As most of you know, I’m quite sick with the normal pregnancy stuff I always experience for the first 15-20 weeks of my pregnancies. I’ve tried just about every remedy known to man and not much works for me besides just grinning and bearing it–and reminding myself often that it is worth every bit of this for the end result!
Since we have two young children (they’re 3 years and 14 months) and my husband works longer hours, we are keeping it really simple for the next little while when it comes to what we’re eating around here. My husband is doing all the grocery shopping (bless his wonderful heart!) and I’m not worrying too much about getting the best deals or sticking to a small budget.
It’s about survival, folks, and I’m grateful that we’re in a position where we have saved and scrimped in the past so that we have wiggle room in seasons like this. I well remember my very first pregnancy when we were barely making ends meet and my husband was in law school. Sure, I didn’t have young ones to care for, but we had very little money to work with and it was much more of a challenge financially.
So here’s the menu I concocted for this week:
BREAKFASTS
Cereal, juice x5
English muffins with peanut butter, apples
Scrambled eggs with cottage cheese, toast
LUNCHES
PB&J, carrots, cheese
Annie’s mac and cheese, grapes x2
Canned beans, cottage cheese, peas, brown rice x2
Baked potatoes, cottage cheese, cheese, veggies
Turkey and cheese sandwiches, grapes
DINNERS–These are all meals which can be put together in a matter of minutes as Jesse is generously doing most all of the dinner prep for us after he gets home. (He’s such a great husband, isn’t he?!)
Beef hot dogs, tater tots, pork and beans over rice, frozen veggies
Spaghetti sauce (from a pouch) with ground beef (already cooked up) over noodles with cheese
Turkey and cheese sandwiches, grapes x2
Beef sausage in the crockpot with potatoes and carrots, toast
Burritos–refried beans, cheese, salsa
Carryout
So far, I’m eating a much less-varied diet than the family so what I personally will be eating this week will likely look a bit different than the above. We stocked up on a number of quick and nutritious snacks that I might be able to stomach and I’m doing my best to get in as much nutrition as I can with each bite I’m able to take.
For those new around here, you can see what a more normal, non-survival menu looks for us here. We usually stick to a $40/week grocery budget, but we’ve raised that to $70/week for the immediate future. In the long run, I think by raising our grocery budget, we’ll actually save money since having the fixings for lots of fast and easy snacks around will curb the urge to grab take-out multiple times per week.
I look forward to being about to get back into cooking and baking from scratch and doing more bargain shopping. In the mean time, though, I’ve very thankful for modern conveniences like grocery stores. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be a pioneer woman during the first trimester? I’ve been mulling on that a lot!
For more menus, see the big round-up over at I’m An Organizing Junkie.
Related: For anyone interested, I wrote about our minimized and simplified daily routine here.
I just discovered an insanely easy crock pot recipe and thought of you – I deal with the same level of morning sickness when I am pregnant. If you can handle using the crock pot, I made bbq chicken the other day. I put two chicken breasts in the crock pot with most of a bottle of bbq sauce. After letting it cook about 6 hours on low, I took the meat out and shredded it and served it on store-bought whole wheat buns. It was a big hit and served our family of 4 for two meals. It’s so easy that maybe Jesse could get it ready for you in the morning and stick it in the fridge and then you could take it out and turn it on and he could shred the meat when he gets home. I’m going to keep it in mind for future pregnancies. You may not be able to eat it, (I doubt I would be able to early on) but it’s an easy way to feed your family for a few days.
how funny – I had just started a blog post on survival meals too – but b/c our schedule is so full with homeschool and sports!! I have many of the same meals you do!
You lucky girl for even being ABLE to eat right now! I wanted so badly to do my pregnancies drug-free, but the very thought (let alone the sight or smell) would put me into severe dry heaves and vomiting. I spend time with both pregnancies hooked up to IVs. The ONLY thing that even put a dent in the nausea was a drug called zofran. I HATED that I had to take it, but there was no way I could have moved off my sofa for the first 30 weeks without it.
Best of luck to you and your family in getting through these next weeks. 🙂
I hope you are not the one making that fresh juice! I would never have the energy while pregnant. I remember wanting so bad to make chocolate chip pancakes for my husband’s birthday like I usually do every year. I just ended up lying in bed and crying and begging him to forgive me.
He did. 🙂
Oh, and this is an excellent time to reread “The First Four Years” by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She too had bad morning sickness, and did have to go about her pioneer wife duties, even feeding a crew of workers who came to help her husband. I’ve loved reading some of the Little House books to my daughter, but the later ones, especially that one, are way too mature for little girls.
Congrats on your pregnancy!
