Soft drinks ideas

[Cookie2810]

Hi all, I'm 10 weeks + 3 and I have gone off drinking water. Aware I need to stay hydrated so wondered if anyone had any good soft drinks ideas? I'm also so confused when I look up herbal teas. I've read about peppermint tea being risky in first trimester so have been scared to drink it. Then whenever I Google any ingredients in other herbal teas it always comes back saying avoid during pregnancy. Feel like I can't win at the moment!! Any ideas, greatly appreciated. I also have the problem where I have a funny taste in my mouth if I don't drink or eat so feel like I have to be drinking something all the time. Pregnancy is very strange!

[Seb9]

I have found coconut water great during pregnancy, really refreshing, hydrating and full of good stood but not high in sugar.Also fizzy water with squash I love especially Ribena and fizzy water.

[Cookie2810 in reply to Seb9]

Thank you. I'll have to try that!

[Chloejeffryes]

Try lemonade or flavoured waters if not drink tea or full fat milk is a good alternative I have hyperemisis and I’m 40+ weeks now and flavoured water and tea did it for me isotonic drinks as well like sport drinks are good

[butterfliez]

I have been mixing it up between water , squash , flavoured waters & tea , the odd fizzy drink like lemonade or orange flavours on the rare occasion.

[cmbxm]

Treat yourself, (if you’re a drinker) that’s a no go, so go wild, J2o’s, appletizer, belvior, Google mocktails and just treat yourself

Nothing like a virgin mojito on a Friday night 🤣🤣

[Cookie2810 in reply to cmbxm]

Haha love a good j2o!

[ToniaB123]

I would recommend fizzy water with cold brew tea bags e.g twinnings (it’s only dried fruit), they do loads of flavours like rose lemonade, watermelon and mint etc. Yummy, refreshing and super low cal too!! Good luck xxx

[Cookie2810 in reply to ToniaB123]

Ooh that sounds good, thank you!!

[Rainbow_1989]

I’m 10+2 and sometimes water doesn’t quench my thirst so I’ve had black currant squash. I keep thinking I will have a hot squash soon as a throwback to being a child 😂

The NHS website says you should drink no more than 4 cups of herbal tea a day.

[Cookie2810 in reply to Rainbow_1989]

Thanks; yes apple and blackcurrant squash seems to be my fave so far!

[Bella_Bee]

I found that cold fizzy water with freshly squeezed lemon hit the spot. The nausea was unbearable in the first trimester. The good news is, it really does get better. By week 14 I no longer want to vomit at the sight of .. air!

[Cookie2810 in reply to Bella_Bee]

Oh I hope so..yes in the evening the only thing that helps my mouth is by squeezing fresh lemon juice into water. Nothing else seems to do the trick but it's still driving me mad. I'm getting through so many lemons!!

[Emdog87]

I also have a very horrible taste in my mouth, it’s what I imagine sucking metal tastes like. But I’ve gone right off water, I’ve found really icy squash has been refreshing and then a lot of fizzy water mixed with different flavours of squash, again with a lot of ice. I’m almost at 12 weeks and the yacky taste is calming down. X

[Cookie2810 in reply to Emdog87]

Oh I know the feeling. Glad it's getting better. I'm scared that I'll be stuck with it for life!!

[Purpledoggy]

Herbal tea made with just fruit is fine. Roobois tea is good, there is a vanilla flavoured one I like or just plain one with honey is nice. Virgin bloody mary I do like to have on a Friday night to go wild 😜! I drink a LOT of ginger beer as at 19 weeks the nausea is still going. Alcohol free fizzy wines (I have tried them all)-Sainsburys alcohol free sparkling is surprisingly the best, freixnet pink sparkling is also nice on a warm day. Martini alcohol free with fever tree tonic is my go to mocktail if not VBM. Xx

[Cookie2810 in reply to Purpledoggy]

I bought Roobois before realising I was pregnant and now the smell of it makes me feel sick! I think I need to get on the ginger beer actually!

[Purpledoggy in reply to Cookie2810]

It's funny what you become averse to isn't it! The smell of roast chicken I can't deal with any more 😂 Fever Tree ginger beer is the best (I did myself a little taste test and anti-nausea trial when I was about 6 weeks). It's pricier than the cheap stuff but it doesn't contain sweeteners or any weird nonsense like liquorice, and it is spicey so a little goes a long way xx

[Cookie2810 in reply to Purpledoggy]

It's so weird. I'm the opposite, I crave a roast chicken now 😂😂. That sounds good, think I'll be heading to the shops today to get some, thank you!

