Category Archives: Organic Mama Cafe

Aug 24
0

Organic Mama’s Top Ten Tips for Managing Pregnancy Nausea part two

By | Birth Week, Natural Health, Pregnancy | One Comment

Yesterday, we explored remedies for pregnancy nausea (AKA morning sickness). Today, we’ll look at a few more.

Feeling sick twenty four hours a day is disheartening when you’d rather be happily anticipating a new baby. Discouragement is not my normal approach to life. But there have been more than a few days this time that I’ve succumbed to tears of exhaustion and hopelessness from feeling nauseous non-stop.

These tips have not erased the feeling of nausea but at least their keeping the lunch losses to a minimum!

5. Try a more alkaline diet. My friend Busca over at Birthfaith.org writes that alkalinizing the body may help with “morning sickness“. While it’s advisable to do this prior to pregnancy, I’ve still been boosting my intake of veggies vs. greasy or starchy foods. The latter might seem comforting at the time but they often pack a wallop after dinner, if ya’ know what I mean.

6. Mingle with friends. Schedule visits with understanding and compassionate friends to enjoy the benefit of encouragement and having a little different energy in the house. It will lift your spirits.

7. Keep the toilet clean. You may not have the energy to clean much around the house right now but clean this. There’s nothing more gross that having to lose your breakfast in a dirty bowl.

8. Laugh as much as possible. Watch a funny movie, listen to a great comedian and laugh. You’ll be surprised how nice your lips feel when they’re curved into a smile!

9. Distract yourself with something you love. Notice the great antics of your kids, play the piano, read a book, watch a great movie, take a bath, enjoy a maternity massage. I’ve noticed that being stressed about anything can make nausea seem so much worse. So RELAX.

10. Drink small sips of water (or herbal tea) all day long but avoid it at mealtimes. Drinking just a little at a time will keep you from experiencing that sloshy feeling you get when you discover your stomach has been pushed up between your breasts by an enlarged uterus. For me, not drinking during meals helps with indigestion and nausea.

In my  first pregnancy, I was so overwhelmed by the unexpected feeling of constant nausea, I complained to my OB, “It feels like there’s some kind of alien sucking the life force out of me!” She was not amused and chastised me with, “That’s a sweet life sharing your body.” Me: “HUMPH!”

Now, when I feel like an alien is sucking out my life force, I remind myself  strong nausea is usually a sign of raging hormones, a good thing in pregnancy!

Treat yourself well in these early days of pregnancy. You’re growing a little person. Enjoy a rare excuse to pamper you! Remember that you’re not alone. Lots of women have felt this way.

As my mom used to say…

“Hang in there. This too shall pass.”

If you have any other great anti-nausea pregnancy tips, share them below and let fellow sufferers enjoy the benefit of your wisdom!

Aug 23
0

Organic Mama’s Top Ten Tips for Managing Pregnancy Nausea

By | Birth Week, Pregnancy | 4 Comments

The person who named pregnancy nausea “morning sickness” must have been a man! Ok, maybe that’s unfair. At least it was someone who’d never actually suffered a severe case of being sick in pregnancy. It’s more like “ALL DAY sickness”, the “curse of the first tri” or “the wretchedness“.

Whoa. Little bit of angst going on over here. Sorry, it’s just where I am right now. Unfortunately, some of the remedies we often hear prescribed for nausea – like saltine crackers (gag, gag, choke, choke) – often fall short of the mark.

A lot about you changes when you’re pregnant. Organs get shoved around, metabolism speeds up while hormones slow digestion down and increase saliva. Yuck! Is it any wonder we feel funky?

The third time around, I’ve found a few tips that at least make nausea manageable (meaning less vomiting), though I  haven’t figured out how to get rid of it!

1. Keep blood sugar stable. This tip comes from my midwife. She suggests breaking meals into snacks spaced every 1.5-2 hours. Start when you wake and don’t put off eating. The snack should include a carb and a protein. Some of the snacks I’ve been enjoying are:

  • Fruit and nuts (or nut butter – like almond, peanut, sunflower etc).
  • Salads with chicken or cheese (my current fave)
  • Chicken, cheese and veggies wraps
  • Cottage cheese and fruit (thanks for the tip, Jeanette!)

I would love to eat only fruit all day, but experience speaks. It boosts blood sugar really fast and leaves me reeling from nausea when my blood sugar drops. This is true of most sugary foods. They’re best avoided when you’re nauseous. Try increasing veggies in your diet. They will, ahem, keep things moving and possibly help you avoid some of the other tortures of pregnancy – constipation and hemorrhoids – that may be a result of slowed digestion.

2. Exercise. I know you’re tired (me too!), but a little exercise in the morning can reset your system for the day and get your energy moving. And, if you’re not used to it, try starting with twenty minutes. Biking, swimming, walking, etc – even briefly – can be a huge help!

