Knocked Up And Knocked Down
Last pregnancy, I had no morning sickness. This pregnancy, the morning sickness is lasting ALL DAY. I've been curled up in the fetal position on the floor, eyes squeezed shut to stop the endless waves of sea-sicky vurp, moving only to take position by toilet, for two days now. (Last week, it was only lasting through the afternoon.)
The doctor prescribed Diclectin, an anti-nauseant, but it knocks me out, which is great, except for the fact that I can't appreciate the absence of nausea from the condition of unconsciousness. I'm not totally averse to unconsciousness - some of my best naps have involved unconsciousness - but I really do like to have some awake time on any given day.
The nausea is a good sign, I know. It's all those crazy hormones, throwing a party for that embryo down there, and the crazier they are, the better the party is, and a better party usually means a more robust guest-of-honour. Last time around, there was no nausea, but there were also lots of scary hormone tests that indicated that things were too quiet down there, which was scary (Wonderbaby, as it happened, waited until the third trimester to start throwing parties, and she never stopped.) So, yes, I get it - the nausea is good. But still, yuck. It feels craptastic. I feel craptastic.
What do I do? Any magic remedies? Something that takes the edge off the sick but doesn't make me unconscious? I'm no fun when unconscious (well, mostly.)
(crawling back under blanket with bucket now...)
posted by Her Bad Mother @ Tuesday, October 02, 2007
106 Comments:
This probably sounds very counter productive because you feel so crappy, but for all my pregnancies, the only thing that combated the nausea was a very full belly.
Hopefully those hormones will wear themselves out from all that partying going so you can feel better soon.
You and Mrs. Chicky - it's like you're cosmically connected. Do you think it means you're having a boy this time? Are you planning to find out and tell us immediately?
Slightly flat coke from the soda fountain, consumed slowly and intermittently through a straw.
Good sign, yadda yadda...WHATEVER. I mean, I'm glad that all is well, but I've never been comforted by the "good sign" hoo-ha when I feel like my shoes are going to appear in the bowl.
I just really tried to listen to my body and what it wanted. For me, two foods always agreed with me - sweet fruit, and a bowl of cereal. Those were my "when in doubt" fallbacks.
With Levi I couldnt even keep water down. I took Zofran for 9 days and forced myself to start eating every hour. That seemed to reset me.
I hope you feel better soon
hey - yeah, I had some bad days. I recommend crystallized ginge and the nausea wrist bands people use for seasickness and eating simple carbs as often as possible - try something in the morning before you stand up, no matter how unhealthful, in fact the more it is like just plain sugar the easier it will be to digest, the coke is a good suggestion, actually - ginger ale as well. Stay away from protein and vegetables for a while. Also, if smells are setting you off, burn not sweet smelling candles (try wintergreen or peppermint over fruity types.) I highly recommend sleeping through as much of it as you can - and what you can't sleep through, distract yourself through, movies, tv - things you can mindlessly enjoy while being horizontal. Being vertical is very, very bad in this situation. Sleep as much as possible. And my number one recommendation - if you can possibly stand it - is take a B complex vitamin. It cleans your liver. Your nausea is caused by your hormones building up in your liver and overflowing into your blood stream (yay! lots of hormones, blah, blah, blah, hearty embryo,etc ). I know it's hard to envision a pill staying in, but once I managed to do it (swallow while sitting and immediately went to sleep) things really turned around - meaning I could sit up periodically throughout the day and sometimes eat toast and applesauce and even drink weak tea - hurray! And yes, that was on top of my prenatal - that didn't stay in so I switched to two chewables a day, which helped. The result? My middle child. He's awesome.
Go visit Mrs. Chicky. She just gathered a plethora of morning sickness remedies.
Here are my humble offerings:
Eat frequently, even though you'd rather poke your own eyes out. Never get to the point where you feel hungry. Eat something small (even a few crackers) at least every 2 hours.
Sip ginger ale through the day.
