Living With All Day “Morning Sickness”

I LOVE working with pregnant mamas. I love the energy they have as they glow in a yoga class. I also get a lot of questions about labour, childbirth, motherhood and beyond. One question that is always near and dear to my heart is when I am asked about nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP). After suffering through 2 pregnancies with hyperemesis I am confident in saying I have a little bit of experience with NVP.

The post below I wrote during my second pregnancy as I was often responding to emails from clients asking about various remedies. Please note that this is NOT medical advice but I am sharing what has worked for me through my last two pregnancies.

Over halfway through my second pregnancy I am confident in saying that I have researched quite a bit about morning sickness, hyperemesis and treatment options. I quite often get asked from those experiencing nausea, varying from “light” to “extreme”, what I can recommend or what I found possibly helped relief my nausea. I thought putting together a blog post would be a great way to share the info with everyone interested and an easier way for me to send the info when people ask in the future.

Before I start to share some of the details of what I have experienced and tried I cannot express enough that it is so important to know that every individual and every pregnancy is completely different. Do what works best for you and your baby. Don’t listen when people tell you that you HAVE to do this, or you HAVE to do that. Try it if you would like, see if it works, and move on from there.

I am going to share in point form as this blog post would be quite large if not. Here are some of the things I could not live without for 9 months!

*citrus- anything citrus has always been very helpful for me. I eat oranges, grapefruit, lemon in my water, lemon aromatherapy, citrus smelling lotions and soaps- as long as not too strong

*Earth Mama Morning Sickness Tea– I could not drink enough of this during the first trimester of both of my pregnancies. I would drink it all day long. Would drink it hot, lukewarm or cold. Always helped to settle my stomach even just a bit.

*cold cold drinks- After my first trimester I could not stand hot beverages. As much as I tried to drink more Earth Mama tea because I would feel better after, I craved and wanted everything to be ice cold.

*Preggie Pops– This was also a great first trimester help for me. I would suck on these all day long to take off the edge. I ended up, in both pregnancies, having way too many of these in my first trimester and I just can’t have anymore now.

*When you find food that you like and can actually stomach and it makes you feel like eating then just eat it. Who cares if it is chips, crackers or banana’s. Whatever you can eat then eat it. Your baby will thrive on whatever you put in your body. You may feel extremely weak and tired because of possible nutritional deficiencies but that is because as soon as something gets put in your body the baby wants it and takes it!

*Medication can be your friend. I don’t normally take a lot of medication and am a quite frequently prefer my naturopath over physicians (just personal choice) but when I am pregnant drugs are my friend.

*Try to get something into your stomach when you wake up. Take small bits overtime. Try to include protein which will help you get through a little bit longer. For me it was peanut butter. However, if it is chicken you want at 6a.m. then have it! If none of that appeals to you then stick to what you can have.

*Eating at night. I have found that if I wake up at night I would also get something very small to eat (ie: few bites of watermelon) this would help me not feel as nauseous come morning because I had something in my stomach.

*Chewing Gum- chewing gum helped to relieve my nausea. However, like most things, if I had too much of one flavour I can never look at it again.

*Diclectin- diclectin worked sort of for my first pregnancy. I was on 8 pills a day and they did may me VERY tired. I took diclectin right until the day D was born. I never really got full relief from it though as I was so extreme. I do know people who get relief with just 1-4 pills per day.

*Zofran- this is my drug of choice these days and I do not leave home without them! Zofran is “next step up” from Diclectin and is actually prescribed to chemo patients for extreme nausea and vomiting. Zofran, like diclectin, is extremely safe. Mother Risk out of Sick Kids has done studies and keeps up to date information on both of these medications. I am on max dosage of zofran and saw a great improvement the day I started to take it. I went from vomiting 15-20 times per day (I am not kidding!) to 2-3x per day. I am still nauseated almost all day but not as extreme. When I started the zofran I was able to start wanting to eat little bits of specific foods here and there.

*Prenatal Vitamins- I cannot stomach these. I have tried and tried and gave up with both pregnancies. My doctor closely monitors all of blood levels and lets me know if I need to take any specific vitamins. Most days I can stomach my Genestra Folic Acid. Many women find that they need to take their prenatal at a certain time of the day. Stomaching things in the morning can be a challenge. Try your vitamins at different times of the day and see if that helps at all. My doctor tells me take what I can and when I can and not to stress about it.

*Carry a toothbrush, toothpaste, plastic bags and tissue with you everywhere you go. You don’t want to be running around looking for a place to get sick.

*Have a designated bucket, or buckets, for when you feel sick. With my first pregnancy I even kept a small garbage can in the car. There was one in many rooms of the house. When you clean them out with soap make sure it is a soap smell that you like. There is nothing worse than getting sick up close and personal with a smell that turns you off more!

*Know YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Many women experience the exact same thing you are experiencing. People just don’t talk about it as often or they may not be people in your immediate circle. Find forums, dive into social media or find friends of friends who have been through it.

*Connect with Mother Risk Nausea and Vomiting helpline through SickKids. There information, resources and support is amazing.

*If you have to be out the door to get somewhere then plan lots of extra time. Wake up earlier, lounge in bed, slowly shower, come back and lay down, get dressed, rest, etc. When my mornings are rushed I would always feel more nauseous!

Most importantly is to rest when you can. Rest your mind, body and spirit. You are doing the best possible job growing your child. Who cares if the floor needs cleaned, if you still need to buy a baby crib, or if you no longer feel up to going out to see friends and family. Do whatever you want for yourself and your child. Everything else will fall into place on its own. Let others help you, accept help and know that it does not have to be immediately reciprocated. Take the rest and try to enjoy every little bump, hiccup and baby kick along the way.

Warm Baby Wishes from one sick mama to another
~Amanda
xo