Now that I have made it through the first trimester of three pregnancies, I feel like I’ve learned a LOT about coping with morning sickness (which, for me, was rarely just in the morning). I’d like to share a bit of my story, and give you some advice and tips on how you can survive morning all day sickness too! (For the purpose of this post, I’ll refer to it as “morning sickness,” but believe me, I stand with you in acknowledging that phrase as a frustrating misnomer.) I hope this post will give you some remedies for morning sickness and help you through this exciting but challenging time!
*If you’re not currently pregnant, or you’re past the first trimester, pin this and save it for later!*
What causes morning sickness? There are lots of possible reasons!
-ridding your body of toxins
-extra hormones from the pregnancy
-low blood sugar
-vitamin deficiency
-poor nutrition
-and others!
My Story: Pregnancy #1
Coming off of four years of college food (dining hall food + fast food) and still being in early marriage (lots of home cooking but also a good bit of fast food too), my body was not at a very healthy place when I got pregnant. The day I found out I was pregnant (5 weeks) I was already sick. (Note: They’ll tell you morning sickness doesn’t start until 8 weeks and only lasts until 12 weeks. THEY LIE.) I tried to cope by eating whatever I could keep down: Chinese takeout, McDonald’s burgers, sweet tea, Lean Cuisine meals (because, honestly, if I threw one up, I only wasted 2:30 of effort preparing it), saltine crackers, instant cinnamon roll oatmeal, mini grasshopper fudge cookies, and Sour Patch Kids.
I probably should have clued in to the fact that eating unhealthily was creating a vicious cycle: I didn’t want healthy food (or thought I couldn’t keep it down), so I ate junky stuff, then I threw up some of that too, but ultimately felt bad again the next day. I really blame the massive amounts of sugar for how sick I was with my first pregnancy. (Did you know there are 69 grams of sugar in a large sweet tea from McDonald’s?) No wonder I was sick. My body was trying to purge all the junk I was consuming to protect my baby.
I eventually went on Zofran when I couldn’t keep water down, but that caused constipation, so I took Colace, which caused more nausea… Horrible. I just stopped taking both after a little while.
I did learn some ways of coping: eat something before you get out of bed, eat first thing in the day, don’t let yourself get hungry (snack all the time), etc. I rested a LOT those months, which I could, since I didn’t have another baby to care for. From what I remember, the last time I threw up with my first pregnancy was at 4.5 months. I knew, though, that something had to change the next time I got pregnant!
My Story: Pregnancy #2
Our family started to change our eating habits shortly after Vera’s birth (Thanks, Food, Inc. and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution). We started cooking from scratch and ditching the processed meals. We started eating less sugar and eating more fresh vegetables and fruit.
Before getting pregnant the second time, I did a day of freezer cooking to help feed our family when I was sick in the first trimester. This was nice, since there were definitely days I didn’t feel at ALL like cooking or even seeing food. Also, I did a lot of reading of natural living blogs which gave me advice on how to deal with morning sickness. Some of the tips I learned (and applied) with my second pregnancy: avoid sugar at all costs, eat protein, eat beans, eat almonds, use ginger in your cooking (I hated this, but I could handle a pinch in my plain oatmeal each morning), and (one from last time) eat frequently.
All of these things I changed must have helped, since I only threw up once with that whole pregnancy (and it may have been slight food poisoning instead of morning sickness). I felt so much better that I thought Cordelia must have been a boy since my two pregnancies were night and day different! I was feeling better by around fourteen weeks.
My Story: Pregnancy #3
I knew I was pregnant with #3 when early in January I started despising food (thinking about food! looking at food!) while simultaneously feeling like I was starving. I couldn’t bear the thought of setting food in a grocery store, so I texted Tad a list of about 34 things I needed… the last of which was a pregnancy test. I just knew!
This pregnancy was a little backwards… I had afternoon/evening sickness! In the mornings, I felt great, but by lunch I was feeling pretty blah. After lunch, I would nap when the girls napped EVERY DAY. After naptime, I could barely stand to think about making dinner. SO, I started preparing crockpot meals (Mama and Baby Love to the rescue!) in the morning (food was still gross, but I could close my eyes and throw a roast in the slow cooker) so we had something to eat in the evenings. Tad helped a lot in the kitchen so I didn’t have to get dinner on the table. After dinner I was done. I went to bed most evenings around 9:00.
I swore off sugar, ate lots of beans for lunch, ate almonds all day long so I didn’t get hungry, and avoided almost all processed foods. Our family’s eating habits have gotten even more healthy, with the addition of grinding our own grains into flour, eating produce in season, and substituting natural sweeteners for white sugar (while still limiting our sweets intake overall).
