Pregnancy #2 First Trimester: How I Got Through A Rough Season

Published on March 6, 2025 by Ashley Rothstein  our

 

In case you didn’t know, I am 28 weeks pregnant with baby #2! And since I am (mostly) out of the fog of early pregnancy, I thought I would write a post on the first trimester and what I did/used to help support my body.

(If you’d like to read the blog post about the first trimester of my first pregnancy, check it out here; most of the things I discuss in that post remain relevant for me this second go around.)

So far, my first pregnancy and this pregnancy have been quite similar but also quite different. Similar in the sense that my core symptoms were generally the same – nausea, insomnia, fatigue, and mood instability – but different in the sense that I’ve had to care for a toddler round-the-clock this pregnancy.

The stress from that seems to exacerbate everything this time.

I also had some strange symptoms this go around that I did not experience my last pregnancy. Geographic tongue is one of them. Dysgeusia is another one. Also…an extreme aversion to liquids. A swollen vulva. Lightening crotch. A sore throat that went away the day after I gave birth (so odd). And gagging. Lots of gagging.

My pelvic floor/prolapse symptoms showed up in the first trimester, so way earlier this time. I also (sadly) vomited this pregnancy, which I did not with my first.

My mental symptoms have also been through the roof, more than I remember last time. I think this is related to the stress of being a mother and chronic sleep deprivation. I experienced suicidal ideation, severe depression, and regular crying fits (and I still do to some degree, although less frequently than in the first trimester).

As my pregnancy progressed, I troubleshooted my issues the best I could while focusing on regulating my nervous system and managing stress.

While the experience was still quite enduring, I slowly began to feel a little better as I approached my second trimester.

I had more energy throughout the day and had longer periods of relief without feeling like I was dying.

• Around 13/14 weeks is when I started to feel better.
• Around 16/17 weeks, I felt another lift and a bit more energy.
• Around 20 weeks, I felt an even bigger lift and began to gain weight (which I celebrated). While I never really lost weight, I hadn’t gained a pound before that either (despite eating a ton of nutrient-dense food).  While I’ve heard this can be common, it concerned me a bit, so the weight gain was a huge win. Vomiting also subsided (at least so far) around this time too.
• Around 22-23 weeks, I felt like I got into a groove and really started to feel that second trimester boost. Longer periods of energy and less mental symptoms. Nausea went away for the most part around this time too.
• Now that I’m 28 weeks, I still feel pretty good, although I am feeling the fatigue and uneasiness increase as I approach the surrender of birth. And when I don’t sleep well, the nausea creeps in again as does the mental symptoms, but this is true for me when not pregnant as well.

In this post, I’m going to go over everything I did/tried that (I think) led me to feeling better in the first trimester.

But for all you mamas out there struggling, just know that sometimes the only thing that (unfortunately) works is time. If you’re going through it, even if you don’t feel like it, know that you will be okay.

Check out the pregnancy section on my website for more animal-based pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and motherhood resources.

Heart & Soil Films featured me and my first daughter in their mini-documentary, Nourished, which spotlights animal-based pregnancies. Click on the above image to watch it on YouTube.

My state of mind going into pregnancy

If you read my conception story, you know that I went into pregnancy feeling depleted and anxious.

(If you missed the story and would like to read it, check it out here.)

In a nutshell, my body and mind had already been spiraling for about 9 months prior to pregnancy. I was already feeling quite unwell going in.

Once I hit about 7-8 weeks, I felt like I was dying all the time. The vomiting really scared me because it was new, and because I hate vomiting.

The fatigue was extreme. It was hard to be upright.

The mental symptoms were so severe that I wondered if I would make it out of pregnancy alive. I was never sure what that meant, but I felt so bogged down by dark intrusive thoughts, nightmares, sleep troubles, and challenging physical sensations that it all felt like too much to bear.

I felt like a shell of a person, and the “mom guilt,” “partner guilt,” “friend guilt,” “family guilt” was tremendous.

I barely felt functional, but had a full load with the care of my daughter. I had never experienced anything like that before. Talk about having to “dig into the well”…humans really are resilient creatures and we are capable of much more than we think we are.

