Nausea, nausea, and more nausea

I foolishly told everyone that I was feeling great with no real signs of pregnancy during Week 5 and the beginning of Week 6. That changed this week. It started out with severe back-ache and stomach cramps - like I was going to start my period. That lasted about 3 days. Then I began having nausea - ALL DAY LONG. I haven't thrown-up yet (knock on wood) - but I do feel absolutely gross most of the day. I feel better when I lay down or sit ... which means I haven't been out to exercise much. I went on a short walk yesterday and today - but it definitely feels like slow motion. I'm trying several things to help with the nausea:

1. Eating smaller meals (crackers, bread, and other bland foods) throughout the day

2. Drinking ginger tea

3. Peppermint candies and teas

I find that all I really want to eat at this point is bland foods. I did make a BLT sandwich for lunch today and managed to eat the entire thing - but it didn't especially taste good going down. This is a hard adjustment for me since I was eating all vegetables and meat just a few weeks ago. I bought some dry crackers, as well as saltines, to keep with me in my purse and by my bed. I am steeping sliced-up ginger root in water and keeping it refrigerated so that I have easy access to ginger water throughout the day. I drank 4 big glasses of this today. It didn't really help the nausea - but I've heard that ginger must build up in the system to really work, so I'm determined to keep drinking it. I figure it can't hurt.

The biggest help so far appears to be the peppermint, though it is only a temporary solution. I bought some peppermint salt-water taffies today and they really soothed my stomach. Unfortunately these are not very healthy for me, and they did not soothe it for that long. But it was a nice relief. I ate a granola bar for dinner and tolerated that well. I also snacked on some home-made beef jerky. My stomach is feeling slightly better this evening - but I'm not sure if it is from eating these foods, or if it simply eases up toward night-time.

Tomorrow I am subbing at the the pre-school from 8:00 until 11:30. I am a little nervous how that will go since today all I had the energy to do was finish my beef jerky then go watch a movie and nap. Tomorrow will be a busy day, but I'm sure I'll make it through it. Being pregnant is quite the experience - and I'm learning I must be flexible with my body!