Now here is a topic that is near to my heart. I wrote about pregnancy nausea insanity a while back and got a lot of response from fellow sickness sufferers. I also shared that I was having signs of pregnancy with an iud paragard. Here is something a recent emailer wrote:
How do you cope with pregnancy sickness and take care of your little ones? My husband and son have been subjected to Campbell’s soups, Chef Boyardee, and a house that hasn’t been cleaned in weeks because I spend a lot of time lying on the couch waiting for nausea and gagging sensations to pass. I’ve managed to wash dishes and do laundry and that’s about it. And there’s a LOT of television on.
Despite the wealth of well-intentioned advice out there, my firm belief is that for many women, pregnancy sickness really is one of those things for which there is no magic solution. It’s just one of those horrible things and one of those horrible times in your life (months even!) that you just have to get through. In whatever way you can. To the writer of this email I responded:
Please take all the rest you need. I know it is hard to believe right now while you are in the midst of it, but this really is a passing phase in your family life, and one from which you will all benefit in the long run. Sometimes the hardest thing is to just accept that God wills us to do NOTHING right now. Especially for women who are perfectionists, do-ers, and controllers, the biggest sacrifice can be in just letting things go. Just lying on the couch. Just turning on the TV. Just opening cans for dinner or letting someone else handle meals.
It wounds our pride to admit we are helpless and we grow weary of relying on the charity of others, but sometimes we simply cannot do otherwise. What’s more, when mothers are sick, their husbands, children, and friends have a great opportunity to practice patience and charity.
I know, I know, these thoughts are small comfort when your head is stuck in the toilet or your rear end is stuck on the couch. It might be helpful to bear in mind, however, that the sick have tremendous power in their suffering. Think of the many saints who spent their final years in prolonged illness on their death beds. Why would God allow it? Because He knows what value there can be for all souls in suffering.
On the practical side, I would urge sick mothers to rest as much as possible- the sickness seems to intesify if you exert yourself, physically or emotionally, in any way. Eat small portions of whatever you can and whatever you want, even if it is “terrible” for the baby. You can make up for nutritional deficiencies later on when you are feeling better. I lived on chocolate covered Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls for the first three months of my pregnancy with Stephen. He survived.
So what do you all think? What survival tips or words of encouragement can you offer sick and tired, long-suffering pregnant women everywhere?
One brown sugar Pop-tart for breakfast, one package of peanut butter crackers for lunch and whatever I could get down without smelling for supper (think lots of bowls of Frosted MiniWheats) was it for my first trimester. Oh yeah, and absolutely NO commercials of fast or fried foods! All three kids are doing great so far.
For me what helped was offering it up. I knew that no matter how bad I felt, there was always someone who felt worse. I also knew that a lot of women who are unable to conceive would give anything to experience morning sickness.
I swear by water for morning sickness….lots of it. I know, I know, the last thing you feel like choking down is a big ole glass of water, but drink as much as you can as soon as you wake up and sip on it all day long. Adding some lemon helped me get it down. It keeps the stomach acid diluted. My midwife also recommended small frequent protein snacks, even keeping some small pieces of cheese sliced up in the fridge and grabbing one during a middle of the night bathroom break…just to keep something always on your stomach.
Looking forward to this thread. We are hoping for another one soon, and the first trimester is my hardest time by far. 🙂
Well, my second pregnancy was awful. I lost about 7 pounds the first trimester. Even though I could eventually hold things down, my food list was only ten items long. I resorted to using Sea-Bands (anti-nausea bracelets), and didn’t take them off until I delivered the placenta!
The next pregnancy was an unimaginable H—. It started with the morning sickness, but none of the "tricks" worked. I could not stop gagging. My husband found me on the hall floor in the middle of the night. I called the doctor because I thought I was dying. He admitted me to the hospital (I’d lost 7 pounds in 6 days!)for dehydration and hyperemisis gravidarum. They inserted a catheter into my arm, through which I receieved fluids round the clock as well as prenatal vitamins. Eventually they added on TPN, because I lost 25 pounds. We had just moved to southern NH, and all of our family lives in the Philly area. My son started second grade in a new school the day I was admitted. We knew no one. So for the next three months, my in-laws, parents and brother came up in rotation to take care of us. My visiting nurse was my only friend. I missed a season of soccer and my poor little 4 year old had no one to interact with. I missed homework and special dinners (I couldn’t go near the kitchen). I missed middle of the night calls for mommy. One of the few things that kept me going was that there was an end in sight, a due date. I thought about all the other patients my visiting nurse had to treat, the ones with cancer, etc. They didn’t know when they would see the end of their tunnels.
