Ok, so I may not be the person you want to come to for advice on how to avoid morning sickness.  Although I have some different ideas for avoiding morning sickness altogether that I will try next time around, I did everything I could to avoid sickness with this pregnancy and still could not outrun the constant, all-day nausea accompanied by actually throwing up (TMI?  Just had to lay the foundation, ya know).

But, BUT!  I did achieve my main goal during the first 20 weeks of hell-o-toilet which was really quite simple in theory, harder in reality: don’t puke in front of the kids.

Now, there were a couple of reasons for this goal.  First, no one outside of our families knew about my pregnancy for the first 16 weeks (we actually waited until I was 12 weeks to even tell immediate family, so it was really on the “DL”).  And I knew that if I were to get sick at school, our little secret would be out.  Even if I were to show the slightest sign of discomfort, my students would start talking.  Am I being dramatic about this?  No way.  These are the same kids that floated a (benevolent and honestly believed) rumor this time last year about a pregnancy after David and I had just gotten married.  I went home from school with the stomach flu one day and came back the next day with all the teachers asking questions about statements they had intercepted from kids.  So … yeah, there’s no holding them back.

A second reason for my somewhat lofty goal is even simpler: who wants to throw up in front of twenty 13 year-olds?  Anyone?  Anyone at all?  No.  Of course not. And the closest bathroom to my classroom is about 50 yards away.  Thus, I embarked upon my mission to keep everything under control during school hours.

Thankfully, I succeeded.  My ever-present morning sickness was kind enough to back off slightly every Monday-Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.  Those were my golden hours.  On the way to and from school, it would be a war-zone, but I was able to hold it together during school.

I owe this success to five items that helped me deal with my morning sickness.  Any time I would start to feel a bout coming on at school, I would use these babies and they would carry me through to the next class period, and the next one, and the next one, all the way until the final bell.  So if you ever find yourself in the “I didn’t avoid morning sickness but would like to not display my pregnancy symptoms in front of my friends/family/colleagues/boss” boat, these items have you covered.

– 1 –

Psi-Bands

Oh my.  My heart fills with sincere gratitude when I think of Psi-Bands.  These little suckers were my go-to’s.  Here’s how they work: About two fingers-width down from the bend in your wrist is a reflex that is somehow connected to your belly. These bands are worn around the wrist at this particular area and have an insert that puts pressure on the acupressure point, thus relieving the nausea.  Ah-mazing. These did the trick for me.  I simply wore them under my long-sleeved shirts and no one ever knew!  Discreet and effective: win-win.

– 2 –

Peppermint Oil

Peppermint oil, how I love thee.  I’ve always spoken highly of peppermint oil for its basic benefits when it comes to everyday aches and pains.  But I really employed it while I was dealing with morning sickness. Whenever I felt some sickness coming on, I merely wafted the container of peppermint oil underneath my nose and only inhaled the fragrance.  As long as the oil doesn’t actually get on you, you’re fine.  But I found that the potent and refreshing scent of the peppermint would relieve my nausea for a time.  This came in handy in between classes and before lunch.

– 3 –

Ginger Gum

Ginger has a reputation for relieving upset stomachs, and it’s no different when it comes to pregnancy aches.  I have LOVED ginger during this pregnancy, especially in the beginning.  When I was really sick, Dave would even go out to our favorite sushi place just to get my some ginger for me to nibble on (and of course he took advantage of the pit stop ;)).  Ginger gum is used a lot to treat motion sickness, the nausea caused by chemotherapy, and of course, morning sickness.  The nice thing about ginger gum is that it releases ginger immediately to your belly, and yet is discreet at the same time.  Naturally, chewing gum, especially at work, isn’t the most attractive thing in the world, but I found that just chewing a piece for a couple of minutes in between classes, when the kids weren’t paying particular attention to me, was enough to get the effect and I was able to spit it out before teaching.

– 4 –

Ginger-Ale

Continuing on the ginger-train… I’m not a soda drinker and was really hesitant about trying ginger-ale to relieve my morning sickness, but thoughts of the good it did me when I was younger and sick would not leave me.  Finally, when my health-nut hubby suggested I try to drink some ginger-ale purely so I would get some calories and natural sugars in my system, I jumped right in.  And people, I tell you, in the mornings, a small 4 oz. taste of ginger-ale would help settle my stomach before that first bell rang and also gave my system a little bit of a kick to get through the day (considering I was not able to eat breakfast during that time).

– 5 –

Protein

PIctures of raw meat here would just defeat the purpose of keeping morning sickness at bay.

If you can stomach it, try to get some protein in each day.  I was never able to eat meat or eggs during breakfast (see above), but sometimes in the afternoons I would be able to munch on nuts, ground beef, or a piece of baked chicken.  On those days, I was much less sick during the evenings.

What about you?  What are your tips and tricks for dealing with morning sickness?  And for my future pregnancies, what helped you avoid morning sickness all together?

Linking up with Hallie, the Moxiest Wife!

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