2Nd Pregnancy "Morning Sickness"

I was mostly nauseous, I hardly threw up. But I sucked on peppermint candies - the red and white kind. Also, bananas helped first thing in the morning. I hope this doesn't go on forver.....good luck.

Of COURSE you are exhausted, C.--- you have a 4 year old - a school responsibility- AND you're pregnant - our culture pretends you can do it all-- but let me tell you-- there is a cost- and the exhaustion is it--- it intensifies the sickness. I pray for you dear heart-- experiment with different bland carbs ( crackers, cheerios) that may help your queasiness-- I used to carry around a ziplock bag with some - all morning long.

:-)
J.

Hi C.,

I am so sorry you are feeling so miserable. It really sucks!

These are the things that worked best for me:

1. Quit taking prenatal multivitamins. They are super strong and made me super sick. Every other day, I took regular multivitamins and that made a huge difference.

2. Seabands. They work like accupressure and make a huge difference for a lot of women.

3. Ginger - Ginger tea is good, but if you can't eat or drink, some women find taking a piece of ginger, peeling it and then chewing or sucking on it a few minutes will help cut the feeling down so you can eat or drink something right after.

4. Sour hard candies - they make you salivate and alleviate that sensation of feeling you are about to vomit. I liked the Altoid Sours - lemon, ginger or tangerine worked for me. Try the ginger ones first to see if it will help.

5. Boost the Vitamin B's. They can make a big difference.

6. Warm baths - for me this helped to take pressure off my body and relieved stress. I felt good in the tub but didn't feel much better shortly afterwards. It was good for those dire moments when I needed some serious relief or a break from the nausea for a few minutes. Some women find the tub makes them feel worse, so if you get it and you feel awful within a few minutes, more time probably won't help.

7. Find something - anything - you can keep down. Start by trying to keep that on hand and whenever you think about it, take a bite or two. Then on good days or hours, get as much of whatever you can down. I found that protein drinks helped on some days. Other days smoothies were great, especially when I was having certain fruit cravings.

And remember, many women do pull out of it after the first trimester is over. This will hopefully happen for you and you will find one day that you suddenly feel better and you are starving. Just eat up and enjoy the feeling and hopefully it will carry on the rest of the way. Then you can do more to help out again. But don't feel bad or put too much pressure if you can't muster it. It's incredibly taxing to create another human being. Call on friends and family to try to get someone to help watching your 4 yr old occassionally and see if they can help by picking up around the house and bring meals once in a while. Family and friends want to help, they just don't know what you want or need. For me, I would lay down and when I could bring myself to get up, I would focus on only one task like putting laundry in the washer and then go lay down again. If I got up to go to the bathroom, I would make a quick loop and pick up a couple things that need to go into a room nearby, brush my teeth and run a brush through my hair while in the bathroom and grab a glass of water to sip on when I laid back down. You'd be amazed at how much you can do even if you just do a little something each time you get up.

Well, with it that bad I think it is safe to say you have tried all the over the counter things. Ginger, peppermint, crackers in the morning before you roll out of bed. If none of those work and it is severely hindering your day to day your ob can prescrib you an over the counter med. there are also other measures they can take. i wish you the best of luck and congrats!!!

C.,
Believe me, I know how you feel. I just had my first little boy Jan 3 and for the first 7 months of my pregnancy I had morning sickness that wouldn't go away. I couldn't drink anything and could just forget about eating. I ended up in the ER several times because of mal-nutrition and dehydration. It was horrible. The doctors out me on phenergan but the didn't work.

My advice to you is talk to your doctor and see what kind of medication they can give you. Once you find out do a little research and see side effects on your un-born child.

D.

