Something very particular has been on my mind lately. You may say it has been hanging as a dense fog over my brain or rolling through my stomach as a breaker would roll along the shore. Yes, morning sickness is here and is daily knocking at my door. I hate to let it enter and would love to find some way to bid it farewell but that little secret seems all too elusive. I have read the various websites in search of tips as has Nathan. Some of the recommendations seem to help but others don't do anything to curb the queazy feeling that rolls through my brain most of the day.
Last night I was praying that God would give me wisdom to cope with this and still be the mommy and wife I long to be. This constant nausea seems to shorten my string of patience and leaves me shocked as any bystander may be as I watch myself yet again loose my cool with some, dear, unsuspecting little one who just dumped their dinner on the floor... the floor I just mopped. Oh where has my patience gone!
I woke this morning with a cure on my mind or rather a determination to find a cure. I recalled an experiment a friend and I did during our last pregnancies. My morning sickness lasted long enough for me to determine that when I ate foods that had any tendency towards causing constipation I was decidedly more morning sick the next day. Hmm... My deduction was that, for me at least, a great deal of morning sickness must have something to do with a delayed digestive system although I wasn't able to come up with a "cure" for those fateful days when I ate the wrong thing.
To this memory I added another little digestive tip I picked up with my littlest guy and his frequent tummy aches. His tummy seemed to be prone to a similar plight of slowed digestion or simply gas, which one I am not sure. To help ease his pain I learned the "I Love You" tummy massage for babies. Basically, I would lay him down and massage his tummy in such a was as to encourage his intestines to move in their proper direction. I would occasionally encounter an area the seemed a bit harder than the rest and would obviously cause him a bit of discomfort. There I apply gentle, steady pressure and, sure enough, I would both hear and feel a release which would be followed by a much more relaxed, happy baby.
These were the thoughts that were rolling through my mind this morning before I moved a muscle. I was feeling great until I flipped over rather quickly and was suddenly met with overwhelming nausea. Oh no! Just thinking about it was certainly not the cure! I laid back down and almost instinctively (thanks to my previous train of thought) began to do the "I Love You" baby massage on myself. Boy did it hurt when I ran across a tight spot! I persisted and about 10 minutes in I began to hear and feel my stomach move. I continued until my stomach was completely relaxed and the massage was comfortable rather than painful. It was well past time to get up and begin the morning so I rolled over and, much to my great, immense, unfathomable, joyful delight I found that I was not, in the least bit, morning sick... not even nauseous!!!!
As we went to church today and I forgot to pack myself a snack, I had to go a few hours without eating. This left me feeling a return of nausea when we got home. I remembered this morning and decided to see if that was just a fluke or something real. I sat down and repeated the "I Love You" massage, this time for only 5 minutes. It worked again! Before the massage I had little to no appetite and was dreading the food I had prepared for lunch. After the short five minutes, I had my full appetite and was able to enjoy lunch with my family!
I know it has only been one day of trying this out and there are probably many factors that play into the success or failure of this plan, but I am so excited I had to share it! I have always wanted to know if there is truly a reason and cure for morning sickness. Some say it is all in your mind, some say it is hormones, some say it is the food you eat, some say it is your increased sense of smell, some say it is the increased saliva, and so on... I certainly do think these may all play a role yet no one has come to any sort of conclusion that makes sense in all situations. They have run blood tests on women who are morning sick and those who aren't but find the hormone levels to be the same in both cases.
My curiosity has been getting the best of me! I would love to get input from other ladies about their experiences with morning sickness. I would love to know if there is a remedy out there or, at the very least, a reliable trend. So... I have put together a small (just 10 questions) survey and would appreciate your participation! Here is the link to the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/56Y9VQ2
You know, when I searched the internet for "morning sickness" and "abdominal massage" all I found were warnings to not get a massage in your first trimester. One of the reasons I saw listed frequently was the concern that an abdominal massage may induce a miscarriage due to deep massaging irritating the uterus. First of all, I am not a medical professional so don't take this all as medical advice :-) and secondly, I was doing the "I Love You" massage primarily up by my stomach and was careful not to interrupt the special construction project under way. :-)
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
It's Not What You Eat but What You Don't Eat
Have you ever made a trip through the grocery store and read each label you throw into your cart? Have you ever watched television and found yourself excited at the prospect of a “healthy” desert... one that has high protein, low sugar, flax seed. Have you ever noticed how often the actual product of “healthiness” as the government or scientists define it changes from year to year?
At Nate’s request, we have been on what you might call a health kick for some years now. Maybe we have even jumped over the deep end of ridiculous. (Smile) To sum up our diet I would say we try our best to eat whole foods and foods that have been around longer than the 1900’s. So many changes have taken place in American food in the recent decades that much of what we eat only vaguely resembles the food that God created for us. As we have decided to do our best to eat whole foods we have made a big effort to cut out everything that is highly processed such as everything “white” (rice, flour, sugar), all unnatural fats (vegetable oils such as corn, soybean, rape seed which is better known as canola), fake/chemical foods, and sugar (white, brown, raw, organic).
