Coping with Morning Sickness
One of the worst parts about pregnancy is the dreaded morningsickness. Of course, "morning" is just a misnomer - the sicknesscan occur at any point of the day! Most women experience thispart of pregnancy to some degree during their first tr...
...imester.Some women, however, seem blessed not to have it at all!However, if you're like most and the nausea just seemsoverwhelming, there are ways to help calm the feeling!One of the most common theories about morning sickness beingworse in the morning is that when you wake up, you have lowblood sugar. For some women, going eight hours without food isjust a bad idea. You might find that it's helpful to eat a highprotein snack before bed. If you get up in the night forfrequent bathroom breaks, you might eat a bite each time you getup. Some women have to eat something while still lying down.Putting a plate of something beside your bed makes this easier.And don't just jump out of bed! Eat your snack slowly, then liestill for a few minutes. Slowly get up and immediately go to thekitchen and eat another bite. Protein should be emphasized.Any food that causes rapid blood sugar shifts, such as fruitjuice, sugary snacks, and processed cereal, should be avoided,as they cause your blood sugar to rapidly rise, then comecrashing down. Meat, cheese, eggs, nuts and nut butters,veggies, and whole grains should be your staples during thistime.You may feel as though eating just is not appealing. Try to coaxyourself to eat a little every two hours. Don't leave the housewithout carrying snacks with you!If drinking water makes you feel sick, try alternatives likesmoothies or citrus fruits. Very ice cold water with a bit oflemon or lime, or a weakly brewed tea with lemon can also help.Smells that make you sick should be avoided. Have someone elsetake out the trash. Don't be shy about telling someone who hasbad breath or a horrible perfume about your condition and needfor fresh air. If it's cooking smells that make you sick, cutout onion and garlic recipes, and make meals that won't fill thekitchen with a strong odor. Main dish salads and sandwiches area good idea.We always hear about aromatherapy in just about everything we do- but this stuff works! Put a couple of drops of lavender, mint,or lemon essential oil on cotton balls and keep them inlocations you visit often. Take a whiff whenever you start tofeel sick.Surprisingly, exercise can help. If you're pregnant, this is thelast thing you want to think about when you can barely make itto the toilet, but if you force yourself to take even somethingas short as a ten minute walk, it will help.Take it easy! Try to avoid stress as much as possible and restas much as you can. When you feel a bout of nausea coming on,try to lay down for a few minutes in a dark room with your eyesclosed. Sometimes, this will help the episode to pass.Try eating candied ginger or sipping on a ginger tea. Gingercapsules tends to be a little bit harsh on your sensitivestomach and hurts terribly if it does come back up. Brewer'syeast capsules are said to work for some moms. Sipping mint teaor chewing a mint gum will help calm nausea. Another neat trickis to try sucking on lemon slices when you feel that wave ofnausea coming on.Avoid getting overheated or chilled. Extreme changes intemperature can trigger nausea. Tried everything and can easeyour sickness? Try motion sickness wrist bands! They work!No matter what, you should always go with your cravings. Theydon't steer you wrong. Every pregnancy is different and tipsthat work for you for one pregnancy might not work for another.The only real way to know for sure is through trial and error,but it won't take you long at all to find out what you need tohelp calm your nausea! And remember - this will pass!
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