Skip dairy. It made me feel much worse.
Even with those handy tips, I was still on pheregan with BubTar and both phenergan and zofran with KayTar. Pregnancy makes me sick. Literally.
Saltines helped me. Wish I had more advice to offer! Hang in there!
They say that morning sickness is worse with girls. So maybe you're having a very girly girl? LOL!
Seriously though, Mrs. Chicky is having the same problem & her post on New England Mamas has all sorts of good remedies.
I ended up taking Zofran in the end. It's the only drug that helped cut the nausea enough to function and didn't knock my ass out. For emergencies, sour lemon or sour lime altoids work great. They stopped me from publicly puking more times than I can count.
Lollypops. Saltines. Eggos. Anything with a strong lime or citrus taste. I used to drop the citrus altoids in bottles of water to drink. It just might be me, but these things helped when I was pregnant with the twins.
i'll tell you the same thing i told mrs. chicky: save up the vomit and throw up on people you dislike. you're still throwing up, but you'll be having much more fun with it!
Ginger! Lots of it. Drink it, chew it. Bathe in it. Really. And it still will just make things kind of gingery-pukey, but it gives the illusion of remedy. I so feel your pain - - I was so sick with my little guy that I often held my hands up and shouted really dramatic things to the powers that be, like "Take me!!! Take me now!!!" Totally worth every minute. Sending love. xoxo
I'm sorry - that just doesn't sound fun at all. I hope you can find the magical cure that keeps you conscious AND feeling better.
Jane, Pinks & Blues
Oh, you have my FULL sympathy. I was so sick with all four of my kids, and there's just nothing like it. So consuming.
I read to try lemonade (slightly weakened), and you know, that really helped me a lot. Supposedly the scent of lemons is a natural anti-nausea treatment.
Best wishes to you.
Oh, and cherry Lifesavers.
No useful tips. I'd go with Lara's plan.
I've no useful advice either! Just here to offer tea and sympathy -- but it will probably make you vomit!
Fresh, cold air always made me feel a bit better, but it was Atlanta in the summer, were am I going to get that?
No wisdom, just shared suffering. My own nausea seems to ebb a bit if I hold a freshly laundered towel nearmy face...it looks odd doing it anywhere but on the couch.
Well, with Pumpkinpie I gained 15 lbs. in that first trimester - you know, when you don't have to gain any weight? Because endless crackers and arrowroots did the trick. I also found things pepperminty (tea, mentos, gum, rolaids) helped, and I have heard praise for ginger (in tea format, I suppose) from some other people.
Hope it's just the couple of months or even less, and then goes away!
Check how much iron your prenatal vits have.
Too much iron in vitamins has always made me slightly urpy, but when I was pregnant, it was intolerable. That and there were 30mg of iron in my vits and that doesn't count the extra iron supplement my doc wanted me to take. We eventually reached a gentlemen's agreement: I would take (iron-less) Flintstones and an extra 400ug folic acid, and he could re-evaluate the anemia situation in the 2nd trimester and insist I take the supplement if I was anemic.
If your bottle/box doesn't list it (mine didn't!) I have a pdf that compares a bunch of different brands and yours might be on there.
I also ate a ton Citrus Altoids. Try them.
Ginger candies. Kept me alive when I had "all-day-for-three-months-sickness." The worst part was that I rarely barfed. Just sick all the time and no relief.
I second the Zofran. Even that did nothing more than just make me not wish for death every waking moment. I had the all day sickness for the better part of 5 months. I distinctly remember laying face down in the hallway carpet, crying and just wanting to die. You have my sympathy and my respect.
Also....homemade lemon slushies. Ice, fresh squeezed lemon juice and a little bit of sugar to taste, in the blender. Eaten very slowly with a spoon. Something about the cold and the sour helped some. Hope the sickness subsides very, very soon.
