Overcoming Pregnancy Sickness

Let's talk all-day-sickness (because whoever thought that "morning sickness" was a good name for it anyways!?) So many of you lovely ladies have been sharing your stories and experiences with me, so I thought I'd compile all the advice and tips and what has and hasn't worked for me into a single place for you to reference back to or share with the mummas-to-be in your life!

Things that may help: - Ginger tablets that my doctor reccomended - didn't work for me, in fact tablets in general weren't much fun; I even resorted to the gummy version of my juice plus for a while there... So be mindful of what's triggering to your gag reflex, especially as your doctor tries to prescribe all the things! - Ginger tea - a fairly obvious go-to, it was nice and soothing, and it seemed to help me a bit, but I didn't have much of it because it was the heat of summer when I was in my first trimester and hot drinks in general weren't appealing! - Ginger ale - this one was reccomended by my sister-in-law and was actually so good for nausea in the heat of summer! I'm not sure if it was just because it was something cold and sweet, or whether it was the ginger in it that settled my stomach, but ginger ale was especially helpful on the days when I was doing jobs outside and I got a little hot, and starting feeling that blood sugar dip... Such a good, quick pick-me-up, although I was still sick on it a couple of times - Motion sickness wristbands - I was reccomended these by a friend and she'd seen them work for a lot of people... But they didn't help me at all; in fact 2-3 of the sickest days I've had my whole pregnancy was across the days I was also trying the wrist bands! - Gingernut biscuits - these were reccomended to me by my other sister-in-law... Good old Arnott's! These have been the one thing that have seemed to really help, although I didn't get onto them until I was past the worst of my pregnancy sickness. They were similar to the ginger ale in that they were something sweet to boost the blood sugar if I had overexerted myself doing outside jobs, but I also turned to them on the days when I woke up feeling a little bit spewy, I would have one before breakfast; or before any meal just to settle my stomach! - Drink lots of water - more than you think you need! Literally. Just keep sipping water all day, especially if you can't stop the spewing, you don't want to be dehydrated too!

Things to be careful of: - What pregnancy multivitamin you're taking - a midwife friend told me that a lot of people get sick on the Elevit brand in particular, due to the high dose of iron in it! After I learned that, I stopped taking it for a couple of months and only came back onto it gradually after I was well into my second trimester and not feeling so sick - and even now, I don't take it everyday; it's the first thing I avoid if I'm feeling a bit wobbly! To make sure I'm not missing out on anything I've stuck with my Juice Plus capsules right through, ensuring that I'm still getting all the goodness of wholefood nutrition for baby and me! - Tablets and capsules in general - as I mentioned earlier, swallowing a bunch of tablets can be triggering to your gag reflex, so look for what kinds of nutritional support you can take that is a gummy form or water soluble. The juice plus gummies were a life saver for me on my sickest days, I was never spewy after them, like I was with tablets! And the juice plus capsules break apart and the powder can be stirred into water or blended in a smoothie to make sure you're still getting them into your system each day without needing to keep a pill down! - Don't wear your hair up high - it sounds really silly, but I started wearing my hair in a plait or low bun when I couldn't just leave it out loose, and it made a world of difference! Taking the pressure and weight of my hair off my skull majorly reduced the headaches and nausea... And even now, if I wear my hair up for more than half a day I start to feel it... Will I ever be able to wear my hair in a high pony tail again!? - Eat what you can, listen to your body and don't eat too much or too little - take 'should' out of your vocabulary! If all you can eat is crackers and peanut butter, or a little bit of fruit, or something else that doesn't feel like a real meal, don't stress about what you "should" be eating and instead just eat what you can keep down, in quantities that work for you. I got nauseous if I let myself get too hungry, so it was all about snacking and eating smaller quantities throughout the day, of foods that didn't make me feel sick, and also being mindful of not eating too much at one sitting, since sometimes those extra two mouthfuls between finishing the plate of food and not, was the difference between vomiting or not! - Get enough sleep - you're growing a literal human being; that's hard work! Getting enough sleep will help ease the fuzziness in your head which all just helps you feel 'better' when you're feeling so rotten! - Give yourself grace - I was lucky enough to not be working through my toughest times, so I didn't have to show up and be human! But even if you are still working, give yourself so much grace; your body is undergoing a massive transformation, and it takes it's toll on us all differently, so don't feel any less of yourself for needing to take a day (or three!) out when you need it.

- And finally, be patient - it will pass! Everyone's body is different, and some people have it worse than others; but your feelings are valid and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Whether it's a few weeks, a few months, or right until bub is born, the nausea will pass eventually! Hopefully some part of this is helpful for you, and gives you some ideas to try when you feel like you've tried everything! Make sure that share this with your mumma-to-be friends, and save this post for future reference.