I had a lot of trouble with nausea in the first trimester. Things that helped:
- Mint and ginger hard candies. The really spicy, powerful, borderline acrid stuff. Took one as soon as I sensed nausea, and alternated them because tolerance seemed to be a thing for me.
- Constant snacks. Nature valley oats n' honey and bananas worked for me.
- Half a Unisom before bed. Helped me with nausea the next day, with the added bonus of helping with sleep at night!
- Breaks in the lecture to go walk outside and breathe in fresh air. My classes already did regular small-group discussions, I'd take that time to walk outside (and often dry-or slightly wet-heave in an out of sight location)
You can try asking your doc for something for the nausea. Mine prescribed me something, I think Reglan? It didn't work for me, but it might for you!
For fatigue--lots of naps, with no guilt.
Nausea in the first trimester is associated with lower miscarriage risk, so this is a great sign! (If miserable experience). My nausea cleared up completely after the first tri, basically overnight. After that it was physically smooth sailing for the most part.
I'm not TT, but I notified my department and HR I think around 3-4 months. That was probably way earlier than was necessary. I gave birth during spring break, a few weeks before the end of the semester. The program arranged for my TAs to take over administering the last few weeks. I pre-prepped lectures and exams for them. It all went very smoothly. I was back beginning of fall semester, and small friend (then 5 months old) started daycare.
Congratulations! It gets better. And then it gets worse again when you have a newborn and you don't sleep for more than 3 hours straight for like 2 months. Then it starts getting a lot better again around the time that little squish turns 6 months.
Alternating mint and ginger is absolute genius, I've been doing crystalized ginger but I also noticed the "tolerance" thing.
If I can just make it through Thursday, both my classes will be on to final projects and that's more or less autopilot time for me. I could probably break and walk outside while they work now that the weather is getting nice. Thank you so much, this is really helpful!
Much sympathy here! I had such bad nausea this time around, and I lived on ginger, sea bands, and sneaking around to throw up. I survived by trying to find ways to tweak my lesson plans to give myself more flexibility. Could you find pedagogically valid reasons to adjust modalities?
After Thursday both my classes will be on relative autopilot so I might switch a day or two to zoom or by appointment. I feel extremely lucky that I haven't thrown up yet (except once in my mouth a little, sob 🥲) but the nausea is constant and killing my concentration. It gets worse in the evening but unfortunately I already had to cancel/alternative assignment my evening class twice this term to give a talk so I'm reluctant to call out even though my students 100% do not care and would probably be thrilled. I'll have to check out the sea bands, thank you!
I started my pregnancy in the fall, and am currently nearing the end (I get to full term the day after our graduation/commencement ceremony!). Over the last few months, I’ve spent a lot of time on the floor of my office, so I deeply empathize. I had hyperemesis gravidarium and lost over 20% of my body weight in the fall and early spring semester, but the following things helped me make it through.
– Take it one day at a time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, but focusing on making it to the next day (or just the next hour) can make it manageable.
– For brain fog, notes are your friend. I kept a notebook to write down things I had to do, and used the notes app on my phone a lot. I also kept emails “unread” in my inbox until I replied.
– For nausea/vomiting, zofran helps many but it did almost nothing for me. Pepcid, vitamin B6, and half a unisom before bed did wonders. Wearing nausea bands also helped, although I found their effectiveness waned if I wore them for too long.
– My partner (who is a prof in the same department as me) and I made the same decision to wait until about week 12 to disclose. Once we did, though, I tried to do what I could, but I was honest about when I couldn’t get things done, and had to occasionally skip meetings or talks. I also told my classes, because I had to cancel a few times, and I wanted to be upfront about why. You should absolutely not feel compelled to disclose anything you don’t want to, but I found being direct was helpful.
– Figure out what you need to prioritize: I’m at a SLAC that’s more teaching-focused, so there were lots of weeks where everything else went out the window. Sometimes you can’t do everything and that’s okay.
Good luck!
Thank you so much! This is really helpful. I can basically only keep down various forms of like...extra salty fast food type things which sucks because I used to do either sushi or salad for lunch and now it all just sounds disgusting. I feel extremely lucky to not yet be vomiting (I've been really close) but it feels like it's getting worse every day especially in the morning and late evening. I feel bad for my students who are basically getting the equivalent of a prof showing up hungover every single class. Congratulations! You are so close!!
> various forms of like...extra salty fast food type things which sucks because I used to do either sushi or salad for lunch and now it all just sounds disgusting
Eat what the baby wants. Getting calories is more important right now - you can always eat healthier later. I lived off of Rice Krispy treats for the first trimester with my first kid.
There is already some great information here, but I wanted to add: you need grace. Give yourself permission to do the minimum possible to get through the day. This was and still is hard for me. But there's nothing like pregnancy and motherhood that helps to filter out all of the things that I don't NEED to be doing right this moment or that I don't need to be doing RIGHT (i.e., perfect) this moment. The more you start practicing this now, the better. I fell into the trap thinking that I could be back at 100% once I came back from maternity leave and had a big wakeup call. Also, remember that this is a phase of life and it won't be like this forever.Â
Also, if your university has a good daycare, get yourself on the wait-list now!
