Every pregnancy is different — and you’re meant to have your pregnancy, but here are some tips that helped my first trimester go very smoothly.  I felt generally queasy, but never vomited once… which I would attribute to my diet.

• Vitamins:  Don’t forget your prenatal vitamins.  They have lots of goodies (like folic acid) that you don’t normally eat enough of.  They’re an important safety net for your new baby.
• Eat Often: I broke all of my meals into half, so I could eat something every couple hours.  Even when I felt a bit nauseous, I felt better if I could get something down.
• Eat in the middle of the night:  You may be sleeping, but your baby is going 24×7.  It makes sense to me that most people have morning sickness after a night of their baby growing with no nutrients for it.  I kept a banana and peanut butter sandwich next to bed so I didn’t have to go 8 hours without food.
• Avoid Processed Foods:  Every time I ate greasy fries, I felt horrible later in the day or that night… so I gave it up.  Whatever diet you have, try to reduce your processed foods by a notch or two.
• Don’t overeat:  You’re not eating for two.  You’re eating for yourself and a poppy seed.  Yes it takes extra energy to build a baby, but this is not a license to eat everything you want.
• What’s at the heart of your craving?  You have cravings because your body wants something for the baby… instead of just eating what comes to mind, ask yourself why the baby wants that food.  For example, I often craved butter and ice-cream (both very fattening!), but really the baby wanted calcium.  Whenever I craved dairy, I started with a small glass of milk.  If the craving didn’t go away, I splurged on some ice-cream… but sadly, the milk always made mine go away.
• Reduce Junk Food and Caffeine:  The baby is going to take what it needs from the mother’s body…. so if you don’t replace those nutrients with good stuff, then the momma is left with nothing healthy.  So reduce your junk food.  (And with caffeine, I wouldn’t give my baby caffeine, so I tried not to give him caffeine in the womb either).
• Research What’s Safe to Eat while Pregnant:  My midwife told me to avoid certain cheeses like brie and feta… alcohol… fish with lots of mercury and other foods.  Do some research into what foods are safer to eat — it might be time to give up those raw egg shakes.
• Take care of yourself:  It takes a lot of energy to build a baby, so look after yourself.  Take naps.  Go to bed early.  Don’t try to do everything you used to.
• Try Organics:  As a final bonus item, try eating more organics.  (Google the “dirty dozen” to see which produce contains the most pesticides — that’s a good place to start).  There are so many strange chemicals that get sprayed on our foods (and babies start out so fragile) that every bit probably helps.