Originally I titled this "goals" only, but then realized that a lot of items on this list are not even up to me! So here is a random list that I've jotted down of things that I'd like for this pregnancy and birth.
To feel better soon
I would really like to enjoy this pregnancy, or a majority of it.... So I would love it if the NVP could clear up quickly! Of course, though, I know that I have been blessed beyond measure - NVP but no HG. I'll settle for that if need be. :)
To gain less baby weight
Last time I gained a ton of weight, and almost half of it stayed around after baby and was impossible to get rid of (until I did this recent low carb thing). This time, while not being unhealthy, I want to keep my weight gain in a more reasonable range.
Labor with intact membranes, and/or birth en caul
Rumor has it that laboring with intact membranes is much more comfortable, so I'd like to try it! Both of my labors have begun with SROM (spontaneous rupture of membranes), which is handy for timing labor (I know the length of my labors down to the minute) but less comfortable.
It is said that increased vitamin K can help strengthen membranes, so when I'm feeling better, I'm going to try to get back to my green smoothies, which are really high in vitamin K.
I would also love-love-LOVE a birth en caul, that is, where the baby is born with intact membranes around it. In most traditional cultures there are special traditions and beliefs and blessings surrounding births en caul, and I would love to experience one of those births myself.
You can see some birth en caul pictures here.
I used to think that births en caul were almost impossibly rare, but it turns out that that is not so! They are almost extinct in the hospital environment simply because most doctors insist on rupturing membranes if they have not already released naturally, thus eliminating the possibility of a caul. But the midwives whom I know on Facebook regularly report caul births, so they're not nearly as rare as I once thought (though they are still unusual).
Make a birth cake
It is common practice for midwives to recommend that mamas - especially first-time mamas - spend their time in early labor making a birthday cake for the baby. It calms nervous energy and gives them something to do, and then the entire birth team can enjoy the cake and celebrate after the birth. Fun!!
I have intended to make a birth cake with both of my births, and failed with each! Both times, labor has grabbed my attention and said "It's time to labor, forget about anything else!" So no birth cake. I'd like to try again.... I'm thinking of mixing up dry ingredients ahead of time so that there wouldn't be too much work to do.
Maybe another waterbirth
I have had one land birth and one water birth. For labor, water is wonderful-wonderful-WONDERFUL and I will never voluntarily do active labor in any other way!!! For second stage pushing, though, I am okay with land or water. But waterbirths are fun! So it might be fun to have another, even though I'm okay with either one.
Handle labor better, more enjoyably
I guess I'd better just admit it. Though I've had two unmedicated births (and am extremely happy about that!), when it comes to labor, I am just.... bad at it. I've never really gotten the hang of it. All of that "relax, release, deepen" stuff? Well, I'm afraid that my instinctual (and unavoidable) response has been more along the lines of "tighten, tense, panic". I'll never be one of those birthing goddesses that one sees!
But I would like to be able to labor more comfortably. I have wondered if I would benefit from a Brio/Bradley or Hypnobabies course (we took Hypnobirthing with our first, and it did not help). And really, I would love to take one of those classes anyway - I just don't know if I want to (or can!) spend the money. Class costs plus babysitting add up to a considerable price tag! So we'll have to think. I should probably also ask my midwife.
Be able to manage after-pains so as to be able to enjoy first postpartum hour with baby
With both babies, I have had problems with severe afterpains - so severe that I have had to hand the baby off to someone else and just focus on getting through them. Both times I have missed out on bonding/holding time and on the breastfeeding window - that is, the first hour post-birth when baby is awake and alert. After that, they get quite sleepy and initiating breastfeeding is much harder.
With my last birth, I arranged to take four Advil as soon as the baby was born in order to get a head start on the afterpains. That did absolutely nothing for them! Too bad. However, the placenta smoothie that I had a bit later had an amazing effect on afterpains, and with the aid of more placenta medicine my second experience with afterpains, though yucky, was much better than my first. So I already have it written into my birth plan to do a placenta smoothie as soon as is humanly possible, and we'll see what that can do.
If anyone out there is still dry-heaving at the thought of placenta medicine, let me just say - try it before you condemn it, because gosh golly, it WORKS. Amazingly. For postpartum bleeding, for preventing baby blues, for stabilizing emotions, for regaining energy, for afterpains - it truly works. I can't wait to try it again. (And most placenta medicine is encapsulated - that is, the placenta is dried and put into gel caps, so the gross factor is really reduced.)
Have a better start to breastfeeding
I'm afraid that both of our babies have had absolutely disastrous starts to breastfeeding. I thought it was bad with our first.... until we had our second. Yowzer. I would really like to have a baby who takes easily to the breast and does not give us nightmares with breastfeeding!
On that note, I would like to mention the importance of being surrounded by breast-feeding supportive caregivers! I do not think either of our babies would have survived with an intact breastfeeding relationship had we not been covered on all sides by women (midwives, doulas) cheering us on, plus a breastfeeding supportive pediatrician. I had no idea when I started out that breastfeeding could be such a challenge, or that it could require so much support.
***
Added later:
Short Second Stage
Most women love the pushing phase during a birth. They feel that they can get involved and be an active participant rather than a bystander (of sorts). I'm the opposite! I really don't like pushing. First time it was an hour or two, second time was..... oh, 20-30 minutes, not sure. But I would LOVE to have one of those one-or-two push births - that would be lovely!
Again, any ladies out there who have not experienced a birth yet, take heart - as I've said - most women really enjoy the pushing phase.
A Butter Birth!
A butter birth is a phrase used by midwives to describe a birth that is quick, easy, and where the baby slips out easily "like butter." I would love one of these! Can I put my order in now, please?
***
Well, that's about it! I'm sure I'll add to this list at a later date. What are some goals and/or wishes that you have for your future births?
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Sunday (12w5d)
Yesterday was again, average or slightly better-than. Hurray!
Some sweet friends of ours invited DH and our eldest over for swimming and dinner, so they went off to do that yesterday afternoon. I hated to miss out, but I was so happy that they were able to get out. This summer has not been much fun for our poor 5yo. No outings, no people over, no playdates, no parks (except in the evenings with daddy), none of our usual activity - just staying home while mommy is sick! So I was so glad that they got to get out and spend some time with friends.
While they were gone, I managed to...... clean up the kitchen (badly) and finish a load and a half of laundry! I was so proud of myself! Of course, it took two hours, but it was something. Exhausting!!
We have set ourselves tonight for a deadline of making a decision about choosing a midwife. I have experienced so much confusion and angst over this - it's not even funny. I can't believe how difficult it's been. But we need to move ahead, and I feel horrible about how long we've made our first-interviewed midwife wait (almost two weeks), so we need to make a decision. Would appreciate prayers for clarity and guidance!!
Have started eating *foodment* cottage cheese successfully, which is a blessing, considering that my food choices are constantly being eliminated and are an ever-dwindling pool. Have also been cheating with small amounts (1/8 cup) of frozen blueberries. Yum. If I make it through August on the diet, it'll be a miracle. However, reading back into my last-pregnancy diary (I am so glad I have that, it has been an invaluable resource), I see that last time I was throwing up into the late teen weeks. I don't want to scratch the diet only to go back to throwing up, so I'm going to do my best to keep on through this coming month. *End foodment*
Happy Sabbath!
Some sweet friends of ours invited DH and our eldest over for swimming and dinner, so they went off to do that yesterday afternoon. I hated to miss out, but I was so happy that they were able to get out. This summer has not been much fun for our poor 5yo. No outings, no people over, no playdates, no parks (except in the evenings with daddy), none of our usual activity - just staying home while mommy is sick! So I was so glad that they got to get out and spend some time with friends.
While they were gone, I managed to...... clean up the kitchen (badly) and finish a load and a half of laundry! I was so proud of myself! Of course, it took two hours, but it was something. Exhausting!!
We have set ourselves tonight for a deadline of making a decision about choosing a midwife. I have experienced so much confusion and angst over this - it's not even funny. I can't believe how difficult it's been. But we need to move ahead, and I feel horrible about how long we've made our first-interviewed midwife wait (almost two weeks), so we need to make a decision. Would appreciate prayers for clarity and guidance!!
