first trimester nausea - help?

[spughy]

I'm six weeks pregnant and I feel so gross - mostly in the morning or if I haven't eaten recently enough. I am trying to eat only healthy foods, staying away from sugar and processed crap, and I KNOW that if I eat bread I'm gonna bloat out and need maternity clothes a lot earlier (and feel more disgusting, too) but honestly all I want to eat for breakfast is a slice of sourdough toast and butter. I haven't, yet - I've tried fried potatoes, they're ok but not quite right; my normal kefir smoothie - also ok, but not quite right... rice crackers and cheese (I have no issues with dairy) - ok, but doesn't feel like breakfast.

My sister suggested a mixture of baked sweet potato and applesauce with sunflower seeds and stuff on top. I don't know if I could handle that much sweet first thing in the morning. I used to eat eggs all the time but the thought of them makes me want to hurl now. Ideas?

(Oh, and for the next two days I will be doing farm work, I have to get up very early and don't have the ability to cook except for a quick spin in the microwave...)

[vannyshinbara]

This has nothing to do with food but have you looked into acupuncture? One visit in my first trimester completely cured my nausea. I don't think I had a terrible bout of it (no actual throwing up) but I felt like I needed to most of the day. After my visit I was fine though certain trigger smells (coffee and bacon for me) were still nausea inducing.

[angifi]

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I think some protein would be really helpful,even if you really feel like it, it may help you feel better. Have you tried nut-butters? Perhaps some almond/macadamia/sunflower butter?

There is a post about morning sickness on The Primal Parent Blog : http://theprimalparent.com/2012/04/12/high-carb-diet-cause-morning-sickness/

I hope that helps. I know how awful that nausea is. I did acupuncture too and it really helped.

[Carissa]

Pick up a pair of Sea Bands. The drugstore should have them. You wear them on your wrist and the press on the acupressure point for nausea.

And ginger. I was going to say infuse a bone broth with ginger, but saw you don't have time to cook. Maybe pick up some ginger tea. I hate morning sickness.

[CaseyD]

They always say to eat something before you get out of bed in the morning. I wonder if there is a way you can do that. I know someone who did this and it actually helped them.

Oh, and I couldn't eat eggs either my entire first trimester. Didn't matter the time of day, they would come right back up.

[musingmama]

Congrats!! Sorry you are feeling so crappy. It really does usually go away by the second trimester, but here are some suggestions for the meantime.

Definitely try acupuncture and ginger, and eating before you get out of bed. I would even suggest eating in the middle of the night if you wake - your body is processing foods quite differently now and it is important to keep your blood sugars, etc, steady as your baby is building bodyparts constantly and in need of nutrients 24/7. Eating small amounts of food (with protein & some complex carbs at each meal/snack if possible) every 2-3 hours is what we always recommended to our clients (I'm a non-practicing doula & midwife).

Have you tried the potato baked with butter instead of fried? When I had morning (all day really) sickness fried foods really didn't work at all. Are you able to eat chicken - it can be made pretty bland... maybe chicken soup or stew? If you can tolerate dairy have you tried cheese or yogurt? Handfuls of nuts can be helpful too if the nut butter feels overwhelming. I really encourage you to listen to your body and not be afraid to eat foods that you might not normally eat, especially in the first trimester when it is hard to get any nourishment down sometimes. It is a vicious cycle because the longer you go without food due to the nausea the sicker you can become. Not eating a meal (especially breakfast) can set you on a cycle of nausea the whole day.

Dandelion root tea or tincture is helpful in promoting digestion & supporting the liver (which is processing a huge quantity of hormones since you are pregnant). If you don't like ginger tea or capsules can always try peppermint or spearmint tea. Some women find the smell of peppermint essential oil helpful with nausea. You can place 1-2 drops on a cloth and smell it or crush the leaves of the fresh plant and smell it. Umeboshi plums can be helpful for nausea if tolerated - they are quite sour & salty. Dehydration can aggravate nausea so try to stay well hydrated - lemon in your water can be nice and will help support your liver. One trick I used when I was feeling awful was to drink ice cold water (I normally don't like ice water at all). Somehow it helped with the nausea!

Hope you feel better soon!

[deann_m]

All of the above suggestions are great and worthy of trying! I was much more nauseous with this pregnancy than all of the others. The only thing that really helped me this time was taking extra B Vitamins. I went to our health food store that sells decent supplements and picked up a good B Complex. That made all of the difference for me. Also, ironically, on days when I mananged to exercise, I did feel a little better too.

Hoping this passes quickly for you!

[LeighG]

here is a post on eating clean while pregnant: http://theprimepursuit.com/2012/10/05/pregnancy-and-clean-eating/

I also found that taking about 1/4 tsp salt when I had vertigo seemed to help. That is a pretty natural homeopathic remedy that can help with nausea, especially if your electrolytes are off, and you did not even know it. (particularly if you have troublesome vomiting)

as long as you are continuing to avoid packaged foods and added sugars, you are on a great path. if you can't palate such high doses of protein, remember some other "white" plant sources of carbohydrate...potatoes, oats, white rice and beans, these are clean-ER than hitting up the really processed junk.

i did not have a hard time getting back on the wagon when my nausea went away.

congratulations!

[Heidi Staddon]

Not sure if this is still relevant but I am just finishing up my 1st trimester (with my 4th).

Bananas helped me first thing in the morning. I get up early with the baby (14mo) and we are in a bungalow. Have to go into the basement and "hide" so as to not wake the other kids (4&5y) or daddy (beauty sleep, sheesh). I did a few mornings of no food...bad move. But can't make the noise cooking my eggs or whirling my spinach smoothie. So, a banana held me over, and I got to share with baby which made him happy.

But know what? The bread and cheese cravings won a few times. I felt more Awful about it than my body did because I was trying so hard to be compliant. And it was THAT added stress that made things worse.

What I am saying is this:do your best and know your limits. Hormones are raging thru our bodies right now that have come out off"nowhere". It isn't like it is just us in control, you know? Do your best and forgive yourself when you need to. It isn't a free-for-all, mind you, but a slip up shouldn't break you. It broke me and that was my biggest mistake. Not again

[CaseyD]

I'm now pregnant with number two and having horrible morning sickness. I literally am on the verge of vomiting 24/7 with no relief. I broke down and asked for a prescription after I started waking up several times a night to puke, but I had horrible side effects. So, I tried acupuncture, which worked for a couple days. I'd have to go back twice a week for this to be some kind of real remedy. We'll see.

I actually wish I could choke down bread, just for these couple of terrible months, but I tried that and had a bad reaction. I'm apparently very sensitive to wheat. Fruit is a no go. Fat of any kind doesn't stay down. Sweet potatoes, most meat and all vegetables make me very sick, too. It is so different than my first, where I would crave avocados and eat salads. It's like this baby wants to kill me!

I wanted so much to stay perfectly paleo, but after a couple of weeks of trying everything I could think of (even white potato), I've started eating tortilla chips and hummus. This stuff has actually given me some relief. Why is that? Why do the bad-for-you-foods actually relieve morning sickness temporarily?

I'm hoping I can negotiate a good price with the acupuncturist so I can go back to eating normal.

[logansandres]

My wife is now two months pregnant and she started to feel nauseaous on regular basis. We've discussed this with our doctor and he said that we might try using essential oils but really carefully. We use easy lemond blend recipe  but with some alterations. Since oils are strong, we use 2 drops, instead of fore, and water instead of carrier oil. Hope it hleps sombody else too!