Pregnancy Tips for the First Trimester: Things You NEED to Defeat Morning Sickness

Who came up with the term “morning sickness”?! I bet you it was someone who had never been pregnant before. During the first trimester (plus another month and a half-ish) of both my pregnancies, I had to deal with terrible nausea and vomiting. Ladies, it ain’t only in the mornings! I was sick ALL DAY. And for me, I felt the worst in the evenings.

During my first pregnancy, I was definitely not expecting such bad all-day sickness, and lost nearly 7 pounds during the first trimester.

So for my second pregnancy, I was prepared to face all the nausea, and had some remedies prepared in advance.

Even with these preparations, I did have quite a lot of nausea, but not nearly as bad as with my first pregnancy. I found some things that helped me feel a lot more comfortable.

Here are some of my must-have essentials and pregnancy tips for the first trimester that helped me find some relief during a very nauseating few months.

Morning Sickness Relief: Candies and Gum

If I’m being honest, nothing completely relieved my morning sickness during the first 18 weeks. I think sleep was honestly my only true escape.

However, chewing gum and sucking on some hard candies did help lessen the feeling of nausea. I enjoyed Jolly Ranchers and chewed Orbit peppermint gum, but I’m sure any candy or gum would’ve given me similar “relief”.

I tried ginger chewy candy that some people recommended (since ginger is supposed to be helpful with nausea), but I don’t particularly love the flavor of ginger, and can’t say that it did anything more than other types of candy.

Morning Sickness Relief Tip: Eat Small Amounts Throughout the Day

During my first pregnancy, I felt so sick, I just didn’t eat. Hence losing all the weight.

As counter-intuitive as it may sound, eating small amounts throughout the day, even when I felt sick, would actually make me feel better. I ate plain food like saltines or some fruit throughout the day.

Morning Sickness Relief: Pink Stork Products

I found out about this company before I got pregnant with my 2nd, and I was super excited to try it out.

I was sure that I had found something that would be completely life-changing (pregnancy-changing), so I ordered the Starter Bundle (which contained the Pro: probiotic supplements, Mist: magnesium spray, and Gut Health: Monolaurin) with much anticipation.

While these products were helpful to a certain extent, unfortunately I cannot say that it totally made my nausea disappear. But with all the great reviews, I think they are totally worth a try. Hopefully they will work better for you than it did for me.

Among these products, I particularly enjoyed the magnesium spray. I sprayed it on the soles of my feet and on my arms, and it helped my body to relax and helped me fall asleep.

Prenatal Vitamins

During both my pregnancies, I took Rainbow Lights Prenatal One.

I do really love Rainbow Light Prenatal One, because it is just one pill a day. And it doesn’t make my stomach hurt like some other multi-vitamins do. I took this during my first pregnancy, and also took this during the second and third trimesters of my second pregnancy.

However, during the first trimester, it was extremely difficult for me to swallow a big pill when I was feeling so nauseated. So during that time, I switched to Vitafusion’s prenatal gummy vitamins.

It still wasn’t easy to take these, but they are sweet and somewhat tasty, so it was easier to take and still get the nutrients I needed for the baby.

I recently also tried the gummy prenatal vitamins from Smarty Pants which I think taste better. So I’ll probably take these if I go through another pregnancy.

Extra pillow

During the first trimester, I didn’t really have a belly yet. However, I already started getting lower back pain, so sleeping was quite uncomfortable.

I didn’t use a pregnancy pillow at this point, but I used an extra pillow and placed it between my legs and slept on my side. And this really helped with the lower back pain and helped me get some much needed rest.

Nursing Bras and Bra Extenders

During pregnancy, I HATE anything constricting and uncomfortable. Bras with underwire are probably one of the top offenders. I got these nursing bras (without underwire) from Amazon, and they are so much more comfortable than the traditional bra, while still being supportive.

I would go up one or two sizes, cause the girls grow a lot during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. (Being a small-chested person that I normally am, this is probably the only thing that I actually appreciate about being pregnant. Haha!)

I like that these come in a set of 3 different colors, and they are affordable and the quality is surprisingly quite nice.

The bra extenders were a complete game-changer, cause like I said, I HATE anything constricting during pregnancy (especially when I’m feeling sick). They made my life so much better!

I have been wearing these bras on rotate ever since I had my second baby, and they are starting to look a little shabby after almost a year. So if you’re looking to wear these bras for all your pregnancies, they’re probably not gonna hold up. But for the price for a set of 3 bras, these are pretty darn nice.

Does anyone have any recommendations for quality yet affordable nursing bras? Please leave them in the comments below! Bonus points if they’re also cute!

Makeup Remover or Micellar Water

The last thing I want to do at the end of a nauseating day, is take off my makeup (that is, if I even got around to putting some on in the morning). Garnier’s Micellar Cleansing Water was a LIFE SAVER especially during the first trimester.

Not only is it terrible for your skin to sleep with makeup on, I can’t stand the feeling of it! But on those days I was feeling so sick, it was a huge task to even drag myself to the bathroom to wash my face.

Enter micellar water. I kept this on my night stand and I would shake it up, douse some cotton pads with this product, wipe my face, and call it a day. It didn’t leave any oily residue and my face felt clean after using it. And this product is quite affordable too! Win!

I used the one for waterproof makeup, because I use waterproof eyeliner and mascara. You can find the regular version here.

Pregnancy Journal

I ordered this journal the day after I found out I was pregnant with my first son. I was so excited that I was finally pregnant and I wasn’t quite feeling the effects of “morning sickness” yet.

I know, I know. You’re exhausted and nauseated. Do you really want to write in a journal while you’re feeling that way?

I’m so glad I did! This journal takes you through the entire pregnancy. In addition to the normal, writing how you’re feeling type of journal, there are places to document the food aversions and cravings you have, how OB checkups went, how big your belly is measuring, and places to put pictures if you want.

It was really wonderful to go back during my second pregnancy to see what I had written. How was I feeling on week 19 of my first pregnancy?

Being the cheap-o (correction: budget-conscious) person that I am, I didn’t buy another journal during the second pregnancy. However, I did add updates using post-it notes. It was very cool to compare the two pregnancies, and I know I will read the journal in the future. I will definitely cherish all the memories (both the good and not-so-great) that the journal holds.

To Conclude..

For me, pregnancy wasn’t really as glamorous or as easy as I had thought it would be. There were many moments especially during my first trimester, during those nauseating months, when I wasn’t sure I would survive!

As difficult as it was, I now have two rambunctious little boys that fill me with so much joy everyday.

I hope you found these pregnancy tips for the first trimester helpful and hope they help in your pregnancy journey!

If you like this post, please share on Pinterest! And make sure to check out my next post on my Second Trimester Essentials and also what I think Every Mom Should Do During the Third Trimester!

I have also created an easy to print off checklist with all the things you really need to take with you to the hospital when you give birth. Fill out the form below to get it sent directly to your email!

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