Every pregnancy it gets worse. The morning sickness that is. I actually think the term “morning sickness” is a joke. More like stand-over-the-toilet-lay-on-the-couch-all-day-sickness that renders you unable to do much more than close your eyes and try to block out all smells that may set you off one more time.
Don’t get my wrong, I greatly enjoy it when new life comes into this world and my children are so dear to me and a blessing from the Lord! But the pregnancy part is not my favorite time of life.
Sadly, I’ve gotten sicker with every child (and it lasts longer every time too). This fourth baby had me quite sick until 20 weeks.
Over four pregnancies, I’ve learned a few things about what works and what doesn’t for managing morning sickness. All solutions don’t work for everyone but I just want to encourage you with what has helped me through the tough weeks in the hopes that it can help you as well!
7 Morning Sickness “Coping Mechanisms” That Saved Me
1) Praying/Devotions – Spending time in prayer doesn’t necessarily make you feel better, but it really strengthened my relationship and dependence on the Lord. I’m not the picture-perfect Christian though! Many times I prayed in the midst of my tears, begging God to take away my constant sickness.
The time of day I felt best was when I was sleeping and I often fell asleep praying for relief. One of the passages I really hung onto was 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it would leave me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” {P.S. I never got to the point of boasting about my weakness, per se, but I was able to bear it with more grace.}
2) Juice fasting/Detoxing – I actually began a juice fast/detox and mostly raw foods diet shortly before I got pregnant. I was guided through it by someone who was very experienced. It was really interesting because once I found out I was pregnant, I didn’t get sick until 8 weeks (I usually get sick almost immediately after getting pregnant)!
This was huge for me and the lady who was helping me said that because juice detoxing and raw foods cleanse your liver, it kept my hormones from overwhelming my liver at the beginning. Unfortunately, I still did get really sick eventually but it kept things at bay for awhile. There are a lot of options for juice fasting/detoxing and you should really do research and consult someone with experience and a doctor before you try it.
3) Eating before getting up – You know how they always say to eat before you get up in the morning? It really does help, although not by eating saltines!
I ate Nut Thins, an almond cracker each morning because they actually have some nutritional value. I couldn’t stomach nuts so this was my best alternative. I also laid in bed for about 5-10 minutes afterwards and my mornings seemed to start off better.
4) Laying down during the day – Many days I let my children get into more than they should have simply for the sake of lying down. I’d be on the couch in our open-floor plan upstairs and would keep an eye on the kids while I rested.
I wasn’t actually that tired this pregnancy so I only fell asleep once or twice while on the couch with the TV on for the kids’ Netflix time :) Yes, they did watch more TV than they should have, but not a ton. And I knew it was just a short time of life so I let it go.
We also read a whole bunch of books and played board games (during games, our youngest would play with toys next to me and wander around the room). I wasn’t the most intentional mother during that time but we spent a lot of time together just interacting and it really helped me cope and passed the time.
5) Eating protein – When I was sick I didn’t even want to walk into the kitchen. Any thought of any type of food made me feel even worse! But I would literally force myself to eat protein like eggs and hard cheese.
During my first three pregnancies I tried eating a lot of saltines and bland foods and that was okay but I found much better relief this time around by eating protein, even if I didn’t always keep it down. I was also able to eat some steamed vegetables and green apples but any other raw foods made me throw up immediately.
Here’s an interesting, more detailed post about the protein/morning sickness relief connection at Raising Arrows.
6) Increasing my magnesium intake – This actually works better if started before you’re pregnant, but thanks to this post and this other post at Wellness Mama, I was able to increase my magnesium levels by alternating between soaking my feet in epsom salts and using a magnesium spray for sensitive skin, letting it absorb for a few minutes before my shower each morning.
I started this at about 12 weeks, knowing I still had quite a few weeks of sickness ahead of me, and my nausea level was noticeably lighter between weeks 15-20. Increasing magnesium can also help with headaches and those awful pregnancy leg cramps!
7) Diffusing essential oils. There are some oils that are safe for pregnancy and some that are not. You can safely diffuse lavender, lemon and orange (if you can tolerate the smell).
Lemon was useful to me because citrus smells and tastes helped me feel better during early pregnancy.
What Didn’t Work for Morning Sickness (for me)
- Drinking straight water – Dehydration definitely makes your nausea worse, but then you’re so nauseous you can’t keep liquids down–it’s a vicious cycle! For my last three pregnancies, I haven’t been able to drink water by itself, I immediately throw it up. Sometimes water with lemon helped but even better was Sparkling Ice Mountain lemon spring water. It settled my stomach and was a better choice than 7up or Sprite. At one early point of pregnancy, I did have to re-hydrate with Gatorade because otherwise I would have ended up in the hospital on IVs.
- Eating bland foods – Not only are saltines and the like worthless as far as nutrition, the usual recommendation from the pregnancy book for “nausea diet” was worthless as far as making me feel better. So also was toast, popcorn and other crackers, unless combined with protein like cheese or eggs. I don’t know why it took me 4 pregnancies to figure out that this wasn’t the best solution, but it just doesn’t work for me!
- Sea Bands – These are little pressure point bands that go around your wrist and supposedly help with nausea but unfortunately they did nothing for me. It could be that if you have very light morning sickness they would be effective, and a lot of people seem to think they work, so you could definitely give them a try!
