Beating the Pregnancy Pukies
I'm currently blessed to be in my second pregnancy. From the very beginning of this one I thought I was having another boy because everything seemed so similar to my first pregnancy. However, I was so excited and shocked to find out that baby #2 is a girl!
With both of my pregnancies I have been blessed to have pretty minimal symptoms. Yes, I was tired during the first trimester, but other than that, nothing crazy. I can count on one hand the number of times I felt nauseous with either pregnancy. Maybe I'm just a "pregnancy unicorn" as one of my cousins and dear friend dubbed me, but I have also been very intentional in a few specific areas during my pregnancies that I think provided significant results. I'm going to share with you some of the things I tried and seemed to work well for me. Obviously I can't guarantee the same results for you, but many of the things I tried were just good for me anyway, regardless of being pregnant. I'll post a couple of links for your reference, but I don't get any kind of reimbursement from those. Also, please make sure to check with your doctor and get regular prenatal care as soon as you find out you're pregnant.
1. Before I became pregnant both times I had already been taking a high quality, organic, prenatal vitamin for a couple months. My body had time to adjust to a prenatal vitamin before the introduction of a baby. Also, an additional note for prenatal vitamins, please make sure you're taking one with methylfolate rather than just folic acid. Not everyone can process folic acid the way they need to, and in a way that will actually prove beneficial to their baby. So taking a prenatal vitamin with folate/methylfolate is key. My favorite prenatal vitamin can be found here.
2. I continued running and doing CrossFit throughout my pregnancies, as well as other pregnancy-specific workouts. I made sure to consult with my doctor about what I could do and the general rule of thumb for me has been to maintain my current level of fitness, but not to try and do more. It's been important to me to stay physically active however I can throughout my pregnancies, and I can't help but think it's been exceedingly beneficial.
3. In my first pregnancy I religiously used Sea Bands for pregnancy (which can be found here). I think they were very helpful and I ordered a new set for my second pregnancy but ended up not using them because we waited longer to announce that pregnancy and I didn't want to give anything away. By the time we announced it I felt like I probably didn't even need them. However, I know other women who swear by their effectiveness, as well.
4. It's been really important to me to eat a clean, healthy diet most of the time, but especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. I know that when I fuel my body with what it really needs I will feel better and my baby will be healthier because of it, too. I've also made sure to drink about half my body weight in ounces of water. Staying hydrated is a key to a healthy body and healthy pregnancy, too.
5. Before I ever became pregnant the first time around I had discovered that I ran a little low on progesterone in my typical cycles. Because of this I began using a progesterone cream (like this one) during the luteal phase of my cycle to help increase my progesterone levels. When I found out I was pregnant I continued using the progesterone cream during most of the first trimester. Progesterone is a key to preventing miscarriage and some studies suggest progesterone may also help to minimize morning sickness. Check out this brief article and explanation of the possible benefit of progesterone.
6. I made sure to always keep a healthy little snack with me. If I ever felt any hint of nausea coming on I grabbed my snack and that typically alleviated any beginning feelings of nausea for me. My go-to first trimester snack was usually a cheese stick or some fruit.
Those are the little things I did, particularly during the first trimester, to help alleviate any morning sickness. Like I said, I can't guarantee the same results for you, but I know most of these things are just healthy choices anyway. Maybe I'm just one of the lucky ones and whether I'm pregnant with a boy or girl I don't have to suffer through prenatal nausea. However, I know if I was struggling with it I would try all the things. Let me know in the comments if you have questions or if you find other things that work for you!
With both of my pregnancies I have been blessed to have pretty minimal symptoms. Yes, I was tired during the first trimester, but other than that, nothing crazy. I can count on one hand the number of times I felt nauseous with either pregnancy. Maybe I'm just a "pregnancy unicorn" as one of my cousins and dear friend dubbed me, but I have also been very intentional in a few specific areas during my pregnancies that I think provided significant results. I'm going to share with you some of the things I tried and seemed to work well for me. Obviously I can't guarantee the same results for you, but many of the things I tried were just good for me anyway, regardless of being pregnant. I'll post a couple of links for your reference, but I don't get any kind of reimbursement from those. Also, please make sure to check with your doctor and get regular prenatal care as soon as you find out you're pregnant.
1. Before I became pregnant both times I had already been taking a high quality, organic, prenatal vitamin for a couple months. My body had time to adjust to a prenatal vitamin before the introduction of a baby. Also, an additional note for prenatal vitamins, please make sure you're taking one with methylfolate rather than just folic acid. Not everyone can process folic acid the way they need to, and in a way that will actually prove beneficial to their baby. So taking a prenatal vitamin with folate/methylfolate is key. My favorite prenatal vitamin can be found here.
2. I continued running and doing CrossFit throughout my pregnancies, as well as other pregnancy-specific workouts. I made sure to consult with my doctor about what I could do and the general rule of thumb for me has been to maintain my current level of fitness, but not to try and do more. It's been important to me to stay physically active however I can throughout my pregnancies, and I can't help but think it's been exceedingly beneficial.
3. In my first pregnancy I religiously used Sea Bands for pregnancy (which can be found here). I think they were very helpful and I ordered a new set for my second pregnancy but ended up not using them because we waited longer to announce that pregnancy and I didn't want to give anything away. By the time we announced it I felt like I probably didn't even need them. However, I know other women who swear by their effectiveness, as well.
4. It's been really important to me to eat a clean, healthy diet most of the time, but especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. I know that when I fuel my body with what it really needs I will feel better and my baby will be healthier because of it, too. I've also made sure to drink about half my body weight in ounces of water. Staying hydrated is a key to a healthy body and healthy pregnancy, too.
5. Before I ever became pregnant the first time around I had discovered that I ran a little low on progesterone in my typical cycles. Because of this I began using a progesterone cream (like this one) during the luteal phase of my cycle to help increase my progesterone levels. When I found out I was pregnant I continued using the progesterone cream during most of the first trimester. Progesterone is a key to preventing miscarriage and some studies suggest progesterone may also help to minimize morning sickness. Check out this brief article and explanation of the possible benefit of progesterone.
6. I made sure to always keep a healthy little snack with me. If I ever felt any hint of nausea coming on I grabbed my snack and that typically alleviated any beginning feelings of nausea for me. My go-to first trimester snack was usually a cheese stick or some fruit.
Those are the little things I did, particularly during the first trimester, to help alleviate any morning sickness. Like I said, I can't guarantee the same results for you, but I know most of these things are just healthy choices anyway. Maybe I'm just one of the lucky ones and whether I'm pregnant with a boy or girl I don't have to suffer through prenatal nausea. However, I know if I was struggling with it I would try all the things. Let me know in the comments if you have questions or if you find other things that work for you!
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