I would call my parents/friends in hysterics multiple times per week just absolutely horrified that my body was failing and something was really wrong…trying to make sense of it all, but also trying not to focus on it since thinking about how unwell I felt brought me so much fear.

But…since I had already been suffering for 9+ months prior to pregnancy, I felt like I had a new form of resilience/awareness. And despite how unwell I felt, whenever I remembered and tapped into this resilience, it empowered me.

I took things moment by moment and day by day. Honestly because I really had no other choice, and because anything else felt overwhelming. And because I often couldn’t see past that day or even that moment.

But through all of the terror, I always had hope – even if just a glimmer – that things would be okay.

And in experiencing the micro moments where things felt okay – even if it was just laying in bed with my daughter reading books under red light or five minutes of feeling calm while doing the dishes – over time, I learned that all feelings are fleeting. Both the good and the bad.

So when I felt the bad stuff, I would sometimes be able to tell myself that I would feel good again in the future (and believe it). Even if it was days from then and even if it was just for a minute, I knew it would happen eventually.

And then when I felt good, I felt so incredibly grateful that I was blessed with a moment of feeling good. It was almost like a feeling of awe, which felt so rejuvenating and refreshing amidst the suffering.

I share this for those who are in the thick of it. If I can do it, you can do it too. Even if it feels impossible (it did for me many, many times), you will get through.

What I tried that worked for me

For starters, if you haven’t already, I highly recommend that you read my original blog post on first trimester remedies.

As I mentioned before, all of the suggestions mentioned in that post remain relevant for me this pregnancy. I think it’s a great general starting point if you’re pregnant with your first baby or if this is your first pregnancy dealing with challenging symptoms.

The suggestions in this post are a bit more specific since I went into this pregnancy already having experienced one.

Here’s what I’m going to go over in this post:

• Baking soda water
• Pregnancy homeopathic cell salt protocol
• Histamine Digest
• Wonderbelly Antacids
• Electrolyte capsules
• Prioritizing food over liquids
• No eating or drinking before bed
• Going grain-free
• Electrolyte water
• Avoiding triggers
• Eating more sugar and carbs
• Always “ending” with food
• Weaning + earlier bedtime
• Time
• Egg yolks
• A few things that I found after the first trimester that I wish I would have discovered sooner:
  • Quinton minerals
  • Gratitude journaling
  • Cocculus homeopathic remedy
  • Madison Yount’s pregnancy guides

Food and supplementation

Before we get into the remedies, I want to talk about food and supplementation. Even at this point in my pregnancy, eating and taking supplements are still pretty rough for me.

Due to the combination of my high stress levels over the past 15+ months, chronic sleep deprivation, and the hormonal fluctuations of pregnancy, I feel highly sensitive to many foods/supplements and even many non-food things (like car rides, socializing, screens, noise, etc.).

I am almost never hungry, still basically force-feed myself throughout the day (like I had to do during my first trimester) to get my nutrients in, and pretty much my entire pregnancy, I’ve only been able to eat about 7-10 foods.

I rarely look forward to my food (unfortunately – this makes me sad – since food used to bring me so much joy), and if you’ve gone through any of my previous pregnancy resources, you know this is nothing like my first pregnancy was.

During my first pregnancy, I was often excited to eat (second trimester and on) and loved/devoured fruit, raw cheese, and raw milk ice cream on repeat.

I also loved making bowls – like chicken thighs, apples, squash, and raw cheese topped with maple mustard or shredded pork, plantains, cilantro, squash, and lime.

I loved posting my meals because I was so excited to create them. I wish things were the same this go around, but I am still largely in survival mode.

That being said, I feel empowered by how far I’ve come and what I’ve done despite feeling so lousy and having to be so restrictive. I’ve been able to maintain 1800-2300+ calorie days every day of my pregnancy, and I usually land around 120-130g protein (80-110g protein during my first trimester), 150-250g carbs, and 90-100g fat.

The foods I currently eat are beef, chicken, egg yolks, apples in two forms (juice, fruit), ghee, squash, and potatoes. During my first trimester, I also ate oatmeal, applesauce, and maple syrup. I occasionally add in another food for a meal or two to increase diversity – like a banana, blueberries, grapes, or another random fruit – but I almost always stick to my core foods.