Since we have changed our diet for so many years now it is becoming readily apparent when we eat something that has a negative effect on us. Previously we may have felt a little sleepy in the morning after having ice cream the night before and would have thought nothing of it. Now, however, we usually feel quit chipper and awake in the morning so the post-desert morning sluggishness seems to have a spotlight glaring on it. We also typically enjoy a complaint free digestive system so a small bit of discomfort is readily apparent.
We are currently on a week-long work trip with Nathan and consequently enjoying hotel breakfasts (that I don’t have to cook...), restaurant lunches (that I don’t have to cook...) and restaurant dinners (that I don’t have to cook...). I thoroughly enjoy looking at a menu with dozens of options, selecting one that looks absolutely delicious, and reclining in my chair as it is prepared and brought to me. Getting up and leaving the dirty dishes is yet another lovely perk of this unreal life I am enjoying. I love it! However, I have discovered some of the not-so-great aspects, the main one being that it is nearly impossible to eat whole, traditional foods!
The lack of whole traditional food options doesn’t seem that awful at first glance but I am truly waking in the morning and regretting those delicious tortilla chips I ate, that amazingly moist piece of cake with the wonderful cream cheese frosting, and yesterday’s pre-cooked cheese omelet that is so popular for its super brief cooking directions - pop in the microwave or oven by the dozens and feed a whole hotel at once. You see, I am carrying a small wonder that is due to arrive in December and morning sickness would like to knock at my door and allow itself unapproved entrance. While we were at home I was pleased to note that although I got a bit queasy when my stomach was empty, eating a slice of homemade bread with real, golden butter on it would bring me back to feeling fantastic in moments. Now that I am at the mercy of these wonderful menus I am having a bit less success at quick calming of the intermittent nausea. Last night seems to have been one of the worst. Nathan and I were talking about it this morning wondering what it was that we ate yesterday that caused the grief myself and some of the others were enduring last night. (I had the beginnings of what seemed like a migraine headache (very rare here) as did some of the little guys and I woke feeling quite nauseous this morning). After thinking back over the things we ate and comparing those with the history we have been collecting over the years we think the culprit was as simple as tortilla chips and salad dressing! We have limited the sweets in our life knowing, as so many others, that sweets are not good for us. With such widespread awareness of the negative affects of sugar on our bodies we have always thought that the worst of our ailments could be attributed to the occasions when we eat this scrumptious treat. However, that was not the case yesterday and a quick recollection of the past months reminded us that there were other times when we felt badly that we hadn’t eaten any sugar or large quantities of processed flour. The conclusion we find ourselves reaching is that we have a greater negative affect from bad fats than we have from sugars! Yikes!
This trip has been bringing a daily challenge of picking the most wholesome meal off the menu as well as ample opportunity to see the endless TV adds for food. These opportunities have put my mind to thinking about some of the pitfalls of both american food and american advertising. Both at the grocery store and on TV I have noticed a big push towards catch words and phrases. A few you may recognize would be low sugar, sugar free, high protein, whole grain, whey protein, raw, and organic among others. These phrases are preying upon our tendency to try and eat the right things - focusing on what we do eat. If you read labels, however, you would notice that although there may be whole grains in that granola bar, it is tucked deep in the ingredient list and follows the sweetener, which most likely is some kind of organic cane juice better known as sugar. These contemplations led me to decided that my eating should be more of what I do not eat rather than what I do eat.
Let me explain what I mean. If I were to buy something based off of what I do eat then the olive oil (which is one of the better oils) mayonnaise would hop into my card without a second thought. Since I have pinpointed a number of foods I will not eat I read the label and realize that although there is olive oil, the main oil is soybean oil which is not good for me in the least. Bye, bye olive oil mayonnaise! I recently read how some truly health conscious companies are thinking of avoiding the term organic. I was a bit skeptical at first but now I see their reasoning. If I were to buy bread because it is organic I might very likely be buying a loaf of bread made with white flour and sugar - two things I try to avoid.
From the researching we have done, it is apparent that there are actually very few foods to avoid - fake food (food colorings, chemicals, chemically altered foods - who wants to eat Butylated Hydroxyanisole anyways?), “white” or processed foods (foods with white or all-purpose in their name indicating their natural color along with the nutrients those colors represent have been stripped from them), altered/detached sugars (any sweetener that is not in it original state which includes most “healthful” sugars as even they require lengthly processing and don’t resemble their original state in any way) and vegetable oils/new fats (those that didn’t exist prior to 1900 which includes most of the oils and fats on the grocery store shelves).
I have only listed four main categories to avoid but, sadly enough, this eliminates most of the grocery store along with most of the delicious items on the menus I have been perusing lately. The fun part though, is that these are the only three things you need to remember! What is left of the grocery store is real food and from our experience these “left-over” foods all leave us feeling fantastic, able to easily maintain a great body weight, and full of energy.
Now for the most important part! (Smile) This is the Schauerhause disclaimer... We do what we do because we love it and personally feel compelled to do it and in no way do we expect others to feel compelled to follow us especially if it in any way causes contention in your home! Happy eating and, for the record, we love the taste of desserts!