3. Change your toothpaste. The toothbrush can become a torture tool when you’re nauseous and minty flavor seems to make it worse. Thankfully, there are lots of other flavors out there to  choose from like Cinnamon, strawberry etc. Try it!

4. Rest. I know. I know. You have a million things to do and if you don’t do the housework, no one else will. But, trust me, it will still be there in just a few months when second trimester energy and nesting kicks in. A nap or slightly earlier bedtime makes a huge difference between a day spent gagging from nausea and a day when nausea seems manageable.

5. Minimize offensive odors. Pregnancy nausea is often tied to super hero smelling powers, which seem to have no purpose other than letting you smell every disgusting thing on the planet. Try these tips.

  • Switch to safe cleaners that won’t leave a smelly residue or potentially harm your growing babe
  • Cook outside. It’s summer! Use the grill.
  • Switch to cold brew coffee. If you’re like me – married to a coffee addict who’ll drink hot or iced coffee, teach him how to make a cold brew coffee. It tastes AMAZING. He’ll be hooked and you’ll be spared the smell of brewing coffee every morning.
  • Let your husband change the poopy diapers (when possible). I know it seems unfair but he benefited from the, er, “joy“ of your fruitful union and now you’re paying for it. Just remind him if he’s forgotten already.

Here’s Day 2’s tips for managing pregnancy nausea.

If you have any great tips I missed, please share them for fellow readers in the comments below!

Aug 22
0

Cherry Cough Stop Tea

By | Natural Health | 4 Comments

Spicy and sweet, this boosts the immune system and soothes coughs. This drink is chock full of healthy ingredients. Lemon juice contains vitamin C, ginger is antiviral and anti-inflammatory,  garlic is antiviral and antibacterial, Tart cherry juice (not sweetened!) is full of antioxidants and honey is soothing, healing and (when raw) antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal. Don’t freak out about the garlic. It’s surprisingly un-garlic tasting. It tastes pretty darn good.

Ingredients
1 Inch ginger root (peeled and minced)
Juice and zest of one lemon (Vit C)
One mashed garlic clove (antiviral and antibacterial)
8 oz organic TART cherry juice (high antioxidant value)
8 oz water
Honey – buckwheat or another dark honey works best

Instructions

  • Bring ginger root to a boil in 8 oz water
  • Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
  • Add lemon, garlic, cherry juice and water
  • Let mixture simmer for another 4 minutes
  • Strain liquid into a cup for the patient and add honey to taste.

If you need to cool it quickly for a kiddo, just add a few ice cubes. Leave it a little warm to ease the cough.

I usually double this recipe so I can give it to multiple people. In fact, when one of my family is feeling sick, I just give it to everyone because the garlic and ginger are great immune boosters. With any luck, only one of us gets sick!

Aug 22
0

Organic Mama’s Magic Chicken Soup

By | Natural Health, Recipes | No Comments

1 whole organic uncooked chicken, remove gizzards & throw into the freezer till later (unless you like them in your soup)

1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 stocks of celery, finely chopped
4 carrots, finely chopped
4-7 cloves FRESH crushed garlic (immune boosting)
2 T. Olive oil
Sage (has drying properties)**See note!!**
Sea Salt to taste (several Tablespoons)One Large stew potOptional items – to be added once broth is strained:
1-2 cups cooked rice*. Cooked so you don’t lose all the liquid in your soup. *Great for those suffering from tummy distress.
Any veggies you love to eat with chicken. Cut them into bite sized pieces so they’re appealing to kids.
Egg noodlesInstructions:

1. Heat stew pot from med to med-high and add 2 T olive oil. It should easily swirl in pan

2. Add veggies (except garlic) and a couple pinches of salt to taste

3. When veggies are translucent, throw in garlic and cook for a minute more. Don’t burn it because burnt garlic tastes just dreadful!!!

4. Place whole chicken (be sure to take out the guts first!) in pan and add water to cover the chicken by several inches

5. Add a small handful of sage

6. Bring chicken to a boil and simmer till cooked (depending on size between 1 1/2 to 2 hours)

7. Salt and pepper to taste

8. SERIOUSLY – SALT IT or it just won’t taste good!!

Another great way to make this is just to dump the ingredients in a crockpot and cook all day or overnight.Lazy girl (or really sick mama) method: When chicken is cooked, use the broth straight out of the pan and serve but watch for chicken bones.
Motivated person method: Pour the liquid through a strainer into another pan or heat proof bowl. Place back in the pan and add egg noodles or rice and veggies as desired. When the chicken is cool enough, pull the meat off the bones and throw it back into the soup or use part of it throughout the week to make other chicken rich dishes.It’s perfectly ok to add a little extra water if you find you’ve overdone it on the rice or veggies.It’s important to use a whole chicken because the bones have nutrients that will strengthen and heal too!****Pregnant mamas who have a tendency toward miscarriage may want to avoid sage. The rest of this recipe should be fine for you!****