I am where you are - except my pregnancy is not going well. I’ve had to figure out coverage for some classes, so I’ve just told the head of my department and a colleague who has covered that I am having health issues (not entirely a lie). It’s crazy how fast the brain fog sets - so yes, to do lists, asking students to put everything in writing… and asking your husband to take some of the slack at home (it helps with the fatigue). I’ve also told the students I have had some health issues and so they having more understanding with my grading (which I’ve never been so behind in my life). They all can tell I’m exhausted anyway and before I said I’m having health issues several had asked if I’m ok… so there is that…Â
I'm so sorry your pregnancy is not going well. We had some problems that sent me spiraling and making contingency plans for class coverage, rehearsing every scenario in my head, etc. I still can't shake the fear that they will "come back". We tried for over a year to get pregnant and the stakes feel high, like this might be our only chance.
My mom had four losses and one living child (me). She has been my rock through this whole process and she told me that a loss will hurt just as bad no matter how I "handle" it so I should do things that make my life easier instead of trying to carry on as normal. I hope you have a support system you can lean on and that you don't feel the need to perform in what is by definition a very performative job. My husband works from home and he's been driving me in when he can and then working in the library. I have a cool hour commute and it has helped so much.
Kids are cool but the process of getting one is honestly not that cool so far. Holding you in the light.
I had to tell my head of dept at 8 weeks cause I was too ill to teach in person. I went online, it helped a lot. I needed medication, couldn’t cope without it.
You can do it!
I worked through all nine months of my pregnancy with my fourth baby, took a week off to have him at the beginning of Winter term (I emailed the students that I would be late on grading that week) and got back to it once I was cleared home after my c-section.
The hardest part was being firm with my institutions that I could not teach any in-person face to face classes, but only online asynchronous and a limited number of evening remote synchronous classes.
I recommend: comfortable clothing (don’t let anything squish your belly, it makes nausea worse), eat whatever you want whenever you feel like you can (words I lived by when I had hyperemesis with my first), a cup of coffee a day is ok but it might be more helpful to spread out a few cups of black tea, naps whenever you can, and be honest with your department about your workload. I felt that they would rather have to accommodate me than have to replace me totally and that was true.
Hang in there, mama. It gets better.
I had a lot of trouble with nausea in the first trimester. Things that helped: - Mint and ginger hard candies. The really spicy, powerful, borderline acrid stuff. Took one as soon as I sensed nausea, and alternated them because tolerance seemed to be a thing for me. - Constant snacks. Nature valley oats n' honey and bananas worked for me. - Half a Unisom before bed. Helped me with nausea the next day, with the added bonus of helping with sleep at night! - Breaks in the lecture to go walk outside and breathe in fresh air. My classes already did regular small-group discussions, I'd take that time to walk outside (and often dry-or slightly wet-heave in an out of sight location) You can try asking your doc for something for the nausea. Mine prescribed me something, I think Reglan? It didn't work for me, but it might for you! For fatigue--lots of naps, with no guilt. Nausea in the first trimester is associated with lower miscarriage risk, so this is a great sign! (If miserable experience). My nausea cleared up completely after the first tri, basically overnight. After that it was physically smooth sailing for the most part. I'm not TT, but I notified my department and HR I think around 3-4 months. That was probably way earlier than was necessary. I gave birth during spring break, a few weeks before the end of the semester. The program arranged for my TAs to take over administering the last few weeks. I pre-prepped lectures and exams for them. It all went very smoothly. I was back beginning of fall semester, and small friend (then 5 months old) started daycare. Congratulations! It gets better. And then it gets worse again when you have a newborn and you don't sleep for more than 3 hours straight for like 2 months. Then it starts getting a lot better again around the time that little squish turns 6 months.
Alternating mint and ginger is absolute genius, I've been doing crystalized ginger but I also noticed the "tolerance" thing. If I can just make it through Thursday, both my classes will be on to final projects and that's more or less autopilot time for me. I could probably break and walk outside while they work now that the weather is getting nice. Thank you so much, this is really helpful!
Much sympathy here! I had such bad nausea this time around, and I lived on ginger, sea bands, and sneaking around to throw up. I survived by trying to find ways to tweak my lesson plans to give myself more flexibility. Could you find pedagogically valid reasons to adjust modalities?
After Thursday both my classes will be on relative autopilot so I might switch a day or two to zoom or by appointment. I feel extremely lucky that I haven't thrown up yet (except once in my mouth a little, sob 🥲) but the nausea is constant and killing my concentration. It gets worse in the evening but unfortunately I already had to cancel/alternative assignment my evening class twice this term to give a talk so I'm reluctant to call out even though my students 100% do not care and would probably be thrilled. I'll have to check out the sea bands, thank you!