Now, eventually she was born. And even though I could only eat a few things after they removed the catheter at the end of the first trimester (e.g., brown sugar cinnamon pop-tarts and peanut-butter ice cream), she was the healthiest little thing! And my husband said it was like I’d had a tumor removed, because as soon as she was out of me I was asking for tacos, peanut butter, chocolate milk – it took me a good year or so to feel that I was full after that pregnancy! OK, I went on for too long and I apologize. I just wanted to let other women know that it is possible to live through that kind of pregnancy, even though ot doeasn’t fell like it at the time. Peace!
Peppermints helped in one pregnancy, and this newer product called "Preggie Pops" helped in another (they are full of vitamin B6, which is supposed to curb the nausea.) For my other three pregnancies, I just kept eating small meals and never letting the stomach get empty, but nothing in particular seemed to help with those pregnancies.
Take time for yourself and rest as much as you can. Sometimes a regular Coke would help me as well, or a glass of juice–the sugar seemed to settle things a bit. Most of all, enjoy the moments you can, and remember our Blessed Mother–being pregnant most of the way to Bethlehem was probably not the most pleasant experience either, so we know she understands!
lemonade!!! I lived on lemonade slushes from Sonic and sour balls bought in bulk from the grocery. Later, I read somewhere that these sour tastes relieve nausea.
Also, I read about and took a lot of vitamin B…B6 and B12 during my last pregnancy. It helps with the nausea and crankiness!! Of course, ask your OB first:)
The worst is that when you are totally wiped out and food is the farthest thing from your mind, everyone else in the family still expects three meals a day just like normal. The only thing that got me through this last pregnancy’s first trimester was a dear grandmotherly lady next door who likes to cook. Thanks to her, our family had real meals sometimes. My husband kept asking if I needed to go to the store. We had food, I just couldn’t bear to cook it.
Our baby is due in 2 months now. And guess what? Suddenly the problem is reversed. All I want to do is eat! Things taste SO good I just want to bake and cook and eat all day long! This too shall pass.
I suffered terrible "all-day" sickness with my first three children. After losing loads of weight (actually not a bad thing as I started out my pregnancies overweight!), but feeling so nauseaous and weak that some days I literally could not get off the couch, my brother found an ad for a bracelet in the Couple to Couple League newsletter. It is used for chemo patients, as well as motion sickness, but also used for pregnancy nausea… it works!!! I acutally ended up lending it out to several friends and my sister-in-law too and they all found it to be effective as well…When I was pregnant with our fourth child, and only boy, I didn’t find myself quite as nauseaous after the first four months or so, but still found the bracelet to be very helpful. The bracelet is called ReliefBand and if you do a web search you can find retailers that sell it or get it directly from their web site…www.reliefband.com
Gum was the only thing that really helped me good luck and God bless
My problem isn’t nausea, but sciatica for the second half of my pregnancy, making it painful to walk or stand for any length of time. The whole hosue goes to pot. Guilt sets in.
The worst time I had it was when I was pregnant with my 3rd child. I had friends bringing me meals BEFORE the baby was born. Afterwards, my husband said he had no idea that it was so bad for me. I realized that I kept trying to do it all and didn’t want to ask for his help. I suppose this was pride.
Then I wised up and realized that the kids don’t care if they have tacos every night and my husband doesn’t mind doing the dishes for a few months, and I really need the lesson in humility.
The antihistamine Unisom plus Vitamin B6 50 mg may be helpful with morning sickness. This is according to my favorite natural approaches medical person, Dr. Mercola. B6 is what I took when I had PMS so bad no one could stand me, including myself! I took 1000 mg for a year and there was no toxicity but PMS went away right away.
This is something close to my heart right now as I am eight weeks along, and have three small kids, ages five, three, and almost two.
My husband just started a new job, and we are to be putting our house on the market soon so being "sick" has been an unwelcome interuption to my daily life.
I have felt sorry for myself, felt guilty for asking my husband for a break every evening, and it’s been a struggle against my "perfect mother" syndrome.
Thanks for posting what you did, Danielle. It really helped put things in perspective.
God Bless, Jen
Reading all this makes me realize that something many of us to (bring a meal to the family after the baby is born) may be ill-timed. Maybe the time to do it is in the early pregnancy when the mom-to-be is SO tired & possibly nauseous. Or hey, maybe even BOTH of those times.
So my best advice to you is: if you are lucky enough to have a friend who asks, "Is there anything I can do to help you out?" swallow your pride and say, "Bring over some dinner tomorrow for my family." Sometimes the best thing you can do for your family is to accept help when it’s offered. I’m sure that you would offer such help to your friends when you know it’s needed.