Sea Bands! They are stretchy accu-pressure wrist bands that are sold for motion sickness. They are the ONLY THING that helped be during my second pregnancy. I was not 100% better, but I was able to eat at least enough to say that I had definitely gotten some nutrition (I didn't have much of an appetite). With my first pregnancy I couldn't even leave the bathroom most days and I lost count of how often I actually threw up. My husband discovered these between the two pregnancies and had a set ready for me the day I found out we were pregnant again. I wore them all the time and only took them off to shower, to wash them (during which time I wore another set), and to sleep (you have to give your body a few hour break, but I always found that being nauseous didn't really matter TOO much if I was asleep.) I was also able to do things with my little boy that I know I wouldn't have been able to without them. I can't stress the awesome, almost magical power of these things enough =). They made the prospect of a third pregnancy appealing rather than something I dread just a little because of the throwing up. You can get them at Rite-Aid for SURE and probably Walgreen's..places like that. Oh, they are completely medication free, just pressure on your wrists. My OB actually asked if I was having trouble with nausea I showed them to her and she told me that she prescribes those before she prescribes any medication for nausea relief and usually doesn't have to after that. I had a lot of people tell me what to eat to counteract or prevent the nausea, but I simply COULD NOT EAT. Bland carbs didn't work, ginger didn't work, and the idea of eating them -- and of someone suggesting to me that I eat when I was trying to tell them that I couldn't just made me angry. Ha. Sea Bands. Good luck. =)

Hi C.,

Congratulations on your second! I am a birth doula and the ting that seems to work best for my client's is to eat some protein before bed, and then a few crackers in the morning before you get out of bed to raise your blood sugar. The protein at night will help to hold your blood sugar through the night. You might also try a piece of ginger candy throughout the day, or a couple ounces of ginger ale when you are feeling at your worst. I would highly recommend the increase in protein throughout the day even if it is in little bits at a time that you can keep down.

Best of luck!
T. CD (DONA)

Hi C.,

I just wanted to say that this also happened to me, after 2 pregnancies that were fairly uneventful in the sickness dept. But with my third pregnancy I was so sick that I could not even drink water, and I lost about 15 lbs. in a month. My doctor blew me off, and I became so frustrated because my hubby was missing work to take care of our other 2 munchkins. So finally he called my Doctor, and she prescribed Reglan. MAGIC!! 24 hours after taking my first dose, I ate a McChicken from Mcdonald's and it was so euphoric to feel normal! It turns out I was carrying twins, and that's why I was feeling exaggerated symptoms. Reglan only cost me 12 dollars a month, and it is in the B category for safety. It was the ticket. Hope you feel better.

K.

C.,
This was the same with my second pregnancy. My nausea and vomiting went on all day and night unless I was sleeping. Our oldest was a very active 2-1/2 yr old at the time.
Due to dehydration, to keep me out of the hospital and at home my OB had me drinking lots of Gatorade and gave me a prescription for fenergan (sp?). It was a suppository. It allowed me to eat, rest and hold down food and water. The only drawback is that after taking it I would go to sleep.

Talk to your OB about something like this that won't make you tired.

Be Well.

I had this too & the key was to eat even though I felt really sick. If I was about to get sick & drank OJ, it gave my body immediate sugar & I felt better until I could get something more substaintial in. I also got B-vitamin shots which helped & accupuncture. Anti-nausae drugs scare me. It will pass & the good news is that it's a sign of a really strong pregnancy & will pass. Please put lots of weight on your husband right now, it's his job because he doesn't have to be pregnant & sick. If you need agood place ot get B-shots, just email me, your OB probably doesn't do them.

I feel your pain. I just recently went through this in my 1st trimester of my 2nd pregnancy.

The only thing that I figured out was eat very little amounts more often. Always have a small snack with you. It generally does go away once you hit 2nd trimester.

DO you drink gaterade? When I was sick in my pregnancy I ended up going to the ER cause I couldnt keep anything down. They told me drink gaterade instead of water. It gives your body more of what it needs.

AS for your husband, im not really sure about that. Just make sure you talk to him and get him to tell you how he feels. If he doesnt mind takin on so much then enjoy it. I had to do it by myself.

I wish you the best of luck!

my first pregnancy i used half a unisom and 50millgram of vitamin b6 on the occassion that it got bad. with my second child i had to use prescription meds. and with my third no meds at all probably to busy to even notice. haha

my only other thing is that my cousin was sick for five months and they finally gave her a bag of iv fluids and she was not sick again. u can get dehydrated very fast i have been there also

I wanted to also suggest eating small amounts often, especially in the middle of the night. Keep a granola bar, banana or something similarly easy to eat by your bed to keep your stomach from being empty all night. Gatorade, Vitamin water or a similar drink is also good. Trader Joes also carries an "electrolyte enhanced water" that has potasium, magnesium and salt in it but no flavor, it just tastes like water. I found this easier to drink when I felt nauseous than flavored drinks.