Have started eating *foodment* cottage cheese successfully, which is a blessing, considering that my food choices are constantly being eliminated and are an ever-dwindling pool. Have also been cheating with small amounts (1/8 cup) of frozen blueberries. Yum. If I make it through August on the diet, it'll be a miracle. However, reading back into my last-pregnancy diary (I am so glad I have that, it has been an invaluable resource), I see that last time I was throwing up into the late teen weeks. I don't want to scratch the diet only to go back to throwing up, so I'm going to do my best to keep on through this coming month. *End foodment*
Happy Sabbath!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Saturday (12w4d)
Not much going on here! Yesterday was average, or a bit better than average. Hoping it stays that way, and that I can catch the true upward trend soon!! It feels like a long time till 19/20 weeks, but it will get here..... right?
I would update more, but my brain is intensely dead. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Going to attempt to make church tomorrow, so will see how that goes.
I would update more, but my brain is intensely dead. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Going to attempt to make church tomorrow, so will see how that goes.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Friday (12w3d)
Greetings, all!
Yesterday was unexpectedly mild - such a nice break after a really yucky week. Such a relief. Now let's hope it turns into a trend!
Something funny - On Tuesday (12w0d), I woke up with a headache. A couple of hours later, I checked my pregnancy week-by-week calendar, only to be told that "At this time you may start experiencing headaches." Wow, what timing!! Unfortunately I've had a headache off and on ever since, but not too bad. Same as the other two pregnancies. But good timing!
Yesterday for fun I took an online gender prediction quiz (one of the ones that is based on a compilation of old wives' tales). It came out at 67% chance of a girl! Pretty high, actually - most other times I've taken it (with previous pregnancies) it's usually been a pretty even split. I guess I'd better resign myself, LOL!! :) If that's the case, we won't get to use our really awesome boy name - we found one so obscure that it hasn't been in the top 1000 names since the '50's!! (Guesses, anyone?) I love finding obscure names! Our top girl name (which we can't use because it's too much like one of our already-used names) hasn't been in the top 1000 names in even longer - but our next choice is more popular, in the 150's range. Not too bad, I guess.
It's always so much fun to find out baby's gender at birth..... I think that's one of the most fun moments for both of us. And at the present time I'm still not really planning on doing an ultrasound, so I won't have to worry about the tech slipping. Thank goodness!!
I read more of my pregnancy journal, and found that it was sometime in week 19 that I said "I'm feeling pretty good on a consistent basis now." So..... seven more weeks, or so. Hoping for sooner!!
Have a great day, everyone!
Yesterday was unexpectedly mild - such a nice break after a really yucky week. Such a relief. Now let's hope it turns into a trend!
Something funny - On Tuesday (12w0d), I woke up with a headache. A couple of hours later, I checked my pregnancy week-by-week calendar, only to be told that "At this time you may start experiencing headaches." Wow, what timing!! Unfortunately I've had a headache off and on ever since, but not too bad. Same as the other two pregnancies. But good timing!
Yesterday for fun I took an online gender prediction quiz (one of the ones that is based on a compilation of old wives' tales). It came out at 67% chance of a girl! Pretty high, actually - most other times I've taken it (with previous pregnancies) it's usually been a pretty even split. I guess I'd better resign myself, LOL!! :) If that's the case, we won't get to use our really awesome boy name - we found one so obscure that it hasn't been in the top 1000 names since the '50's!! (Guesses, anyone?) I love finding obscure names! Our top girl name (which we can't use because it's too much like one of our already-used names) hasn't been in the top 1000 names in even longer - but our next choice is more popular, in the 150's range. Not too bad, I guess.
It's always so much fun to find out baby's gender at birth..... I think that's one of the most fun moments for both of us. And at the present time I'm still not really planning on doing an ultrasound, so I won't have to worry about the tech slipping. Thank goodness!!
I read more of my pregnancy journal, and found that it was sometime in week 19 that I said "I'm feeling pretty good on a consistent basis now." So..... seven more weeks, or so. Hoping for sooner!!
Have a great day, everyone!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Thursday (12w2d)
Hope everyone's having a good week!
Yesterday was pretty yucky. Very discouraging.
But last night was unexpectedly good, which was nice.
Have you ever wondered why children's ailments crop up so much at night? After being much better since midday, our 5yo's hurting tummy started acting up again in the late evening. After thinking it over, DH suggested that we let him sleep on a pallet in our room, an idea which we ended up adopting. Good thing, too, because DS woke up crying at least 10-15 times last night. It wasn't as severe as night before last, though, so we were able just to wake up, say "It's okay, go back to sleep, etc.", and go back to sleep ourselves. Much better than being thoroughly awakened every half hour and having to tramp down to his room!
Of course, now the issue will be determining when he's really sick, because he LOVED being in our room and is already conditioning for tonight. But it was definitely worth it not to be up until 5:00 a.m. again!!!
I don't think there's any other news. I'm so glad to be almost through the first trimester, but it still seems like time is stretching out dreadfully in front of me. It's hard to stay hopeful when it feels like eternity!
But enough whining. Hoping for a better day today, and for time to pass quickly. Love to all!
p.s. I owe emails or comment-replies to several of you.... I'm so sorry I'm taking so long (all of my correspondence is suffering). I will get back with you all soon!
Yesterday was pretty yucky. Very discouraging.
But last night was unexpectedly good, which was nice.
Have you ever wondered why children's ailments crop up so much at night? After being much better since midday, our 5yo's hurting tummy started acting up again in the late evening. After thinking it over, DH suggested that we let him sleep on a pallet in our room, an idea which we ended up adopting. Good thing, too, because DS woke up crying at least 10-15 times last night. It wasn't as severe as night before last, though, so we were able just to wake up, say "It's okay, go back to sleep, etc.", and go back to sleep ourselves. Much better than being thoroughly awakened every half hour and having to tramp down to his room!
Of course, now the issue will be determining when he's really sick, because he LOVED being in our room and is already conditioning for tonight. But it was definitely worth it not to be up until 5:00 a.m. again!!!
I don't think there's any other news. I'm so glad to be almost through the first trimester, but it still seems like time is stretching out dreadfully in front of me. It's hard to stay hopeful when it feels like eternity!
But enough whining. Hoping for a better day today, and for time to pass quickly. Love to all!
p.s. I owe emails or comment-replies to several of you.... I'm so sorry I'm taking so long (all of my correspondence is suffering). I will get back with you all soon!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Wednesday (12w1d)
Moving along....
Yesterday was yucky again, with a super-yucky evening. I've got to admit, this week has been pretty awful. I should be used to the up-and-down nature of NVP by now, but as usual I let my hopes get too high! Hoping to catch the upward trend again soon.
Last night was.... truly a winner. Here's how it went, vaguely:
Nausea. Headache. Insomnia. Nausea gets worse, then calms down. Getting drowsy. Awakened by crying 5yo (episode 1). Spend half an hour with him, can't find out if it's his stomach or a bad dream. Back to bed. Up immediately with crying 5yo (episode 2). Back to bed. Back up right away with crying 5yo (episode 3). Back to bed, getting drowsy. Baby up. Get up, pull him into bed to nurse. Before he's done, up with crying 5yo (episode 4). Back to bed. Getting sleepy. Crying 5yo (episode 4). Back to bed. Getting drowsy. Crying 5yo (episode 5). Back to bed, fall asleep. Crying 5yo, rapid sequence of episode 6, episode 7, episode 8. Back to bed. Baby up and needs to eat. Fall asleep for "good" sometime after 5:00 a.m.
Needless to say, I'm kind of walking into walls today!
I had hoped that the 5yo's issues would be over with the morning, but he is still complaining of a hurting/upset tummy, so looks like he's down for at least the day. I'm hoping that it's mild for the poor fellow, and I'm also hoping that it doesn't spread. NVP plus tummy bug is a nasty combination. I'd appreciate your prayers in those areas!
Have a good day, all.....
Yesterday was yucky again, with a super-yucky evening. I've got to admit, this week has been pretty awful. I should be used to the up-and-down nature of NVP by now, but as usual I let my hopes get too high! Hoping to catch the upward trend again soon.