Since the beginning of pregnancy, I’ve been tracking my food in Cronometer to make sure I’m hitting my micros and macros (check my recent pregnancy highlights if you want to learn more about this).

I also supplemented with the following throughout my first trimester (and still do when I feel up to it):

• Desiccated acerola cherries for vitamin C (ASHLEYR for 10% off)
• Heart & Soil Lifeblood for extra iron (ASH10 for 10% off)
• Eggshell powder for calcium (since I had to give up raw dairy in my first trimester)
• Shilajit for extra minerals
• Histamine Digest to help my body process histamine
• Sea salt capsules for extra sodium
• Homeopathic cell salts + other constitutional remedies (Sepia, Cocculus)
• Magnesium glycinate at night
• Quinton minerals
• LMNT for electrolytes

I am still working toward taking cod liver oil, desiccated oysters (ASHLEYR for 10% off), and desiccated cod roe (15% off with link) since I don’t eat fish. I have them all on hand…my brain just can’t stomach them yet.

Shockingly, I’ve had nearly zero liver this pregnancy (as opposed to the loads of liver I had my last pregnancy). It’s another thing my brain just can’t seem to stomach, and I also stay away from it due to it’s high histamine content.

I may try some soon, but I get a decent amount of folate from the egg yolks I eat.

I also took a methylated folate supplement for three months prior to conceiving and tested my levels at 4.5 weeks pregnant. They were great, and there were no signs of neural tube defects on our anatomy scan, so I haven’t been too concerned about it.

Lastly, I started documenting my pregnancy experience on Instagram from about 10 weeks on. If this interests you, check out my most recent pregnancy highlights.

Now, onto the remedies….

Baking soda water

I don’t think my “morning sickness” has been traditional morning sickness, but rather a combination of acid reflux and slow GI tract motility. It was tricky to identify though because I didn’t have traditional reflux symptoms initially (like esophagus burning or pain in my chest).

I would mainly:

• get nauseous right after eating or if I waited too long to eat (this is still true now – I eat every 2-3 hours or so)
• get full very soon after eating and could only stomach small meals at each sitting (while much better now, this is still true sometimes if my stomach is too full)
• get a bad/sour taste in my mouth after eating, and
• my stomach would start to burn if I do not clear the acid frequently enough (this is still true now).

I also haven’t had a huge appetite this entire pregnancy, which can be a sign of reflux.

I was vomiting 1x per day in the early morning from weeks 8-10 or so (and then on and off until about week 20). I’m pretty sure this was tied to the reflux and motility issues.

Baking soda water changed everything for me.

I added 1 tsp baking soda to 8 oz and would sip after meals, during gagging fits, or whenever my stomach felt acidic. It cleared the acid well, opened up my appetite, and seemed to help curb the vomiting (as I think the vomiting was tied to acid building up and my body not being able to clear it). I still do this throughout the day now.

When I have a huge spicy burp after I drink the baking soda water, that’s a sign that my stomach had a lot of acid. I usually have a few of those spicy burps, then the burps turn to normal (and I start to feel better too), which is how I know that I’ve cleared it out.

My mind also feels much clearer as the acid begins to clear out.

Baking soda – hands down – has been my most useful tool of pregnancy thus far. It’s been such a life-saver that it makes it into my gratitude journaling almost daily.

This is the one I use:

Pregnancy homeopathic cell salt protocol

I think this protocol was a large contributing factor to the resolve of my vomiting.

Here’s an interesting story…

From about 8-10 weeks, I threw up almost every day. Some days I wouldn’t, but most days I did…just once per day early in the morning (with the exception of one day where I threw up twice – morning and evening; rough day that day…I think that was near the peak of the reflux before I was managing it with baking soda water).

Around 10 weeks, it stopped for about a week. I thought I was done, but then around 11 weeks, it started up again. Same thing…just once per day, early in the morning (likely the reflux).

This kind of freaked me out a bit as I wasn’t sure why it started up again so randomly.

