So you’ve peed on a stick and found out you are pregnant. Congratulations! There is no doubt you are a happy mother-to-be. But a week or two later, many pregnant start to feel nausous. This must be morning sickness”, you think. However, you begin to realize that it does not go away once noon hits. It lasts all day long and into the night! And for many moms, it is no walk in the park. For some moms, they vomit so much that they need ot be hospitalized. I am one of the moms who have puked 24/7 the entire 9 months. I never needed to be hospitalized, thankfully, but it was pretty bad. After a few pregnancies I do know some tricks, and am passing them along to moms who need them!
Ok – let’s talk about the foods that supposedly help. Someone has probably suggested saltines and ginger ale to you. Ginger has been known to calm the stomach, and saltines being dry and tasteless are often good for upset stomachs. I have found that yes, these work, but not all the time. But ginger alse tends to leave an aftertaste that sends me brushing my teeth. And the toothbrush makes me gag, which starts the cycle all over. The same goes for the “Preggie Pops” and hard candies they sell at baby and maternity stores. These candies promise to settle stomachs. They fist of all have never worked for me – and if they ever would, the sugar coating they leave on my teeth needs to be brushed off immediately. I can not stand sugary aftertastes in pregnancy so these are on my list of things not to bother with.
Some people take ginger pills to get the ginger herb directly into the stomach. I tried this and ended up burping the taste right back up and never had one again. I did try the ginger candies, which I believe did help my stomach. But again, candy with a sugar coating I just could not deal with.
Another product out there is the Sea Bands. These are worn on both wrists and apply accupressure to relieve nausea. I have found these to work a little bit, but they are uncomfortable and very noticeable. They itch and leave red marks when removed. A better version of this is the Bio Band. I found this on www.morningsicknesshelp.com. It is worn on just one wrist, and is adjustable with velcro. I found that this is not only more comfortable, but works better for some reason.
One thing I tried that I did not have high hopes for was the CD with relaxing music, that is supposed to relieve nausea but doing something to the inner ear. I doubted this very highly but I did find it worked! It is not hypnotherapy, just some sounds and beats that send pulsations to your brain. I would put on this music in my set of headphones and ether lie down with my eyes closed or go about my business with my otehr child, cleaning etc. You can listen with background noise and be on the go which is key. Also you don’t need ot listen to the whole thing, just 20 minutes at least I believe. I always found that it chilled me out and helped somewhat. I do suggest giving this a try. Even if it does not get rid of your nausea completely, I believe it is always good to lie down and listen to relaxing music.
Chewing gum can also help. I found that a mint flavored, sugarless gum is best because there is no aftertaste and the mint freshens any aftertastes. Drinking water is tough when nausous – but very important to prevent dehydration. One thing to help make it more tolderable is to add a lemon wedge or a few drops of lemon juice to your water. This helps to give the water a fresh taste that you don’t mind drinking, whehter alone or with meals.
One key thing I do suggest is this: when you are nausoes and vomiting, if something grosses you out and you think it will not settle in your stomach – do not eat it, even if you think it is nutritious and you’ve liked it before. And if there is ever a food you DO feel up for eating, GO FOR IT! Whether it is pizza at 9 am or a chocolate cake at 2pm, or sweet potatoes at midnight – go with your body’s cues and eat it. I have found that if I had the slightest craving, if I ate that particular food, that it settled okay. And if I ate something I didn’t particularly have in mind, just because it was there, it never settled well. Go with your gut feelings and cravings if you ever have them, because you need to eat SOMETHING and it is rare to get a meal down!