Last night was.... truly a winner. Here's how it went, vaguely:
Nausea. Headache. Insomnia. Nausea gets worse, then calms down. Getting drowsy. Awakened by crying 5yo (episode 1). Spend half an hour with him, can't find out if it's his stomach or a bad dream. Back to bed. Up immediately with crying 5yo (episode 2). Back to bed. Back up right away with crying 5yo (episode 3). Back to bed, getting drowsy. Baby up. Get up, pull him into bed to nurse. Before he's done, up with crying 5yo (episode 4). Back to bed. Getting sleepy. Crying 5yo (episode 4). Back to bed. Getting drowsy. Crying 5yo (episode 5). Back to bed, fall asleep. Crying 5yo, rapid sequence of episode 6, episode 7, episode 8. Back to bed. Baby up and needs to eat. Fall asleep for "good" sometime after 5:00 a.m.
Needless to say, I'm kind of walking into walls today!
I had hoped that the 5yo's issues would be over with the morning, but he is still complaining of a hurting/upset tummy, so looks like he's down for at least the day. I'm hoping that it's mild for the poor fellow, and I'm also hoping that it doesn't spread. NVP plus tummy bug is a nasty combination. I'd appreciate your prayers in those areas!
Have a good day, all.....
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday (12w0d)
Did you see that? TWELVE WEEKS!! Hurray!!
The countdown is on.
I saw this yesterday and thought I would share:
What the Locusts Have Eaten
I don't know about you, but I find the first twenty weeks of pregnancy to be an incredibly, incredibly discouraging place to be. Thanks to the author for that article.
Yesterday had our second midwife-interview with a midwife friend of mine and her wonderful student, had a lot of fun except for the fact that I was feeling just awful. But still fun.
Now we pray.... and try to make a decision. Will it be midwife #1, midwife #2, or an unknown #3? I'm actually having a really hard time making this decision.
While we were there, the midwife sweetly offered to do heart tones for us, so we did - and there was baby, loud and clear! It surprised me, like it always does - I always have a hard time making the "pregnancy = baby" connection during the first trimester. It's always just about being sick, sick, and more sick. Nice to experience something that is "baby" rather than "sick"!!
Yesterday was pretty awful as well, though not as bad as Sunday. Hoping for a better day today.
Recently I've been thinking about the facts of the situation.... To wit, that baby is currently "in" and must someday come "out." This means..... dum, dum, da da dum...... going through childbirth again.
Oh, crumbs.
Despite the fact that I'm an avid, over-the-top birth junkie, childbirth isn't something I'm especially fond of - though it definitely does have its perks, unlike HG. Ah well, will cross that bridge when we get to it. I'd really like to take a Hypnobabies (not Hypnobirthing) or Brio class, but as always, the combined cost of class plus babysitting is a bit of a barrier. Will have to think about that down the road.
And really, don't take me too seriously on that childbirth bit. There is actually a LOT that I love about birth. Being at home, having the best midwifery care in the world, receiving care from a top-notch doula, laboring and birthing in water, not having to fight any battles (like for delayed cord clamping, or for not having baby vaccinated post-birth, or for immediate and continuous skin-to-skin, or to keep my placenta, etc. etc.), all the post-birth festivities (it's really like a party!). It's just that I'm not particularly good at labor, and it is definitely a physical challenge. But the balance is on the positive (unlike HG!!!).
Right now I'm just dreaming of being past the sickness phase. Don't know when that will be, but looking forward to it. Again, I have been blessed beyond measure this pregnancy. No HG, and doing better than I ever have. It's just that constant nausea does get one down, even if it's not as bad as the past. But I do realize my blessings.
Have a great day, all......
The countdown is on.
I saw this yesterday and thought I would share:
What the Locusts Have Eaten
I don't know about you, but I find the first twenty weeks of pregnancy to be an incredibly, incredibly discouraging place to be. Thanks to the author for that article.
Yesterday had our second midwife-interview with a midwife friend of mine and her wonderful student, had a lot of fun except for the fact that I was feeling just awful. But still fun.
Now we pray.... and try to make a decision. Will it be midwife #1, midwife #2, or an unknown #3? I'm actually having a really hard time making this decision.
While we were there, the midwife sweetly offered to do heart tones for us, so we did - and there was baby, loud and clear! It surprised me, like it always does - I always have a hard time making the "pregnancy = baby" connection during the first trimester. It's always just about being sick, sick, and more sick. Nice to experience something that is "baby" rather than "sick"!!
Yesterday was pretty awful as well, though not as bad as Sunday. Hoping for a better day today.
Recently I've been thinking about the facts of the situation.... To wit, that baby is currently "in" and must someday come "out." This means..... dum, dum, da da dum...... going through childbirth again.
Oh, crumbs.
Despite the fact that I'm an avid, over-the-top birth junkie, childbirth isn't something I'm especially fond of - though it definitely does have its perks, unlike HG. Ah well, will cross that bridge when we get to it. I'd really like to take a Hypnobabies (not Hypnobirthing) or Brio class, but as always, the combined cost of class plus babysitting is a bit of a barrier. Will have to think about that down the road.
And really, don't take me too seriously on that childbirth bit. There is actually a LOT that I love about birth. Being at home, having the best midwifery care in the world, receiving care from a top-notch doula, laboring and birthing in water, not having to fight any battles (like for delayed cord clamping, or for not having baby vaccinated post-birth, or for immediate and continuous skin-to-skin, or to keep my placenta, etc. etc.), all the post-birth festivities (it's really like a party!). It's just that I'm not particularly good at labor, and it is definitely a physical challenge. But the balance is on the positive (unlike HG!!!).
Right now I'm just dreaming of being past the sickness phase. Don't know when that will be, but looking forward to it. Again, I have been blessed beyond measure this pregnancy. No HG, and doing better than I ever have. It's just that constant nausea does get one down, even if it's not as bad as the past. But I do realize my blessings.
Have a great day, all......
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday (11w6d)
Countdown is on till the end of the first trimester!
I always counted weeks 0-13 as the first trimester, but the website I'm currently following says that the second trimester begins at 13w0d, and I'm happy to oblige! Anything to move out of the first trimester, even if it's cheating.
Don't you love the looks people give you when they're wondering if you're pregnant? Baby's therapist this morning was giving me that look - "I think she's pregnant. Yes, I think so.... but I'd better not say anything in case she's just been gaining weight."
So, yesterday. Yesterday was AWFUL. Pure yuck from the moment I got up until sometime well after midnight. Pure exhaustion and nausea. It was just great. I think in hindsight that it was a really good thing that I didn't make it to church, because that could have pushed the day over the edge.
I think I must have overdone things on Saturday. I noticed last time that if I overdid things one day (when feeling better), I would pay through the nose for the next day or two. And pay I did.
Of course, that's all comparative - for this pregnancy. If I was comparing it to my first pregnancy (my only true HG pregnancy), I'd say that yesterday was a walk in the park. Trying to keep that in mind.
Second midwife interview tonight. Looking forward to it (I love this midwife, she is great), but utterly exhausted and wondering how I'll make it through. Especially with both kids with us.
Doing a lot of night wandering. I am up repeatedly at night, with (1) nausea, (2) needing to eat, (3) baby. Thank goodness for Facebook, it gives me something to surf mindlessly for a bit until I head back to bed to try to sleep again. Except for having a newborn, I haven't had sleep this broken.... ever. But that's okay, even broken sleep is better than daytime. And at least the nausea does finally calm down in the wee hours for a bit, so that is something.
You learn a lot wandering the house at night. What things look like at different times, the nocturnal habits of the cat, what people are doing on Facebook. I've also discovered, to my surprise, that I happen to be night-blind in one eye. Very curious!
And now I'm just rambling. Today has been rough so far, too, so I'm hoping that things will perk up. I am going to cancel my appointment at the naturopathic college this week, as the only time I could get was at a time when I would have to take both kids with me. Definitely, definitely not up to that one yet. So I'll just skip this week and go in next week, and hope there aren't any adverse affects felt.
Goodbye, all! How long till nap time???
p.s. No real baby kicks yet. Noted from my last diary that I felt kicks (for sure, not just ???? kicks) internally at 13w and externally at 16w, so hopefully something within the next two weeks.
I always counted weeks 0-13 as the first trimester, but the website I'm currently following says that the second trimester begins at 13w0d, and I'm happy to oblige! Anything to move out of the first trimester, even if it's cheating.