Pure ground ginger capsules worked great for me. Your burps burn, but it's better to taste the ginger twice than anything else. Hang in there sweetness.
suck on lemons. yes it is kinda weird, but it does help.
I've totally been there. I took the diclectin, too, which helped mildly but also made me want to sleep until my fetus was 21 years old. In my second pregnancy I took half the dose which basically kept me from puking my face off and let me stay semi-functional. But for me one of the most helpful thing was slicing lemons up and putting a few slices in bowls around the house. The scent was very soothing to my stomach.
luckily I only have very mild nausea and it has been that way now with all three pregnancies, but the thing that worked best for me was small frequent meals...keeping something in my stomach seemed to help. And peppermint, or any mint really. I don't know what it is about it but mint tea, pappermint candy, gum, peppermint Tums...they all seem to calm my stomach.
Hopefully it passes, and you are right it let's you know things are going as they should!!!
Zofran and eating all day, even if I felt like I was going to puke. It was hard to do, but i felt better if i forced myself to eat. I lived on Egg McMuffins, hash browns and diet coke. Oh yeah and i ended up gaining 60lbs.
I was totally sick with both pregnancies, the all day but not throw up kind. I'm not sure if I have anything to add, but I'll put in my tips:
Eat salty things like saltines or plain goldfish. Try cherrios plain too and eat a little constantly, even get up at night to eat b/c as soon as your belly is empty it is nearly impossible to settle it down.
Eat WHATEVER makes you feel good, like if it is mac 'n' cheese at 8am then eat it! Or ice cream. Whatever works is fine.
Also, my sister told me this and I think it worked, protein. I ate PB on toast or scrambled eggs, stuff like that is supposed to be easier to digest.
And sometimes when all you want to do is lie down, get up and move anyway. If nothing else it might take your mind off of your misery.
Hang in there. It was a tiny bit better for me the second time only b/c I knew how wonderful the outcome was!
Bleargh. I hope it passes soon, dear one.
I never really had bad morning sickness, but for that low grade nausea, it helped to eat lots of small meals.
My first pregnancy I lived on Ritz crackers and S cookies (those italian biscuits).
I stuffed myself silly with saltines and ginger ale...
Some alliteration for your pleasure!
Feel better.
My first pregnancy I had bad morning sickness and I lived on Hi-C orange and saltines and Canada Dry ginger ale.
Preggy Pops are supposed to be good (I think it's the ginger in them or something).
Hope you're feeling better very soon!!
Ginger. Ginger, ginger, ginger. Ginger snaps, Ginger Ale, Ginger everything. It helps. And that's not even an old wives tale.
This is why I hesitate to have a baby number two - how to throw up or nap whilst caring for a toddler??
Jolly Ranchers or Lifesavers and a walk every evening (seriously, if I took a 1-2 mile walk in the evening the nausea wasn't nearly as bad the next day) are what got me through the first 12 weeks of morning/afternoon/night sickness with Al.
Good luck, and just remember that it will not last forever.
Yuck! I think everything I did has been mentioned here including the candied ginger and for me anything bland and white - Saltines and Arrowroot cookies.
It is a vile feeling, you have my sympathy!
I hate to say it but I'd rather be feeling at least slightly craptastick about now. I felt nauseated from week 5 or 6 through about 14 with my daughter and through about week 16 with my son.
This time? Only a twinge here and there. It's starting to worry me a bit.
oh, Catherine, I'm so sorry. I did the Diclectin dance and you're right, it's brutal. The worst is that the vague feeling of nausea that lingers all damn day. And the bonecrushing tiredness. I cannot imagine it all on top of a toddler.
No suggestions here because I know how frustrating that can be. Just empathy and someone to at least virtually hold back your hair and wipe your brow.
(www.parentingwithoutalicense.com)
Is it all too depressing to say that nothing really works completely? I mean, there were things I could do to not want to completely curl up and die (get lots of sleep, give up coffee, eat small amounts constantly, eat completely healthy). I always felt yuck. All three times I took the plunge.
