"The Artful Homemaker" - A Severe Morning Sickness Story

I found this five-time mama's HG story a few days ago, and really enjoyed reading it. Here it is:

My Morning Sickness Story

As I read this, I felt like I could have written a good deal of it myself, from my own experiences. I too am into healthy eating. I too have tried just about everything to get my body to stop overdoing the NVP thing. I too have consulted with Shonda Parker!

A few quick excerpts:

"I was so happy, when, after 10 months of marriage and longing for a baby, I finally found out I was expecting. My excitement turned to despair a few weeks later when the sickness hit. I was so unprepared for what was happening to me. Before conceiving, I had read every book on pregnancy I could get my hands on. I knew what to expect. But no one had mentioned this terrible misery I was experiencing. I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t drink, even though I was so hungry and so thirsty. Everything came right back up. Even tiny sips of water wouldn’t stay down. I had always been healthy, and hardly ever sick, so this was so difficult to understand.

"The books I read on morning sickness suggested eating crackers first thing in the morning (I can’t tell you how many times I heard that one!), getting exercise, drinking fresh juices, eating whole foods, lots of protein, etc. This didn’t apply to me. I was vomiting so many times a day and night that I lost count! I was so weak that I could barely stand up to walk to the bathroom. I started the pregnancy at around 107 pounds, and I was now down to 97 pounds just a few weeks into the pregnancy. I was seriously ill."

 Yup, this was me with #1.

And also:

"One thing that I’ve gained from being sick during my pregnancies is a heart of compassion and empathy for those mothers who suffer with severe morning sickness and any kind of sickness during pregnancy.  I would have never believed it was possible to be this sick just because you’re pregnant if I hadn’t experienced it myself!  Your whole life kind of comes to a stand-still.  It has been so bad at times (especially when I’m enduring the nausea along with a migraine at the same time) that I was literally writhing on my bed with tears streaming down my face, repeating a verse over and over and over to myself, trying to soothe myself in the midst of the suffering. "

 I would say that the biggest benefit I have gained from HG is sympathy and compassion for those undergoing physical suffering. Having been quite healthy all my life, I'm afraid (I'm ashamed to say) that I had more of a "Get ahold of yourself!" attitude toward those with physical problems. That is a fault which, I am happy to say, I no longer have! But it took HG to knock my foolishness out of my head.

This was a great article - I'm so glad she shared!