Don't you love the looks people give you when they're wondering if you're pregnant? Baby's therapist this morning was giving me that look - "I think she's pregnant. Yes, I think so.... but I'd better not say anything in case she's just been gaining weight."
So, yesterday. Yesterday was AWFUL. Pure yuck from the moment I got up until sometime well after midnight. Pure exhaustion and nausea. It was just great. I think in hindsight that it was a really good thing that I didn't make it to church, because that could have pushed the day over the edge.
I think I must have overdone things on Saturday. I noticed last time that if I overdid things one day (when feeling better), I would pay through the nose for the next day or two. And pay I did.
Of course, that's all comparative - for this pregnancy. If I was comparing it to my first pregnancy (my only true HG pregnancy), I'd say that yesterday was a walk in the park. Trying to keep that in mind.
Second midwife interview tonight. Looking forward to it (I love this midwife, she is great), but utterly exhausted and wondering how I'll make it through. Especially with both kids with us.
Doing a lot of night wandering. I am up repeatedly at night, with (1) nausea, (2) needing to eat, (3) baby. Thank goodness for Facebook, it gives me something to surf mindlessly for a bit until I head back to bed to try to sleep again. Except for having a newborn, I haven't had sleep this broken.... ever. But that's okay, even broken sleep is better than daytime. And at least the nausea does finally calm down in the wee hours for a bit, so that is something.
You learn a lot wandering the house at night. What things look like at different times, the nocturnal habits of the cat, what people are doing on Facebook. I've also discovered, to my surprise, that I happen to be night-blind in one eye. Very curious!
And now I'm just rambling. Today has been rough so far, too, so I'm hoping that things will perk up. I am going to cancel my appointment at the naturopathic college this week, as the only time I could get was at a time when I would have to take both kids with me. Definitely, definitely not up to that one yet. So I'll just skip this week and go in next week, and hope there aren't any adverse affects felt.
Goodbye, all! How long till nap time???
p.s. No real baby kicks yet. Noted from my last diary that I felt kicks (for sure, not just ???? kicks) internally at 13w and externally at 16w, so hopefully something within the next two weeks.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Sunday (11w5d)
Inching closer to 12 weeks!
Yesterday was okay-ish, with a yuckier night. Managed the first day sans famille (or rather, sans ma mere) okay, with DH's help. Tomorrow - really on my own.
So much for church this morning - the best laid plans, etc. We got everything ready, but an upset tummy for the 5yo and one of DH's monthly migraines put an end to that. Next week, to try again. I was only back at our church for two weeks before I dropped off the face of the earth again - would like to be back as soon as I can!
Tomorrow - therapy for little guy, work beginning on our irrigation system, second midwife interview. Tired just thinking about it.
Am getting very, very, very tired of doing the diet. However, the results are so positive that I don't want to give up on it. Have set September 1st for my "reintroduce carbs" date, and will see if I can hold the line that long. In the meantime, am running very low on food choices! I need a personal chef. :) (And a maid, while I'm at it.)
My mom helped me out while she was here in thinking up some new ways to work past our little guy's texture problems. *Foodment* She made a couple of batches of baby food that were hand-mashed, rather than blended, and came up with things like chopped canned peaches and other things. If I can keep up with all of that, maybe we will be able to work through texture issues eventually. *End foodment*
I have contemplated the fact that when this new baby comes along, it's really going to be like having twins. Because our little guy's development is so delayed, he is still non-mobile, still eating baby food, still not talking, etc. We are actually going to have a use for the double stroller we were given! And, in fact, it's a very likely possibility that the new baby may overtake the older one within a short amount of time. We'll have to see. It's going to be a challenge, no doubt!
Have also been checking out homeschooling materials. I have our curriculum company chosen, I just need to choose grade level and options and order - planning to start in September, hopefully I will be up to it by then. We're going to choose a very slow and easy start, nothing strenuous. I do wish it wasn't so expensive! However, I love this company and I love that everything is prepackaged for the year. I am not someone who enjoys developing her own curricula or searching garage sales and/or the internet for new ideas. That is so not me! So hopefully this will be a success.... we'll see.
Okay, all.... have a great Sabbath.... will check in soon. I need a time machine for the next two months or so!
Yesterday was okay-ish, with a yuckier night. Managed the first day sans famille (or rather, sans ma mere) okay, with DH's help. Tomorrow - really on my own.
So much for church this morning - the best laid plans, etc. We got everything ready, but an upset tummy for the 5yo and one of DH's monthly migraines put an end to that. Next week, to try again. I was only back at our church for two weeks before I dropped off the face of the earth again - would like to be back as soon as I can!
Tomorrow - therapy for little guy, work beginning on our irrigation system, second midwife interview. Tired just thinking about it.
Am getting very, very, very tired of doing the diet. However, the results are so positive that I don't want to give up on it. Have set September 1st for my "reintroduce carbs" date, and will see if I can hold the line that long. In the meantime, am running very low on food choices! I need a personal chef. :) (And a maid, while I'm at it.)
My mom helped me out while she was here in thinking up some new ways to work past our little guy's texture problems. *Foodment* She made a couple of batches of baby food that were hand-mashed, rather than blended, and came up with things like chopped canned peaches and other things. If I can keep up with all of that, maybe we will be able to work through texture issues eventually. *End foodment*
I have contemplated the fact that when this new baby comes along, it's really going to be like having twins. Because our little guy's development is so delayed, he is still non-mobile, still eating baby food, still not talking, etc. We are actually going to have a use for the double stroller we were given! And, in fact, it's a very likely possibility that the new baby may overtake the older one within a short amount of time. We'll have to see. It's going to be a challenge, no doubt!
Have also been checking out homeschooling materials. I have our curriculum company chosen, I just need to choose grade level and options and order - planning to start in September, hopefully I will be up to it by then. We're going to choose a very slow and easy start, nothing strenuous. I do wish it wasn't so expensive! However, I love this company and I love that everything is prepackaged for the year. I am not someone who enjoys developing her own curricula or searching garage sales and/or the internet for new ideas. That is so not me! So hopefully this will be a success.... we'll see.
Okay, all.... have a great Sabbath.... will check in soon. I need a time machine for the next two months or so!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Saturday (11w4d)
Yesterday was a better day, with a rougher night. All in all, not bad!
My dad got into town last night, and they decided that they were going to stay on till Sunday morning. Then this morning they got up and decided that they were going to leave this morning after all, so they took off a few minutes ago. A big discombobulating!
Now to see if I'm up to handling a household! Children, cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc.
The short answer is, of course, no. But hopefully things won't deteriorate too badly before I am ready to take up the reigns again.
Yesterday was fairly uneventful. Our little guy had more therapy, I was able to play Legos with our older (while lying down, hurray!), and I managed to eat a few tablespoons of *foodment* tuna salad *end foodment*. Not bad, all things considered! I am even going to try to make it to church tomorrow, which should be interesting.
Have a great weekend, all!
My dad got into town last night, and they decided that they were going to stay on till Sunday morning. Then this morning they got up and decided that they were going to leave this morning after all, so they took off a few minutes ago. A big discombobulating!
Now to see if I'm up to handling a household! Children, cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc.
The short answer is, of course, no. But hopefully things won't deteriorate too badly before I am ready to take up the reigns again.
Yesterday was fairly uneventful. Our little guy had more therapy, I was able to play Legos with our older (while lying down, hurray!), and I managed to eat a few tablespoons of *foodment* tuna salad *end foodment*. Not bad, all things considered! I am even going to try to make it to church tomorrow, which should be interesting.
Have a great weekend, all!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Friday (11w3d)
My mom's last day here.... dum dum da da dum..... as of tomorrow morning, I am on my own. Not looking forward to that.
Yesterday was average with a yucky night.
On the whole, though, this week has been better than the previous. It looks like (and I'm hoping that) I'm staying true to form, which is getting worse through 10 weeks and then a long, slooooowwwwww recovery. But I'm happy not to be getting worse. And praying it stays that way.
I realized that since this is an HG blog, I should be using HG notation. Therefore....
* Foodment *
This time around, I am finding the thought of sweets nauseating. Unusual, they've always been the one thing that I could think of without gagging. Too bad.
As usual, food maintains its dual nature - incredibly attractive and incredibly nauseating at the same time. An unusual paradigm, but there you have it.
