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When I was pregnant, I became extremely sick. I didn’t just have morning sickness, I had hyperemesis gravidarum which is “extreme morning sickness”. I couldn’t eat anything, I was losing weight, and I was worried about the affects this had on my baby.

Having morning sickness all day, every day for months at a time can take a huge toll on life. My own marriage suffered greatly while I was sick. Every day tasks become difficult if not impossible. I couldn’t go grocery shopping for fear of throwing up in someone’s cart! I even vomited in my car while driving to the doctor’s office one day.

At the time, I didn’t realize there was a “cure” for morning sickness. But just recently, I ran across another mom, Mary Kinsey, who seems to have gone through the same thing as me. She even threw up in her car too! Amazingly enough, she figured out a way to cure morning sickness naturally. Sounds crazy huh?

You can read her story here.

Incidentally, I was just talking with a close family member yesterday. She informed me that she was pregnant with her second baby. Instead of being excited, she was scared.

Her first pregnancy was horrible. She was so sick and threw up countless times every day. She’s only a few weeks along but she’s already sicker than her worst day with her first pregnancy. Needless to say, she’s not as thrilled as she wishes she was and I feel so awful for her.

I bought Mary’s book, Morning Sickness Freedom and sent it to her. I can’t wait to find out how it works for her! I’ll keep you posted as well so make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed and sign up for my Baby Tips newsletter so you don’t miss out.

I took a boo at the book myself, and I’m really impressed. There are some extremely interesting facts and really thought-provoking stuff in there. She’s even got a few really good money saving tips which are sure welcoming.

There are three sections to this book. The first one talks about some really practical advice that any pregnant woman can follow. I practiced a lot of these tips myself during my pregnancies, but some I had never heard of.

The second section talks about acupressure. If you’re normally skeptical about things like that, it may seem a bit kooky at first but it doesn’t hurt AT ALL to try it. Nobody has to know. You can do it in the privacy of your own home and it doesn’t cost a penny.

Because I’ve tried things like this before (my aunt used to do reflexology on me all the time and it blew my mind!) I was already a bit open to it. But again, what do you have to lose? A few minutes of your time at most.

The third section is short and just talks about a couple more remedies that can help alleviate morning sickness.

Now that I’ve read this book, I honestly can’t wait until I’m pregnant again to try it out myself! I’ve always felt bad for being jealous of other pregnant women who never experienced morning sickness during their pregnancies, but I’m hopeful that my next pregnancy will be puke-free. Weee!

You can learn more about Morning Sickness Freedom here.

Someone really close to me has recently become pregnant and is suffering from an extremely bad case of morning sickness.

It reminded me of how sick I was myself during my pregnancies. In fact, I was hospitalized because I was diagnosed with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) which is “extreme morning sickness”.

I was losing a lot of weight (I weighed less after giving birth than I did when I first got pregnant), and I was VERY dehydrated. The doctor’s eyes almost popped out of his head when he got the results back after testing me for dehydration. Apparently I didn’t “look” dehydrated. I must have some mad makeup skills and covered up the huge black bags under my eyes!

Anyway, there is medication available for morning sickness and HG called Diclectin, but it wasn’t successful for me. Instead, I relied on a few tips to help me survive those long, loooong months of vomiting too many times a day to count.

How I Coped With Morning Sickness

First, anything smelly was thrown out or stored far, far away where I couldn’t smell it. Walking past a Glade plugin would make me run straight to the bathroom. I also made my husband throw away his body spray because it would literally make me sick. To this day, I can’t smell that stuff or I start to feel queasy.

Second, I had my groceries delivered to me. Walking into a grocery store was unthinkable for me. All that food! All those smells!! Show me to the ladies room NOW.

The city I lived in had a cool service called Pic’n'Del. You could shop on their website and have everything delivered right to your door for 7 or 8 bucks. They aren’t in business anymore but your town may have something similar. One of my local grocery stores delivers for $25.

