DW wont eat anything I cook

Sorry if this is a bit of a general question and I'm very new to these forums so I hope I'm posting in the right area but....

This is my wife's second pregnancy and at 7 weeks now she is having a lot of nausea (no vomiting yet). During the first pregnancy she didn't have a lot of problems but this time it's really tough for her.

What I am hoping for is some suggestions on how to prepare her food as at the moment she can't stand the taste/smell/thought of most foods I put before her. Tonight the only thing she would eat is plain rice. She can't stand the thought of meat, bread, steamed veges, fish and dairy. I'm worried that she and the baby are not eating properly.

Does anyone have any secrets to what foods a pregnant women experiencing nausea are likely to tolerate?

Thanks.

Peter

This is a tough one I could not stand the smell of meat cooking for the first 12 weeks but was ok to eat it once it was cooked so DH would BBQ outside for me and bring it in. Apart from that I had alot of soups crackers and dried fruit to help me with the nausea and snacked often. A healder reccomended Brewers Yeast for me and that helped alot as well as water if I did not get enough I would feel sick

Hope this helps

Its different for everyone, her body will tell her what she can cope with maybe suggest toast, dry biscuits or grilled chicken for now. Anything that is really bland and boring really.

Don't worry the baby will be fine, but your wife needs to try and keep her fluids up and eat when she can. Is she taking vitamins, vitamin B6 can help ease the morning sickness.

Its tough in the early stages but it gets easier.

Peter - I had terrible morning sickness and unfortunately can't give you many answers as I lived on icy-poles and salt and vinegar chips for months :redface:. I honestly could not stomach anything else. My doctor said although it wasn't ideal food intake, as long as I could take a pregnancy multivitamin,baby and I would be ok. I eventually regained my appetite and have a healthy 18month old. One suggestion - could you get takeaway sometimes so she doesn't have to smell the food cooking. That was my biggest issue. DH would get roast chicken and vegies or grilled fish and salads. Or maybe even make her plates of fresh fruit.

During my first trimester with DD1 I lived on green apples and parmesan cheese!

I think your wife is lucky to have a nice hubby who will cook for her :)

Get some hospital grade sustagen.
It was a lifesaver for me as I hardly ate at all.

Just cook whatever she feels like eating! I existed on meat, bread, pasta and potatoes and was completely repulsed by vegetables and fruit. I took my preggy vitamins but still fretted the entire time but in the end figured my body knew what it was doing - wasn't worth the retching when I tried to force myself to eat what I was "supposed" to. Don't forget bubby is so teeny tiny so will not be a complete drain on your DW's vitamin and mineral resources.

It may also change as the pregnancy continues...I couldn't be in the same room as anyone eating a tuna sandwich until I was 7 months pregnant and then all of sudden one day my DH was making a sandwich. "Mmmmm, that smells great, what is it?" I ask. He looks at me like I've sprouted another head and said "Tuna...." waiting for me shriek and leave the room. But no, I had to have a tuna sandwich immediately and ate one every day until DS was born!!!

And don't get angry with her if she can't eat what you cook so it's always wise to check and see if she feels like eating what's on the menu before you cook. DH cooked me some chicken one night and he got so angry with me when I just poked at it with my fork and then went and made spaghetti bolognaise. I felt so bad but I just couldn't eat it.

This time around I only wanted "white food" early on so I existed on rice, pasta, bread, crackers and sometimes cheese. I also could eat jelly lollies like snakes, jelly babies etc.

Obviously while not ideal I was able to start eating other things after 11 weeks so it did pass and I made sure I was taking my vitamins everyday to get the things I was missing out on. All I can suggest is to ask her what she feels like eating and make her that.

Hi!

Welcome to the forums! I had terrible morning sickness too and went off a lot of foods. I wouldn't worry too much. I would just make sure your wife is on a pregnancy vitamin to keep everything up to her and in terms of your bubs he/she will be very good at sucking all the vitamins and minerals etc he/she needs from your wife to grow properly. I would only be concerned if she is underweight, even if that is the case it should be fine.

If you are very concerned speak to your gp/ob and ask some advice and other than that I suggest getting a rice cooker! not sure how well it lasts cause I've never tried it but my rice cooker you're meant to be able to leave the rice in it and keep it warm for up 2 8hrs!

Oh and also this stage will probably be over before you know it and you never know tomorrow it might be rice she can't stand!