I wanted to comment on the pioneer women question. I live in the New Orleans area and just had the pleasure of evacuating thanks to Hurricane Gustav. We ended up at a hunting camp without electricity and had to be creative in our meal planning and preparation. It was an interesting experience and I’m proud to say that I know that I could survive without electricity if I had to (and I don’t want to have to again for a very long while).
i wanted to second the comment about unisom relieving nausea in pregancy. i threw up the whole nine months, and unisom was the only thing that helped me feel better. my midwife recommended it, and i’d definitely suggest asking your doctor. may God bless you with rest, a settled stomach, and a healthy pregnancy. congratulations!
I have had 5 babies and by far was the sickest with the last. I used the acupuncture bands that you wear on your wrist. They did not work all the time but did supply on and off relief. Also heard that a citrus soda (sprite or squirt) and salt and vinegar potato chips has worked for some women experiencing hyperemesis. Hope this helps, love your site.
I don’t know how often you’re actually traveling, but my worst morning sickness was when I had to be in a car. With my first child, I thought there was no way that I could drive, but I found when I drove that the morning sickness was hardly present. Just wanted to pass that on, especially for Sunday church driving…it started where my husband would drive and then I would spend a majority of the service in the bathroom…my driving really helped the situation.
One way I have upped my protein (for other reasons than pregnancy at this point…) is to use a protein powder from a company called “Jay Robb”. It is only sweetened with stevia and has 25 g. of protein per serving. I have made it into milkshakes with cream or milk, ice and a little fruit and it is really, really good. It’s more expensive than most other protein powder, but it is really healthy since it doesn’t have artificial sweeteners. When I was pregnant, anything cold and sweet always sounded good (Wendy’s Frosties–yum, yum!), so this will hopefully work really well for me next time. I wouldn’t make an entire day’s protein out of milkshakes, but it works when nothing else sounds appitizing. 🙂
Ok, I will preface my comment with the fact that I have never been pregnant. BUT, I deal with insulin resistance (pre-diabetes) and from what I’ve heard, the swings that I experience due to crazy fluctuating blood sugar levels might be somewhat similar to what is causing or contributing to morning sickness.
That being said, what I’ve found to help me is not only to eat a high protein diet, but to also make sure that my carbohydrate levels are consistent with each meal and snack. If I can avoid having a significantly lower or higher carb count for any given meal, I can avoid the yuckiness associated with low blood sugar.
Just a suggestion for you – I know that you are counting your grams of protein, but maybe try counting and balancing the carbs as well.
I’m praying you feel better soon. Hugs.
Laura
I’m sorry you haven’t been feeling well, but it sounds like you have a great plan for dealing with the nausea… and your husband sounds like he’s being great. Isn’t it nice when husbands help out? 🙂 I’m pretty lucky that way myself.
Best wishes for a healthy and happy pregnancy!
-Sea
You just take care of your sweet little self! Enjoy this new life growing inside and cherish the snuggle time with the girls….reading lots and lots of books and watching them interact with each other!
I would love to hear what you eat for protein. I have some blood sugar issues and am trying to conceive. I also had bad morning sickness with my first and nothing worked for me either. I tried preggie pops (or whatever they are called), things with ginger, and those wrist bands for seasickness.
Congrats! I feel your pain–I was so sick with both of my pregnancies and nothing worked for me either until I was about 5-6 months along and then it would just go away. You are right—focus on the prize at the end–so worth it!!!
I was very sick the first four months with my son. The first few weeks were so bad I had to be hospitalized because I could not even sip water. Nothing worked for me either. Hang in there. As my MIL says it is only temporary. I am considering trying for my second but the thought of that morning sickness makes me want to hold off a little longer. After reading all the posts it appears that morning sickness is pretty common. Although strangely enough none of my friends got sick. I was the only one. With my first pregnancy I was not sick and I miscarried. I believe that the morning sickness is a blessing because I have a healthy baby. Good luck to you and I love your website!
Ha ha! The first time I read this I forgot your oldest was 3 YEARS old and thought you had a three MONTH old and then a 14 month old. I know some people do it, but I was in awe. At least you’re not taking care of a newborn like I thought! (I had terrible morning sickness all through my first 4 months and lost 10 pounds. The only thing I could eat was Sour Patch Kids. Which I always hated.)
These protein bars helped me during my last pregnancy. http://www.kashi.com/products/golean_bars_chocolate_almond_toffee#
Hope you are feeling better soon. I love your blog btw! What worked for me in the past was nibbling on crackers in the morning and throughout the day. Just as long as I had a little something in my stomach I was fine. It is funny how all woman are different!
I have also heard that wearing those magnetic motion sickness bands have helped some women.
You are so lucky to have such a helpful Dh!