I feel for you. Get lots of rest.
I don't know about you, but just the thought of ginger is making my stomach turn. Although, I did go out yesterday and bought a bunch of it in every form imaginable. I just can't force myself to eat it.
Right now, citrus is working. Lemon in my water is the only way I can drink it (water is making me sick! Gah!). Lemon drop candies and citrus lollipops. Other than that, I'm considering the Zofran again. If I could I'd smuggle you some across the boarder.
Constant munching on whatever you can stomach.
and pray for it to end
alternate that with unconsciousness.
Some days this time I would lie in bed and have to remind myself that it was not like I had cancer or some disease. It didn't make me feel better, just remined me that it would end better.
Oh sweetie. I'm so sorry. I just don't know. Hopefully it will all lighten up soon.
This may be rinky-dink stuff in the face of serious prenancy nausea, but have you tried ginger tea and/or crystallized ginger? What about pressure point bands?
Hoping you feel better soon.
Slowly eat saltines - very small bites. Don't let your stomach get empty. Sips of ice water too.
I'm so sorry! Try Coke Icees. or Coca Cola in any form-- not Pepsi- Coke. It was one of the only things that would work every time for me. The other thing that worked at the beginning were those motion sickness bracelets. The first few weeks of morning (all day) sickness, I couldn't move--moving made me want to hurl, and those actually did help.
Good luck!
I carried around a baggie of sliced lemons to suck on when the nausea got bad, or if I caught a whiff of something that made me sick.
Ice cold Coke worked wonders, too!
First of all, congrats on wonderbaby #2! For me, lemonade or water with lots of squeezed lemons or just sucking on a lemon helped me. It sounds strange but something about the citrus stuff really took the edge off. I hope it gets better soon for you! Missy
Well, I doubt I could really add anything new here than what's already been said LOL. And you probably don't want to hear my pregnancy sob stories either, so let me just wish that this period goes quickly by for you xx
Never leave the bucket behind!
Find an acupuncturist who deals with pregnancy and get it done about three times a week (take the bowl/bucket with you!).
Find junk food, something with sugars easily available and eat it, if you have to for every meal. I used to eat McDonald's fillet of fish or mcchicken.
Don't try to drink water unless it stays down, find something that wants to stay in your stomach instead. sleep as much as possible (not medicated unconciousness, thats worse!).
If you start to get dehydrated get them to give you IV fluids.
I have spent three pregnancies with hyperemesis (the extreme version of morning sickness), its not pretty but believe me it does stop eventually. And if you feel like you are falling off the face of the planet and you are mentally falling apart tell someone, it messes with your head not just your stomach and you need to know that "just in case". Oh and get someone else to come and do your housework and friends to cook some meals.
Apart from that, I send you a million hugs and I hope it leaves you alone very very soon.
Ugg! The memories. I had a terrible time as well, and my heart goes out to you. I can't imagine going through that with a toddler around..kudos to you! Lemonade, ice water, crackers, it's all good. The thing that saved me in the end was chewing peppermint gum constantly. And I don't even like peppermint. And apples. I ate bushels and bushels of apples.
It WILL pass!
Peppermint tea and raspberry leaf tea.
Those two things truly made everything feel so. much. better!
You know, they say heavy morning sickness can mean a baby boy....
Oh, and I would like to recommend The Love and Tea Company (loveandtea.com)
They have awesome pregnancy teas-
http://loveandtea.com/collections/tea-blends-for-women/
Sorry about the long link...
peppermint, gingerale, tea with crystallized ginger.
ginger snaps, did I mention ginger?
Sorry that you are sick. Morning sickness is torture. I actually lost more weight that I gained when I was pregnant UGH!
I sipped ginger and lemon tea, regular tea and dry biscuits.
The trick for me was to make sure that there was something in my stomach, becasue vomiting nothing is nasty.
Good luck, hope it improves soon.