I spoke to a friend about it and during our conversation, I had a lightbulb moment. I remembered that almost to the day, the week or so that I wasn’t throwing up, I was on the pregnancy cell salt protocol. And strangely enough, shortly before my MIL came into town, I fell off of the protocol.

And when she was here (around 11 weeks), that’s when I started vomiting daily again.

So after that conversation (minutes later), I immediately started the protocol again. Here’s the crazy part…

No vomiting the next morning, and for weeks after.

I still threw up on and off until about 20 wees, but it became way less consistent after starting the cell salt protocol.

If you’re interested in trying it, this is the protocol:

Here’s the schedule in terms of weeks of pregnancy:

• Month 2: 5-8
• Month 3: 9-12
• Month 4: 13-16
• Month 5: 17-20
• Month 6: 21-24
• Month 7: 25-28
• Month 8: 29-32
• Month 9: 33-36

The suggested protocol is two pellets of each remedy 2x per day, but I have only been taking 1 pellet of each remedy 1x per day.

One more note about the protocol:

Cell salts aren’t a magical solution. I still felt like absolute crap in the mornings (and still do some mornings now). In fact, shortly after starting the cell salts up again, I felt so crappy some mornings after I ate that I hoped I would throw up just so I could feel better.

I would sit in front of the toilet for minutes on the cusp, but my body just didn’t have to vomit.

My friend who studies homeopathy told that cell salts are like a mineral hack for the body. It’s not a magical cure where you suddenly feel amazing, but they support the body in a way where it balances things over time and gradual changes can be seen…perhaps like the gradual relief from vomiting for me.

As for sourcing, I use the Ohm kit, but I think Hyland’s has one as well.

Histamine Digest

Histamine intolerance has been linked to morning sickness.

I have histamine intolerance when not pregnant, and Histamine Digest helped me during my first trimester when my histamine levels were rising but my DAO levels hadn’t yet compensated (DAO levels rise up to 1000X during your second trimester and on).

It helps break down histamine in the body.

I like Histamine Digest because it’s sourced from porcine kidney extract, and not from legumes like many other popular brands. I usually felt a mental boost after taking a capsule.

The directions on the bottle actually mention morning sickness!

If you pair the capsules with a low histamine diet, they can help rid your body of excess histamine. My husband actually tried them as well and found a lot of relief from them.

I took 2-3 per day while following a low histamine diet for the most part, and also when I ate a meal that had higher histamine food(s) (like cheese).

Check out this Instagram post from Seeking Health and this blog post from Dr. Becky Campbell on histamine intolerance during pregnancy if you’d like to learn more.

I also have a few slides on the Histamine Digest supplement in my recent pregnancy highlights.

Wonderbelly Antacids

I tried Wonderbelly Antacids for a few days when the reflux was really bad. I stopped shortly after because I was worried that I would rely on them too much (and even though they helped the reflux, my stomach felt a little funky after taking a tablet).

Some people swear by them though and use them throughout their whole pregnancy.

I kept them on hand in case of emergencies, but once I found baking soda water, I no longer felt a need for them. I haven’t had to use them since the first trimester.

I have a few slides on my experience with them in my recent pregnancy highlights. The active ingredient is the same as Tums, but the inactive ingredients are way better/cleaner.

XX

Electrolyte capsules

My pregnant stomach really doesn’t like fluids as they unfortunately give me bad reflux.

Electrolyte capsules (Redmond Re-Lyte capsules + Vitassium) were helpful to take alongside food or raw milk to get an extra electrolyte boost.

       

Unfortunately, the capsules give me reflux too (ha) so I found it easiest to take them with food as a buffer.

I was able to drink electrolyte water again around 20 weeks or so, so I no longer take the capsules and just drink salted water instead. They were really helpful during my first trimester though.

Prioritizing food over liquids (and no milk in the morning)

Many of the days I threw up, it was after raw milk or electrolyte water first thing in the morning.

When I put two and two together that fluids give me bad reflux, I stopped drinking fluids (or just took slow sips) until after I got a decent amount of food in my stomach.

This seemed to help both my nausea and vomiting. And I seem to feel better the more food I eat in the day (i.e. less milk, smoothies, soups + more things I can chew).

