morning sickness

My advice to morning sick friends:

Here’s my list of things I did to relieve my morning sickness the best I could. I didn’t have it nearly as badly as many people do; I just felt nauseous and gaggy from about week 6 to week 16—not bad pay for the cute little girl I got in the end, but during it, I couldn’t understand why anyone would ever choose to be pregnant again. People talk about labor being bad—I thought the first trimester was so much worse.

• Try to remember that it probably will be better soon, so just get through today.
• Remember that morning sickness is an indication that things are probably going as they should.
• Eat all day long. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel hungry or if you thought you didn’t want to gain any more weight than you needed to. I liked to eat things that were somewhat plain, like noodles. I just ate whatever sounded good. I carried around packages of crackers and peanut butter and bags of cereal and nuts so I’d never be without food. Eating and eating and eating helped me a ton. I know some people who kept crackers beside their bed so they could munch before they even sat up.
• Wear motion sickness acupressure wristbands
• Take vitamin B6
• Take ginger capsules
• Keep a cloth that smells good to you (with maybe lemon juice) in your pocket so you can smell it when you’re feeling gaggy.
• Take your vitamin with food (if your vitamin makes you feel sick, sometimes a vitamin without iron or zinc might help. You could even do several kids’ chewables throughout the day if that’s better).
• Some foods I’ve read that can help some people with morning sickness:
  • Breads, noodles, crackers
  • Nuts, peanut butter, dairy
  • Citrus fruit (even an orange wedge in your water)
  • Frozen fruit bars
  • Drinking plenty of water (although sometimes separate from food so your stomach doesn’t get too sloshy)
  • Fennel seed tea
  • Ginger ale (with real ginger) or ginger tea
  • Keep a cloth with lemon juice or lavender and thyme on it in your pocket. That way when something smells disgusting, you can smell those happy smells instead.
  • Mint tea (mint is supposed to reduce gagging)
  • 10-25 mg of vitamin B6 three times a day
  • Avoid greasy foods
• Other things I’ve read
  • Don’t get too warm
  • Get enough sleep
  • Eat what you crave
• I’ve heard of preggie pop drops, but I haven’t tried them.

nutrition

Here are a few things I've read on nutrition for fertility:

Women
Eat less than 8 ounces of low-mercury fish each week in order to limit the mercury in your body before you get pregnant.
http://www.babycenter.com/404_should-i-be-concerned-about-mercury-levels-in-fish-now-that_1403568.bc

book written by Christian author about nutrition for fertility
http://www.amazon.com/Fertility-Cycles-Nutrition-Marilyn-Shannon/dp/0926412094

Taking Charge of your Fertility book
http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Charge-Your-Fertility-Anniversary/dp/0060881909/ref=ed_oe_p

eat vitamin C, nitric oxide, lactobacilli, grapeseed extract, evening primrose oil, calcium, vegetables, fruits, protein, whole-grains, and water
http://www.babyhopes.com/articles/healthy-eating.html


Men
Men who use paint regularly are more likely to have sperm motility problems.
http://www.babycenter.com/204_paint-chemical-linked-to-male-fertility-problems_5232825.bc

Certain vitamins and nutrients, such as vitamins C and E, zinc, and folic acid, are important for making healthy sperm
http://www.babycenter.com/0_trying-to-conceive-five-changes-to-make-to-your-diet-now_3558.bc

eat vitamin C, zinc, folic acid, calcium, and vitamin D, and don’t drink too much alcohol.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_dads-to-be-diet-changes-to-boost-your-fertility_4188.bc

Eat vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, vitamin D, antioxidants, folate, selenium, soy, and zinc
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=140

Eat fresh fruit, brazil nuts, garlic, oily fish, and chili
http://www.realbuzz.com/en-gb/RSS/index?pageID=18861&sub_page=2

eat fruit and vegetables
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15389873/

Carnitine, Arginine, Lycopene, Vitamin C, Vitamine E, Selenium, and Zinc
http://www.fertilitynutrition.com/en/en-productinfo-m.html

Psalm 139:13-14

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
New International Version

13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.
The Message

13You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body, 14and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt.
Contemporary English Version