What worked for me:
Ginger Altoids
Ginger Ale - real ginger ale, not the crap you can get at the market.
Ginger snaps
graham crackers
any sour hard candy
lemon/lime seltzer water
tiny sips of Sprite (really tiny)
Lady Grey tea with lemon (again with the tiny sips)
If I had something to eat/drink (not water) before I got vertical, life was much better. Just a nibble of a graham cracker or drink of Sprite would sometimes help. Not always, though, and this was just what worked for me.
I'm just getting to the end of months of constant sickness so I sympathise. For me refined carbs every ten minutes or so and lying down as much as possible worked the best, as well as napping when I could (not easy with three other small children at home).
I hope you find something that works for you!
Tragically, the only thing that even BEGAN to touch the mind-numbing nausea was slightly flat gingerale and Doritos.
Klassy.
totally with you on this. I was not sick with my son.
And I keep repeating to myself that morning sickness (and afternoon sickness and night sickness)is good because it means I'm pregnant.
Have you tried "preggy pops"? My sister is getting me some today. I hear they work.
On the train everyday I keep sipping lemom/ginger tea and peppermint tea and so far I've managed not to throw up.
good luck.
ginger tea and an anti-nausea bracelet worked for me.
ack. poor you. i know how much it sucks.
i prescribe lemons - sliced and ready to be sniffed. peppermint is good too, but only until the heartburn kicks in.
(the joys!)
hmmm... maybe it's a boy this time.
I've never been pregnant, so I can't help you there. I just wanted to disagree with the chick that said she would rather throw up something than nothing. Lady, you are entitled to your opinion, but may I point something out?
Nothing doesn't come out your nose. Something on the other hand.....
Hope you feel better soon, HBM!
I can unfortunately recall this stage all too well, and you have my complete, unfailing sympaty. If it gets really bad though, please take yourself off to the hospital for some IV fluids. Don't wait until it gets so bad that you end up having to stay in for a couple of days to get re-hydrated.
With the Diclectin, have you tried taking it just at night, or before naptime? I when I took it, it sometimes made it better to just take it before natural sleep times.
I hope this passes quickly for you (although it will never seem quickly enough).
Heather - I so get you. I had no nausea with Wonderbaby, and was constantly worried. But it turned out fine. Still, I *wished* for nausea some days. That seems kind of silly, now, from the vantage of the toilet bowl... but I know what you mean.
I know I need to eat, I just don't want to. SO DON'T WANT TO. Am living on rye bread and ginger ale.
I was terribly sick both times. Saltines and ginger ale help. Sea Bands (the anti-nausea wrist bands that work on acupressure points) helped the most for me. Also, keep eating small amounts all day long. The key is to never be hungry, but never be full, either.
I remember that nausea well. Hope you feel better soon.
A lot of this is repeat, but eating a bit at all hours helped a lot. And I took just enough diclectin to take the edge off, but not so much I couldn't get up and go to work. And know that it won't last forever.
I had non stop nausea (and had a boy!). I advise small amonuts of goldfish crackers all day long - keep them within arms reach at all times! And the sea sickness wristbands were a huge help.
Officialy de-lurking today...
hi catherine i'm sorry you have such hellacious morning sickness.i had it bad with my last 2 pregnancies.from the time my eyes opened in the a.m. until they finally shut at night. i couldn't even brush my teeth until well into the afternoon.yuck. i hope it ends after the third month for you. i was lucky that way.have you tied all of those home cures ie, ginger,crackers,or those bracelets.hope you find something soon that works.LAVENDULA
alot of people mentioned it, but seriously, smelling fresh lemon would usually temporarily releive the horrible nausea
I have nothing intelligent to offer you.
When I felt nauseous, I ate.
Hence the 70lbs weight gain.
