Do you struggle with drinking water while you’re pregnant? Read below for my top tips on how to drink more water while pregnant!
Drinking water during your first trimester can be very, very hard. Some days I felt like I didn’t eat anything and definitely didn’t drink anything at all because the nausea was so bad.
So I would go a long time without drinking water, then would try and chug water to catch up on what I was missing, which would then lead to… you guessed it… more nausea.
Staying hydrated during the first trimester is HARD but so important. Read below for my top tricks for getting water in for the first trimester and during pregnancy in general.
This post is all about how to drink more water while pregnant.
1. Flavor it up!
This could be anything like infusing with fruit or squeezing a lime or lemon into your water, but putting some flavor into your water can help a lot!
My favorite thing to do was a mix of lemon and lime in my water.
Drinking water with lemon in it is also super healthy and beneficial for digestion and absorption.
I personally try and stay away from most of the flavoring packets that you can put into the water because they have artificial coloring in them, but if you go this route look for those that are dye-free and low in sugar!
My go-to flavoring packet isn’t necessarily to make your water taste good but it’s a hydrating electrolyte powder mix from LMNT. My two favorite flavors are raspberry salt and watermelon salt.
You might be wondering about the salt… but salt is a great electrolyte to replenish your body when most people are low on electrolytes! I personally drank one a day and I loved how it made me feel afterward. It truly sounds weird drinking a salt drink mix, but it really is good! If you want a less salty taste then add more water (hey, that’s what we are aiming for anyways!).
2. Make it hot!
This may be a weird one, but it helped me out! Drinking plain water was getting boring and sometimes I didn’t want lemon water, but lemon tea… for some reason it helped!
When I say lemon tea I actually mean just hot water with lemon squeezed in it. Hahaha.
I also did actual ginger tea which ginger has an interesting taste to it, but ginger is supposed to help with nausea.
This trick didn’t make me drink A LOT more because I like to sip hot drinks more than I like to down them like I’m drinking from a water bottle. But, something is better than nothing is my motto.
3. Make it cold!
Okay, wait… I know I just said to make it hot before this, but it truly does help.
I habitually drink room-temperature water. I grew up that way and so it was weird for me to drink cold water.
I still don’t LOVE it when I’m not pregnant, but when I’m pregnant… freezing cold water in my Stanley or Yeti cup is where it’s at.
Maybe cause the coldness makes it taste different?
Who knows. But try it! It may help you out too!
4. Put it in a cup with a straw!
I prefer using a Stanley or Yeti or any kind of insulated cup to keep it cold longer, but also they hold a lot of water, and drinking more water is the point of this game.
But, you’ve got to make sure that there’s a straw in whatever beverage holder you’re using.
Drinking out of a straw can help you drink more water than without one.
I can attest to this… the first trimester I wasn’t using a straw much but as soon as I switched to using a straw I went up at least 20-30 more ounces of water a day than I was consuming.
Even if you don’t have an insulated cup (I just recommend cold water while pregnant) get some sort of straw that you can use over and over again to drink your water!
5. Drink 8-16 ounces of water first thing in the morning!
This specifically is geared towards my morning coffee drinkers that go all night without drinking water, get up, and pound the caffeine (guilty!).
Drinking water first thing in the morning sets the mood for the day. Start with water and you’ll end with water. Or, at least that is the hope.
If you don’t drink water during the night (and even if you do…) you just went 7+ hours without hydrating your body. Your body at this point NEEDS water.
Water first. Then coffee. Or tea. Or whatever floats your boat.
6. Make a smoothie!
This one is like getting two birds with one stone. This one gives you the satisfaction of feeling full while also getting in more water!
I’m a major smoothie lover so this one was an easy one for me. I usually use a base of almond milk in my smoothies, but during the first trimester, I stuck to water since I knew I was majorly struggling in this department.
My go-to smoothie was half a banana, a handful of frozen mango, a handful of frozen pineapple, and weirdly enough… a little bit of peanut butter or almond butter (a little bit of added protein and fat).
When I’m not pregnant I usually will add in spinach or frozen kale to get in some greens, but your girl was struggling to do the bare minimum at this point… just making a smoothie was difficult and I wasn’t about to make something that I potentially didn’t want to drink when I was done.
7. Drink them bubbles!
This trick really helped when I was craving a ginger ale but was wanting to stay away from the sugar. The bubbles also somehow would help with the nausea temporarily, but I was never able to drink a lot.
This was more like the tea trick where it gave me something to sip on for a little bit.
Even though drinking water was absolutely gross to me in my first trimester I was always so thirsty. Taking small sips of something was really beneficial.
My go-to bubbly drinks are usually Topo Chico’s (a twist of grapefruit is my favorite) or Bubly’s.
These were my favorites and my go-to’s while I was in my first trimester, but I’m definitely chugging along with my cold water in my Stanley cup in my second trimester. Drinking out of a straw is a game-changer to drink more water!
Not only do you need water to function, to live, and to have a healthy pregnancy, but staying hydrated also helps your skin with its elasticity as your belly grows! WIN WIN.
Comment below your favorite ways to get more water in during the day!