I have read several HG mums saying, for whatever reason, that they found vinegar more palatable than other things, and I am finding that to be true. Right now I am eating lettuce salads with plain oil and vinegar on them, to avoid the nauseating spices of Italian dressing, and it works really well.
Even more amazing is that this is the first pregnancy EVER in which I have been able to tolerate vegetables before 20 weeks or so. There's no doubt that I am having an super-easy time by comparison to my history, crummy as I feel.
* End Foodment *
Onto other things.
This pregnancy I am having to deal with something that I never would have imagined that I would ever have to do..... finding a new midwife. It is very difficult. And somewhat heart-breaking.
First of all, I would like you all to know that I have the most awesome midwife in the world! She is great. We fell in love with her when we met her six years ago, and have had an awesome working and personal relationship ever since. She fits perfectly for our family, and she is an absolute darling - we love her.
This pregnancy, we had a couple of issues we were going to have to talk over with her, due to the fact that the nature of her practice has changed radically since we first knew her (none of which changes the fact that she is the most awesome midwife in the world and one of my favorite people!). However, all of that became unnecessary when we discovered that she is going to be out of the country next winter for a six week period that will - in all but the most unlikely of scenarios - cover our last month of pregnancy, our birth, and at least one week of the postpartum.
So that was that.
Thus, we are back to the beginning. We interviewed one midwife this week and will interview another next week, and then we'll see if we feel a concrete leading toward either of them or if we need to keep interviewing.
It's definitely not a scenario that I ever envisioned for myself! However, I will just trust that it is all for the best. And I am very blessed to live in the Phoenix valley, where there is a plethora of wonderful licensed midwives to choose from. We'll just see what the Lord has planned for us, and take it from there. I am excited to be planning our third homebirth and getting to start meeting with a midwife, whomever that may be.
Well, I need to get back to it! Love to all!
Oh, one quick note, an addendum to that "Does eating grains cause allergies?" entry I wrote a few days ago: I found this entry on one of my new favorite nutrition blogs, "Mark's Daily Apple," and the person writing the article (it's one of the "Friday Testimonial" articles) wrote that going on the Primal Blueprint Diet (which is virtually identical to the Paleo diet and also eliminates grains, among other things) got rid of her asthma and allergies. Nice to find some confirmation, or at least someone with the same observation!
Yesterday was average with a yucky night.
On the whole, though, this week has been better than the previous. It looks like (and I'm hoping that) I'm staying true to form, which is getting worse through 10 weeks and then a long, slooooowwwwww recovery. But I'm happy not to be getting worse. And praying it stays that way.
I realized that since this is an HG blog, I should be using HG notation. Therefore....
* Foodment *
This time around, I am finding the thought of sweets nauseating. Unusual, they've always been the one thing that I could think of without gagging. Too bad.
As usual, food maintains its dual nature - incredibly attractive and incredibly nauseating at the same time. An unusual paradigm, but there you have it.
I have read several HG mums saying, for whatever reason, that they found vinegar more palatable than other things, and I am finding that to be true. Right now I am eating lettuce salads with plain oil and vinegar on them, to avoid the nauseating spices of Italian dressing, and it works really well.
Even more amazing is that this is the first pregnancy EVER in which I have been able to tolerate vegetables before 20 weeks or so. There's no doubt that I am having an super-easy time by comparison to my history, crummy as I feel.
* End Foodment *
Onto other things.
This pregnancy I am having to deal with something that I never would have imagined that I would ever have to do..... finding a new midwife. It is very difficult. And somewhat heart-breaking.
First of all, I would like you all to know that I have the most awesome midwife in the world! She is great. We fell in love with her when we met her six years ago, and have had an awesome working and personal relationship ever since. She fits perfectly for our family, and she is an absolute darling - we love her.
This pregnancy, we had a couple of issues we were going to have to talk over with her, due to the fact that the nature of her practice has changed radically since we first knew her (none of which changes the fact that she is the most awesome midwife in the world and one of my favorite people!). However, all of that became unnecessary when we discovered that she is going to be out of the country next winter for a six week period that will - in all but the most unlikely of scenarios - cover our last month of pregnancy, our birth, and at least one week of the postpartum.
So that was that.
Thus, we are back to the beginning. We interviewed one midwife this week and will interview another next week, and then we'll see if we feel a concrete leading toward either of them or if we need to keep interviewing.
It's definitely not a scenario that I ever envisioned for myself! However, I will just trust that it is all for the best. And I am very blessed to live in the Phoenix valley, where there is a plethora of wonderful licensed midwives to choose from. We'll just see what the Lord has planned for us, and take it from there. I am excited to be planning our third homebirth and getting to start meeting with a midwife, whomever that may be.
Well, I need to get back to it! Love to all!
Oh, one quick note, an addendum to that "Does eating grains cause allergies?" entry I wrote a few days ago: I found this entry on one of my new favorite nutrition blogs, "Mark's Daily Apple," and the person writing the article (it's one of the "Friday Testimonial" articles) wrote that going on the Primal Blueprint Diet (which is virtually identical to the Paleo diet and also eliminates grains, among other things) got rid of her asthma and allergies. Nice to find some confirmation, or at least someone with the same observation!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thursday (11w2d)
Yesterday was..... average. Okay. Exhausting, especially as our eldest took it upon himself to be rather difficult. I'm not complaining, though, because on the whole he's taken this whole thing rather well. But discipline episodes are always extra-exhausting while nauseated and not feeling up to dealing with it!
Baby had his therapy yesterday (PT) and did pretty well, barring the fact that he - as usual - cried through the whole thing. Oh, how he hates his PT - with a passion! He actually started crying the moment he saw his therapist poke her head into the room, poor thing.
But yesterday was also a big milestone for our little dude - the first time EVER that he has consented to sit in his exersaucer, and even more, he had a great time! Until now it's been "put baby in exersaucer, baby screams his head off, give up." We were very excited!
When I'm feeling better, I'll post a more thorough update on the little dude.
Last night we had our appointment that we needed to go to - though I told DH firmly that it needed to be no longer than an hour, it stretched out to almost two and a half. It was a lot of fun. However, it was utterly exhausting. I was shot after that! Afterwards, I had a funny experience - I was so tired that I actually drowsed through my own dreams during the night. Is that weird, or what? I was actually too tired to understand what people were saying or what was going on. I kept "dropping off" while I was dreaming. Very weird - never experienced something like that before.
Okay, got to go help my mom with the 5yo.... can't wait till I'm feeling better and am back to full time child training.
Baby had his therapy yesterday (PT) and did pretty well, barring the fact that he - as usual - cried through the whole thing. Oh, how he hates his PT - with a passion! He actually started crying the moment he saw his therapist poke her head into the room, poor thing.
But yesterday was also a big milestone for our little dude - the first time EVER that he has consented to sit in his exersaucer, and even more, he had a great time! Until now it's been "put baby in exersaucer, baby screams his head off, give up." We were very excited!
When I'm feeling better, I'll post a more thorough update on the little dude.
Last night we had our appointment that we needed to go to - though I told DH firmly that it needed to be no longer than an hour, it stretched out to almost two and a half. It was a lot of fun. However, it was utterly exhausting. I was shot after that! Afterwards, I had a funny experience - I was so tired that I actually drowsed through my own dreams during the night. Is that weird, or what? I was actually too tired to understand what people were saying or what was going on. I kept "dropping off" while I was dreaming. Very weird - never experienced something like that before.
Okay, got to go help my mom with the 5yo.... can't wait till I'm feeling better and am back to full time child training.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Wednesday (11w1d)
Yesterday was probably one of the best days I've had in at least a month. Hurray!
But I've learned not to count on one day meaning a trend..... NVP is very much an up and down, back and forth sort of thing. But good days do give one hope!
Work has begun on our irrigation system, so our back yard is starting to resemble a construction site. Houses sure can be money pits!
Today baby is having his therapy right now (PT), and then we actually have an appointment we have to keep this evening. Looking forward to that (details later) but exhausted at the thought. Usually by night time I'm only good for staring at walls. Keeping up an intelligent conversation will be a stretch.
DH has taken our eldest out twice this week to a local park and splashpad. It's been really good for our son - he has way too much energy to be able to sit about peacefully while I'm sick - and good for the two of them, as they don't usually go to parks together often. Hoping the trend continues!
