Need Help with Hydration During Pregnancy

I had a lot of trouble with nausea and vomitng the first 4 months of my pregnancy and actually lost a good deal of weight and ended up in the ER a couple times for fluids. I found that drinking Vitamin Water by Glaceau really helped. It did not make me sick like straight water and it had calories and vitamins. when I went into preterm labor and had to hydrate 120 ounces of fluids a day I would drink 5 20 oz bottles of this a day. I made it to 38 weeks and had a healthy baby boy on June 3rd.

T.

I took B-6 daily, which really helped with the nausea. Also, I waited until after dinner in the evening to take my pre-natal vitamin. The other moms gave great advice. I hope you find some relief!

I had horrible morning sickness when I was pregnant too, I lost a lot of weight during my first trimester and had the same problem...they gave me every prescription then had and nothing worked for me...finally a nurse told me to try taking half a unisom (OTC sleeping pill but it won't make you drowsy just to take half) and half a b-6 vitamin or b-12 vitamin ( you will have to ask your doctor, I can't remember which one it was, I think it was b-6 but I'm not sure) The very day I started that I felt 100% better and I could actually keep down my food and water. You should give that a shot, it worked wonders on me!

N., I went through the same thing during my last pregnancy. The only thing that helped was to sip a mixture of PowerAde and bottled mineral water. You have to start very slowly, so as not to shock your system, but I promise you it got me back to normal. When I consulted with the nurses and the doctor (in West Palm Beach where I lived at the time), they told me that the hormonal surge just overwhelmed my body, and that it only meant that the baby was VERY healthy. Keep a supply of the PowerAde and mineral water on hand, because with this heat wave you will need constant hydration. Please consider switching your use of table salt to pure sea salt, because it won't throw you off balance so drastically. Hang in there, sweetie! I will be praying for you and your family.

watermelon. i have also been making myself fruit smoothies at home. they are great and very hydrating and healthy.

I would try cushed ice. It is usually a hit when you are pregnant. I always craved frozen coke icees. But just ice would be a great way to hydrate you. Hope this is helpful!

Try raspberry leaf and spearmint tea -- you can buy these herbs in bulk at many health food stores (or the more expensive prepared tea bags for morning sickness) and make jugs of sun tea for ice tea. This helped me a lot in my first pregnancy (five months of 24 hours/day yuckiness).

Hang in there! It gets better.

L. D, mom of three

I drank Lemon Propel with my last two pregnancies, the first two I drank lemon flavored seltzer water. Also , this isn't the best stuff for you but i did not get nauseated on Coke Slushies. I never could drink water during my pregnancies. Go figure.
Good luck, and God bless,
L.

Hi N.,

I'm currently 5 months prego with my second child and went through the same thing, but I couldn't keep any liquids down without either puking or feeling the urge to puke. Water was the worst. I finally tried kool aid and it worked. I think it was the sugar that helped. My mom told me when she was pregnant with my sister all she could do was suck on ice. That worked too, but I got tired of ice and wanted some flavor. Good luck and congrats on the new little one.

Hi N.,

I had issues with straight water too, so I came up with a few tricks. I drink out of a water bottle with a straw. I also eat watermellon. Tons of it. I look for sparkling juices, that are low in calories. Anyway, hope this is helpful!
Good luck! Jen

OMG I had the worst morning sickness with my son! And honestly nothing totally worked except hitting that 14-16 week mark,but some things did help.
Eat small amounts of crackers or something else with your drinks, and keep them by the bed so you can eat one or two before you get up--this helped me. Having a small amount of something in my stomach help keep the fluids down especially when rising.
I tried the sea sick wrist bands--a waste of money for me.
But ginger did help too--you can get ginger tea or sugared ginger (I think it's called crystallized ginger)--both are available at health food stores like Chamberlain's and Whole Foods. Ginger is a known anti-nauseate.
Besides that, eat small amounts of basic foods with your beverages--try different Gatorade-type drinks along with white grape juice (some juices can upset your stomach more, but white grape juice seems to not aggravate it), to help keep your electrolytes up. And if it persists to the point of you can't keep anything down all day--talk to your OB. because there are some safe Rx you can get.

Try mixing you water with ginger ale. 2 (ginger ale) to 1 (water) mixture.

Try eating ice chips, or chewing on ice. That way the water goes down more slowly and doesn't shock your stomach with one big dose. Also, try keeping a water bottle handy and just have tiny sips every few minutes throghout the day. In my experience, sugary drinks made nausea worse.

N.,
The only thing that didn't make my nausiated when I was pregnant was 7-UP. They make it with all natural flavors so no high fructos corn syrup. I know it isn't water, but it got me past that sick morning point and on to the rest of my day. I always kept crackers near by so I never allowed myself to get hungry. After reaching the point of hunger that's when I would get sick. I even would eat something in the middle of the night. Also try Sea Bands. You wear them on your wrists. They put pressure on that pressure point in your wrist and I thought they helped me to feel better. I bought mine from CVS.
God Bless,
R.

Watermelon helps with nausea and contains a ton of...water. Also try a little sugar with a little bit of fresh mint, or try dangling a candy cane in your ice water glass. The peppermint helps nausea as well as ginger. try ginger tea. make sure your tummy isn't empty. Keep saltines or potatoe crackers nearby and snack on those. Then when you are feeling better, have a little to drink, drink little amounts often rather than in bigger drinks. It will pass, just about the time you figure out what works. Eat lots of jiucy fruits and veggies like peaches, and squash. If it gets really bad, consider asking your doctor for a safe medication or some IV fluids. At one point I needed fluids and I felt so much better. Good Luck, remember that all the misery has such a great outcome. I had liver failure during my pregnancy and there were days I could admit I almost wished I woudl miscarry just to be done with the misery, but the second my sweet Gracyn was born, I wanted to get pregnant again. Your baby will be a blessing and you will be so glad you went through it all to recieve such a prize.