While fluids go down much easier now, I still have to be cautious with them. Drinking too much fluid, too much unsalted fluid (or fluid without minerals), or mixing food and fluids can still make me feel pretty lousy.

No eating or drinking before bed

I still have to do this, unfortunately. Even if I am starving or feel like I’m dying of thirst, I eat dinner at 4:30 pm and do not eat or drink anything after except for a few sips of baking soda water to clear the acid from my meal.

I lay down with my daughter for sleep around 6:30-7 pm, so I give myself about 2-2.5 hours after eating for my stomach to clear. Anything longer than this, I get so painfully hungry or thirsty that it can take a long time to fall asleep.

I also made the rule of zero eating or drinking throughout the night unless I am absolutely parched. In the case that I wake up thirsty, I take very small sips and I sometimes sit upright for a few minutes afterward.

This has helped my sleep a lot. After starting this, I have been sleeping 5-6 hours straight consistently most nights, plus a couple broken hours after that sometimes (which is way better than the broken sleep I was getting before that).

Going grain-free

In my first trimester, I always crave grains. This happened during both of my pregnancies.

But whenever I eat them, I don’t usually feel great. I get very tired and will sometimes get reactive hypoglycemic episodes hours after.

It’s tricky though because there were some days where it felt like all my stomach wanted was oats, so I ate them, but always worked toward giving them up.

At some point (a few weeks into my second trimester – week 16/17ish I think), for some reason, I began to crave oats less and less. And one day, I sort of just stopped cold turkey.

I don’t really crave grains much anymore. This also happened in my last pregnancy around the start of the second trimester.

My stomach still felt like it needed something dense though, so I replaced them with potatoes.

I find that I feel much better without eating grains.

Electrolyte water when I could

As I mentioned before, fluids have been really hard to stomach.

So whenever I had them in my first trimester, I made them count (electrolytes in my water or salt capsules with my milk).

I like LMNT.

Avoiding triggers

It feels like nearly everything gives me reflux, but some foods are better than others.

Apples/applesauce were my go-to foods during my first trimester, as was potatoes.

I ate a very low histamine diet the entire first trimester, and I think this helped a lot.

When I started taking Histamine Digest, I was able to add more histamine foods in, like cheese.

I had a lot of cravings my first trimester but I didn’t follow nearly any of them. Whenever I “dipped into” cravings (like when I’d make a richer meal, try orange juice, etc.), I always felt sicker.

So as depressing as it was to eat some days, I mainly stuck to ground beef, ghee, raw milk, maple syrup, apples, potatoes, and a few other safe foods.

I kept food bland, no spices (just salt), and stayed away from acidic foods.

Dairy was also a huge reflux trigger for me, as was sugar (like maple syrup), but I was getting the bulk of my calories from raw milk in the very beginning as it was easier to drink than eat, so I refused to give it up and sort of just suffered through.

Sadly, I ended up having to give raw dairy up shortly after my first trimester because I realized I felt much better without it. This is so different than my first pregnancy where I ate raw cheese and drank raw milk like it was my job.

I want to try to add it back in so badly, but just haven’t had the cajones yet.

Stressful situations also triggered my reflux too, as did things like car rides, too much computer work/scrolling, or lots of stimulation. So I tried to avoid those things (within reason, as I still needed to live my life) as much as possible.

Eating more sugar and carbs (as long as I prioritized protein)

I was so scared of morning sickness/vomiting, and I heard that protein can help relieve morning sickness, so I was solely focused on protein in the beginning of pregnancy.

I think I was undereating carbs/sugar which left me very tired.

Once I upped my sugar (I drink a lot of apple juice now!), I began to feel more energy.

I still eat every 1-2 hours. If I don’t, I feel what I call “drops” – it’s like a “womp, womp, womp” in my brain and a nausea in my stomach that screams, “you need to eat now!”

So I try to stay ahead of that feeling by eating a balanced meal as soon as I feel even a hint of a “drop” coming.

I know this is against all the rules, but sometimes I find that I need juice on an empty stomach just to bring my brain up to be able to eat.

Not much, just ¼ cup or so. This seems to help a lot (as long as it is shortly followed by a balanced meal).