Two more days before my mom leaves.... *sigh*.
Hoping for baby kicks soon! I think they were between 10 and 12 weeks last time (20 weeks the first time).... that's my favorite part of pregnancy, so I'm looking forward to that.
Have a great day, all! I appreciate your continued prayers.
But I've learned not to count on one day meaning a trend..... NVP is very much an up and down, back and forth sort of thing. But good days do give one hope!
Work has begun on our irrigation system, so our back yard is starting to resemble a construction site. Houses sure can be money pits!
Today baby is having his therapy right now (PT), and then we actually have an appointment we have to keep this evening. Looking forward to that (details later) but exhausted at the thought. Usually by night time I'm only good for staring at walls. Keeping up an intelligent conversation will be a stretch.
DH has taken our eldest out twice this week to a local park and splashpad. It's been really good for our son - he has way too much energy to be able to sit about peacefully while I'm sick - and good for the two of them, as they don't usually go to parks together often. Hoping the trend continues!
Two more days before my mom leaves.... *sigh*.
Hoping for baby kicks soon! I think they were between 10 and 12 weeks last time (20 weeks the first time).... that's my favorite part of pregnancy, so I'm looking forward to that.
Have a great day, all! I appreciate your continued prayers.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Tuesday (11w0d)
Hurray for eleven weeks!!!!
Yesterday - not bad, not bad. Can't complain.
Did my trip to the naturopathic college. Imagine my joy when it was not last week's team, but my usual person who called me back! Apparently they're in the midst of rearranging student/doctor teams. She did her usual fast and efficient injection, and I had no bad reactions.
Unfortunately I couldn't get any more appointments on her shift (bummer!), but I am simply going to talk to whomever I have from now on and ask them to be extremely quick with the shot. Hopefully that will avoid repeats of last week.
Have a great night!
Yesterday - not bad, not bad. Can't complain.
Did my trip to the naturopathic college. Imagine my joy when it was not last week's team, but my usual person who called me back! Apparently they're in the midst of rearranging student/doctor teams. She did her usual fast and efficient injection, and I had no bad reactions.
Unfortunately I couldn't get any more appointments on her shift (bummer!), but I am simply going to talk to whomever I have from now on and ask them to be extremely quick with the shot. Hopefully that will avoid repeats of last week.
Have a great night!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Monday (10w6d)
Yesterday - average.
My parents are leaving this weekend - bummer! But I'm so glad for the help. Incredibly thankful.
Doing okay, not much news. Back to the naturopathic college today.... dum dum da dum. Let's hope for a better outcome today than last week, especially since I'm driving myself.
Busy week this week ("busy" as in "more than nothing") - trip to the college plus two therapy appointments for the little guy. Exhausted just thinking about it.
I'll probably have more to write on tomorrow, but for now it's NAP TIME!
My parents are leaving this weekend - bummer! But I'm so glad for the help. Incredibly thankful.
Doing okay, not much news. Back to the naturopathic college today.... dum dum da dum. Let's hope for a better outcome today than last week, especially since I'm driving myself.
Busy week this week ("busy" as in "more than nothing") - trip to the college plus two therapy appointments for the little guy. Exhausted just thinking about it.
I'll probably have more to write on tomorrow, but for now it's NAP TIME!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Sunday (10w5d)
So excited to see the end of the 10th week approaching!
Yesterday was in between - neither good nor horrible. Somewhere in the middle.
Last night, however, was great. I was so-so-so tired that I slept through five straight hours of the night! Impressive, no? Only got up.... three times for the whole night! Once for baby, twice to eat/meds. Not bad, not bad at all. I'll take it!
Am hoping to start seeing signs of improvement soon. Nothing yet, but..... soon?
Forgot to mention that our eldest already used his allowance to buy something - a weird blow-up worm thing that he calls "Spiney." However, he has his eye on better things! He now wants to buy some sort of bulldozer toy, and after explaining to him about five hundred times the concept of saving up his money (instead of his idea of us just giving him more of it right away!), he is now determined to save up for it. Will it last? Don't know. We'll see!
Well, I have the feeling that there was more I wanted to mention, but I can't remember any of it. Ah well, my brain will return sometime. Not sure when, since it's been missing since the conception of the first baby, but sometime.
Happy Sabbath!
p.s. Tomorrow is my vitamin shot.... with the same person as last week (no choice). Any opinions as to whether to keep the appointment or cancel? I'm thinking of keeping it and just asking her to make it snappy. If I skip it, it will be 2 1/2 weeks in between appointments, which worries me a little.
***
p.p.s. And now I remember what yesterday was mainly about! Sheesh, my memory.
Yesterday I was extremely saddened to learn of the death of a high school teacher of mine, a really neat guy with two young kids who fought a losing fight against a really nasty type of cancer for almost four years.
I can't remember that this fellow was a really super-great teacher, per se - the one class I took from him was filled to the brim with fun hands-on activities, but relatively little learning - but he had something more important than teaching skills, that is, the ability to encourage, love, motivate, and mentor - everyone from the "good kids" to the "just-this-side-of-trouble" kids. One friend of mine, who had a rough time in the teenage years, described him as "one of the only positive influences in my life." He had an amazing capacity to love kids, and in return was probably one of the most well-loved teachers ever. His memorial fan page, started yesterday, is already at thirteen hundred fans and growing hourly.
Goes to show how far-reaching the influence of a teacher - especially a good one - can be! (This chap was eventually moved to administrative duties, where he was better placed and did an awesome job.)
Do you know that almost everyone I know who has died over the past X years has died of cancer? This is at least the third young guy I know of in the past five years who has died of cancer, leaving behind a young family. So tragic.
Anyway, it was a time to grieve for a death and celebrate the amazingly positive influence of a well-invested life. The interesting duality that always accompanies a death, and a good reminder to the living, as always.
Signing off again.....
Yesterday was in between - neither good nor horrible. Somewhere in the middle.
Last night, however, was great. I was so-so-so tired that I slept through five straight hours of the night! Impressive, no? Only got up.... three times for the whole night! Once for baby, twice to eat/meds. Not bad, not bad at all. I'll take it!
Am hoping to start seeing signs of improvement soon. Nothing yet, but..... soon?
Forgot to mention that our eldest already used his allowance to buy something - a weird blow-up worm thing that he calls "Spiney." However, he has his eye on better things! He now wants to buy some sort of bulldozer toy, and after explaining to him about five hundred times the concept of saving up his money (instead of his idea of us just giving him more of it right away!), he is now determined to save up for it. Will it last? Don't know. We'll see!
Well, I have the feeling that there was more I wanted to mention, but I can't remember any of it. Ah well, my brain will return sometime. Not sure when, since it's been missing since the conception of the first baby, but sometime.
Happy Sabbath!
p.s. Tomorrow is my vitamin shot.... with the same person as last week (no choice). Any opinions as to whether to keep the appointment or cancel? I'm thinking of keeping it and just asking her to make it snappy. If I skip it, it will be 2 1/2 weeks in between appointments, which worries me a little.
***
p.p.s. And now I remember what yesterday was mainly about! Sheesh, my memory.
Yesterday I was extremely saddened to learn of the death of a high school teacher of mine, a really neat guy with two young kids who fought a losing fight against a really nasty type of cancer for almost four years.
I can't remember that this fellow was a really super-great teacher, per se - the one class I took from him was filled to the brim with fun hands-on activities, but relatively little learning - but he had something more important than teaching skills, that is, the ability to encourage, love, motivate, and mentor - everyone from the "good kids" to the "just-this-side-of-trouble" kids. One friend of mine, who had a rough time in the teenage years, described him as "one of the only positive influences in my life." He had an amazing capacity to love kids, and in return was probably one of the most well-loved teachers ever. His memorial fan page, started yesterday, is already at thirteen hundred fans and growing hourly.
Goes to show how far-reaching the influence of a teacher - especially a good one - can be! (This chap was eventually moved to administrative duties, where he was better placed and did an awesome job.)
Do you know that almost everyone I know who has died over the past X years has died of cancer? This is at least the third young guy I know of in the past five years who has died of cancer, leaving behind a young family. So tragic.
Anyway, it was a time to grieve for a death and celebrate the amazingly positive influence of a well-invested life. The interesting duality that always accompanies a death, and a good reminder to the living, as always.