[IvfStruggler]

The only tea I still dare to drink is Rooibos and apparently it's really good for you. I'm also really careful with sugar intake so if I have fruit juice I dilute it with water. I found squash without added sugar and drink loads of that. The weirdest thing is that I suddenly love drinking milk so sometimes when I ended up with my partner on a terras I've ordered that (they always seem to have it even when it's not on the menu). Looks really odd a beer and glass of milk on the same table 😂

[Cookie2810 in reply to IvfStruggler]

Omg yes the same! I can only seem to manage water with some lemon juice in, then I sit there thinking ooh I really fancy a glass of milk 😂

[IvfStruggler in reply to Cookie2810]

Treat yourself and have the milk! 😂 Apparently it's also really good for hydration. After getting pregnant I really went off rooibos tea but that's getting better again. I have it with lots of milk so it takes the edge off in terms of taste and smell.

[Cookie2810 in reply to IvfStruggler]

Yeah I can't go near Roobois right now. My husband keeps drinking it lol. I tend to have a glass of milk in the evening now haha. I really miss my enjoyment of tea. I used to be a big tea drinker and I've been completely put off that too!! Probably a good thing as I know you're not supposed to have too much caffeine

[IvfStruggler in reply to Cookie2810]

I really really miss my tea. I did IVF for 3 years and they say you shouldn't have caffeine at all (not even dark chocolate). I built up such a lovely range of herbal teas I was enjoying (mint, fennel, camomile). Then I googled them when pregnant and every single one said best avoided. Then I only had rooibos and was so gutted that it made me sick in the early weeks. I'm still not loving it like before but I'm just desperate for that warm drink and sadly I cannot warm a lovely glass of warm milk at work.

[Cookie2810 in reply to IvfStruggler]

Oh really, gosh. Yes that's the problem I have. I read the box of a herbal tea, then Google it, then every single one seems to say not recommended in pregnancy! Nightmare.

[Artmum22]

I was told by my doctor that water was the best drink during pregnancy, along with milk. The other drinks, especially sugary drinks could alter your glucose levels, which is not recommended since you will be asked to do your glucose test at around 27-weeks I think. Try to add a lemon while drinking water, it could help... What I used to do during early pregnancy is to drink chamomile tea with manuka honey, or ginger lemon tea which eased my nausea. The tea which must be avoided are hibiscus tea and peppermint tea. Rooibos is another safer alternative, but you need to check with your doctor first. Good luck and stay hydrated

[SJ37]

I had no idea about the peppermint tea! I dont drink it too much, maybe a few times a week though. Anyway I'm 36 weeks now and have been fine. I'd argue some of the herbal teas are not very potent. I've lived on rooibos though, and decaff tea in the day. It's funny about the lemon, I was eating them early on, couldn't get enough. And ice cold lemonade is delicious. And milk - still love that! But a good tip is tonic with lemon. I think this tastes enough like an adult drink on its own AND it helps alleviate cramp. Appetiser is delicious, that's my pub drink (make similar at home with juice and fizzy water). I've been teetotal since December as I did dry January before finding out I was pregnant. Haven't actually missed booze that much so haven't bothered with the alchohol free alternatives, apart from Becks blue.

[Cookie2810 in reply to SJ37]

I only found out the day I'd drunk a giant mug of it and another one earlier in the day and went into complete panic. Haven't had any since! Yeah I think anything with lemon is a good idea! No the no alcohol thing doesn't bother me either. I wasn't really much of a drinker so I don't miss it!

[Mai94]

Sparkling water and elderflower cordial 😍

[Cookie2810 in reply to Mai94]

My fave, love elderflower

[jolota]

I follow the NHS guidelines which says less that 4 cups of herbal tea a day is fine, if you google anything you'll find at least one website saying it's bad & you'll be scared and unable to eat or drink a ridiculous amount of stuff! Stick to the actual health guidelines in your country and don't google too much or you'll be terrified and limited for your whole pregnancy. I'm a big mint tea drinker but actually found any drink that wasn't ice cold gross especially in my first trimester. I would recommend trying your water ice cold if you haven't yet.

Lemonade worked best for me for that horrible taste I also got in my mouth (finally eased in second trimester!), the acidity seemed to help & it wasn't as sweet as other fizzy drinks.

Other than that I don't have much advice because I really found the sweetness of most soft drinks made the taste in my mouth worse. As a side note, using a tongue scraper throughout the day helped with that a little, as well as some chewing gums, I also kept a satsuma on my desk and just ate one segment every time my mouth started to seem gross.

Elderflower didn't work for me even though I loved it before pregnancy, it seemed to bitter now which I was gutted by!

Milk was something I could drink (because it's always cold from the fridge!) but it didn't help with the taste in my mouth but was a good start to my day to line my stomach when I couldn't face eating just yet.

[Cookie2810 in reply to jolota]

Thank you, that's really useful. My preferences are definitely chewing gum, squeezing fresh lemon or lime juice into water and milk. You're so right about googling. The nurse at the hospital told me off the other day saying stop googling everything and only ask your midwife or go on the NHS website

[jolota in reply to Cookie2810]

It's definitely just trial and error in the first trimester, finding something that works for you & hoping it keeps you going until you feel better! Yeah I was googling at lot at first, since you don't actually get to see your midwife all that often but the first trimester was hard enough with the nausea without making myself feel worse but googling and freaking myself out, steals the joy from pregnancy!