I never threw up with this pregnancy, and I only felt ill from weeks 5 through 10. Much improved!!!
Here are my best tips for dealing with morning sickness:
-evaluate your diet
Are you eating healthy foods, or are you consuming a lot of processed foods and fast food? (I know convenience foods are convenient, but a slow cooker roast doesn’t take any more time to make than a Lean Cuisine meal… I promise.)
-avoid sugar
I mean totally, cold-turkey, zero sugar AT ALL for the first trimester (I know you can do it!)
-avoid caffeine
You’re probably already doing this because your doctor told you to, but I’ll add it here just in case.
-eat beans
Seriously (Brandi will tell you too). I ate beans, salsa, and avocado almost every day for lunch during the first trimester with my current pregnancy. Try mixing half beans and half meat when you make tacos. Throw beans in whatever soup you’re eating. Make hummus or other bean dips. In “emergency” situations, I ate them straight out of the can!
-start your day off right
Eat a good breakfast. Whatever works for you – eggs, bacon, oatmeal (just cinnamon and fruit), yogurt, whatever is most appealing to you. For me this time, it was fried eggs (I didn’t want anything to do with bacon or oatmeal).
-eat throughout the day
Eat healthy snacks throughout the day (yogurt, hummus, veggies, fruit, nuts, dried fruit, oatmeal again, leftover beef roast, whatever). Don’t let yourself get hungry!
-eat almonds
For some reason, this tip (which I also learned from Brandi) is so helpful. Snack on raw, unsalted almonds whenever you start to feel queasy.
-when you feel sick, eat anyway
Even though this feels counter-intuitive, especially if you’ve been throwing up, you HAVE to eat.
-buy certain convenience foods
I usually make my own yogurt and I often cook beans from scratch. However, in the first trimester, I bought Greek yogurt and canned beans since I knew if I didn’t buy them, I wouldn’t eat them. If you bake all your bread (like I do), it’s okay to purchase the best quality bread you can. I bought a few rotisserie chickens and packaged salad kits too.
-give yourself a break
Take it easy on yourself! You’re growing a beautiful new baby, so let all of the non-essentials go. In January, I took care of Vera and Cordelia, did essential laundry, made simple meals, and rested. A lot. Like I said, I took naps every afternoon, and by the evenings I felt horrible, so I went to bed early.
Read MORE really awesome tips from:
–Brandi at the Marathon Mom
–Erin at the Humbled Homemaker
–Kate (Modern Alternative Mama) at Keeper of the Home
–Hailey at Modern Alternative Pregnancy
–Stephanie at Keeper of the Home
–Heather at Mommypotamus
What are your best remedies for morning sickness?
I love this tips! As someone who also deals heavily with ALL DAY sickness, I found there was a huge difference in how I felt just by constantly keeping food in my system. However, like you were saying, I didn’t always keep the best foods in my system. I heavily loaded up on carbs to help with the nausea (breads, pastas, pretzels, etc.). I was MUCH less sick (only threw up 4 times total, where as with Adalynn, it was common to do that every day), but I think this contributed to my diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes (that and the fact that I’m still on the campus meal plan you described above, haha). Since becoming diabetic, I have started a high protein, low carb diet and I’ve honestly never felt better. Even though I’m past the nausea stage of pregnancy, I’ve significantly decreased my heartburn/indigestion and that overall “blah” stomach feeling that can come late in pregnancy. I’m interested to see how my 1st trimester goes with my next pregnancy when I maintain a high protein diet! I’ve heard protein can help a lot with nausea.
Thanks for sharing this, Kristin! Eating protein definitely helps with nausea. I am considering doing Whole30 (a basically paleo/primal diet) soon, which sounds a lot like how you are eating currently. It’s great to know you’ve been feeling really good with your new dietary choices!
Such good advice! I also learned that sugar is my worst enemy during the first trimester. I seem to be slightly hypoglycemic during pregnancy so I especially had to watch what I ate first thing in the morning. Any sugar and I would have a major crash! I’ve learned that I need LOTS of protein and frequent snacking/meals. With my first pregnancy I also wasn’t eating as well as I am now and that’s when I had the worst time with morning sickness. Each pregnancy has been easier than the last in terms of morning sickness as we’ve transitioned more and more to healthy foods.