Always “ending” with food

My stomach rarely felt good when I left it with fluids. Example: right after a glass of raw milk.

It also didn’t feel great when I mix food and fluids (while this is better now, it’s still true sometimes).

So once I drank fluids, I waited a little bit (30+ min) and followed it up with a small meal or at the very least, a few bites of food.

I don’t have to do this as much now, but it helped a lot during my first trimester. And still helps today on a day where I’m feeling crummy.

Weaning + earlier bedtime

This won’t be relevant to everyone, but I nursed my 2.5-year-old daughter through almost my entire first trimester.

Around 11 weeks, I weaned her. She was on the way herself, anyway, and it was a smooth transition (the full story can be found in my recent pregnancy highlights).

I think this helped free up some nutrients I was depleting and gave me more energy.

At the same time, we also dropped her nap.

We now go to bed early (7ish) and she sleeps 11-12+ hours throughout the night.

As I mentioned, I have more information on this in my pregnancy highlight, but this setup seems to be working way better for my pregnant self.

I’m usually up around 2-3 am most days due to insomnia, so getting sleep in the earlier hours of the night has been making a huge difference for my well-being.

Time

I think many of the above things contributed to me beginning to feel better, but many women naturally start to feel better as they head into their second trimester.

I’m sure that is a huge factor as well.

Egg yolks

Not sure what came first – me starting to feel better or me craving egg yolks. But right around the time when I started to feel a turnaround, I began to crave egg yolks like crazy.

Some days, it felt like all I wanted to eat were egg yolks.

I don’t know if it was the egg yolks that helped, or if me feeling better made me crave yolks.

Either way, I was happy to be eating a ton of yolks again near the end of my first trimester.

To this day, I eat 12-15 per day.

Things I discovered after my first trimester that I wish I found earlier

Quinton minerals

When I was about midway through my second trimester, I began to feel called to consume more minerals.

I had been drinking salted water/electrolyte water for a long time, but I hadn’t been taking a regular mineral supplement (other than sea salt – which is plentiful in minerals, but I felt like I needed more).

I saw a few things about Quinton minerals in a few different places and took it as a sign to try it out.

It really seemed to help with my hydration. I felt a boost as soon as I take an ampoule (still do), and overall, I just felt more hydrated and vital.

My blood pressure had also been sitting on the lower side of normal (it was like this my last pregnancy too), sometimes dropping to 96-99/65ish.

Since starting the minerals, it now usually sits around 105-110/70-75, and I haven’t seen the systolic number dip into the 90’s since I started the minerals.

My pee is also an ideal color (very light straw) consistently throughout the day most of the time vs. randomly being darker sometimes, lighter others, and clear here and there (I always find it hard to hydrate while pregnancy since I eat so often).

It just seems like my body is processing water more efficiently.

I follow a few IGers that swear by Quinton, and some have incredible stories.

One, for example, used it during her third pregnancy, labor, and postpartum, and claims she bled significantly less that birth/postpartum.

She also shared may stories of women had the same experience. Another woman actually used Quinton right after labor to stop a hemorrhage!

I’ve heard that it’s nearly identical to our blood plasma and the optimal structure of healthy amniotic fluid, which makes it a great “food” for our cells.

Quinton is certified free of radioactive elements, chemicals, and plastics.

Rene Quinton actually did experiments where he drained the blood from sick dogs near death and replaced it with his plasma (seawater). Not only did the dogs survive, but they gained vitality.

My family started with the isotonic (seawater diluted with spring water) because I wanted to see how our bodies would react.

We were all fine with the isotonic, so after we finished the box, we moved to the hypertonic (seawater only – it’s more potent than the isotonic) and that’s what I take now.

I take one ampoule every day. They’re not cheap, but worth it in my opinion if you’re in a season of depletion – pregnancy, postpartum, high stress, etc.

I also give some to my daughter (she is almost 3) a few times per week. I give my pup the isotonic a few times per week as well.

I plan to take this throughout the rest of my pregnancy, while in labor, and during postpartum.

I had above average bleeding last time (immediately after birth), so curious to see if it makes a difference!

Quinton has a lot of information on their website if you want to read more about it.