Oh one more thing i thought is that our bodies are good at making us crave things that we are in lack of when we're preg...plus a few things we don't so much need to grow a healthy baby

Hi there Peter, it is crazy bussiness this morning sickness, I remember crying because I was so hungry, but throwing up if I ate something. I found that small nibbles of what ever I could stomach frequently was better then a full meal. Salty thing like chips worked sometimes nothing that was battered or oily. I found that if I thought about a food before I ate it , I could gauge how it was going to effect me lol. Maybe ask her what she thinks she could stomach, then prepare it for her.
Keep up the water again small sips usually work better if feeling sick.

Rice, Pasta, noodles, icy poles and watermelon - oh and Macdonalds. I still have trouble tolerating andything with too much flavour. As some of the other girls said, so long as she is eating something and taking some sort of multivitimin she should be fine - and will hopefully get over the m/s soon.

Starch, starch and more starch was all that I could stomach when morning sickness was really bad.

Mashed potato, potato chips, potato cakes - still wearing them all :D

TICKLISH

I was like this too - I couldn't stand most meats, vegetables, fruit... basically anything that was good for me! My DH and I would wander the supermarkets with him suggesting possibilities for tea, and I'd turn my nose up at 95% of it, but would usually eventually find something I thought I'd be able to stomach. This lasted most of the first trimester, but settled down early in the second trimester, and I've had a normal appetite for the rest of the pregnancy.
As long as she's taking multivitamins, bub and her will be fine.

Congrats on the pregnancy!

I ate mostly crackers and cheese for a few weeks. Couldn't stomach the vegies or salads I knew I should be eating. I only felt like salty things with a bit of protein.

I found it really helped if I ate a dry cracker or two before getting out of bed in the morning, and if I didn't allow myself to get really hungry, so snacking on small things often rather than trying to eat a whole meal at once. For me getting hungry made me feel too sick to eat, so it was something to be avoided if possible.

I've always wanted to know WHY you get so sick with m/s that you can tolerate Maccas???

I would be soo hungry but sick - I could always get a cheeseburger AND fries down ok! I think I actually cried with joy while I ate a cheeseburger once!!!

aww you are very sweet! but sometimes if it is very bad she wont want to eat at all! i only started eating toast this morning after 4 days on icy poles and orange juice. it depends on how she feels, just ask her, my DF asks me if i need anything and i send him off with a little list usually, juice, sugar lollies or lollipops are good. dont stop what you are doing its great! just ask her what does she feel like, even thinking about food cooking makes my tummy churn, it is quite difficult at times but you guys will manage!

Hope your head isn't spinning too badly with all the advice, Peter! But I'll throw my two cents in anyhow. For me, a protein drink was a total life-saver. I couldn't eat much, but protein made me feel a little better, so I got a chocolate flavoured protein powder and just had it with water. It was yummy, had some vitamins and minerals in it and it made things slightly better.

Good luck! You are very sweet for posting!

Thanks for all the great advice. As most of you have said, asking her what she wants to eat has definitely been the key, rather than just making the usual dinners because the usual just doesn't cut it any more! I know I just have to be patient and work around what she wants. She is using a suppliment which I guess does put my mind at rest. The funny thing is I am now over eating because I can't stand to see her left overs go to waste!

I was told by doctors that as long as I was keeping my fluids up was all that mattered. Try to get her to have the pregnancy vitamins if possible though if she cant eat anything.
Good luck, you're a lovely husband lookng after her the way you are, she's very lucky to have someone looking after her! I hope it passes for her soon.

Ugh nausea is the worst.

I suffered until 15 weeks with my son and one of the only things I could stomach was Hungry Jacks. I ate that multiple times a week - we survived ;)

Let her make the decisions as far as what you'll cook - and expect too that alot of the time she'll think she wants something and then go right off it as soon as it's put in front of her.

This usually only lasts a couple of months at most and as long as she can take her vitamins it will be ok.

If it becomes severe (ie. she can't hold anything down or is vomiting alot) she'll need to see her GP.

Congratulations btw!

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The funny thing is I am now over eating because I can't stand to see her left overs go to waste!

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LOL Peter, usually the mother has to go "power pushing" the stoller after bubs in order to lose some weight... Hey, maybe the two of you can go together ;)
You sound like a very caring DH and I'm sure you're going to be a fab father. Enjoy the ride!