Some days, my belly looks nice and compact. Some days, it seems to stick out with a big attitude, proclaiming to the world that Baby is in there. As with all things, there's a rationale for it. The reason being pure and simple. I'm suffering from one of the common ailments of pregnancy. Indigestion.
I've managed to curb the aching back problem that I've mentioned before by my weekly swim and also trying to limit the amount of time that I'm sitting at the table, in front of the laptop.
Since entering into the 6th month of my pregnancy, I'm plagued by problems of indigestion every few days. It didn't use to bug me so much but along with indigestion, I get a distended stomach and all the discomfort associated with it. The feeling is sometimes so uncomfortable that I would feel the need to support the bottom of my belly (like I'm lugging some watermelon stripped to my front), lay in bed and try to burp as much of the air out (although most would say that's not advisable) or drink lots of peppermint tea to purge out the air.
Now, I can just imagine why colicky babies cry so much. The feeling is so uncomfortable and its not like any indigestion problems I had pre-pregnancy. Those poor babies have no way of understanding nor articulating their discomforts :(
On the flip side, indigestion, which is common in pregnancy is a result of the loosening of abdominal muscles. Thus, food takes longer to be digested and hence, nutrients can be better absorbed by Baby. Understanding the logic and knowing that its good for Baby is one thing. Having to bear the discomfort of a distended stomach and all that gas/wind in your stomach is yet another.
Based on what I've googled from the web, we take in air as we eat, drink or through normal digestion of certain food in the body. Of course, some food tend to produce more gas. The body either expells the gas/air through burping or through the other end of your body (you know where).
Food that produces more gas are things like dairy products (e.g. milk, cheese, ice-cream), some fruits and juices (e.g. apples, pears, peaches, prunes), vegetables (e.g. broccoli, artichokes, brussel sprouts, onions), beans of all kinds and starch (e.g. potato, corn, noodles and wheat). Interesting, protein is actually good as they don't produce gas or much gas.
At the end of the day, there's really not much I can do but to watch my diet and steer clear of certain food. I did ask my gynae for medication for indigestion but I didn't bring it along with me to Houston. Neither did I bring along the "Ru yi you" that my mom nagged me so many times to bring for the trip and also on the day of my flight. And now, I'm suffering from it all. Drats!
2 comments:
Are you sure Ru Yi You works on adults? It's a kiddie's prescription. Can you get Woodwards Gripewater aka Fei Zai Shui (you know the colourless liquid we just pop into our mouths after each bath?) I know one of my colleague actually takes that.
Well... last time I had bloated stomach, it helped some. Gripewater is a baby's prescription too. I was looking at it the last time and it didn't say anything abt for pregnant moms. So, I didn't dare to buy.
Maybe we will check out London's Chinatown to see if they have Ru Yi You. Otherwise, I've got to get Doc's prescriptions for medication as OTC is not suitable.
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