Thanks for sharing your experience, too, Crystal! I’m glad that your morning sickness has continued to lessen as you’ve eaten healthier.
this is such an interesting take on morning sickness. i pinned this for the future. my pregnancies are very difficult! i had hyperemesis with my first pregnancy and it was horrifying. thanks for sharing your tips 🙂
Gillian, I’m sorry you had such a hard time with your first pregnancy. Sometimes, no matter what we do, our bodies still respond like that during a pregnancy. I hope that your future pregnancies are better!
This is excellent info! I’ve tried to do a lot of the same things this time around, and it definitely helps. Tough I’ve certainly had my moments of giving in to convenience. Right now I’m trying to work out of it again, after getting settled in our new house. The exhaustion is definitely slowing me down.
The exhaustion is to be expected when nearing the end of pregnancy, caring for other kids, and (to top it off) moving! Praying for grace for you.
So glad you are feeling better! You’re doing great–and let me tell you–a third baby is a lot of fun! Chloe is such a joy!!!
Thanks, Stephanie! We’re excited to meet our third… and YOUR third too! We’ll have to get together next time we come to VA.
I am 13 weeks and still insanely sick. A friend of mine shared Karen Hurd’s theory on beans with me TODAY and then I found this on pinterest tonight. So thank you, I think it is unbelievable clear that I need to try beans. Even though they do not sound appetizing at all. But hey – it’s better than throwing up!
I’m sorry you’ve been so sick, Amanda. I hope you are able to find some relief soon!
Thank you for this article! I am just 5 weeks pregnant and my sickness has begun. This is our fourth and which each prior pregnancy my all day sickness has gotten worse. Your suggestions make so much sense and protein has always helped me. My question is about dairy. I see that you mention yogurt. What about other forms of dairy? Also, to what extent to you consider a food to be too high in sugar? Is a high fiber cereal out? Finally, any suggestions for an evening snack that can curb nausea in the night and next morning? Thanks so much!!
Congratulations on your pregnancy! I didn’t have a problem with dairy, so I consumed it normally during my pregnancies. If it isn’t appealing, stay away from it until you feel better. I’m not sure at what point I thought foods were too high in sugar, but I did try to avoid processed foods and sugars as much as possible. Cereal can be a good snack as long as it doesn’t have more than a couple of grams of sugar per serving (and watch out for high fructose corn syrup!). I liked eating oatmeal with added nuts as an evening snack. Sometimes I’d eat leftovers from dinner if I hadn’t felt like eating with the rest of the family. 🙂 I’m not a doctor, of course, so run all this by your practitioner. Feel better soon!
I’m sick allllll the time I mean all day… dirty dishes make me like and the smell or even the thought of bowel movements make me want to throw up…… I hate smelling any meat and my hobby doesn’t understand and yells me itscmy job to bare childten and keep the home. So no help I also can’t rest because my 3-4 yeR old children rarely nap anymore any sugar free candies or anything you would recommend
I’m so sorry you’re so sick! One thing that helped me through four first-trimesters was remembering that this is just a season, and while it is awful now, it will eventually get better and you will feel normal again. I would also recommend Vitamin B6 (talk to your doctor about dosage). It really helped me this past time!
This doesn’t always work. My husband and I have always eaten healthy, homemade meals and even the thought of anything sugary makes me sick when pregnant, and I faithfully throw up from week 5 to week 17 or beyond.
I’m in my 6th week I literally feel naseuos all day long- as well as having a terrible acidic taste in my mouth – throwing up sounds like it would actually bring some relief but I barely do throw up.
I have an active 20 month old son and don’t have energy to keep up with him- nap time happens while he’s at his sitter during the early afternoon hours while I work part time.
I can barely handle the smell of my clean kitchen and any food makes me gag.
Protein really causes a bad reaction….
I try to eat as much as I can but its not a lot…… I try to stay positive and think of the beautiful life growing on me- that this is truly a “labor of love” but frankly I just want to feel normal again…:(
These are the best tips I’ve come across yet! Not just your standard “drink ginger ale” “wear sea bands” and “get rest.” While all those things are great, paying attention to your diet is definitely key! Great advise. I would have never thought to stay away from sugar. And adding beans sounds like a great idea. As I’m 9 weeks in, beans sound pretty comforting right now!
Hope you start feeling better soon, Jessica!
I was having the nightmare of morning sickness up to 10 weeks, but after taking no to morning sickness tea, I relieved myself from this horrible sickness.
I have never thought of it this way! I am 9 weeks in and suffering with ALL DAY SICKNESS! As of today I have lost 20+ pounds and i’m struggling! This is my second pregnancy and my first was just as bad. SAHM and a 4 year old in tow, its been a struggle. Thank you for all the great tips, definitely good to hear some different advise since i keep hearing the same things. If you have any other tips I would be so grateful!