I’d much rather dish out $25 than vomit all over aisle 7 in the store, wouldn’t you?

During the odd times when I felt I could actually swallow food and keep it in my belly, I opted for fresh, raw foods. Fruit and cold stuff like ice cream or frozen grapes was the only food that I could handle. Cooking beef in my house while I had morning sickness was the worst possible thing you could do and would result in a very angry and sick pregnant lady!

I also avoided caffeine like the plague which pregnant women should be doing anyway. Warm beverages like tea or coffee did not sit well with me, even decaf.

In the end, you know your own body well enough to know what works and what doesn’t. It’s a bit of a game, trying different things until you figure out what keeps you from being sick.

For more practical tips on keeping morning sickness at bay and to learn more about it, read my article here:

http://www.babytipsonline.com/morning-sickness.html

P.S. I am a Final Fantasy addict. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a video game. While I was holed up in my apartment with morning sickness, I played Final Fantasy all day. Now when I play that game, I feel sick to my stomach. Weird hey?

If you’re trying to conceive your first baby, or you are working on baby #2, #3, etc., it helps to have some tips that can make you conceive sooner. I’ve got a few for you today:

Chillax. Stress is thought to be a factor in infertility. Trying to conceive can be extremely stressful. You can help relieve stress by exercising, getting enough sleep, and meditation. You can also relax with some regular yoga and massages.

Become a health nut. Cut out habits like smoking, alcohol and caffeine. Start eating a healthy diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats. Get organize, natural food as much as possible. Foods that contain hormones and other chemicals can decrease your chances of conceiving.

Make sex fun. Don’t let it become an item to check off on your “to do list”. Add some variety, if ya know what I’m sayin’. There is no evidence to prove that one position is best, so try them all!

Roll out the welcome wagon. Douches, vaginal sprays, scented tampons, lubricants, etc. can all mess with your vagina’s environment and pH levels. Avoid them while you’re trying to conceive.

Monitor your cycle. Fertility monitors will take the guesswork out of knowing when you’re most likely to conceive. The window of opportunity is small, so it’s helpful to know your cycle as best as you can.

Wait a couple days in between “tries”. Having sex too often can lower a man’s sperm count. Waiting about two days will allow it to go back up so you can get a good dose the next time.

Start taking a prenatal vitamin. A regular multi-vitamin doesn’t contain the right combination for a woman trying to conceive or who is already pregnant.

Don’t let gravity do it’s job. Stay horizontal for as long as you can after having sex. Give those little guys a chance to reach their destination. You don’t need to stand on your head, but laying down with a pillow under your hips for at least 20 minutes will help.

Talk with your doctor. They can offer you advice tailored specifically for you, your body, and your lifestyle. They can also test both you and your partner to see how fertile you each are.

Lots of parents find it difficult – if not impossible – to find a sippy cup that their baby will drink out of. Some babies refuse to even hold certain sippy cups. I know I had this problem with my daughter.

I tried too many brands and types of sippy cups to count, but after a lot of trial and error, we found just the one.

I’ve compiled a short list of the best sippy cups for babies. These sippy cups are all BPA-free and lots of parents have discovered that their baby will not drink out of anything else. You can view the list here:

What’s the Best Sippy Cup for my Baby?

Baby Tips readers picked #5 on the list as their favorite.

I recently received this question from a reader and I know a lot of parents wonder the same thing so I thought I’d share my answer with you.

Question: How do you get your baby to drink cow’s milk. Or can you give them chocolate milk?

My Answer: Pediatricians don’t recommend cow’s milk for babies until they’re at least 12 months old, so if your baby is older than a year, my best advice would be to gradually introduce milk in a sippy cup or a regular plastic cup a little bit each day.

It sometimes takes quite a few tries for them to develop a taste for it since it tastes so different than breastmilk and formula. Start with whole milk so baby can still benefit from the extra fat.

If that doesn’t work you can try mixing half cow’s milk and half formula or breastmilk together so the taste isn’t such a drastic change.

