Accidentally Green’s All-Request April continues with a week devoted to pregnant mothers. I’ve had a lot of requests for healthy pregnancy information – congratulations, all of you mommies-to-be!! – and I’ve compiled five posts with helpful tips.
Before we begin, I’d like to ask you to not feel too overwhelmed when you read the information. As a mother of two children, I remember being very concerned about harming my unborn children during my pregnancies. The fact that you care about your child’s health and are willing to make healthy changes is a fantastic first step. That said, you’ll read about a lot of dangers. Try not to worry too much.
Dealing with morning sickness
Morning sickness is one of the many uncomfortable symptoms of pregnancy. Some mothers suffer a lot more than others, and the severity really just depends on each individual pregnancy. I had a lot of morning (well, all-day) sickness with Big Brother, but hardly anything with Little Sister. I have several natural, home remedies for coping with morning sickness – you’ll probably want to try as many as you need to until your symptoms start to improve.
Ginger
For years, ginger has been a morning sickness remedy. You can choose to sip ginger tea or eat foods with fresh grated ginger. Ginger tea is only considered possibly safe, though. I admit I always was concerned about the safety of herbal teas during pregnancy and chose only to drink peppermint and lemon tea at the beginning of my pregnancies because they’re considered safe and raspberry leaf tea at the end to help tone my uterus.If you want to shy away from tea, try making homemade gingersnap cookies with real ginger. I can attest they were the only thing that helped my first trimester nausea when I was pregnant with my son.
Peppermint
The scent and taste of peppermint helps with nausea, too. Try a cup of peppermint tea. Or, put two drops of peppermint essential oil in a bowl of hot water close to your bed or couch. Lie down and inhale the minty scent.
If you have a sweet tooth, sucking on a peppermint candy also may help.
Other possibilities
If you’re still searching for effective remedies, try:
- Chewing gum.
- Sipping a caffeine-free carbonated beverage.
- Sniffing a lemon peel.
- Chewing almonds.
- Sucking on popsicles, especially lemonade-flavored ones.
- Trying tart flavors like sour pickles or lemonade.
Looking for other pregnancy advice? Check out the posts:
Will Your Pretty Face Harm Your Unborn Child?
Can a Pregnant Mama Safely Satisfy Her Nesting Instinct?
Photo credit
joannawnuk/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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I lucked out the first time around, but with my second son I was nauseated for months, to the point of taking a temporary leave of absence at work until I felt better. I lived off of Sprite and Gatorade. I was sure I’d have tons of cavities, but fortunately I didn’t. ;) I did get meds from my OB, but they didn’t do me a whole lot of good, because they would make me tired, and since I was home all day with my not quite 2 year old, I could only take it when my husband got home from work.
well, I’m definitely NOT pregnant, but my tummy is upset this morning! I’ll try some ginger tea. Both my pregnancies were “nauseating” and I wish I could say it was only in the morning. For what it might be worth to the young moms today, looking back I believe I had too much stress in my life due to trying to do too much. I was silly to think I could carry on (no pun intended) with life as usual without taking better care of myself in terms of rest, relaxation, and diet. So I offer that in hindsight.
Thanks for sharing the great advice, Jacque and Andrea! The Sprite and Gatorade sound like they could be really effective, Andrea! (Ginger ale helped me, too.)