughter when I would be at work and for lunch I would go down to the local deli/salad bar and get macaroni and cheese with a side of rice. Carbs made me feel better.

                And chocolate milk made me feel better. I gave up coffee during pregnancy, not so much because of the caffeine but more because I like coffee with Sweet & Low and I didn't want to consume it. So I would have chocolate milk in the morning.

                And even though people say that mints help with nausea, in my doctor's office someone had suggested trying Jolly Rancher sucking candies. They were a godsend for me. Carried them everywhere.

              2. High fat Greek yogurt is my go to food during the first trimester (I'm 29 weeks right now). The high fat keeps me full longer, preventing that awful, nasty "I'm so hungry, I'll puke, so I need to eat NOW" feeling. Lots of candied ginger. Don't let yourself get an empty stomach, eat little bits of whatever you crave, including the middle of the night, which can minimize how bad you feel in the morning. I'm more of an "afternoon sickness" person. Overall, though, I love food, cooking, growing it, etc, but I just need to let a lot of it go during pregnancy, which can be frustrating. But, the time flies by, and before I know it, the baby is here, and I'm back in the kitchen :)

                1. I've had 4 pregnancies and some have been pretty rough. The best food changes with each. one I couldn't stand the sight of anything plant based, others dairy didn't settle.

                  Mango ginger sorbet is great and easy to make. The combination of sweet, ginger and cold worked well. Popsicles of all kinds were easier to tolerate than juice or whole fruit (even if the popsicles were whole fruit). Along the same lines chicken salad with grapes and ginger.

                  Morning I would often snack of DRY bland cold cereal like cheerios (for my first two) and gorilla munch for my last two.

                  I ate the ginger people candies or candied ginger, but now I can't stand the sight of them : ).

                  Cottage cheese worked during some. Bananas. Potatoes. For my first pregnancy I ate Annie's mac and cheese everyday at 3 PM (strange while working) and I ate a lot and nothing else the entire day except a few cheerios. Really, if it sounds good eat it and don't worry - it eventually passes - even if it is at 9 months. My husband always laughed that he needed to record pregnancy so he could show it to me whenever I mentioned wanting another kid : ).

                  1 Reply
                  1. re: jsaimd

                    Oh gosh, I almost forgot how many bananas I ate. And eggs -- some people can't stand them, but eggs were sometimes the only thing I *did* feel like I could eat.

                    And I went vegetarian for several months -- meat didn't nauseate me -- but to me it was like having huge chunks of soggy cardboard in my food - it simply didn't taste good, and I couldn't deal with the texture....

                    ...then I dived off of that wagon with a full twist and a half-gainer right into a 22-ounce prime rib and ate the whole thing in one sitting. (just that your baby and your body will do things that defy logic -- but roll with it.)