M&M: Icky Side effects of Pregnancy

During my pregnancy a number of times I felt that I am flakier than usual. I saw myself forgetting things frequently and slipping things from my hand all the time. It became impossible for me to have my meal without messing up. Literally, I used to eat like a kid. Although list of my side effects is quite long, I am sharing some of them and how I coped with them.

Morning Sickness and Queasiness:
From its name it sounds like something which can happen only in morning, but trust me it can happen all day long. It doesn't matter what time of day. Following are the measures I tried to get some relief from it.

• Drinking lots of water with fresh lemon in it
• Ginger also helped me a lot in quelling my queasiness. I used to nibble on ginger
• Taking small but frequent light meals. I realized the my queasiness increased if I delayed my meal
• Preggie Pops
• Vitamin B6 syrup (after consulting my Nurse practitioner)

Excessive Saliva:
Initially, when it started I thought it might be because of acidity, but soon I realized that I am salivating more than usual. Beside spitting I tried following measure to quell it :

• Frequent brush and tongue cleaning. I used to dislike the taste of toothpaste and mouth wash, so I started using Indian tooth powder "Dabur lal dant manjaan.”
• Frequent, small, well-balanced meals, and avoided excessive amounts of starchy food
• Drank plenty of water- I used to keep a water bottle handy all the time
• Preggie pops

Taste Change:
My sense of taste became so unpredictable that if one day I was eating sweet the other day I was eating salty food. This was the one area where I was experimenting every other day. Throughout the day I used to feel metallic taste, I made a habit of brushing my teeth and cleaning my tongue after every meal.

Smell Sensitivity:
Oh man! It was so bad. My smell sensitivity was so intense that we stopped cooking food at our home and put a microwave in garage. I always used a paper tissue to cover my nose whenever I visit my kitchen. I also tried aromatherapy by smelling different things such as flower petals, candles, drinks (rooh afza) etc.

Food Aversion:
I had a severe food aversion specially to garlic, onion and milk. I used to avoid  fridge and our pantry. For some time we stopped buying all those food items which were on top of my aversion list. I was not able to drink milk so to keep my calcium intake normal I started eating "Rasgullas"

Headaches and Fever:
I got the fever and headaches for a short time. I took “Tylenol” once or twice after consulting my Nurse practitioner. I preferred the rest over the medication for mild fever/headaches

Acid Reflux:

Throughout my pregnancy I avoided oily food. I also started Indian yoghurt with each meal and that really helped me in my acid reflux. Other things which I tried were:

• Avoided water immediately after meal
• Avoided citric fruits. Ate fruits and vegetables which helped me in quelling my acid reflux: Banana, Guava, Doskaya, and cucumber
• Frequent shots of cold milk
• TUMS
• Slow walking on Treadmill after every meal

Leg Cramps:

It started in my third month. To keep my leg cramps at bay I tried following thing:

• Increased my calcium intake
• Stretching exercises (check my section)

Water retention (edema):

• Avoided wearing socks and tight footwear
• I used to drink lots of water
• Avoided long sitting and standing. I used to put my feet up whenever possible while sitting

Stretch Marks:

My Dr. advised me not to waste my money on stretch marks cream. I used the olive oil as body lotion throughout my pregnancy and it worked for me.

Labia pain:

“Taylor sitting” helped me a lot in assuaging my pain from it.