I would avoid giving baby any chocolate milk. Not only is the added sugar unnecessary but problems can develop in the future. It could be very difficult to get baby to drink regular milk after having a taste of chocolate milk. If you really want to, I’d only use it as a treat once in awhile.

In my previous post I mentioned a few of the benefits of breastfeeding your baby. In today’s post I wanted to talk about the not-so-pleasant side of breastfeeding, specifically – clogged milk ducts which is something I experienced when I breastfed my daughter a couple months after she was born.

What is a clogged milk duct?

Your breastmilk flows through “ducts” in your breast which can sometimes get plugged for various reasons. You’ll probably notice a hard lump in your breast which can be very sore or downright painful.

If the sore area is warm to the touch and you start to feel feverish or achy, it has most likely become infected. This can lead to mastitis so it’s important to deal with a clogged milk duct as soon as you can.

What causes plugged milk ducts?

In my case, I think the fact that I didn’t vary nursing positions often enough was the cause. Clogged ducts will occur when your breastmilk isn’t drained completely. This can also be caused by:

• an improperly fitted or poor quality nursing bra
• breastfeeding infrequently
• using a crappy quality breast pump
• sickness or stress

Not everyone will experience this but even if you do, there are a few ways to get that puppy unplugged.

How to treat a clogged milk duct

The best way to unclog a plugged up milk duct is to breastfeed as often as possible even though it can be extremely uncomfortable.

Try a different nursing position each time. For example, I held my daughter on my lap during one feeding, then I’d lay down and breastfeed her while laying down the next time.

The football hold was my favorite breastfeeding position at that time because her chin was pointed toward the clogged duct.

Something else I did to relieve the pain in between feedings was to keep applying a warm compress to my chest. Massaging the sore area with a warm cloth really helped.

I also stopped pumping since the first pump I used was a cheap, poor quality pump and I’m still not sure if that might have played a part in the clogged milk duct. (I recommend a good breast pump here.) If you already have a good quality pump, you may want to try pumping more often until the duct becomes unclogged.

I tried to hand-express milk while sitting in a warm bath which was suggested to me by a nurse, but it didn’t seem to make any difference.

When my milk duct finally came unclogged, I could actually feel it happen. Hopefully this won’t gross you out, but during a feeding (and it’s useful to note that I was using a breastfeeding position that I had never tried before), I could feel a little “pop” in my breast and I instantly felt 100% better. I asked the nurse how that plugged up, hardened milk would affect my baby and she said it doesn’t affect them at all.

How to avoid getting clogged ducts

With my second baby, I was more careful to vary my breastfeeding positions to prevent uneven pressure.

I also made sure to dish out on a set of good quality nursing bras. My favorite was actually the Playtex nursing bra because it was easy to use with one hand. So comfortable, I even wore it for a year after I stopped breastfeeding.

My favorite position to sleep is on my stomach, but I tried to stay on my back as much as possible because the added pressure to your breasts can cause clogged ducts.

I didn’t experience a clogged duct with my second child so I’ll be sure to follow the same steps the next time as well.

During pregnancy, you may have decided to breastfeed your baby because of all the benefits for both you and baby that breastfeeding provides. However, the closer your due date gets, the more anxious you may feel.

Chances are, other well-meaning but possibly irritating mothers might have told you all their breastfeeding horror stories and now you’re starting to get the jitters. I know I did.

My mother in law told me numerous times about the yeast infection she got in her breast while she was breastfeeding and it scared the you-know-what out of me!

Even though there can be complications that arise when it comes to breastfeeding, all the benefits make it all worth it. I managed to get a clogged milk duct but it didn’t last long and it was easy to remedy. It wasn’t terrifying like so many moms made it out to be.

