6 Helpful Tips to Combat Severe Morning Sickness

Morning Sickness is no joke. Severe morning sickness can last all day long, all nine months. Women are hospitalized because they are gravely nutrient deficient. There are women who go to the dentist after each pregnancy to find out how many teeth they have lost because they vomited so much. 

There have been a lot of blog posts recently talking about the effectiveness of Preggie Pops and bland foods when combating Morning Sickness.  These lucky mothers write with good intentions, but if you've experienced severe morning sickness, you know that these do not provide relief.  They actually made me MORE nauseated.  

Here are 6 Helpful Tips to Combat Severe Morning Sickness.

1. Buy and read No More Morning Sickness: A Survival Guide for Pregnant Women by Miriam Erick.

This book has worksheets that really helped me find things I could gag down and keep down. There are also stories of other women who struggle with being extremely sick and it gives you the strength to carry on.  I love this book; it helped me survive pregnancy.

2. Find food you are able to eat and snack on it constantly. 

When you are on the precipice of throwing up, the last thing you want to do is eat.  However, eating is the one thing that stops the nausea.  Do not let yourself get hungry.  An empty tummy just makes the sickness worse.

Two of the most common foods women with bad morning sickness are able to eat are Potato Chips and Lemonade. I didn't go anywhere without my giant container of Crystal Light and a baggie of Cheese-Its. Whenever I started feeling sick, I would sip on my lemonade and snack on the cheese-its.  When I was home, eating a pickle always helped as well.

These were the foods that worked for me.  Every woman and every pregnancy is different! Find things that work for YOU for THIS pregnancy.  Also keep in mind that bland foods are not always the best foods.  Sometimes a strong taste that you like, better eliminates the nausea. No More Morningsickness expands on this topic.

3. Eliminate smells that make you sick. 

My husband's cologne.  My perfume.  Airwick plugins.  Scented candles. Cooking dinner. Yep, they all sent me running to the toilet.  Identify the smells that bother you and, to the best of your ability, put them in hibernation for 9 months.

With so many different smells while prepping food, plus the lingering smells that permeate the house, cooking was out of the question.  All I could manage was to spend half a second thinking about what I could stand to eat for dinner, driving through a drive-thru, and trying my best to eat what I bought.  Take-out and drive-thru is your new best friend for the next nine months.

If you have young ones in diapers at home this is where you force let your Prince Charming (or other help at home) change diapers for you.

4. Try smelling citrus fruits. 

This has helped every woman I know who has really struggled with morning sickness. Go buy an orange, lemon, or lime. When you start feeling nauseated, dig your fingernails into the fruit and smell the citrus on your fingers. I did this inconspicuously while finishing my degree and pregnant so that I didn't have to run to the bathroom during class.

5. Take Unisom and B6.

In the morning, take half a Unisom and a B6.
At night, take a whole Unisom and another B6.

I don't know what it is about this magic combination but it seriously helps! As always, ask your doctor before taking any medicine while pregnant.  My doctor has absolutely no problem with it.

Make sure you buy Unisom that is doxylamine NOT diphenhydramine. Diphenhydramine, also known as Benedryl, does not help with the nausea.

6. Seek help and support.

Talk to your doctor to make sure you and baby are in good nutritional health. Your doctor may also prescribe you stronger medicine to help with the nausea. Seek emotional support from a sympathetic counselor.  Talk to friends who have had similar experiences.

I hope that someone will find some relief from these tips.  Please share other tips you have discovered in combating morning sickness in the comments! 

Do you want to help someone struggling with Morning Sickness? Put these is your care package:
No More Morning Sickness
A bag of lemons/limes/oranges
Simply Lemonade
A bag of Lays Regular Potato Chips
B6
Unisom (doxylamine)

You Don't Know You're Beautiful

I just wanted to share a sweet little experience Brett and I had.

I was preparing a Bridal Shower game for a best friend.  It's the one where you ask the groom a bunch of questions and the bride has to guess what the groom would answer.  Brett and I were having a fun time asking each other the questions and seeing how well we could guess what the other would say. 

Then we got to the question, "What would you say is Katie's best physical feature?" 

Brett promptly replies, "Your nose."

I laugh, "You're just saying that because you know how insecure I am about my nose."

"No.  I didn't even know that.  I just love your nose.  It's what I always noticed when you'd send pictures while I was on the mission. That little crinkle when you smile that's right in your nose."

Then I just tear up.

Really?  My big old Golding nose?  It's the one thing I had always said I wish I could change and here is my sweet husband telling me it's his favorite part about me.

How many things in life are like that?  Our biggest insecurities are actually what people love most about us. The next time I have a negative thought about myself, I will always remember this experience.