Summer fruit helped me a lot with nausea, as did sucking on "watermelon Jolly Ranchers" and lemon drops.
This is a tough one! I suffered from "all day" sickness with my 2nd and 3rd child. Try as best you can to keep hydrated. Make friends with your couch and t.v. and remember that this is all temporary. It’s a pain in the you know what to get through but, when you hold that baby in your arms for the first time, you won’t remember this part. Let others "do" for you. I think this is Gods way of forcing us to rest.
I can’t believe nobody mentioned my all time favorite pregnancy nausia tonic: 7 Eleven Coke Slurpee or the Burger King Iccee Coke, followed by a double cheeseburger.
Kidding aside, I found getting some help with housekeeping and babysitting a huge positive factor in coping with morning sickness and fatigue.
Thank you for this post. I too am in the middle of morning sickness (for the 8th. time) and am losing the will to fight this battle. The best gift I have been given is dinner for my family for the next month from a group of generous friends. Not having to think about preparing dinner (the raw meat, the seasonings…) is such a gift. If it is something that is offensive to me- like anything with a hint of garlic in it, I eat my own dinner on the deck. But here’s a question: How to deal with a family who’s just as burnt out with this as I am?
Right now I am nearing the end of my 4th month of my 4th pregnancy. For the first several months I survived on Kashi’s Strawberry Fields cereal (many times feeding the toddlers the strawberries). I would even leave it by my bed to have a little bit first thing in the morning or even at night. It helped tremendously! I also found a morning sickness multivitamin at the health food store that seemed to help ( but only when taken on a full stomach, which could be a chore!)
Hey there Danielle, I had a young Doctor in California once who made me feel extrememly guilty for not excercising when I was pregnant and I was extremely sick. I later saw an elderly OB/GYN who felt terrible for me and told me not to do any physical activity. I would tell women to just do what they can to get through it. You can excercise later and you have years ahead of you to feel guilty about everything!
I just recently finished "morning/all day" nausea with my fourth darling..I could rarely consume anything sweet. I lived off of saltines, (reduced-sodium), Campbell’s Won Ton soup, and club soda mixed with water. Lost a few pounds in my first trimester. I know it sounds a bit crazy, but it really helped me to nibble on 3-4 crackers first thing in the morning before even sitting up….then sips of water until I could swallow. If my stomach was completely empty it was worse. Hang in there and God bless you!
I have four children and limped through morning sickness nibbling on saltines, sipping cranberry juice, and sitting as still as I possibly could any time I had the chance. Movement aggravated the constant feeling of motion sickness. As far as the fatique, food smells, and gagging while brushing my teeth goes (UGH!),well,I never had any tricks to help with that. One doctor gave his blessing on not taking prenatal vitimins until I felt better and that helped a lot.
Having an understanding husband would have been a big help, but mine had no clue what I was going through and expected me to have the house spotless and meals cooked, ect. He even bragged to everyone that I was feeling great. In hindsight, I strongly urge you to make sure your husband knows how you feel. Even if you aren’t a complainer by nature, or afraid to tell him, this is the time to speak up. If he is controlling and doesn’t "hear" you , take care of yourself, even if he calls you lazy or other names. Find others who will validate you at this challenging time, and cling to the love and experiences of our dear Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. You are not alone and this,too,shall pass.
Okay, I’m no expert, as I am only gestating #2 right now. With my daughter, my old doc (a general practitioner) told me the ONLY medicine I could take was Tums (and boy, did I take a lot with her!) However, I have to go to an OB this time, and he gave me a big old list of drugs I could take (I didn’t even know that I could take tylenol for headaches last time!)
His suggestions for morning sickness follow:
1) Take unisom (I think half a tablet)
2) Take B vitamins, particularly B-6
3) Stop taking prenatals if they make you sicker
4) Pour the syurp from a can of peaches over ice, take 1 T. of ice cold syrup every 15 minutes to quell nausea (personally, the idea of drinking peach syrup almost made me ill, so I didn’t try this one!)
5) Suck on sour candies (lemon drops, etc.) if you can’t find sour hard candies, sour patch kids work, too.
