Natural Solutions for Pregnancy Problems

I figured for my first official post, I would start it off where I started off with living a more natural life. Pregnancy is a great time to be more natural, even if you don't continue to do it after giving birth. I will attempt to talk about every issue I personally experienced through my pregnancy.

Morning Sickness- This seriously made my pregnancy experience a living nightmare. I was vomiting every 5 minutes for months. I could go into detail but long story short, I lost weight and was type 4 dehydrated.. it was bad! I tried every remedy suggested to me, including anti-nausea medication from the ER doctor. Nothing worked! So my search for natural remedies began.

• For an upset stomach and mild nausea, I highly recommend peppermint candies. It helps sooth your stomach and works magic!
• When I wasn't able to hold down food, I turned to ice cream or milk shakes. Totally sounds like an excuse because what pregnant women wouldn't want ice cream, but it really works! Dairy lines your stomach and acts as a natural antacid. I personally hate milk and ice cream is more filling in my opinion.
• The best morning sickness life saver for me was by far seasick wrist bands. You can find them at your local drug store. They literally look like sweat bands that sports players wear, but they have a little plastic ball that is positioned over a particular area on your wrist. It's a pressure point that truly works for nausea. To this day, if I'm ever feeling nauseous, I hold the pressure point for a few minutes and it goes right away!
• 2 smaller tips: Eat smaller meals throughout the day and don't eat too fast. And don't drink water fast. Taking a few sips every couple minutes helps the water get down without coming back up.

Acid Reflux & Heartburn- I never experienced either of these until I got pregnant. It was horrible at night when I was trying to sleep. The suggestions to sleep sitting up right and take tums just wasn't a good enough option for me. You couldn't pay me to sleep sitting up. haha

• Like I mentioned earlier, diary works as a natural antacid and neutralizes the acids in your stomach. So your ice cream can kill 2 birds with 1 stone and help out your acid reflux/heartburn as well!
• Carbonated drinks and caffeine can cause acid reflux/heartburn so if you suffer from it badly, I'd recommend staying away from those kind of drinks.
• Also mentioned earlier, eat smaller meals through out the day and take your time.
• Chewing gum works great for acid reflux/heartburn after eating. Chewing gum helps stimulate your saliva glands and saliva can help neutralize stomach acid.

Aching body from H2T- Although I didn't gain much weight in my pregnancy, my legs and feet were always sore. (And for the pregnant ladies who aren't sore.. take notes and fake it! haha)

• Warm baths were my favorite. Actually the first time I felt my daughter move was when I was in the bath. I was splashing water on my belly and she reacted to it. Anyways, make sure the water isn't too warm, you're not trying to cook your baby. Also, if you use bath salts or bubble bath, look up the ingredients to make sure they are safe to use. Surprisingly a lot aren't safe.
• The good ol' rub down by the hub. Relaxing calf and feet rubs helped my aches more than any dumb pain reliever could. It helps the circulation which will reducing swelling. Not to mention it helps relieve stress and tension. Something all pregnant women need!

Having a cold- I swear, I was born to catch a cold every single winter. And moving up north the year I got pregnant didn't help any!

• Sinus issues- A hot washcloth over your face, taking a hot shower, or boiling water and putting your head close enough to breath the steam. Those help the swelling of the sinuses which is the BEST thing to do in order to treat any sinus issues.
• Coughing- I sucked on peppermint candies. They treat a cough just like a cough drop does except these don't have medication in them. It soothes your throat and temporarily gets rid of the tickle.
• What about medication? Luckly for you, a cold usually last about 7-10 days total. And all a medication does is help with pain, it doesn't actually make your cold go away. So by naturally dealing with the pain, your cold will run it's course and then go away.
• Headaches- A warm washcloth over your eyes, plenty of water, and laying down in a dark,quit room usually does the trick.

If there is anything I forgot to add, please feel free to comment! Keep in mind, these are remedies I did and they may not work for everyone. I suggest talking to your doctor if you are having any problems. I'm just here to suggest natural remedies. Thanks for reading!