Gratitude journaling

Midway through my second trimester, I stumbled upon The Secret book series and gobbled up the first three books in the series effortlessly.

I felt drawn to daily gratitude journaling, so I started a practice (The Magic includes a 30-day gratitude program).

As silly as it may sound (at least to me, it did), it works.

I usually rush through life, and the first day of the practice, I actually found myself feeling grateful for warm water as I showered.

When I saw myself have the thought and experience feeling that followed, I immediately went “whoa!”

Since doing the practice as regularly as I can (I do it about 4-5 days per week currently, early in the morning), I have noticed that I feel better and better.

The changes are subtle, but I can see how it works.

Cocculus homeopathic remedy

Note: reading the following blog post may help give context to how horrid my sleep issues were for about 12 months before taking this remedy:

• Conceiving Baby #2: A Much Different Story This Time Around

One of my friends who is studying homeopathy recommended many homeopathic remedies for both my acute and chronic issues over the course of 2024 and my pregnancy.

While I had seen some amazing improvements in myself and my daughter with homeopathy over the years, for some reason, I have always been skeptical of it.

It’s not usually my first line of defense, and if you know me, you know I do not like taking new things due to how sensitive my body feels, so I usually put off taking *anything* new unless I am absolutely desperate.

I tried a lot of homeopathy over the course my pregnancy.

One of the most beneficial remedies I tried (and still take religiously/daily) is the pregnancy cell salt protocol, as I mentioned earlier in this post.

I also tried Boiron Acidil, Boiron SleepCalm, and other one-off remedies like Nat Phos for my reflux, Nux Vomica for vomiting, and other random remedies here and there for other ailments. I didn’t feel like they moved the needle much for me.

My friend Sam (@samantharosewellness – she offers consults!) recommended a constitutional remedy for me a couple months ago (Sepia). I tried it and it felt like it helped some. But again, it didn’t move the needle much.

She had also recommended Cocculus indicus to me during my first trimester for nausea. I tried it once, but I was honestly in such fight or flight mode that I wouldn’t have even been able to tell if it worked. It didn’t seem to help then so I stopped and moved on.

Months later, we were talking about how horrible my sleep was and she randomly threw in “did anything ever come of Cocculus? It matches your sleep symptoms so perfectly.”

I hadn’t really thought of it since trying it that one time since my first trimester, but that day when she mentioned it, something told me to look up Cocculus in my homeopathy book and read about the associated symptoms.

I looked it up and the remedy shockingly matched me – nearly every single symptom (even outside of the sleep stuff).

But as I mentioned, I don’t like taking anything new, so I held off. But I thought about it a lot.

I also had another remedy on my mind – Argentum nitricum – that my midwife recommended for me.

I read that one and it also highly matched my symptoms. But Cocculus felt shockingly like “me.”

I talked to Sam about this and she initially recommended we try Argentum next (she had her reasons) but then also asked me what remedy I felt called to.

Without a hitch, I said “Cocculus” – which is interesting for me since I am highly influenced by recommendations from others, but this time felt different. I felt like I needed Cocculus.

So she told me to start taking it once per day. I still held off for a few days since that’s how I work (I *really* don’t like taking new things ).

Then there was a day where I got sick. I had a fever (likely a respiratory bug) and overall just felt like crap. For some reason, I decided that day would be the day I would start Cocculus.

I figured I was already feeling crappy and if I had some sort of reaction, oh well, it would just tack on to the crappiness. So I took it.

I cannot explain the exhaustion that fell over my body. All I wanted to do was sleep. It felt like I was drugged – like I had taken a massive sleeping pill.

But I had to care for my daughter, so I couldn’t. This was one of the most challenging days I’ve had.

I literally felt like a drugged caretaker (which also brought on a ton of anxiety). I just sat there – upright – while she played, with my eyes closed for most of the day, praying I’d make it to bedtime.

I’m sure a good part of it was the fever/illness, but in hindsight, I now also wonder if this was Cocculus working – really trying to get me to sleep to get the rest my body has needed for so, so long.

But at the time, I didn’t really think anything of Cocculus since I am always so skeptical of homeopathy, so I just assumed it was the sickness and went to sleep that night as normal.

