"Morning" Sickness

Having been through the first 6 weeks or so without having experienced any of the infamous "morning"sickness (surely a male-coined term), I was feeling rather smug and hopeful of the fact that, unlike colleagues who'd been floored by the damn thing, I was stronger than that! A Wonder Woman, striding through the subterranean passageways of the metropolis hopping on and off the tube, ready to tackle the latest deadline, no matter how late in the day you'd been told about it.

So, on a Saturday mining less than a week after finding out that I was pregnant, when I was suddenly floored and found myself crawling on my hands and knees to the bathroom in a way that was reminiscent of one of the worst hangovers I've ever had, I found myself wondering what had happened.

I still had laryngitis, although was now sounding more like a cross between Madge Ramsey and a character from The Simpsons and was home alone so any possibility of ringing my husband for back-up was out. I had to face this one on my own.

They say you should eat something dry, but trying to force shards of cracker down my throat was an impossibility, so I largely spent the day groaning to myself and  'dashing' to the bathroom. Not such a smug Wonder Woman after all!

My thoughtful husband bought me this water bottle from bobble soon after that fateful Saturday and it's been in my handbag every day since

So how do you get through it while avoiding taking time off and managing the daily commute? It turns out the advice is right: dry crackers in your bag ready at any nauseating moment, a bottle of water (you need to keep your fluids up), something fresh (I always had fruit like apples or raspberries, or even cherry tomatoes), gum and, if you're prepared to out yourself early, popping on one of the free TFL "baby on board" badges (you can pick them up from any tube station even though their website says you have to apply - grab a few so you have a spare in your handbag for that day you change coats and forget to swap it. I can also recommend sharing your news with a discrete buddy at work who you can rely on to keep an eye on you. Mine was another pregnant colleague who had confided in me during her first trimester and returned the favour by empathising with my pregnancy symptoms and she was an absolute rock!

Even the Duchess of Cambridge has one,
although I doubt she has much use for it!

A lovely lady on my daily commute let me into another secret the other day - you're entitled to a free season ticket upgrade for the last 8 weeks before maternity leave (National Rail). It's a shame they don't offer it from the outset though as, if you're like me, those first months are hard work and be sure to plan ahead as it's not the most straight-forward process. Anyway, I'm sure to be found reclining in the first class carriage in the near future!