6) Always eat protein foods and carbs together
I just finally am over morning sickness with this one (15 weeks) so my hubby and daughter are probably happier that they aren’t getting frozen pizza for one meal a day…but I don’t know that they really minded it so much anyway. I firmly believe in taking it as easy as you can when dealing with morning sickness…put up the baby gate, turn on PBS, and bring your pillows out to the couch while your 2 year old watches Barney…
I felt so sick with my first pregnancy. I never actually threw up but I felt like I was going to from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep for 12 weeks. All we ate was soup and cereal and lots of take out food and my house only got cleaned when I felt good enough (which was only once or twice a week!). With my second pregnancy (a boy) I hardly felt sick at all, though I was so tired for weeks. Red Raspberry tea is supposed to help with morning sickness (hot or iced) and is also a wonderful herb to use for pregnancy anyway. I used it with my second and I swear that it moved my labor along…I had my son two hours after entering the hospital. It is supposed to tone up your uterus and make you bleed less after birth. It is totally safe for pregnancy. Ginger is supposed to work wonder as well. Try to find a ginger tea or you can make your own by grating piece of ginger and seeping them in hot water, just strain before drinking. Or try to find ginger ale made with real ginger (usually found in a health market area). Sucking on peppermint drops seem to help a little. My best advice would be to do what feels right. If sitting on the couch makes you feel better – then do it! Your house may become a mess but that doesn’t matter at this point. If there is a certain time of day that you do feel better than rest up until that time and then do some laundry or cleaning and maybe double a recipe that you can freeze for your hubby to pop in the oven when you feel too sick to cook.
I’m starting to feel very lucky; I had no nausea when I was pregnant, so I’m reading suggestions for whenever baby #2 happens and if I get sick then.
I have no solutions to morning sickness. Maybe genetics? My mother didn’t have nausea unless she took her pre-natal vitamins, so she stopped taking them. She also ate lots of protein and dairy. I became pregnant during Lent and I was fasting daily, so I was drinking water to keep me full (so, I was peeing all the time even before I was preggo). After I learned I was expecting, I continued drinking lots of fluids (and stopped fasting, obviously). I do remember that if I’d eat pretzels or other high carbs alone, as in a snack, it wouldn’t settle well and I’d feel queasy for about 10 minutes, so I made an effort to avoid lots of carbs.
I have always eaten a high protein diet (thanks to living on a farm) with lots of dairy intake, too. Maybe the diet helped? I don’t know.
I am due with my first baby in just under 5 weeks. It was only at 30 weeks that my nausea, vomiting and morning sickness subsided. Morning sickness is a horrible cross to bear during pregnancy and having borne it for most of mine, the longer it lasts the worse it is!
I am blessed that my husband is a chef and was able to take care of himself for food and even me when I felt well enough to eat. My first trimester fell over the Christmas holidays and the fact that I wasn’t well enough to bake Christmas cookies was heartbreaking. At that point I really felt like the morning sickness had taken over my life.
It was of little consolation to me when people would say, "Oh well, the sicker you are, the healthier the baby is." I lost ten pounds my first trimester, so that sentiment seemed very trite to me.
As I was ready to give up and just let my morning sickness blues take over me I received a letter from a good friend of mine who is a priest. He mentioned in the letter that he was sad to hear of how much the morning sickness had affected my life but that it also put me in solidarity with the millions of men, women and children worldwide who suffer from cancer and the effects of chemotherapy. That snapped me back into reality.
Sure, morning sickness made me feel like a burden to my husband because he might have to iron his own clothes or my friends who I broke plans off with because I was throwing up, and the weight loss weighed heavy on my mind, but I was getting a baby out of this. A healthy, happy baby. I wasn’t enduring this to save my life. That letter allowed me to offer up my suffering for those who didn’t know if their symptoms would lead to a cure or not.
As miserable as it is, morning sickness is not a reason to feel guilty. It is a chance to kiss our crosses and take a little time away from life to thank God for all we are blessed with.
*raises hand*
I am in the throws of morning sickness as we speak. The only problem of course is that it doesn’t really start to wain until about 4pm, and at 7pm I am tired and want to go to bed. So yes, I have let my house go, my dinners have been extremaly lazy and I find a simple task like giving the kids a morning bowl of cereal something near torture (we all know its the worst when we first wake up). Diapers are a total nigtmare.
My husband doesn’t quite "get it" or at least doesn’t feel its a valid excuse. I just keep explaining to him that this will pass, and maybe in a couple of months or so he will have some clean socks to wear. lol.
I have 6 kids, and although I did not feel as bad as many women do (I only threw up violently with my first, but it turned out to be because of the new apartment we moved into, not the pregnancy), I have had varying levels of nausea and weakness at various times during all my pregnancies. One thing I discovered was that if I drank COLD water, I got nausea. If it was tepid or hot (tea, etc) I was ok. I could drink other cold drinks, but not plain water. If it was summer, just putting lemon juice in the water helped since I didn’t want a hot drink in the hot weather!