Here are just some of the reasons why more and more moms are “braving it” and choosing to breastfeed:

• Babies require fewer hospitalizations
• They develop fewer respiratory, urinary tract, and ear infections among others
• Babies are at a lesser risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• They suffer from fewer bouts of allergies and asthma as they age
• They’ll have higher I.Q. scores
• Obesity and cancer risk will drop in later years

Moms are benefiting from breastfeeding too. Here are a few reasons why:

• Less bleeding and quicker recovery after childbirth
• Menstrual cycle is suppressed so you may experience lighter or fewer periods, or none at all for months
• Chances of developing ovarian and breast cancer are reduced
• It’s free
• Weight loss is significantly more efficient during breastfeeding

With all these benefits, it’s easy to overlook any of the cons of breastfeeding. In my next post, I’ll be talking about some of the complications you can experience during breastfeeding and how to avoid them. Make sure to subscribe to my RSS feed so you don’t miss it.

You can read more about breastfeeding during the first few days as well as how to deal with engorgement after your milk comes in.

You Know You’re Pregnant When….

• the cat looks at you the wrong way and you cry.
• you put the cereal box back in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard.
• your morning routine is getting up, showering, throwing up, brushing teeth, getting dressed, throwing up, doing makeup.
• going pee three times in an hour is normal.
• you want to plaster a sign on your head that says “I’m Pregnant!”
• you just went up three cup sizes without breast surgery.
• you don’t feel guilty for getting up at 2 am and making yourself a roast beef and pickle sandwich.
• you get excited when you have a bowel movement because you’ve been constipated for a week.
• you see a baby in the mall and you start to cry.
• peeing your pants a little bit isn’t a big deal.
• you watch A Baby Story on TLC every day
• you drive to McDonalds because you’ve been craving a Big Mac but come home with a taco from Taco Bell.
• you get your husband to tie your shoes for you because you can’t reach.

I get asked this question a lot. I’m a single mom with two kids so people are always curious if I’m ever going to have more babies. At first my answer was a resounding “YES” and after about a year, I changed it to “NO”. Now, I’m a definite “YES” again and I think it will stay that way until I pop another one out!

How about you?

I posted recently about a sneaky way I get my kids to eat spinach. Now, I have 9 more ways for you to get your kids eating more veggies.

9 Simple Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat More Veggies

It seems like a never-ending battle with the kids. Although you and I know veggies are delicious and they’re also good for you, they act like vegetables are a plague they want to avoid at all costs.

If you need creative ways to get your kids to eat more vegetables, here are 9 ideas to incorporate into your daily meals right away:

1. Make healthy choices readily available and put the sugary and greasy snacks away. This doesn’t mean totally deprive yourselves of these delightful treats, but making healthy eating a normal part of your day goes a long way to helping kids develop better eating habits.

2. Add veggies like carrots or even asparagus to smoothies. Kids love fruit smoothies and they’ll never know you put in a little of those dreaded vegetables in.

3. Sneak vegetables into other foods. For example: Add grated carrots into spaghetti sauce or make a zucchini chocolate cake.

4. Try dip. You know kids love to dip everything. Just make sure they know they have to eat the dip stick and not just lick it!

5. Take your kids shopping with you. Let your child pick out a new vegetable in the grocery store that they’ve never tried. Then prepare the vegetable together.

6. Be patient and consistent. Avoid having a tantrum yourself when your child has a tantrum about vegetables on their plate. Sometimes it will take several times of serving the same food before your child is even willing to try it.

7. Make it artistic and fun. Place veggies into a smiley face on your child’s plate or decorate a pizza with them.

8. Let them choose: raw or cooked. Some children may have a definite preference as to whether their veggies are cooked or raw.

9. Plan your meals. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the veggies when you don’t have a plan…allowing your kids to get into the habit of veggie-free meals. Plan your meals and grocery lists in advance, so you won’t come up short on the greenery.

To make your meal planning a whole lot easier, sign up for your 1 ¢ no-risk trial at Dine Without Whine. They put together your weekly dinner plan and even make a quick and easy printable grocery list for you. Click here to get started.