I have been nauseous due to another medical reason (not pregnant) but my doc prescribed Fenergan and it has been a lifesaver! It really does take the nausea away so you can eat and get some rest, though like someone else mentioned it can make you drowsy.

I tried a bunch of different prescription drugs. None of them worked as well as no to morning sickness tea. I made sure to steep it at least 5 minutes.. and I actually sipped on it throughout the day. That was the best way to keep my nausea at bay since mine wasn't just morning sickness. At first I added honey but by day 2 I didn't need it. I like strong tea so the stronger the better for me.

There is a product by Baby's Bliss (the same company that makes the wonderful Gripe Water) called Morning Sickness Magic. You can order it on line. It truly was magic. I took it right before eating. It is basically liquid ginger and b vit and one other thing that is slipping my brain. All in all just remember that since you are so sick means you your hormone levels are nice and high which means a good implantation. The 2 babies I lost I wasn't sick. It is the hormones that help keep you pregnant and sick:) Congrats!!!!

You should definitely talk to your doctor. You don't want to become dehydrated and have to be hospitalized and on an IV. There are medications that are safe during pregnancy.

My mom recommends ginger snaps! Buy a box and simply nibble them throughout the day..also those mini candycanes work too..you can melt them down in tea or simply munch them..that ought to help a little. Also if you take Prenatal vitamins, switch to children's chewable vitamins. They are in essence the same product. (My mom is a Reg. Nurse) She said its usually the coating on the prenatals that make women queasy. However, Ginger snaps for your general all over can't keep nuthin down things :)

Have you tried Unisom at night, and a B1 vitamin in the morning? I had awful morning sickness with my first baby, and that combination helped me get through. Also check the iron content on your pre-natal vitamins. Sometimes unnaturally high iron contents can make morning sickness worse.

Hope you feel better soon.

I had to take an anti-nausea prescription (phenergan) during both of my pregnancies because I had 24/7 vomitting. Absolutely NON of the usual remedies or suggestions worked for me. If my stomach was empty I would still get sick. It was awful. The phenergan made me drowsy, so I cut the pills into quarters and only took enough to prevent vomitting - I was still nauseous all of the time that way but at least I was able to keep enough food and water down.

Hi C.,

Morning sickness with my second was much worse than with my first. With my first I was able to control it by making sure I always had a little food in my stomach. I took Zofran for the first trimester with #2, and it helped a great deal. I tried the Unisom and vitamin B, but it left me so groggy I couldn't stay awake to take care of my little boy. The Zofran is expensive, so I was usually able to get by with only taking half a pill a day. Also, one side effect was it made me very constipated. Good luck, I hope you find something that works for you. I know it is miserable to feel so bad and to have to take care of a little one.

Hi C.,

Pregnancy is soooo underrated. Think about it: you're literally creating another human being. Part of a husband's job description is to support and take care of his pregnant wife. In the big picture, it's a small sliver of time, so he'll be fine.

As for you, have you spoken to your ob about the vomiting? It seems a bit extreme, even by morning sickness standards. Dehydration is the first concern that comes to mind, but your general well-being needs to be considered. Please act on the side of caution and call your doctor.

For what it's worth, my second pregnancy was much more taxing than my first. I think part of it is that the novelty has waned. But an even bigger factor is that you have a little one who needs your attention and energy. Of course you're wiped. I bet your husband would like to do whatever he can to lighten your load. It's not easy to ease the guilt we moms so often feel if we don't do it all. But it seems to me that you have a good partner by your side. I'd let him take your four-year-old out so you can get some rest. That way, you get the break you need, and your little one won't feel as though he's being lost in the shuffle of a new baby.

Call your doctor, C., if for no other reason than to ease your mind. I wish you a safe and happy pregnancy, and a healthy new baby.