Signing off again.....
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Grains and Allergies?
Need to blog to distract myself from this nausea! Ack!!! Ack!!!
Okay, so this is something I've been meaning to mention for a while.
I never experienced allergy problems growing up or as a twenty-something. Ever. I could wade into billowing clouds of pollen and never feel any ill effect. Wonderful!
But that all changed last Spring (2010). I got what I thought was a cold but which had no typical cold progression.... just the stuffy/congested nose bit. It took me a while, but I finally figured out what it was - allergies at last. It wasn't too serious, and I recognized it when it came back for a week the following Autumn.
And then, on New Year's Day of this year (2011), I was hit by something approximating a steam engine - ALLERGIES. Whoa, Nellie! I finally understood what people were complaining about - they're not kidding when they say that allergies stink! I had them for about a month, and going outside for any length of time was enough to knock me flat. It was ugly.
So I started researching allergy remedies. One of the first and most common things that came up was local honey - so I bought some of that and tried it. Delicious, but didn't help at all. I also saw recommendations for using a neti-pot, which I never got the guts to buy and/or try.
One thing I did see on Facebook was a friend who said that her brother had cured his allergies by going on the Paleo Diet. I've written about the Paleo Diet on this blog before, but to review, the Paleo Diet is a very simple diet that includes fruit, vegetables, meat, and nuts, and gets rid of grains, sugar, dairy, and legumes. I'm not doing the Paleo Diet right now, but the Very Low Carb diet that I'm doing as NVP-management is quite similar - it doesn't eliminate all dairy (it keeps cheese and cream), but it eliminates sugar, legumes, and grains. Looking between the two for commonalities, the factor that stands out is grains.
I have now been on the VLC diet for several months, including the Spring pollen season here in Phoenix (there is nothing more gorgeous than a blooming Palo Verde tree!), and thus far..... no signs of any allergies. Not a bit. I sailed through all of the blossoming trees and blooming flowers with no problems.
Is there any link between grains and allergies?
I have no idea. And it could be that next year's pollen season will again hit me like a brick wall (I sure hope not). But I thought I'd report in on it just to write out my experience.
Okay, enough of that. Back to mooching! I sure am ready for this nausea to leave!!!!!!
Okay, so this is something I've been meaning to mention for a while.
I never experienced allergy problems growing up or as a twenty-something. Ever. I could wade into billowing clouds of pollen and never feel any ill effect. Wonderful!
But that all changed last Spring (2010). I got what I thought was a cold but which had no typical cold progression.... just the stuffy/congested nose bit. It took me a while, but I finally figured out what it was - allergies at last. It wasn't too serious, and I recognized it when it came back for a week the following Autumn.
And then, on New Year's Day of this year (2011), I was hit by something approximating a steam engine - ALLERGIES. Whoa, Nellie! I finally understood what people were complaining about - they're not kidding when they say that allergies stink! I had them for about a month, and going outside for any length of time was enough to knock me flat. It was ugly.
So I started researching allergy remedies. One of the first and most common things that came up was local honey - so I bought some of that and tried it. Delicious, but didn't help at all. I also saw recommendations for using a neti-pot, which I never got the guts to buy and/or try.
One thing I did see on Facebook was a friend who said that her brother had cured his allergies by going on the Paleo Diet. I've written about the Paleo Diet on this blog before, but to review, the Paleo Diet is a very simple diet that includes fruit, vegetables, meat, and nuts, and gets rid of grains, sugar, dairy, and legumes. I'm not doing the Paleo Diet right now, but the Very Low Carb diet that I'm doing as NVP-management is quite similar - it doesn't eliminate all dairy (it keeps cheese and cream), but it eliminates sugar, legumes, and grains. Looking between the two for commonalities, the factor that stands out is grains.
I have now been on the VLC diet for several months, including the Spring pollen season here in Phoenix (there is nothing more gorgeous than a blooming Palo Verde tree!), and thus far..... no signs of any allergies. Not a bit. I sailed through all of the blossoming trees and blooming flowers with no problems.
Is there any link between grains and allergies?
I have no idea. And it could be that next year's pollen season will again hit me like a brick wall (I sure hope not). But I thought I'd report in on it just to write out my experience.
Okay, enough of that. Back to mooching! I sure am ready for this nausea to leave!!!!!!
Saturday (10w4d)
Yesterday was, by comparison, one of the best days I've had in a while. Even the evening! I ended up staying up later than usual with DH watching "The Music Man" - which I've never seen, and is excellent! Of course I paid for that in that the nausea started hitting back before I could fall asleep properly, but all in all, it was a good day.
Night was rough, but nights are just rough right now. Nausea, having to get up to take meds, getting up to eat at least twice, getting up to feed the baby, then sleeping at the foot of the bed so that I don't have to continuously nurse all night.... let's just say that nights are more a continuation of the adventure than a respite. But it is SO nice when my nausea does finally calm down in the late early morning so that I can get a couple hours of feeling okay before I have to get up! (Even if I'm sleeping through it, it's nice.)
I've been meaning to post the costs of the vitamin shots at the naturopathic college so that people could have that info. When you go to the clinic, you can see a doctor (for a higher cost) or a student with a supervising doctor present (for a lower cost). I, of course, chose the latter. For the initial visit, with the shot, the cost was $99. For follow-up visits, with the shot, the cost is $25. Not cheap, but not horrible. They very kindly offered to send me home with a month's worth of shots at a time, provided I could get someone to do it for me, which would save me all but a monthly trip and cut office visit costs completely (the shot alone costs $11 each). However, I do not fancy being the pincushion for my husband's learning efforts at giving IM injections, especially as he is nearly as squeamish as I am around needles, LOL! So I am sticking with the higher cost and letting the professionals do the work. (Additionally, I enjoy the trip. It's nice to be able to tune out and just drive without any little kids talking or needing things!!) So that's that.
Today we had a guy come to fix our irrigation pipe, and found out that instead of $150 or so, the damage is much more extensive and is going to cost $1000+. Ahhh, home repairs!!
Last week we finally carried through our plan of starting our 5yo on his first allowance. We are giving $1.50 per week, which the internet says is low and which my mother says is absurdly high. We'll see. After tithe, it is cut down to $1.35. We're not enforcing saving at the moment - I haven't been able to decide if the "enforce saving" camp or "let them save when they want something" camp is better. Right now we're going to let him use it to buy discretionary things (toys, etc.) and also to replace any toy that he loses or breaks. My plan is to increase his buying jurisdiction as he gets older, so that by the time he's twelve or so he will be responsible for buying things like clothes, etc. If anyone has any awesome resources on allowances to pass on, feel free to let me know. There are SO many violently disagreeing opinions out there!
I am also planning on (eventually, when I'm feeling better, and probably more for when he's older) having extra jobs available to earn extra money (not routine chores, no payment for that, but special extra jobs). I'm also planning on using it as a source of discipline, a la Kevin Leman - i.e. "Oh, since you didn't take out the trash, I had to pay your brother to do it out of your allowance." Lots of fun stuff in an allowance!! :)
Okay, back to life. I would like to say that I'm expecting today to be good since yesterday was, but probably the reverse is true. There, you see - I've got this NVP bait-and-switch thing down! Mwa ha ha ha!
Have a good weekend, all.....
Night was rough, but nights are just rough right now. Nausea, having to get up to take meds, getting up to eat at least twice, getting up to feed the baby, then sleeping at the foot of the bed so that I don't have to continuously nurse all night.... let's just say that nights are more a continuation of the adventure than a respite. But it is SO nice when my nausea does finally calm down in the late early morning so that I can get a couple hours of feeling okay before I have to get up! (Even if I'm sleeping through it, it's nice.)
I've been meaning to post the costs of the vitamin shots at the naturopathic college so that people could have that info. When you go to the clinic, you can see a doctor (for a higher cost) or a student with a supervising doctor present (for a lower cost). I, of course, chose the latter. For the initial visit, with the shot, the cost was $99. For follow-up visits, with the shot, the cost is $25. Not cheap, but not horrible. They very kindly offered to send me home with a month's worth of shots at a time, provided I could get someone to do it for me, which would save me all but a monthly trip and cut office visit costs completely (the shot alone costs $11 each). However, I do not fancy being the pincushion for my husband's learning efforts at giving IM injections, especially as he is nearly as squeamish as I am around needles, LOL! So I am sticking with the higher cost and letting the professionals do the work. (Additionally, I enjoy the trip. It's nice to be able to tune out and just drive without any little kids talking or needing things!!) So that's that.
