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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Baby No. 2 is Coming, and Mommy Feels Guilty

One of our "Mommy & Daughter" days: Flying a kite

One of our readers, Emmy, commented in a previous entry, “….as much as I was excited with my new addition to the family, I was overcome with a touch of sadness that my uninterrupted one-on-one time with my first-born daughter would come to an end.” I’ve heard similar stories from my mommy friends about how the closer they got to the end of their second pregnancy, the more guilt they felt. The thought of having to split their time with another child, or worse yet, spending almost all of their time with a newborn, has taken a toll on their emotions. I remember one of my friends, Kim, bursting into tears as she was telling me this. Back then, I thought she was just hormonal and overreacting. Now, I know EXACTLY how she felt!

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Blaming it on Pregnancy Hormones

So what does this cooking photo have to do with pregnancy hormones? Let me tell you…

During Christmas week, I had the opportunity to catch up on my “shows” and watched the latest episode of Top Chef from my DVR queue. It was called the “12 Days of Christmas” episode and the chefs’ elimination challenge was to cater for 200-300 people. Long story short, one of the refrigerators didn’t shut all the way, so food had been sitting in a warm fridge overnight.

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