I am so sorry the nausea is that bad. The only thing that seemed to help me was keeping my blood sugar constant and eating more protein than carbs (which my midwife definitely recommended). For a while I was living on crackers and Sprite but of course they were doing little for me. I switched to things like peanut butter, cashews, meat with every meal and things got a lot better. Oh and I drank high protein Ensure in the morning and right before bed to give my body a little more of a boost. I actually really liked the chocolate and I had never even tried the stuff before pregnancy. Anyway, good luck and I really hope you're able to find something that works for you.
Sorry if anyone's said this already but I found that if I ate during one of my nighttime pee runs - say, the one around 4AM - I didn't wake up sick. Then I could manage breakfast, and I was OK as long as I kept something in my stomach at all times. Saltines and nuts seem to have worked well.
My 24-hour sickness (progesterone poisoning?) for baby # 1 was bad enough, but baby # 2 (in progress) has been much worse. I've no idea how much weight I've already gained but I know that if I stop eating, I get sick.
Good luck!
First and foremost, CONGRATS to you if I haven't said it already! Sorry about all those "crapasticness"!
I'm sure Mrs. Chicky has given you some advice since she's also knocked up! Hope it'll pass soon!! Take care HBM!
Sorry - I wasn't sick either with my first (and only), and it looks like you've got a bunch of advice here. So, I'll just offer a {hug}.
I swore by peppermint everything.
Good luck.
Here's hoping that soon you'll be well enough to dance with the little fetus that's causing all this ruckus!
I was so sick with my son that I lost almost 15 pounds my first trimester. Then my doc wanted me to gain that weight back plus the 20 pounds you're supposed to gain. Never happened. The only thing that ever allowed me to not throw up hourly was the Sour Citrus Altoids and Sour Patch Kids. I could only drink ginger ale, no water. I couldn't even take the drugs because they made me more nauseous. Luckily, it completely vanished at 14 weeks, and I was (finally) able to go about my daily life.
Think of it this way. If you weren't sick, you'd probably be hungrier than normal, and you'd be eating like a pig, and end up gaining 75 lbs in the end. Instead, you're sick, not eating too much (but the baby is FINE...really), and when you do get hungry enough to eat for two, then you'll be that much further ahead of the game!
I hate to bore you with my pregnancy story, but I will anyway. I was pregnant at the same time as a coworker. She felt great, I felt lousy...sick 24/7 the first 3-1/2 months and then constant heartburn after. I gained only 24 lbs.; she gained 60. I was back to pre-baby weight within two weeks; she still wasn't after two years. HAH! I always hated women who "loved being pregnant." I hated every minute of it but got two wonderful boys out of it, so I guess I can't complain too much.
And I don't buy the being sick thing makes it a boy. Said coworker wasn't sick three times, and three times she had boys.
Best wishes, and I hope you feel better soon.
Bummer. Unfortunately, I have no suggestions for you, as 'morning sickness' really didn't affect me much with either pregnancy. Just a twinge or two of feeling slightly off a few afternoons for each one early on...
And, for the record, I produced two particularly robust, healthy boys.
;-)
I'm in your boat. No m/s the first time, and now at 10 weeks I am Queen of the boat Nausea.
Apples. Crunchy, tart apples. That and ginger ale are saving me.
good luck!
Lemonade and salt and vinegar potato chips. Sour and salty seems to be the key in my family.
with my first i threw up everyday for 27 weeks, and that was WITH the diclectin. continual munching on dry carbs (crackers, popcorn) sometimes helped, and those preggie-pops - Motherhood Maternity carries them help too. I feel for you sister!
Well, I didn't have a lot of nausea with Harry, but what little I had I controlled with a combination of Seabands (those accupressure wrist bands for motion sickness - wore them the entire first trimester), sour Jolly Ranchers and lemon water. For some reason sour candy, the sourer the better, took the edge right off.
delurking to say that without the end results (a baby), pregnancy really blows. also, today is delurking day so Hi! and will go back to my corner and hide now.
k
I ate Diclectin like Skittles but man, they knocked me out too.
Try peppermint. Sprinkle a few drops of peppermint oil on your pillow. Red raspberry tea helps, as does ginger root.