Since we have changed our diet for so many years now it is becoming readily apparent when we eat something that has a negative effect on us. Previously we may have felt a little sleepy in the morning after having ice cream the night before and would have thought nothing of it. Now, however, we usually feel quit chipper and awake in the morning so the post-desert morning sluggishness seems to have a spotlight glaring on it. We also typically enjoy a complaint free digestive system so a small bit of discomfort is readily apparent.
We are currently on a week-long work trip with Nathan and consequently enjoying hotel breakfasts (that I don’t have to cook...), restaurant lunches (that I don’t have to cook...) and restaurant dinners (that I don’t have to cook...). I thoroughly enjoy looking at a menu with dozens of options, selecting one that looks absolutely delicious, and reclining in my chair as it is prepared and brought to me. Getting up and leaving the dirty dishes is yet another lovely perk of this unreal life I am enjoying. I love it! However, I have discovered some of the not-so-great aspects, the main one being that it is nearly impossible to eat whole, traditional foods!
The lack of whole traditional food options doesn’t seem that awful at first glance but I am truly waking in the morning and regretting those delicious tortilla chips I ate, that amazingly moist piece of cake with the wonderful cream cheese frosting, and yesterday’s pre-cooked cheese omelet that is so popular for its super brief cooking directions - pop in the microwave or oven by the dozens and feed a whole hotel at once. You see, I am carrying a small wonder that is due to arrive in December and morning sickness would like to knock at my door and allow itself unapproved entrance. While we were at home I was pleased to note that although I got a bit queasy when my stomach was empty, eating a slice of homemade bread with real, golden butter on it would bring me back to feeling fantastic in moments. Now that I am at the mercy of these wonderful menus I am having a bit less success at quick calming of the intermittent nausea. Last night seems to have been one of the worst. Nathan and I were talking about it this morning wondering what it was that we ate yesterday that caused the grief myself and some of the others were enduring last night. (I had the beginnings of what seemed like a migraine headache (very rare here) as did some of the little guys and I woke feeling quite nauseous this morning). After thinking back over the things we ate and comparing those with the history we have been collecting over the years we think the culprit was as simple as tortilla chips and salad dressing! We have limited the sweets in our life knowing, as so many others, that sweets are not good for us. With such widespread awareness of the negative affects of sugar on our bodies we have always thought that the worst of our ailments could be attributed to the occasions when we eat this scrumptious treat. However, that was not the case yesterday and a quick recollection of the past months reminded us that there were other times when we felt badly that we hadn’t eaten any sugar or large quantities of processed flour. The conclusion we find ourselves reaching is that we have a greater negative affect from bad fats than we have from sugars! Yikes!
This trip has been bringing a daily challenge of picking the most wholesome meal off the menu as well as ample opportunity to see the endless TV adds for food. These opportunities have put my mind to thinking about some of the pitfalls of both american food and american advertising. Both at the grocery store and on TV I have noticed a big push towards catch words and phrases. A few you may recognize would be low sugar, sugar free, high protein, whole grain, whey protein, raw, and organic among others. These phrases are preying upon our tendency to try and eat the right things - focusing on what we do eat. If you read labels, however, you would notice that although there may be whole grains in that granola bar, it is tucked deep in the ingredient list and follows the sweetener, which most likely is some kind of organic cane juice better known as sugar. These contemplations led me to decided that my eating should be more of what I do not eat rather than what I do eat.
Let me explain what I mean. If I were to buy something based off of what I do eat then the olive oil (which is one of the better oils) mayonnaise would hop into my card without a second thought. Since I have pinpointed a number of foods I will not eat I read the label and realize that although there is olive oil, the main oil is soybean oil which is not good for me in the least. Bye, bye olive oil mayonnaise! I recently read how some truly health conscious companies are thinking of avoiding the term organic. I was a bit skeptical at first but now I see their reasoning. If I were to buy bread because it is organic I might very likely be buying a loaf of bread made with white flour and sugar - two things I try to avoid.
From the researching we have done, it is apparent that there are actually very few foods to avoid - fake food (food colorings, chemicals, chemically altered foods - who wants to eat Butylated Hydroxyanisole anyways?), “white” or processed foods (foods with white or all-purpose in their name indicating their natural color along with the nutrients those colors represent have been stripped from them), altered/detached sugars (any sweetener that is not in it original state which includes most “healthful” sugars as even they require lengthly processing and don’t resemble their original state in any way) and vegetable oils/new fats (those that didn’t exist prior to 1900 which includes most of the oils and fats on the grocery store shelves).
I have only listed four main categories to avoid but, sadly enough, this eliminates most of the grocery store along with most of the delicious items on the menus I have been perusing lately. The fun part though, is that these are the only three things you need to remember! What is left of the grocery store is real food and from our experience these “left-over” foods all leave us feeling fantastic, able to easily maintain a great body weight, and full of energy.
Now for the most important part! (Smile) This is the Schauerhause disclaimer... We do what we do because we love it and personally feel compelled to do it and in no way do we expect others to feel compelled to follow us especially if it in any way causes contention in your home! Happy eating and, for the record, we love the taste of desserts!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)