I feel ya – I am 22 weeks pregnant with #2, and Unisom has worked wonders! My midwife recommended it. I take a half or whole one when I get nauseus or before bed and feel great all day! I am doing much better now, but it was a lifesaver earlier on.
Hi Crystal,
I find myself also in the position of recently finding out we are expecting our third baby. Congratulations, it’s an exciting and wonderful time! I also am really sick and the protein (plus plenty of B vitamins) make a difference for me – if my tummy empties out I’m in big trouble. But I am struggling to find enough protein – where are you getting all yours from? I can add a little protein powder to a smoothie but more than one scoop, and it tastes too chalky to stomach right now.
Thanks for all your continued hard work. It means a lot that you continue to post deals and share wisdom with us when you don’t feel so hot.
Julie
have you tried preggie pops? I’ve heard they work.
if I were you, I’d try anything! Google them.
Congrats! I too am preggo and like you, I throw up for 15-20 weeks. I also have a 3 year old. One thing that did help was some homemade ginger ale. Make simple syrup with cut fresh ginger steeped in it. Keep in bottle. Put in club soda or plain seltzer. This may help. I also drink lemonade most of the time. My husband sometimes doesn’t understand why I don’t feel like cooking or doing much. So I agree that things have to be simple and sometimes that is more expensive.
I’m so glad to know you are human and can’t do everything. I am new at this and have been failing the past month because I have too much on my plate. We are selling our home, I run a daycare and have a 3 year old and 1 year old. So I’m glad to see there are seasons in your life that you take a little break and raise your grocery budget or do things differently. Thanks for your transparency. It has helped me so much today as I struggle with motivation.
Since I’ve had little ones of my own – I admit that I’m always thinking about how a pioneer woman would handle such and such situation. I am simply in awe of how they did it –
Ugh! I remember the sickies well. One tip for your crock pot–plug it in out in the garage and you won’t have to smell it all day. I made the mistake of making an Italian chicken crockpot dish one day and… well, it’s been 4 years and I still can’t make it again! I still plug my crockpot in the garage because I hate everything in the house smelling like whatever is crocking. :o)
I hope the next few months fly by for you!
Crystal,
I hope you make it through these first 3-5 months! I have had multiple pregnancies (ending with 2 bio babies) and have been so so sick every single time. Well, not every time, but the ones I wasn’t sick, I had miscarriages. So, I came to be very very thankful for the morning sickness. 🙂
Also, wanted to let you know that Shop N Save in the St Louis area (maybe more areas?) has their “no coupon Thursday” this week. Combined with a great deal on Quaker products (and using coupons), you can get some AMAZING DEALS! I haven’t posted to my blog, but wanted to let you know about it.
If you have a Trader Joe’s within a reasonable distance to you (or your husband’s work) it might be worth him making a trip there. They have a lot of reasonably priced, easy to prepare meals with more natural ingredients. They really help me feed my family in a more healthful manner when I’m working full time. I go there about once a month and stock up my freezer and pantry. I particularly love their frozen pasta meals which cook up in a skillet in 6 – 8 minutes. Pair that with leftover rotisserie chicken and a salad and you are good to go.
*****************
Money Saving Mom here: I so wish we had a Trader Joe’s! I’ve heard the greatest things about them!
i am amazed…..you can eat? When i was in my first trimester that meant I could not eat most food and protein was the last thing on my list. Yes, amazingly my babies were healthy through that. I do not think with the last pregnancy I got much of anything down besides tea and toast for a month… i lost 4 pounds which is alot for me.
Great job and hopefully it goes well for you! i hope you can keep your iron up this time.
Have you tried making any smoothies with adding greens to it?
*****************
Money Saving Mom here: Most of the time, I *force* myself to eat, even if I’m positive it’s not going to stay down, because I’ve found I feel a lot better if I do eat–which I know is not the case for many people. And I’ve found I’m much more prone to not keep stuff down if I don’t eat lots of protein.
Isn’t it interesting how every woman is so different? I’m just grateful that I’ve been able to eat–I know so many women who get nausea so much worse than me and end up landing in the hospital, etc.
I know you’ve probably had about enough pregnancy advice, but I had really terrible morning/all day sickness and doctor said I should take Unisom (or walmart brand). I took half of one every night and had NO nausea the next day… it was beautiful. It can make you a tiny bit groggy in the morning, but better than being sick all day! Even if you didn’t want to take it all the time, you could take it if you especially needed to NOT be sick the next day. Just thought you should know….
I really appreciate your blog and I’ve got my completely un-savvy mom-in-law reading now too! 🙂
Congratulations! I have some easy food suggestions. My daughters (almost 4yo and 21mo) love cheese quesadillas with fruit, tofu with rice/veggies, and barilla plus pasta with veggies/fruit.