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. :-)
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