Small snacks all day helped. If I got hungry at all, I would feel sick, so I had to keep something in my stomach, and the more protein the better. I didn’t do Saltines or other carbs, since they didn’t fill me up and I had to eat more in order to feel better. Candied ginger helped when I couldn’t find any meat LOL.
My last pregnancy was by far my hardest. I was in bed my last trimester (feeling awful). I had generous friends who took the kids every day for a week, and all I had to do was lie still and do spiritual reading and pray Rosaries. It was a wonderful retreat in the midst of suffering. I did have to feed myself during the day (and my kids when they were home), but many friends and many families at our parish came to our rescue for dinners – I did not have to shop or cook any dinners for about a month! Our parish has a "Daughters of Mary" group who help out families in need, and one of the wonderful things they do is provide meals for new mothers’ families or any family that needs it for whatever reason. I would call your parish office and see if there is such a group in your parish (they may have a different name), and ask them for 2 weeks’ worth of dinners, or whatever you need. Maybe they can provide babysitting for your older kids as well.
Dear Danielle
My fifth pregnancy (I have three children now) was hit the worst by nausea and terrible lethargy first 4 months. My husband travelling at that time, gave me the perfect reason to let laundry pile up the height of my 4 year old and the house to degenerate into "everything out of its place." I finally called someone to clean the whole house for 5 hours. I tackled the laundry when my husband came home on a day when my energy level suddenly picked up. I must have done 10+ loads that day.
I lived on milk and banana smoothies with lots of ice and hard boiled eggs. These helped. The eggs helped a friend with her nausea. She also told me the protein rich foods help with nausea.
I newly found your website – lovely! Thank you.
With my two, I have managed the 24hr nine month nausea- my dr says I am just part of the lucky 2%. Nothing really helped, although soda water prevented me being dehydrated as well as sick. At least my blood pressure went down and down and I didn’t have to lose a whole lot of baby weight – although I did gain 5kg in the week after my babies were born.
Wanted to suggest re: being too nauseous to take your prenatal vitamin…I’ve heard docs suggest to patients that they try a children’s chewable vitamin if the prenatal is making them too sick. It’s better than no vitamin and might be tolerated better….or not. 🙂 Worth a try.
I haven’t really found anything to be a perfect fit for my 3 pregnancies thus far, although, each time, it seems that something different makes me feel better. With my daughter, any with sugar helped. I couldn’t have salty and this time, I feel pretty good most of the time and if I don’t, a nice citrus drink like Squirt usually eases my stomach or mints. I have never taken my prenatal vitamins as I’m convinced they made me sick and this time, my midwife said it’s fine as long as I’m eating healthy enough. My other 2 kids are as healthy as can be and rarely sick. And I know with my first, sometimes a Coke or Pepsi would calm my stomach too. And my midwife also suggested anything protein, before you start to feel sick. It seems to help quite a bit for me, as long as I stay ahead of it. It’s worth a shot anyway!
Oh, one more thing for those willing to try natural things. There is something called Supreme Greens which I took faithfully for at least 15 weeks with my 2nd and I was only sick with her for maybe 2 hours total. It’s worth a shot as well, if you can tolerate swallowing pills that smell like grass!
All great comments!! It really is true that feeling sick is part of hormones that indicate a strong pregnancy. Everytime my sisters or I felt well the first 2 months we miscarried. But I still complained!!
I will add that everytime you know something like this might happen (pregnancy, move, etc) Make a plan for easy living. Stock up quiet less messy toys and pack up the ones that are too messy, too loud. Stock up on frozen dinners you made.PDad pulls 1 to the fridge before work and all you have to do is start the Microwave) Go to a cheapy store (Save-a-lot, PriceRite) and stock up.on dry goods. Lemonade and chips– sour and salt at the same time– can work.
You can get ginger in capsules which works wonders. Night nurses in the CSect. ward will tell you ‘ginger tea’ Put a tea bag in a cup of gingerale and mic for 1 minute. Helps nausea, swelling and gas pains from surgery!
Read! Read to toddlers over and over again. They can’t make a mess and you get to stay still and its productive!
You will be so glad you took time to read to them. Teaching my oldest 2 to love reading, to love being with me and to be kind, charitable, helpful and self-sufficient by doing nothing for 4-5 months for 7+ pregnancies has turned them into near adults that I can be proud to call mine. Think of the lasting effects. God wants this husband, these children to be growing in their heart as much as you grow in your womb. He isn’t punishing them with your nausea– He is using it ‘for His greater glory’
And mine know we don’t always know the outcome– we lost one at 16 weeks. The pregnancy was strong but the baby had hydroencephalitis. They know we don’t always get a healthy baby. Sometimes all we get is the knowledge that we did God’s will.
