A new week's begun...

Well, it has been a pretty quiet weekend around here, other than me giving the husband the gears for working on Saturday. Poor guy. But we just really like to hang out with him!

I am playing hooky from teaching Sunday School. I am sick again. Waaah! I woke up 2 days ago with a sore throat and as of last night I could no longer breathe through my nose. I have to say that is seems entirely unfair to be sick twice in the first trimester. Don't ya think?
Well, by the end of the week I will entering the second trimester and I fully intend on feeling healthy and energized for those entire 3 months. The bonus being that the snow is melting so I will soon be able to take nice long walks outside again. Right now the snow has melted into tons of ice everywhere and I feel like I am taking my life into my hands every time I walk to the driveway. Hopefully we will get some nice chinook winds to blow that stuff out of here.

I am now sitting here with my cup of tea, hoping that the steam will allow me to breathe again, and feeling a bit disturbed. Last time I was sick the only thing that helped was drinking cup after cup of tea. I couldn't handle the caffeine in the evenings though, it kept me up all night. So my husband was kind enough to pick up an assortment of non-caffeinated teas.
Because they were all herbal teas I was afraid to try them in case any of them had ingredients that were not safe in pregnancy. I used the peppermint because peppermint is the only ingredient and I figured that was pretty okay. Thankfully it is. I just googled herbal teas in pregnancy and the large number of ingredients that are not considered safe for pregnant women is astounding. I did not realize that chamomile can have adverse effects on the uterus. Thankfully I have only had one cup of that!
The one I really wanted tonight is the lemon zinger, it sounds like it would be so good on my throat right now. Too bad it also contains hibiscus and lemon grass, both considered unsafe.
Here is a list of teas ingredients to avoid in pregnancy. This is not an exhaustive list, just some of the items I found in my quick bit of research.
These include anise, catnip, chamomile, comfrey, ephedra (called ma huang in traditional Chinese medicine), European mistletoe, hibiscus, horehound, Labrador, lemongrass, licorice root, mugwort, pennyroyal, raspberry leaf, rosemary, sage, sassafras, stinging nettle leaf, vetiver, and yarrow. The article said that in large amounts they can stimulate the uterus and induce miscarriage, it also talked about how concentrated these herbs are in teas.
I have to be honest, the only ones I knew to be contraindicated in pregnancy were raspberry leaf ( I knew people used this to induce labour) and ephedra and I most likely would never have drank anything with mistletoe, nettle leaf, mugwort or yarrow in it. But I would have assumed lemongrass and licorice root, probably hibiscus, rosemary and sage were safe. Thankfully we can learn new things every day.
I can't wait to crawl into my bed and fall asleep, I hope I can sleep straight through til morn and feel much better then.

Comments

  1. When I read labrador, I immediately thought dog. What is that, exactly?

    Hope you start feeling better soon. There is so much sickness in blog-land.

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  2. aside from being sick, snuggled up with a cup of warm tea sounds inviting.
    Hope your feeling better soon

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  3. Ugh! It's frightening to think of how many things can be dangerous in pregnancy...try not to worry too much. You are right to take precautions, of course, but don't stress about something that's already done.

    Hope you feel better soon!

    Heidi

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  4. Ugh! It's frightening to think of how many things can be dangerous in pregnancy...try not to worry too much. You are right to take precautions, of course, but don't stress about something that's already done.

    Hope you feel better soon!

    Heidi

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  5. Oh, feel better soon, friend. I sure hope this pregnancy gets better!

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  6. Oh hon! Hope you feel better. It's not fair, you're right, to be sick a lot during pregnancy!

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  7. Poor baby. Being sick while pregnant is a double whammy.

    I always drank hot lemonades while sick-n-preggers. Hot water, freshly squeezed lemon juice and honey to taste.

    Helps a lot. But only if you can stomach the sour-ness.

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  8. WOW, I didn't know all of that about teas and pregnancy - good thing you know (since you're the one who is pregnant)! I hope you are feeling better today! TAke care - Kellan

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  9. Wow, I never knew all of that. Good thing I wasn't a big tea drinker during my pregnancies.

    I do hope the sickies pass soon so you can enjoy your pregnancy!

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  10. Oh yuck! And crazy how much stuff we just don't know eh?! I have those same plans for the next term. Here's to starting with renewed energy!

    You also have the cutest teeniest nose I've ever seen. Hopefully it clears up soon!

    Take care of both of you.

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