The next morning, I woke up, and didn’t have too much nausea or panic. I ate as I usually do around 3am, but then around 4am, I started to feel relaxed and tired, so I fell back asleep with my daughter, for TWO HOURS of deep sleep.

When I woke up, I was shocked since I usually cannot sleep that long during those hours without hypervigilant wakes, but I chalked it up to the illness taking a lot out of my body, and maybe my body was just allowing me to sleep that day.

But then as I started the day, I didn’t feel my usual panic/fog. I did have random days like this here and there when I would get extremely sleep deprived and finally get a night of “okay” sleep, so I didn’t think anything of it.

But I remember going through that whole first day thinking, “I haven’t felt this good in a very long time – my brain feels like it actually works.”

I went to sleep that night (so, night #2) as normal, slept on and off from 7pm-2:30/3am ish as I normally do, and then once again – woke up with almost no nausea/very little gagging.

I was alerted to this and shocked, so much so that I was actually looking for the nausea – wondering if something was wrong – but it just wasn’t really there.

I ate, and then around 4am, I once again felt the relaxation/tiredness come on, and I was able to fall asleep with my daughter AGAIN for another TWO DEEP HOURS OF SLEEP.

And once again, I woke up feeling “okay,” without my usual doom and panic. This lasted throughout the day.

I sent Sam a voice message that morning in shock. I was still very skeptical, but something felt very different in me.

Once again…like this huge cloud/fog had been lifted. I was still anxious and had a lot of the symptoms I had before – they were just muted and I felt very different. Like I could function again.

For the first couple weeks after first starting Cocculus, I was been able to go back to sleep deeply in the early morning hours. I felt more rested and “normal” than I had in over a year.

I did not feel the doom I used to feel. I did not feel the restlessness and fear that I used to feel.

I did not feel the same type of extreme exhaustion that I used to feel. I was not really watching the clock and eating every two hours out of fear and compulsion like I had been before.

The nausea and gagging decreased significantly. And overall, I just felt more “okay” than I had in a very long time.

While I am still in disbelief and highly skeptical, I can’t explain this shift other than the Cocculus. And while some of the above-mentioned things do creep in from time to time and I do still have nights of poor sleep or mornings where I cannot go back to sleep, the large shift I felt seems to have mostly held up.

Most importantly, I don’t feel as scared of sleep as I once did.

Are there other factors at play? I’m sure. But the shift was massive – so massive that I am still in shock and don’t want to believe it – and it happened the day I started taking Cocculus.

Like I said before, I still have a lot of symptoms. I am not skipping around joyfully and picking flowers in the sunshine. But the massive exhaustion and paranoia I used to feel is gone – at least for now

After living with it for so long (and it taking so much from me), I have a foreign vitality that I have not felt in a long time, and it feels really nice. I am still so, so shocked by it.

Homeopathy can be tricky to use to self-diagnose/treat since each case is so individual, but the below book has been helpful for me.

I usually run things by my friend Sam first and then read about the remedies in this book to determine what resonates.

I’ve also done a little personal self-diagnosing with this book because it’s just how I roll. I can’t help it. 🙂

Homeopathy can be so powerful when the right remedy is chosen!

Madison Yount’s pregnancy guides

Check out these guides if you’re struggling with morning sickness/nausea/vomiting during pregnancy. I purchased Madison’s Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy: A Holistic Approach guide during my second trimester and it was really helpful. I may purchase her larger one – Redeem Pregnancy and Postpartum – before my next pregnancy.

Note: I am not affiliated with her, I just love much of what she shares!

Final thoughts

I hope this post was useful to you.

During my first pregnancy, I thought I was going to be nauseous and feel unwell forever, and that it was my new permanent state.

It wasn’t. I learned that when I entered my second trimester, and even moreseo when I had my baby.

This go around, despite having experienced my first pregnancy and the eventual relief of the crappy feels, I still had the same fears when I was in the throes of them.

There’s something about the survival brain that makes you think the suffering is your forever reality.

But don’t forget – everything ends! And there are many things you can do to bring some relief.

If you are dealing with a challenging first trimester or a challenging pregnancy in general, hang in there. You will feel better!