Morning Sickness – The Do’s & Don’ts

Firstly, why “morning sickness”? Who termed it morning? Why not afternoon or evening because it can happen any time of day! Although there is no clear answer why nausea happens during pregnancy, it is believed the cause is hormonal changes.  My friend Chloe is recently prego and voila – nausea just around her 6^th week as most doctors would say. Fortunately she reassured me for when I get pregnant that “it isn’t too bad” and by mid-pregnancy I would be fine.

According to AmericanPregnancy.org, “More than half of all pregnant women experience morning sickness. Many health care providers think morning sickness is a good sign because it means the placenta is developing well.” The good news is that morning sickness doesn’t harm you or your baby, but if you are experiencing excessive nausea or vomiting, then talk to your doc because it may be hyperemesis gravidarum, a rare complication that results in a poor intake of fluids and food (and your wee little one will be quite hungry!).

Here are some DO’s and DON”Ts to help ease your morning sickness:

Do:

• Eat small meals as this will help keep your blood-sugar level steady and will keep your stomach filled
• Drink fluids a ½ hour before after a meal, but not with the meals
• Of course drink fluids also during the day to avoid dehydration
• Eat soda crackers 15 minutes before getting up in the morn (Snacking on easy-to-digest foods, such as whole wheat toast, baked potatoes, pasta and fruit)
• Ask someone to help cook for you or with you and open the windows if the smells are bothering you
• Rest, rest, rest during the day!
• Avoid warm/hot places
• Natural remedies can help – Sniff lemons or ginger, drink lemonade, or eat watermelon to relieve nausea (it works!)
• Eat salty potato chips (they have been found to settle stomachs enough to eat a meal)
• Safely exercise – it helps you sleep at night and relieve stress
• Get out of bed slowly
• Avoid greasy foods

Don’ts:

• Do not lie down after eating
• Do not skip meals
• Do not cook or eat spicy food

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Le Top Tip: Time Saving Snacks

I like to have snacks at my house for when my niece and nephew come to visit so I’m always on the lookout for individually packaged or partially prepped items. Babybel makes individually wax wrapped cheese that is really mild, so the kids like it (and we can make wax figures from the wrapping). Many grocery/warehouse stores sell pre-cut celery and carrots, so all I need to do is open the peanut butter or put a little ranch dressing in a dish. You can pick up pre-sliced apples in individual packs that are pretty good, but sometimes the ‘individual servings’ are too much for a four and six year old. That’s why my favorite little kid snack source is the 100 calorie snack packs from companies like Ocean Spray and Nabisco– not because I’m trying to keep my niece and nephew on a diet, but because the serving size is more appropriate for kids. (Plus, with things like cookies, it means they can have cookies but I don’t have to worry about them stealing extras when I’m not looking– they’d have to get a whole new package to get extra sweets.) 

The hidden bonus to pre-packaged snacks is that there’s practically no clean up.  If you don’t have to core the apples yourself, all you have to toss is their napkin and the little bag the apples came in.  Individual serving size packages tend to be a little more expensive than buying a whole bunch of celery or a big wedge of cheese, but it means that when my niece and nephew come over to visit, I already have snacks ready for them. No need to spend time cutting veggies or slicing off sections of cheese when I could be spending that time having fun. That extra half hour of snack prep time and 15 minutes of clean up could mean the difference between an afternoon at home and having the time to drive out to the Chabot Space and Science Center. 

Soda companies have also started making 100 calorie size soda cans.  I know that the soda/kids issue is a little controversial, but since Sprite and 7-Up make them too, I at least don’t have to worry about the caffeine…and the smaller cans are easier for kids to hold.

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