I didn’t have morning sickness with my first pregnancy and I miscarried at about 7 weeks. With my second pregnancy, I was sick right away, and I was thankful everytime I had to run to the bathroom. For the first trimester I survived on saltines and ginger ale. With my third, fourth, and now 10 weeks into my fifth pregnancy, the morning sickness seems to have gotten much better: I have not thrown up since pregnancy #3, though I feel like it throughout the day.
I’ve noticed that if I drink a lot of water and keep something in my stomach I feel a lot better. When you feel like throwing up, the last thing you want to think about is food, but if I force myself to eat & drink something (especially before trying to prepare a meal) it helps a lot.
Another thought on suffering: I try to offer up my suffering during pregnancy in particular for the baby I am carrying; for the salvation of his or her soul. That helps a lot during labor, too.
I have 6 kids (8 and under). With my 3 boys, I tended to have minor morning sickness; with my girls, however, I was sick all day long for the first trimester. With my last child (a girl) they finally had to prescribe Zofran (anti-nausea drug for chemo patients).
The biggest help for me (food wise) is junk food, and lots of it. Protein and starch. Vegetables, which I normally crave, are a complete "no go" for the first trimester of any pregnancy for me. Just a whiff of broccoli… or garlic… will push me over the edge. So, I have to live on cheeseburgers.
The result of all these junk food runs: I drove up to an ATM machine once and this pitiful little voice came from the back seat: "Please, Mommy, don’t make us eat any more cheeseburgers….." It was so sad!
I’m not sure who is happier to see (in my second trimester) a Mommy-cooked meal with lots of vegetables–me, my husband, or my kids!
God bless all of you going through morning sickness right now!
I’m on pregnancy #3 and I think it should be "all-day" sickness. Each pregnancy has been different — with the first I was losing weight & so sick they gave me phenergan, with #2 I could manage as long as I ate small amounts CONSTANTLY, and with this one, the answer was lots and lots of sleep. My kids go to school from 8-12, 4 days a week, and I would sleep almost every morning after I took them to school. I felt like a terrible slug but it helped. I also did not cook for 8 weeks. I could not handle the smell of food cooking. I bought my family every sandwich fixing imaginable and they made sandwiches every night. My sons loved it. I didn’t find ginger helpful, or the wrist bands. Lemon water was usually good — at least, I could get it down.
I have a father in law going through chemo right now, and he has felt miserable for a lot longer than I have. Having that to offer my sickness up for at least helped my thoughts, if not my body.
Pregnancy sickness is simply awful. And it seems to get worse with each pregnancy (or is it my imagination?).
Not much works for me; it is simply something to get through. I am one of those who throws up in addition to the near-constant nausea, so I have learned to multi-task. I can do just about anything and vomit discreetly at the same time.
For those of you who have husbands who travel a lot, as mine did during most of my pregnancies, ask him to pick up air sickness bags from airlines. They fit in your purse and car nicely, so when illness strikes quickly you have a resource. He used to come home proudly from his trips bearing his gifts for the children along with mine–stacks of United Airlines finest "air sickness recepticles". I was always grateful.
One of the hardest things about the morning sickness is simply how long it can last. As one commentor mentioned, the family grows weary, especially after lots of pregnancies close together, of mom being sick and tired. It got to the point in our family that the kids didn’t even pause in asking me for whatever it was they needed–they just raised their voices to be heard over the wretching. This can make a mom feel very unappreciated.
But somehow, someway, someday, it is really, truly worth it.
Seems I heard from a doctor many years ago that "morning sickness" / nausea often indicated a good level of hormones that were helping to make a good baby. In other words, the nausea was actually good for the baby even if Mom was not comfortable with it. Maybe it was just to placate a patient, but it did help make the suffering a little more bearable. Blessings on all you mothers building the Kingdom one more little one at a time.
I was sick all through my 4 pregnancies. My first 3 were spent on Phenergan(sp?) and I gained a 75 lbs., 50, and then 100 with my 3rd (I lost all but 35). When I became pregnant with our 4th I decided to go to a Midwife instead of an OB, she told me that instead of Phenergan she wanted to put me on vitamin B-6 and a half a Unisom 2X daily. I was sceptical but it actually controlled my Morning Sickness better than the Phenergan and I only gained 30 lbs. Unisom…who knew??
