Let’s first get this straight. “Morning” sickness for me is not just in the morning. It is all day. For many WEEKS. It’s like having the stomach flu for a month and a half. No fun here, but thankfully a beautiful reward in the end. Oh, I haven’t mentioned yet…baby#3 is on their way and due in February. 🙂 These natural remedies for morning sickness have been my savior.
When I have pregnancy-induced nausea, I can’t even talk about GREEN things without getting the dry heave feeling in my throat (hence the 6 weeks that have passed since my last post!) It has been this way with all of my pregnancies, and thankfully my body was able to hold onto its healthy state (and cancer-free) even though I am not eating my usual Budwig, green smoothie, salad, and juice routine.
So what have I been doing to deal with this? Not the usual natural/crunchy wisdom has worked for me (like wretched ginger! Bleh!), but here are a few things that did.
10 Natural Remedies for Morning Sickness (that work!)
1. Carbonated Spring Water: I drank lemon Trader Joe’s brand carbonated spring water. It kept me burping instead of throwing up and was helpful in settling my stomach. La Croix would also work.
2. Chocolate Disguised Green Smoothie: For several weeks when my nausea started, around my 4th week of pregnancy, I couldn’t drink ANY smoothies, nonetheless GREEN ones. I made this smoothie to get greens in me and some other nutrition as well. One word: CHOCOLATE (and you can skip out on the greens until you’re ready.)
3. Mints, Mints, Mints: I had mints on me at all times to get me through nausea. I especially found these handy in church where the air could sometimes feel stale. My favorites are Tummydrop Mints, or simply Trader Joe’s Organic Peppermints.
4. A Nose Plug: My husband came up with this brilliant idea. Most of my hard-core nausea (the kind that resulted in running to the bathroom) was triggered by smells. By wearing this nose plug, I couldn’t smell anything. I wore it in short bursts when I felt like I was about to throw up from any smell. It really, REALLY helped and often kept me from losing everything I had in my stomach. THIS ONE is my favorite because it adjusts easily and for comfort.
5. Learn Your Puking Pattern: As time passes, you may start to see a pattern in your sickness. Make sure you eat a protein dense snack or light meal about 30 minutes before you typically get sick. This helped me a lot for my afternoon sickness I would get before dinner. A small protein smoothie really helps!
6. Sea Bands: I wore my Sea Bands, or accu-pressure wrist bands for 10 straight weeks during my first pregnancy. They really worked to alleviate my nausea. My subsequent pregnancies weren’t helped by Sea Bands as much, but I think they’re still worth the try if you’re running out of options. They come in several colors like PINK, BLACK, and GRAY.
7. Peppermint Oil: When my nose plug looked too weird (like in restaurants or the grocery store,) I would bring a rag sprinkled in 5-10 drops of peppermint oil with me to breathe through. The peppermint aroma really calmed my stomach. doTerra, Young Living, or the more affordable NOW brand (which I used) would all be fine choices.
8. Side Napping: Many days in the early afternoon, I would lay down in the couch on my side and watch my girls play or turn on a show/movie for them. I knew it was only temporary which helped with the mommy guilt and I felt A LOT better!
9. Protein in Bed: Eating something dense with protein before getting out of bed can help with the queasiness in the morning. Almonds, pumpkin seeds, or organic/ low-sugar yogurt helped me a lot. Also, if you get up to use the restroom in the middle of the night, taking a swig of a protein smoothie can help, too- just make sure it’s kept cold while it sits overnight.
10. Small Protein Smoothies Often: This just follows the rule of not letting your stomach stay empty and your blood sugar drop too low. That is what can make us sick. I have a lot of smoothie recipes HERE, but a simple protein powder and almond milk smoothie will do the trick.
Bonus #11: Activated Vitamin B6: At the recommendation of Dr. Izabella Wentz, I’m adding this as something to try. There are several studies out there that a simple capsule in the morning and before bed can reduce morning sickness by up to 50% or more. (HERE is just one of those studies.) For anyone suffering from all day nausea, this is a great relief! She recommends this brand of activated B6. Taking anywhere from 25mg to 225mg a day safely (divided into 3x daily.)
Hopefully if you’re dealing with morning sickness, you’ll know after reading this that you are in good company! (: I also hope that you’ll find some of my suggestions even a little bit helpful or they’ll encourage you to problem solve your own coping strategies. Help a sister out and let us know below in the comment section what has worked for you! (:
Hi! Thanks for your website. Just wanted to shout out to you in case you get pregnant again (or want to pass the info. along) that ginger(in capsule form only) & milk thistle eliminate the nausea! Someone let me borrow their book titled “Naturally Healthy Pregnancy” & the only part I read that I just happened to flip to was that section. I had no nausea with my third! The author & the person that lent me the book had no nausea with the last 3 of their 6 kids taking those 2 things. Congrats on baby #3. Keep on keepin on Sister:)
Hi Courtney! Will definitely keep that in mind if there’s a next time! 🙂
Peppermints help me a lot, too. Also, peanut butter on crackers and mixed nuts that are not roasted and salted. Staying hydrated helps a great deal, but can be challenging. Growing a life is so worth it!
Your blog is such a blessing to me!:)
Congratulations!!! Looking forward to another little family member!!! My only “cure” for morning sickness was to keep SOMETHING in my stomach at all times. Peanuts were one of mine since they have some protein. A handful of almonds in my diaper bag/purse when going out. But really, anything that didn’t trigger my gag reflex when smelling, I would try to eat. Just a little at a time and all day.
Carbonated water is the best!! I keep it on hand along with broths in case of sickness in our home. Squeezing some citrus in it also seems to help, during my pregnancies, I liked fresh lemons in it.
Along those lines, infused water also helped settle my tummy. Congratulations on baby #3!
Congratulations!! Wonderful news! Pray you feel better soon!
wonderful news … you guys are sooo blessed … congratulations
Great list. Another remedy is magnesium oil. I’ve been using it this time and it’s been so helpful. (I’m also going to have homemade preggie pops on my blog next month!)….. technically nobody knows that I’m pregnant again but I think I’m probably safe commenting here. 🙂
Hey Brittany!
Can you see how long it takes me to reply to comments?? LoL. You do so much better of a job on your blog management. I know it can be done because you homeschool with 4 kids while pregnant and still keep up with yours, but I haven’t quite figured it all out yet! (: So happy for you!!!!!!!!! 5 blessings. Ha- that’s a lot of bananas for your morning smoothies. (; I will definitely try magnesium oil next time as well.
Congratulations on your third pregnancy as a cancer overcomer! What a blessing and testimony of God’s faithfulness!
Thank you so much Diana! (: