Hi girls-
I am in the early stages (almost 7 weeks) of my first pregnancy and am struggling to drink 2 litres a day of water. The thought of it makes me nauseous, and once I have some I feel like I'm going to be sick. I'm worried about not getting enough water, and what effects it may have, but am really struggling. I have been drinking a bit of perrier (NEVER thought I'd drink sparkling water over still, but I even crave it - must be a pregnancy thing), but it's expensive to rely on perrier, and it's probably not as good as water.
TBH in the early weeks of pregnancy, just drink what you can, and just drink to your thirst. I personally wouldn't force anything down that could very well bounce back up! If you're worried about hydration, you could sip on a sports drink, I know it's recommended if you have really bad morning sickness.
I struggle with 2L of water when I'm not pg..let alone when suffering m/s in the first trimester. I've never measured how much I drink when pg or breastfeeding, I just drink if I'm thirsty.
Another suggestion could be to drink your water as some kind of tea.. like peppermint or ginger.. that can help with nausea too.
I found that I had to have a tiny amount of cordial in my water all during pregnancy to be able to drink enough - not much but just enough to give it some sort of flavour as the "taste"of water made me nauseous.
Just amanage what you can.
2lts is what people say you need but it does vary quite significantly from person to person. Also remember that we absorb moisture from foods. I try to get at least 1.5 litres of water a day but I also drink juice eat fruits etc as well. Your body will tell you what you need basically if you are thirsty you need to up your intake daily.
I have started on the hot water with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of honey which is quite nice.
In cold water a squeeze of lemon just gives it a bit of something IYKWIM. Lime is also nice.
I agree with the others hon, drink what you can without making yourself feel ill. I find really icy cold water is so much easier to drink (and it made all the difference when I was suffering from morning sickness) and definitely add cordial or lemon juice/slices to add a bit of flavour. You'll find you'll probably get thirstier as your pregnancy progresses and you'll naturally drink more water anyway.
You'll know if you're not feeling hydrated so don't let it worry you. And remember, you've either limited or are not drinking diuretics such as tea, coffee and alcohol so you're probably getting more fluids than you normally would anyway
Try icy cold water though (I mean LOADED with ice cubes) - it has been my saviour.
I never used to be a huge water drinker, so found it quite hard at first to up my water intake. During the week while I'm at work is easier than when I'm at home on a weekend. I take two 600ml bottles of water to work and aim to finish one of them by lunchtime, the second bottle is normally 1/4 or 1/2 empty by the time I get home then at night I try and drink at least another bottle. I still don't think I'd be drinking 2 litres a day, but I'm just not a big drinker!
If you carry a water bottle with you everywhere and remind yourself to take a mouthful or two every 30 minutes or so would that encourage you to drink more? Can also make up some weak cordial instead of just straight water. I wouldn't worry too much if you aren't drinking exactly 2 litres a day, your body will let you know how much it needs so if you aren't thirsty at the end of the day and have made sure you've kept drinking little bits throughout the day you should be fine. If your body needs more, it will let you know! Also keep an eye on your wee, it should be pale yellow/almost clear (except normally for first morning urine), if you notice it getting a darker yellow then I would be making sure you drink more water.
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