As a newly pregnant mom of a surprise bundle, (seriously, we were done) I am dealing with all the joys of the first trimester again. When I thought I would never have to again.

Our youngest now, is just under two. He is the little brother to three big sisters and a grown older brother. So to say I didn’t want him to have another little boy to play with would be a lie. BUT, my husband was adamant that we were not having anymore and I gave it a good run to try to convince him months ago.

Fast forward to now, I was just getting ready to get rid of all the baby stuff. I was to the point where I accepted we were done and honestly I was starting to get excited about the idea of having my body be mine again. I am still nursing but I was planning to start weaning. I was imagining all my hair growing back and being able to release all this weight I have hanging around. The universe had other plans though. I was two days late. That is nothing to shake a stick at around here and I don’t even know what possessed me to take a test. I had one and thought, well let’s make sure I am not pregnant. When else will I ever use this thing?

I took the test and it was immediately positive. I was in shock for a minute and total disbelief. I called my husband in with the most freaked out voice ever I am sure, he asked me what? I showed him the test and he said “no” also in disbelief. I laugh now thinking about it. But I started crying and said “that’s what it says!”

I thought maybe it was too old. I bought more. They were all positive too. Then I cried for the next few days. My husband is about to be 40 and I am about to be 39. We were done!

Anyhow, we have gotten used to it now but I am not used to what I have to go through again. Morning sickness, gagging, food aversions, smells, cramping and pinching. Not to mention sore breasts and muscle cramps. I am tired AF and a new stay at home mom. So there is no rest! The first trimester is hard and I think almost worse when you are surprised. Luckily I have a few things that can help. Some of them don’t work for everybody but some will.

Number One

Breastfeeding, nursing an older child cuts down on morning sickness for a lot of people. So if you have an older one and get pregnant while nursing you can take a little solace that you won’t be as sick as you were with a first. Each of my pregnancies has gotten slightly better and this one is honestly not bad at all but if you are feeling any sort of nausea you know what I mean, when I say, it is too much. Despite it being relatively manageable, I am still feeling ill. And that sucks.

Number Two

Ok, onto things that will work for everyone. Another thing to help nausea that I have found is this drink mix, Sparkling Mama Fizzelixir. It comes in two flavors. I chose raspberry mint and I can’t drink it alone but I can mix it with flavored water. It is packed with Vitamin B6 and Magnesium which have been shown to help reduce nausea. And I feel better when I am sipping on it.

Number Three

Speaking of flavored water, the one I am really digging right now is Propel Orange Raspberry. If you know anything about the first trimester, it’s that you can’t stand the taste of your mouth. Some people describe it as a metallic taste or tasting pennies. You can imagine it only makes nausea worse. I also can’t just drink water when I am nauseous. The thing that helps me with that is sipping flavored water on ice or sucking on some sort of hard candy. I wish they weren’t single use bottles but I recycle and this won’t last forever.

Number Four

Aaaand speaking of hard candies, these really worked for me in a couple of my pregnancies, Preggy Pop Drops. They are hard candies that are a little sour and keep the flavor or pennies out of your mouth. They have multiple flavors. I also did a ginger candy for one pregnancy but I don’t think I could ever go back to them again after being sick and sucking on them for 14 weeks. I actually can hardly handle ginger at all now but it is also a good way to relieve morning sickness for most people.

Number Five

Gargle with warm salt water. Taste of your meatball sandwich that you HAD to have for lunch, still hangin around? Try gargling. The taste of something that I can’t get out of my throat is the worst. I can brush and use candies but please make it go away. Gargling may not get it all but it really helps.

These are the things I have or am using right now to combat the queasiness. But there are so many more tips out there. Eating bland foods, taking vitamins at night, exercising and so much more. I am all into NOT exercising and eating only what seems somewhat appealing right now but I know if I actually took a walk I would feel better. It is 90 degrees out though and I can’t muster up the courage. Hopefully when things cool a bit I can.

Another thing I could add but I didn’t actually find relief from are the bracelets for nausea. It didn’t help me but maybe it can help you!

Hopefully you find some help here on things that can work. If you do, let me know!

Do you have a hack for morning sickness?