I totally agree about: ginger tea (slice some off the root, then steep and add a little honey or maple syrup to take the edge off), citrus anything (for me it's white grapefruit), never letting yourself get hungry, and red raspberry leaf tea (old midwives' tonic- just snatch some off a bush and do a little brew). The other thing that's helping me get through this trimester (and this sounds sadistic, knowing how you feel) is going out for a walk. It's pure hell getting out the door every day, but I'm doing it cuz I can't handle being a jungle gym for my toddler. And, weirdly, I actually feel better after. Mind you, I'm a deflated shell of a mother come nap time, but thank god I'm lucky enough to have that luxury! Good luck!
I have no wise advice, but I'm sending happy-tummy vibes your way!
I'm too lazy to read all the comments before mine, so it's very likely it's already been mentioned before, but taking my prenatals at night really, really helped. That and never letting my belly get empty - almost constant saltines between meals from the minute I woke up.
Am I delurking here? I'm a mo'fo delurker today and I'm on a roll.
I'm personally all about the gingerale.
I have heard (and this is not my idea so don't hate me), that exercise actually helps with the nausea. I'm betting it's the last thing you feel like doing (which is why no one I know has been willing to try it), but I've heard it works.
Me, I would just lie on a couch and moan. Hang in there.
That does not sound like fun. I demand the nausea to cease. (If only I had that kind of power.)
ginger biscuit (we call them ginger nuts - they're very hard) before sticking so much as a toe out of bed in the morning
Zofran saved my life. I was still a bit sick but it helped and it doesn't make you sleepy.
I feel for you, sweetie.
Morning sickness is the worst thing ever.
OK, I don't have time to read 90 comments to find out if someone else said this BUT i took the diclectin. It knocks you out for a day or two and then your body gets used to it. Persevere. It saved my life--I was so sick that I passed out if I stood up or got warm. It can save yours too.
Gah. Does. Bossy. Know... If. There. Is. A. Gah. Sorry, honey. Oh, wait, does 'honey' make you woozy?
Eeeeee! Congratulations on your pregnancy!!!!! I've been out of the loop for too long!!! Feel well, Catherine!
I couldn't take Diclectin either -- knocked me out and made me MORE DEPRESSED! I took Tums to help with the indigestion.... Nothing helped the nausea. Hang in there. I know it's brutal -- but it's worth it.... :)
Ginger really helps to settle the stomach.
Pregnancy One: no morning sickness; not even a hint of nausea--gained 17 pounds
Pregnancy Two: a non-stop pukefest for seven months, by which time I had quit work and graduate school because I couldn't get off the couch--hyperemesis and lots of IV rehydration--finally started Bendectin (no longer prescribed)which worked like a charm; the only other things that remotely helped was ice-cold, icy lemonade (the real stuff, made with real lemons and not too much sugar), flat ginger ale (the more ginger the better), wrist accupressure, and cold, cold fresh air. Oh, and fresh blueberries. Lost three pounds. Prayed for death.
Pregnancy Three: puked once every morning (and then fine for the rest of the day/night) for nine months; graham crackers and hard-boiled eggs in addition to above. Gained 70 pounds.
Results: three beautiful girls, none weighing less than 7 1/2 pounds, all of whom are now lovely young women.
Sending lots of sympathy your way, not that it'll do ya any good.
Ginger ale and dry toast or baked potatoes. That is what worked for me. Sending you lots of good thoughts and hopes that you will find your magic remedy soon...
I too am in the throes of "morning sickness" with baby #2. Baby #1 I had horrible all-day morning sickness well into the fourth month. I threw up four-six times a day, was always (always!) nauseated, and lost 10 pounds.
Those sea-sickness bracelets totally did not work for me. I wore them for two or three weeks and my nausea kept getting worse. Ginger also didn't work, but I know a lot of women swear by it. (Note: most ginger ales don't actually have ginger in it...I think Hansen's does though.) When other women suggested saltine crackers, I seriously wanted to slap them. I know that sounds mean, but my nausea was so way beyond saltines.