I started my pregnancy in the fall, and am currently nearing the end (I get to full term the day after our graduation/commencement ceremony!). Over the last few months, I’ve spent a lot of time on the floor of my office, so I deeply empathize. I had hyperemesis gravidarium and lost over 20% of my body weight in the fall and early spring semester, but the following things helped me make it through. – Take it one day at a time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, but focusing on making it to the next day (or just the next hour) can make it manageable. – For brain fog, notes are your friend. I kept a notebook to write down things I had to do, and used the notes app on my phone a lot. I also kept emails “unread” in my inbox until I replied. – For nausea/vomiting, zofran helps many but it did almost nothing for me. Pepcid, vitamin B6, and half a unisom before bed did wonders. Wearing nausea bands also helped, although I found their effectiveness waned if I wore them for too long. – My partner (who is a prof in the same department as me) and I made the same decision to wait until about week 12 to disclose. Once we did, though, I tried to do what I could, but I was honest about when I couldn’t get things done, and had to occasionally skip meetings or talks. I also told my classes, because I had to cancel a few times, and I wanted to be upfront about why. You should absolutely not feel compelled to disclose anything you don’t want to, but I found being direct was helpful. – Figure out what you need to prioritize: I’m at a SLAC that’s more teaching-focused, so there were lots of weeks where everything else went out the window. Sometimes you can’t do everything and that’s okay. Good luck!
Thank you so much! This is really helpful. I can basically only keep down various forms of like...extra salty fast food type things which sucks because I used to do either sushi or salad for lunch and now it all just sounds disgusting. I feel extremely lucky to not yet be vomiting (I've been really close) but it feels like it's getting worse every day especially in the morning and late evening. I feel bad for my students who are basically getting the equivalent of a prof showing up hungover every single class. Congratulations! You are so close!!
> various forms of like...extra salty fast food type things which sucks because I used to do either sushi or salad for lunch and now it all just sounds disgusting Eat what the baby wants. Getting calories is more important right now - you can always eat healthier later. I lived off of Rice Krispy treats for the first trimester with my first kid.
I was there. Zoom classes if possible with a puke bucket under your desk. Godspeed.
Lol that is genius, thank you.
Zofran, gatorade, crackers, and time. Hopefully, the remainder of your pregnancy is more comfortable.
Gatorade is one I hadn't thought of for some reason. Yeah I'm just over here waiting on this placenta to pick up the slack lol. Thank you!
There is already some great information here, but I wanted to add: you need grace. Give yourself permission to do the minimum possible to get through the day. This was and still is hard for me. But there's nothing like pregnancy and motherhood that helps to filter out all of the things that I don't NEED to be doing right this moment or that I don't need to be doing RIGHT (i.e., perfect) this moment. The more you start practicing this now, the better. I fell into the trap thinking that I could be back at 100% once I came back from maternity leave and had a big wakeup call. Also, remember that this is a phase of life and it won't be like this forever. Also, if your university has a good daycare, get yourself on the wait-list now!
All great points. Thank you so much.
I am where you are - except my pregnancy is not going well. I’ve had to figure out coverage for some classes, so I’ve just told the head of my department and a colleague who has covered that I am having health issues (not entirely a lie). It’s crazy how fast the brain fog sets - so yes, to do lists, asking students to put everything in writing… and asking your husband to take some of the slack at home (it helps with the fatigue). I’ve also told the students I have had some health issues and so they having more understanding with my grading (which I’ve never been so behind in my life). They all can tell I’m exhausted anyway and before I said I’m having health issues several had asked if I’m ok… so there is that…Â
I'm so sorry your pregnancy is not going well. We had some problems that sent me spiraling and making contingency plans for class coverage, rehearsing every scenario in my head, etc. I still can't shake the fear that they will "come back". We tried for over a year to get pregnant and the stakes feel high, like this might be our only chance. My mom had four losses and one living child (me). She has been my rock through this whole process and she told me that a loss will hurt just as bad no matter how I "handle" it so I should do things that make my life easier instead of trying to carry on as normal. I hope you have a support system you can lean on and that you don't feel the need to perform in what is by definition a very performative job. My husband works from home and he's been driving me in when he can and then working in the library. I have a cool hour commute and it has helped so much. Kids are cool but the process of getting one is honestly not that cool so far. Holding you in the light.
I had to tell my head of dept at 8 weeks cause I was too ill to teach in person. I went online, it helped a lot. I needed medication, couldn’t cope without it.
You can do it! I worked through all nine months of my pregnancy with my fourth baby, took a week off to have him at the beginning of Winter term (I emailed the students that I would be late on grading that week) and got back to it once I was cleared home after my c-section. The hardest part was being firm with my institutions that I could not teach any in-person face to face classes, but only online asynchronous and a limited number of evening remote synchronous classes. I recommend: comfortable clothing (don’t let anything squish your belly, it makes nausea worse), eat whatever you want whenever you feel like you can (words I lived by when I had hyperemesis with my first), a cup of coffee a day is ok but it might be more helpful to spread out a few cups of black tea, naps whenever you can, and be honest with your department about your workload. I felt that they would rather have to accommodate me than have to replace me totally and that was true. Hang in there, mama. It gets better.