Well, if the natural way doesn't help, what really helped me was Vit B6 and Unisom (there's 2type of Unisom, ask your OBgyn or pharmacist). It's used off-label for morning sickness, and it helped me fall back to sleep alot better. I was extremely fatigued. I have never taken any meds in my life and am conservative with any suggestions. But, I had nausea 9months of my pregnancy. I tried going off of the meds, everytime I vomited. So back on again. Normal delivery to a healthy baby.

Zofran is the answer to your problem. Well sort-of. It is the best anti-nausea medicine I have encountered and I have had to take it every day of my pregnancy for the last 9 months. I have HG. which basically means I throw up non-stop without meds. The zofran helps a lot but it doesn't cut through all of the nausea. It just takes time to pass. p.s. I took this through my whole last pregnancy and my baby is in excellent health, very bright and beautiful.

I would encourage you to talk to your doctor as it sounds like your morning sickness is very severe. A friend of mine had it that severe for her first and she ended up in the hospital with dehydration, as she couldn't keep anything down. There are things you can take, though I didn't actually find them of much use (I'm in the last stages of morning sickness, too), but maybe there's something stronger the docs would prescribe in your case. Good luck and I hope it ends soon!

Hi C.,

I've been there. Morning sickness was an all day and all night thing.lol I made sure that I did eat, even though I really didn't want to eat anything. I ate protein....a good meal daily. You have to be eating right for your child. I did eat sweets.....it was a lot easier to handle, but my nutrition was extremely important to me. I also ate spicy foods, but had to limit myself on that. LOL. I'm wondering if you have a juicer? That would be of great help to your nutrition value.

All I can say is, take your sweet time to eat the recommended portion of breakfast, lunch and dinner. It doesn't have to be woofed down. Just as long as you're getting in food, you should be okay. I think the nausea will subside a little bit after the meal. As I recall, that's what happened for me.

Take Care and I hope that the 'sickness' will get a little easier on you.

Warm ginger tea with either crackers or dry toast(no butter) in the morning or whenever throughout the day. Peppermint tea is also good. I was the "morning sickness queen" (5 times) even had it during delivery. You can also suck on popsickles during the day.

If you want to try something a bit more natural before hitting the hard drugs (which is always a bit concerning when pregnant) you should try an essential oil combination formula that helps a ton with nausea. I've recently tried several essential oil formulas from this particular company (including the nausea one)and have been super impressed with the wonderful results! The cool thing is they offer a 60 day money back guarantee so if it doesn't work for you, you can get your money back. The company is called healing natural oils. If you go to my website: www.hazelaid.com and then click on the "essential oil" tab it will give you a link to their website (I decided to become an affiliate because I was so impressed with the results). Hope you find something that helps!

Hi, this is way to familiar sounding--I really feel for you. I ended up getting an IV--all the advice about "eating little amounts" sounded so ridiculous because I couldn't keep anything down. Here's what helped me--I started getting vitamin B6 (or 12?) shots once a week from my midwife--they really helped, I would usually have a couple days in a row with no vomiting. They also put me on a prescription drug (I can't remember the name), it made me extremely sleepy, but I would take 1/2 wait half an hour eat something nutritious and a fall asleep--I quit taking prenatal vitamins in the first trimester--I threw them up almost immediately anyway, and I did realize that my extreme sickness coincided with when I had started taking them--I think they really pushed me over the edge--my midwife gave me some little pressure point bands (seabands?) that I wore on my wrists, they seemed to sort of help. Mine eventually went away about week 16 (I still remember the first meal I ate the morning I woke up and felt okay!) Finally, somewhere around week 12 I got more brave with what I ate--all along I had been having weird cravings for pickles--but the thought of throwing up a pickle was too much to deal with. When I finally allowed myself to eat one they really helped, I think it was the acid. Anyway I know how awful and exhausted you feel (I was full time grad student when I got pregnant). I remember my very sweet husband saying to me--I really miss you--because I was asleep every minute I was home. I wouldn't worry about putting everything on your husband, especially after how beautiful your 4-year old is to him he knows how important it is to let you grow a perfect baby.