Things that did work: lemons. I carried around a bag of sliced lemons, kept cut lemons in every room of the house (the scent helped me not to gag when I entered a new room with new smells), and sucked on a lemon every time I felt like gagging. It didn't really help me throw up less, but it helped make me feel slightly better a little bit of the time.
That said, with #2, I have been trying really hard to force myself to eat small meals regularly. I crave refined sugars, but they make me crash and leave me more nauseated than ever. Protein and carbs (forget the veggies because, um, those are really disgusting coming out the other way). It seems to be helping to manage it so it doesn't spiral into this life-sucking, virtual starvation that I went through last time. The last thing I want to do is eat, but I'm seriously forcing myself to do it.
I've also enlisted all the help from family that I can get in caring for my son. It's nearly impossible when I'm so nauseated and weak.
Truly, truly hope it gets better for you soon.
Both you and Mrs. Chicky need to bite the ginger bullet. You will feel better. (I hope you do!)
good lord, the all day sickness. This is pregnancy #2, and I am nauseated all day every day. Like that for pregnancy #1 for the first 4 months. Is no fun. Especially since we are now running after our toddlers instead of indulging in me-time.
There is just nothing to do but lay in your bed and watch bad television. Iced tea, packed with ice, gave me the slightest reprieve from the nausea.
That you are writing two blogs AMAZES me. It'll end soon. Like that is ANY help! Soldier on!!
P.S. Thanks so much for the nice comments about my writing. I really, really appreciate it.
Congratulations to you and your family. That's wonderful news!!! I'm so happy for you but I'm sorry you're feeling so shitty. How many weeks are you??? Close to twelve, I hope???
(Please excuse my extreme tardiness in extending my congrats. Life has been more than a little upside down for the past six weeks and I've been a very bad blogpal. Forgive me?)
When I was pregnant with my twins and feeling really sick, the only thing that helped me was fruit juice popsicles. Something about the coldness and the fruit sugar calmed my stomach. Good luck! I'll be thinking of you!
I had all-day morning sickness. Totally sucks.
Nthing the ginger suggestions. And you don't have to take pills. There's ginger tea, and pickled ginger (the kind you get with sushi-- you can buy it by itself at an Asian grocery store).
I used to keep a box of plain Saltine crackers by my bed so that when I woke up in the morning I could force one down immediately and thus manage to experience ripples of nausea as I stood up, rather than waves.
But, really, nothing made it go away completely. *sigh*
Cannot be much help, but morning sickness is horrible so really hope your feeling better soon
Almost everyone's mentioned ginger, but no one's shared a recipe for ginger tea! Here it is: Steep 1 tsp of freshly grated ginger in 1 cup of boiling water for 10 minutes. Take sips over a long period of time rather than chugging, but don't have more than 2 full cups a day. This tastes particularly good if you add some honey, although it may be better to keep things simple.
Another tea (but not really tea since it isn't made from tea leaves, hence no caffeine) is Rooibos, which South African women drink during pregnancy. It's a drink that's even recommended for babies with upset tummies, so it's definitely gentle. Good luck!
I think people who recommend any form of diet change for morning sickness are not having extreme morning sickness.
After vomiting 10-20 times a day, the only thing that even came close to working for me was Zofran. It only lasts a few hours, but it cuts the barf cycle when you just can't seem to stop. My morning sickness lasted for 4 months solid, then slowed down to just nausea or minor barfing.
It seems counter-evolutionary to not be able to take in any nutrition that would be beneficial to the baby for 4 months. That being said, those 3D ultrasounds are showing how chunky her cheeks are and how functional her systems seem to be.
Now that I'm in my third trimester, I have had some days that were just like the first trimester. The only difference is that I feel like I could eat a burger between barf sessions.
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