Morning sickness (a cruel name for all-day-long pregnancy nausea) has been very real and very present in my life. With my first pregnancy, the vomiting continued from week 10 to week 16, buffered on either side by weeks of ‘just’ nausea. I was on an awesome pill called Diclectin to help with the nausea, but even that barely touched it. This pregnancy, I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop. So far, I’m managing things myself, with a little help from the following remedies:

1. Ginger: a long standing remedy for nausea – and some people swear by it. While flat ginger ale is the ‘cure’ I’ve heard most often, there’s not really a whole lot of ginger in most standard ginger ales. Its mostly sugar, with flavoring, carbonation, and occasionally some real ginger. Instead, I turn to ginger tea (four or five slices of fresh ginger in a mug of boiling water), ginger candies (like these ginger chews), or flat ginger beer – it contains much more real ginger, and I find it tastes better, too!

2. Complex carbs + protein: one tip to keeping your stomach full, happy, and not queasy is the types of foods you eat. Honestly, when morning sickness is at its worst, I just want to devour bagels, saltine crackers, and toast. But I find that when I add a source of protein to my carbs, I tend to  feel better in the long run. When you grab a slice of toast, add some peanut butter or an egg. Instead of eating a bagel slathered in butter, add a few slices of cheddar cheese and tomato. These will keep you feeling full longer, and are healthier picks in the long run. (Yes, Taco Bell is a complex carb + protein. Don’t you dare tell me otherwise).

3. Drink lots of water: on days when I don’t drink enough, my stomach gurgles and growls, I get a headache, and I feel ‘off’ most of the day. Drink a full glass of water first thing in the morning (if you can keep it down), and keep hydrated throughout the day. Can’t stomach plain water? Try rooibos tea (no caffeine or sugar, and safe for pregnant mamas), slices of lemon, lime, cucumber or grapefruit in your water bottle, or adding a splash of juice to make it more palatable.

4. Have a bedtime snack: morning sickness is worst for me on days when I wake up starving. If my stomach is really empty in the morning, I’m queasy, and nothing in the kitchen looks good. By eating a small snack before I go to bed at night, I find I’m not as hungry first thing in the morning, and I can better avoid the worst of the nausea.

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5. Sour candies: Whether this has any root in science or not, sour candies seem to help on the morning sickness front. I’m not sure if it’s the strong taste that distracts from the nausea, or the fact that candy gets rid of that pre-vomit sour-mouth, but keeping Jolly Ranchers or other sour hard candies on hand are a lifesaver (and now I need to add Lifesavers to my stash).

Other remedies that friends and family have sworn by (but that I haven’t tried myself):

– put a drop of peppermint oil on a sugar cube, and suck on it until it dissolves

– take a B-Complex vitamin, and up your iron intake

– keep saltine crackers on your bedside table, and eat a few before getting out of bed

– chew on fennel seeds

– wear motion sickness bands on your wrists

– smell fresh lemons

.  .  .  .  .

Do you have any tried-and-true morning sickness remedies? How did you avoid the worst of the nausea?