I too would suggest sucking on ice cubes. It worked for me with both pregnancies. The other benefit it had was that it "deadened" my taste buds and helped me ignore the perpetual bad taste in my mouth.
And regardless of how thirsty you are, be sure to sip and not gulp!
In the first trimester of my pregnancies I wasn't able to take my prenatal vitamins. But someone suggested to me B6 tablets this go 'round. They have seemed to make a big difference. Now, they didn't completely take away my nausea, but I certainly have been less sick this time than with my first!
I hit the thirteen week mark this week and am feeling better. Praying you reach the end of your nausea quickly too!

I have a disease called Hyperemesis Gravadarim when I am pregnant. Basically I cannot eat or drink ANYTHING the entire pregnancy without throwing most of it right back up. I am classified as severe though and there are other ladies I know who don't have it that bad. Ask your doctor about it and see if he can prescribe you Zofran and/or Phenergan. Those are the only meds that helped me at all duting my 2 pregnancies. Also, if you feel it necessary go to the ER and get some IV fluids. I always felt so much better after I received IV fluids when I was extremely dehydrated. With my second pregnancy I ended up with a PICC line so that I could have continous fluids at home. Also you can check out www.hghelp.com and www.hyperemesis.org both of those websites have alot of excellent information about HG. Questions to ask your doctor about how to diagnose it and suggestions for treatment of it.

I hope you feel better soon. I definitely know how you feel. Again, ask your docotr about the possibilty of having HG.

E.

I have a sports drink mix which you can mix as strong as you like and is very good for nausea and hydrates better than any on the market. I have a friend who was super dehydrated due to 3 days of vomiting and diarrhea and it stopped as soon as she started drinking this. She could not keep water down even.!!

It comes in lemon or orange flavor and I can supply you with a sample to try it if we can get together or, if too far, could send by mail.

Our products are completely natural which is more than some products sold in health stores can say. and completely guaranteed your satisfaction. If you would like to check out my web site this link will take you right to the product which is called Performance and comes in 2 sizes.
http://www.shaklee.net/O./product/Performance or, if you like you can go to www.shaklee.com and they will connect you with someone else or sell it to you direct. My interest is in helping people have better health and I know this is the best way after 20 years using these products!!
O. H.

With a kidney transplant, I can't go dry, without killing the transplant. Any time I erupt at either or both ends. I pack my hospital bag and head for the ER after I call mykidney doc. I usually spend about 3 days on IV fluid. Since it goes straight into the blood, it doesn't bother the stomach.Try eating ice chips.

Watermelon is a great idea! Or honeydew melon. You could also suck on popsicles (my doc suggested this for me when I had a bad bout of gastroenteritis during my pregnancy). Or squeeze a little fresh lemon into a glass of ice water. I was extremely nauseous with my 2nd also throughout the ENTIRE pregnancy (My doc prescribed Zofran for me to help with it). I drank whatever I could. Try odd stuff... chocolate milk, pink grapefruit juice.. some of the orange sodas are caffeine free, as are some brands of root beer. Of course it's hot now, but you could try eating soup with some of your meals, too. Chicken noodle or something really brothy. Good luck. All the misery is worth it!
P.S. It's been awhile for me, so I forgot to mention it, but I also ate a LOT of grapes. Seedless green and red. You can freeze them if you like. They are LOADED with fluid and taste great! Plus, they are VERY portable. Just stick them in a ziploc baggie. And you can munch on them while you're in the car, unlike alot of other things... Good luck to you.

Maybe some Ginger Ale would help in the mornings.
I've been trying to drink more water too with little success. I would get the flavored waters or add Kool Aid to water. I'm a big Tea fan and do that too.
Also check with your doc, they should be able to come up with some alternatives for you too.
Good luck and I hope it passes soon for you.

The only thing that helped me during my pregnancy was small sips. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work either. I was sick - morning, noon and night. I could keep down raw peeled potatoes and tiny sips of water. After the fourth month I was able to drink a bit more. I wish you well on your adventure. Hope this helps some.

Hi N.,
During my pregnancies, I had a hard time drinking water too. I found that I craved icey cold water and the shards of ice, so I would take my water bottle and freeze it half way and that way I could chew on the soft shards of ice and drink the icey cold water, and I was fine. I also ate ALOT of popsicles. You can make your own, or buy them, but try to get the all natural fruit ones, and stay away from the High Fructose Corn Syrup. That refined sugar isn't good for you. You'll have to read the ingredients. almost all of the commercial kid popsicles have it in them. Good Luck with your pregnancy and God Bless!
V.
Oh, and you can make icey fruit smoothies too, ( I craved those too! :)
You take the bags of frozen mixed fruit, your favorite fruit juice(make sure it's 100% juice) and you can even add in a yogurt if you like. Then blend it. They're delicious, icey cold and nutritious! You can also make those into popsicles as well. Hope this helps! Take care!

N.,

You can try having some saltines right before you drink your water. They are absorbent and will cut the acid down.
Also, try just sipping the water throughout the day instead of drinking it down.

You can also go to a reputable healthfood store and get some homeopathic anti-nausea remedies.

Take Care,
T. (I was very sick -24 hours a day- for 4 months of each of my 3 pregnancies)

have you tried flavored water? what about adding just a little bit of sugar just for taste ?cool aid? or crystal light? i dont like water i myself am not a big water drinker but found there are ways around it