I almost feel as if I’m trespassing on this topic, because I don’t really get sick, or have anything worse than the queasies. But to your pregnancy nausea, I have a wicked emotional wilderness. It is a cross in itself. I just wanted to say that this topic and its comments have been wonderful in producing ideas to deal with the suffering of hormonally driven "psychosis." What a beautiful and efficacious prayer, to offer up anguish, whatever the cause, for the good of your children, or as an act of solidarity with other sufferers, or as reparation for the sins of our culture. I’m printing these ideas out for the times when I all too easily forget.
By the way, my favorite cure for nausea is a spoonful of peanut butter covered with milk chocolate chips, if anyone cares to try it,
I always get a nervous, queasy stomach during pregnancy but don’t throw up. Although no food sounds good to eat, I always felt better after eating. If I kept something in my stomach, I felt better. Also, the prenatal vitamins made me sick. If they bother you as well, my OB said taking two children’s vitamins, one at a time during the day, would be a good substitute. Those vitamins would be better tolerated with a little food in your stomach.
I admit to being the sickie who emailed Danielle for support. I’m so grateful for her kindness and wisdom and all the posts I’ve read here. Not only is it comforting to know I’m not suffering alone but it reminds me that there are those who suffer much more than I have and over many more pregnancies!
With my first pregnancy I had mild, tolerable nausea. With this one it has been much more intense and frequent. It seems to help if I don’t allow myself to get too hungry. Popsicles, fresh fruit, and hard candy have helped as well as my cure all – the couch.
God must know just how much of this cross I could bear since I’ve seen a marked improvement this last week or so that has made things bearable. (I admit it; I’m weak.)
Spiritually I’ve just thrown myself at Jesus’ mercy and begged for the intercession of the Blessed Mother, St. Gerard, and St. Gianna.
My father died from bile duct cancer nearly two years ago and suffered with nausea and fatigue in his final weeks, so I have often been reminded of him and have tried to offer my suffering for his soul and for my unborn baby. I’ve also felt a strong solidarity with all those who are sick and suffering, many much worse than I am, and have prayed sincerely for their recoveries.
Finally, Danielle’s original post about the goldfish and milkshake rings so true. I recall several weeks ago lying on the couch waiting for my husband to bring home some Jell-O. I was watching some forgettable TV show trying to ignore my hunger pangs. The mere THOUGHT of the saltine cracker packaging in my kitchen cupboard nearly made me gag. Then I saw a commercial for Beneful dog food. I think it was the beef stew variety or something similar. It looked absolutely delectable!
Well, I’m 9 1/2 weeks pregnant in my fourth pregnancy and I have to say this is the sickest I’ve ever felt. My midwife actually prescribed Zofran which is an anti nausea medication, and although I’m not operating at even 80% capacity, I’m doing much better than I was. I’m not a big fan of meds. but in this case, like Danielle said, you need to do what works. The TV goes on, every snack that was ever banned before comes out, all in the name of quiet activity. Naps definitely help, as I always feel better late afternoon into evening. It isn’t easy with a 3yr. old and an 11 month old, but tomorrow is another day.
I have five and the Dr. said my increasing sickness is due to stronger hormone surges. Still, compared to some of the answers here, I’m not doing too badly! Here’s what I do: as soon as the test is positive (if not before) I start bulk cooking. I know I have 2 to 3 weeks before the "morning" sickness hits. I actually try to freeze about three months of meals. That’s helped me a lot because we can’t afford a lot of take out or convenience foods and I lose all cooking ability/sense of taste.
A product called EmergenC was my savior during my 3 difficult pregnancies. A bit after drinking it, I would feel well enough to eat something. After that the trick was to keep eating regularly throughout the day and paying particular attention to protein. My midwives had me eat a small protein snack (a handful of nuts, a hard-boiled egg, a piece of jerky, an ounce or two of cheese) every hour and that made a big difference for me, but I had to get the EmergenC in to start with or I couldn’t even begin to eat. Nothing else worked for me.
The exhaustion is a completely different story!
Ah! Prenatal vitamins! I have taken them only once, when my sister gave me her leftovers when she had her last baby & I was still pregnant. I will never take them again. My tried & true Optivite PMT (multivitamins developed by a pro-life doctor) are just fine. I take them year-round, whether I am pregnant or not. They are specially formulated for PMT (pre-menstrual tension) sufferers, so I take more when I am ovulating and less when I am in my less-fertile stage. Those of you who have problems with the "official" pre-natals might want to consider these instead. I get them at Vitamin Cottage.