- Chiropractic adjustment – Let me start by saying that I LOVE my chiropractor and I’ve actually had a much better pregnancy physically because I’ve been going more often this time around but adjustments and pressure points did not help my morning sickness. My chiropractor (who also does acupuncture) is hesitant to try too many acupuncture/acupressure points as some of the points for nausea are the same ones that stimulate labor, so if you have a acupuncturist who feels more comfortable using those points, it could very well be helpful.
What remedies have you heard about for times of morning {or all day} sickness?
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19 Comments on How I Survived Horrible Morning Sickness (7 Things that Worked for Me)
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Thanks so much for sharing everyone. I am 6 weeks and feeling so so bad. I had a miscarriage at 7 weeks my first pregnancy, so I’m so thankful for this positive sign. But it’s been so bad that I am ashamed and frightened to admit that I actually fantasized about losing it for about half a second. I never heard that it could get so bad until it started happening to me. I really fear the coming weeks. But reading this post and comments makes me feel less alone. Also, I am not a religious person, but I found your excerpt from Corinthians so moving and makes so much sense. Our suffering isn’t something wrong or bad that we need to run away from. It is a very real and valid part of this miraculous life, and it too offers insight into our humanity and opens the door to our compassion for others who are suffering in other ways all over the world. We are not alone. Thank you.
Thank you Susan, for that thoughtful comment! I’m so glad people’s stories helped you to know you are not alone. I understand completely the conflicting thoughts that you’ve had. And you’re right, going through hard times develops in us a deeper compassion and care for others and strengthens us as well. Would it be okay if I prayed for you and for your pregnancy? I’ll be thinking of you and hoping your little one continues to grow and flourish and that you would be relieved of your sickness and be able to enjoy that later part of pregnancy as you wait for your baby to arrive! When you hold baby for the first time, it is an experience like no other!
Thank u so much for the post. I’m going to make sure and buy those but thins soon. I’m 6 weeks pregnant and it’s honestly been hard to get excited because I have a total fear of morning sickness. With my second it was debilitating for weeks and week. I heard about Epsom salt right before I found out o was pregnant and am currently soaking my feet. I have high hopes. I’ve been praying so hard against the sickness. This verse I’m sure will give me more grace and strength thank you
I said a prayer for you! Morning sickness is so tough, but some people don’t get it as bad as I did :) The Lord does give grace, even if we have to go through that time of sickness, but hopefully some of these tips will help you! Blessings and congratulations :)
I’m having my first pregnancy and I’m experiencing similar morning sickness. I was on IVF fluid last week. Taking anti vomit medication doesn’t help much. I survive with plain porridge and bread. This is my 9th week and I’m weak and tired every single day. Any smell could trigger my vomiting and I feel so sick of this. I pray every morning and night for strength from God that I will survive this ordeal. But I still feel helpless. Sometimes I just broke down. None of my friends or relatives ever experienced bad morning sickness like me so most of them don’t really understand what I’m going through.They said I should drink more, eat more. But everything I ate or dank, ended up in toilet bowl. Most of the time, I force myself to sleep after a meal to ensure I don’t throw up the meal. But when I woke up, I still ended up throwing up but with minimal vomiting. I really feel that your article reflects what I’m going through. Thanks for Shari ng and for letting me know that I’m not alone.
Stephanie, I’m so sorry to hear that you are feeling so awful! I know exactly how you feel! I don’t know if you are a Christian but if you are know that the Lord will sustain you and you are definitely not alone, even if it seems so hopeless and never-ending. All-day sickness often peaks around 9-10 weeks and so it is *possible* that you will start feeling at least a little better in a couple more weeks. I know that seems like an eternity away but keep holding on and don’t be afraid to ask your doctor for more help so that you’re able to keep as much strength as possible. I will keep you in my prayers and your baby as well!
Thank you very much Jenn. I’m very touched over your reply. Yes, I’m a Christian. Please continue praying for us.
Funny I came across this today — I recently wrote a post talking about the same thing!
I soaked in Epsom Salt baths almost daily in the first trimester. All over absorption! It worked wonders, actually!
That’s probably even better than just soaking feet, like I did. I’m so glad that worked for you, probably one of the least expensive, easiest remedies that actually is effective!
I am currently 9 weeks and not as sick as I was with my first! With my first it was week 6 to week 39 when I had her! Nothing really helped but lemon slices.
So glad you’re not so sick this time! I hope you continue to feel well!
My four pregnancies have been very similar to yours, with the same things working and not working. The only thing I would add is to realize that the same things won’t work with each pregnancy. I had one or two things I could get down with each pregnancy, and they were never the same. Actually, after each pregnancy is done, I usually can’t stand whatever I could eat because I had to eat so much of it! One thing I would recommend trying is frozen things – I could often get things down in popsicle form that I could never stomach otherwise. So if I can’t handle a smoothie, I might be able to freeze it and eat it as a popsicle. Hope that helps someone!
Tina @ Mommynificent
Thank you, that’s great advice! I remember eating apples a lot with my 3rd pregnancy but this time I couldn’t stomach them during my time of sickness.
You poor dear! My sis-in-law is also expecting her fourth and at 30 weeks or so is still terribly sick. My morning sickness is so mild in comparison with you Mamas—I admire you so much for having more than one. :)
So glad you’re feeling better!
30 weeks, oh my! I don’t feel so bad for myself then! Sometimes I don’t know why I keep having kids being so sick, but the Lord has sustained me through it and for that I am grateful!! I’m so glad you weren’t super sick!