The feeling of growing a little human inside of you is priceless and powerful. I felt like a real-life wonder woman that evening. However, it comes with its share of hurdles too. No good thing on this planet comes easy, does it?

I remember the evening when my husband of 4 years and I found out we were pregnant. Everything changed in that one moment; we officially felt like adults that evening. It’s a beautiful feeling and is worth every big and small hurdle that you will face along the way. Of the many hurdles, morning sickness was the worst for me. I still don’t know why it is termed morning sickness when it doesn’t even stick to the mornings. It started when I was in my 5th week and continued till the beginning of my second trimester. Each time I puked, I looked up the web and checked online forums for answers. Some said that morning sickness indicated that I was producing the hormones required to grow a healthy baby, while some said those were signs of viable placental tissue. 

What To Eat During Nausea Or Morning Sickness?

However, with time, my doctor and I figured out certain foods that were triggering my nausea. It was fish in my case and rice starch for my sister. My father jokes that morning sickness is a funny sickness because it made his daughters hate things they loved previously. It was a difficult time; I would puke, then cry, and then cry more because I got upset about not enjoying my pregnancy. While I wanted to gorge on superfoods, my body couldn’t keep anything within itself. Pregnancy enables your body to make a lot of changes that are well beyond your control and understanding. Some women grow more hair, while some see changes in their skin color. My understanding is, the sooner you accept those changes, the easier it becomes to adapt afterward. However, I could have managed things that were within my control, and that was the food that I consumed. 

So here I have listed a set of foods that you should include in your diet if my story seems familiar to you. I feel you, sister! You may not be able to control it completely, but the foods listed below will help you navigate your pregnancy better. And it does get better with time, trust me. 

Ginger: Ginger is a potion to a pregnant woman; I don’t know how I would have managed without it. This southeast Asian delight has been used as a remedy since ancient times. It has bioactive compounds that work with the right part of your central nervous system and helps in bringing in the right changes. You could have them in the form of biscuits, as tea and also in candied form. I personally loved them with some lime, mint, and lukewarm water. 

Crackers and Toast: They are usually salty, bland, and dry. However, for some weird reason, they do wonders for people suffering from morning sickness. I used to store crackers on my bedside and chomp on a few now and then. They fill you up real fast, and that reduces your chances of throwing up. However, ensure that you also keep drinking plenty of water to hydrate yourself after eating crackers. 

Lemon and anything Citrusy: It’s usually difficult to keep anything in your tummy while you are expecting. The acidic nature of lemon helps in changing your palate and refreshing it. You can sniff them or squeeze them into your water bottle, and the taste will calm your churning stomach. 

Cold foods: Morning sickness makes you extremely sensitive to strong smells and tastes. Any strong flavor can make your stomach churn and make you feel pukish instantly. Cold foods are less likely to have stronger flavors and smells. So you can choose to fix your meals in a manner that includes more cold ingredients. It could be a cold mushroom sandwich, a custard with frozen fruits, or just cold milk. I have seen some women suck on just ice cubes because it relaxed their senses and hydrated them—plan ahead and meal prep accordingly. 

Rice, Pasta, Potato, and Noodles: As explained earlier, morning sickness is triggered by flavourful and aromatic foods. However, these starch-rich foods are low on flavoring but will fill you up rather well. These will be mild in taste and could be had cold, with very light seasoning. Rice, noodles, and pasta could be boiled a little more than usual to ease up the digestion process and then cooled for consumption. You can also add a little cream or milk to mashed potatoes and have them as a savory snack. 

Protein-rich foods: Foods high in protein are known to reduce nausea symptoms when compared to foods rich in fat and carbohydrates. The exact reason why protein has such positive reactions to nausea is unknown. However, it is credited to the increased secretion of the hormone called gastrin. This, in turn, helps in normalizing the activity happening in the stomach. Proteins are also known to keep one feeling full and also reduce the risk of malnutrition. 

My BONUS advice from multiple sources:

• Eat less but more frequent meals. 
• Avoid foods that are harder to digest; they are sure to make you pukish.
• Be easy on yourself and be flexible.
• Choose cold foods over hot ones.
• Talk to more mothers and read forums; you never know if an African remedy might do the trick for you. 

Morning sickness is a very uncomfortable sensation that makes it difficult to be able to function normally. However, understand that it is a temporary situation and improves a lot with time. It doesn’t mean anything good or bad; it just means that your body is adapting to a new change. Like most phases, this phase of your life shall pass too. Understand that all these pains and hurdles are bringing you closer to the life growing inside you. Instead of crying about things that you can’t change, equip yourself with things that will matter.