I just had to comment on the fact that Danielle lived off of Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls! My husband and I joke that, Sarah, the oldest of our five, has Litte Debbie cream instead of bone marrow in her body! At one point during my first trimester, my husband was gone for the weekend and when he returned he told me how proud he was of me for eating only one Swiss Roll out of the box all weekend — he later discovered the empty box in the trash can. The one in the pantry was box #2!
As the mother of 5 and the grandmother of 11 I can say. Take it easy the first months when you feel so ill! I sometimes found siping a Coca Cola over chipped ice would help the upset tummy, allowing for a little food to pass the lips!! Take heart and this too will pass!! New adventures are on the way!!
Cantaloupe was what helped me with morning sickness. I don’t know why! I bought 3 cantaloupes a week! you should try it, you have nothing to loose!
Hi All!
I’m a teacher of Natural Family Planning, and I’ve done a fair bit of research on nutrition.
When I was pregnant, I used information from the book "Fertility Cycles and Nutrition" by Marilyn Shannon which is available through the Couple-to-Couple League, and Serena Canada. (Both are volunteer organizations teaching NFP.) This book is so useful for so many situations in a woman’s life, I use it frequently as a counselling tool.
When I got pregnant, and managed to stay pregnant for the first time at 37, morning sickness (which is really any-old-time sickness) hit me very soon. I consulted my book right away, and put together my kit of natural-sourced prenatal supplements (which did not include the kind the doctor gives as samples).
I was careful to make sure I didn’t take more than the maximum safe amount for pregnant women of any vitamin. For morning sickness, the book recommends that you take a minimum of 100 mg of vitamin B6/day, and up to a maximum of 450 mg/day with your multivitamin and a meal. This also helps (to an extent) with water retention. Ginger is great as an anti-nauseant, but it is something not to be overdone. Eating a cracker or two before getting up also helps to absorb the liquids that may start sloshing around in the old tum-tum as soon as you are vertical. I found a brand of B6 that came in 50 mg tablets which allowed me to increase my daily dose in small steps so I would not be taking more than I really needed.
2 other responders voiced a good point. It is best to divide supplements and take part with one meal, and part with another, so try to get the kind where 1 day’s worth is 2 or 3 tablets. When you customize for yourself, you may end up taking several tablets at a time, so if others ask you if you have a pharmacy in your purse, please don’t let it bother you. The supplements are for the good of you, and your baby.
Another great tip is to get as close to 1000 mg of magnesium per day (but not more). It helps prevent constipation (and therefore hemorrhoids), and may help prevent toxemia and pre-eclampsia. I did end up with pre-eclampsia myself, but not until 20 days before my due date. I was induced, and our son was perfect at 7lbs 8oz & 20 inches long!
The right supplements also go a long way to keeping your energy up, your brain functioning (my sister called the affect pregnancy had on her being able to think/remember "preggie brain"), and your baby developing just as he/she should.
I pray you all have wonderful pregnancies, and beautiful babies! Here’s to trying for #2!
What awesome responses! I’m a childbirth educator, doula and student midwife. The B vitamins, light amounts of ginger, motion sickness bands and getting palatable high quality vitamins are all great helps for many women. The small frequent meals, and especially adequate protein (75-100 grams per day during pregnancy)are the best for maintaining proper blood sugar levels which are a big part of morning sickness. Beans in any form are a great blood sugar stabilizer. They are good protein source and "stay with you" for a reasonable amount of time. The lemon water is a great support for a person’s liver which is under increased demand during pregnancy. God Bless you all! Especially your little ones. St. Gianna pray for us!
Both of my pregnancies so far have been identical: I cannot be within 1/2 a mile of garlic…really! I don’t even need to buy a pregnancy test… just kiss my husband after he has eaten ranch dressing within the last 24 hours. I had to leave my own baby shower until someone removed the "suddenly salad" pasta mix. My whole extended family suffers because I can smell garlic on their clothes and in their cars. I was a champion guesser of everyone’s menu for the day. I ate no mexican, chinese, or especially italian for 9 months. I would have to pester waitresses on every minor ingredient and I’d spend hours at the grocery store reading labels. You wouldn’t believe how many things have some form of garlic!! But the good news is literally the moment you deliver the baby, EVERYTHING is back to normal… except for the added blessing of the new life in your arms and a yeah a sore bottom 🙂
The first 3 months I lived on dry cereals like chex or kix; cheddar chees; lemon drops; every flavor of gum on the market; ALMONDS!!; apple sauce; and ginger altoids.
TIP FOR COOKING: If you can still handle foods with onions/bell peppers but don’t like to chop them up because the smell is on your hands for days… buy the bags of frozen chopped. They work great.