Today we had a guy come to fix our irrigation pipe, and found out that instead of $150 or so, the damage is much more extensive and is going to cost $1000+. Ahhh, home repairs!!
Last week we finally carried through our plan of starting our 5yo on his first allowance. We are giving $1.50 per week, which the internet says is low and which my mother says is absurdly high. We'll see. After tithe, it is cut down to $1.35. We're not enforcing saving at the moment - I haven't been able to decide if the "enforce saving" camp or "let them save when they want something" camp is better. Right now we're going to let him use it to buy discretionary things (toys, etc.) and also to replace any toy that he loses or breaks. My plan is to increase his buying jurisdiction as he gets older, so that by the time he's twelve or so he will be responsible for buying things like clothes, etc. If anyone has any awesome resources on allowances to pass on, feel free to let me know. There are SO many violently disagreeing opinions out there!
I am also planning on (eventually, when I'm feeling better, and probably more for when he's older) having extra jobs available to earn extra money (not routine chores, no payment for that, but special extra jobs). I'm also planning on using it as a source of discipline, a la Kevin Leman - i.e. "Oh, since you didn't take out the trash, I had to pay your brother to do it out of your allowance." Lots of fun stuff in an allowance!! :)
Okay, back to life. I would like to say that I'm expecting today to be good since yesterday was, but probably the reverse is true. There, you see - I've got this NVP bait-and-switch thing down! Mwa ha ha ha!
Have a good weekend, all.....
Friday, July 15, 2011
Friday (10w3d)
Yesterday - day time was okay, by comparison, night time was kind of scary-bad. Hoping for a better night tonight.
Not much else to report on, either than that I am so thankful that my mom is here. I honestly do not know what I'll do when she goes home next week.
Oh, and when I went to refill my Zofran yesterday, found out that our doc had only authorized the first prescription - none of the refills had been authorized. So today we started the authorization process all over again with the hopes that this will be it for this pregnancy.
Praying for time to pass quickly... would appreciate your continued prayers!!!
Not much else to report on, either than that I am so thankful that my mom is here. I honestly do not know what I'll do when she goes home next week.
Oh, and when I went to refill my Zofran yesterday, found out that our doc had only authorized the first prescription - none of the refills had been authorized. So today we started the authorization process all over again with the hopes that this will be it for this pregnancy.
Praying for time to pass quickly... would appreciate your continued prayers!!!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Thursday (10w2d)
Yesterday was pretty yucky, but the evening was better than normal.
I had hoped my energy levels would start to pick up around now, but my level of exhaustion seems to be rising. I would gladly lie down in a dark room all day right now, without the least inclination toward either boredom or getting up.
This is how my days go right now: My nausea finally calms down sometime in early morning (2-4 a.m.). I wake up feeling fine. Then I get up and have 5-60 minutes of okay-ness before the pukeyness begins, and then feel crummy for the rest of the day, to differing levels. If I leave off eating for more than 60 minutes, I'm in trouble.
Weight levels: Oddly enough, I gained some weight at the very beginning of this pregnancy. No idea why. Have lost most of it but am still a pound or two over baseline.
Okay.... back to it.... only 15 minutes till Zofran and nap time!!
I had hoped my energy levels would start to pick up around now, but my level of exhaustion seems to be rising. I would gladly lie down in a dark room all day right now, without the least inclination toward either boredom or getting up.
This is how my days go right now: My nausea finally calms down sometime in early morning (2-4 a.m.). I wake up feeling fine. Then I get up and have 5-60 minutes of okay-ness before the pukeyness begins, and then feel crummy for the rest of the day, to differing levels. If I leave off eating for more than 60 minutes, I'm in trouble.
Weight levels: Oddly enough, I gained some weight at the very beginning of this pregnancy. No idea why. Have lost most of it but am still a pound or two over baseline.
Okay.... back to it.... only 15 minutes till Zofran and nap time!!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Article: 5 Dangerous Myths
Thanks to Juliana for forwarding this!
5 Dangerous Myths About Nutrition for Fertility and Pregnancy
Very good stuff, and fascinating! I encourage everyone to check it out.
Tucked in there is a quote regarding my "nutritional mentor," Dr. Michael Fox, from whom I received all of the information regarding the very-low-carb diet. Here is a quote, put in context:
5 Dangerous Myths About Nutrition for Fertility and Pregnancy
Very good stuff, and fascinating! I encourage everyone to check it out.
Tucked in there is a quote regarding my "nutritional mentor," Dr. Michael Fox, from whom I received all of the information regarding the very-low-carb diet. Here is a quote, put in context:
"Why is fat so important for fertility and pregnancy?Neat to see! I can give my opinion at this point that the very-low-carb diet, while not preventing all NVP, has made a tremendous difference in how I feel. Good to see word getting out (even though it's about a different condition).
"Saturated fat is especially beneficial for fertility. A study at Harvard found that women who ate two or more servings of low-fat or non-fat dairy per day, like skim milk or yogurt, had 85% higher risk of infertility than those that ate full-fat dairy products.
"Another study found that women who eat less saturated fat have a smaller chance of becoming pregnant. More specifically, the authors found that women with oligomenorrhea, a condition of light or infrequent menstruation associated with infertility, consume significantly less saturated fat and significantly more polyunsaturated fat than women with normal menstruation and fertility.
"Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the #1 cause of infertility in women in the U.S.. PCOS is characterized by insulin resistance and testosterone dominance, a hormone imbalance that is often caused or made worse by a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. Why? Because high-carb diets can promote insulin resistance, which in turn converts estrogen into testosterone.
"Dr. Michael Fox, a reproductive endocrinologist in Florida, has had great success treating women with PCOS with a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. Before he switched to this approach, almost all of his patients needed drugs or IVF, or both, to become pregnant. Since he started using a low-carb diet with these patients, fewer have needed drugs and very few have needed IVF."
Wednesday (10w1d)
Yesterday was an icky and exhausted day.
I've noticed that most of the time, the day after my vitamin shot is a yucky day. Overdoing it? Reaction?
One quick note that I forgot yesterday - my diet is messing with my taste buds!
On Monday I took a (forbidden) bite of plain yogurt - and immediately freaked out because I thought I'd mistakenly gotten hold of the sweetened stuff - it tasted so sweet! But nope, just regular yogurt - I guess having a zilcho-carbs diet is making anything with carbs taste sweet! Kind of neat.
Have a good day, all!
I've noticed that most of the time, the day after my vitamin shot is a yucky day. Overdoing it? Reaction?
One quick note that I forgot yesterday - my diet is messing with my taste buds!
On Monday I took a (forbidden) bite of plain yogurt - and immediately freaked out because I thought I'd mistakenly gotten hold of the sweetened stuff - it tasted so sweet! But nope, just regular yogurt - I guess having a zilcho-carbs diet is making anything with carbs taste sweet! Kind of neat.
Have a good day, all!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tuesday (10w0d)
Ten weeks - HURRAY!
Yesterday - mmphthphth. Yup, that about sums it up.
Baby's tummy troubles continued into the morning, so we ended up canceling his therapy appointment. Good thing. He stayed either cranky or comatose for most of the day, improving at the end.
In the afternoon, went over for the vitamin shot to the naturopathic college. From that experience, I can now report that there is a vast range among caregivers in injection skills. Youch.
So the girl I normally see - she is fast, skilled, and the shot occasions only a minimum discomfort. No after-effects but soreness, and I walk out and go home.
Yesterday... no.
The girl who did it was very sweet, but I think that she must have been new. She took 3-4 times longer doing the shot, and it hurt a LOT. Yowzer.
When it was finally over, I was really relieved. And then - oh, shoot. I started feeling all those yucky pre-fainting symptoms. Nausea, dizziness, light-headedness, ringing ears, general "oh crud, I'm in for it now", etc. I immediately told them that I needed to sit down, which I did, and they kindly stayed with me. However, it just got worse from there, and I eventually asked to be shown to a restroom before I threw up.
Once there, I immediately fell face-first onto the floor and stayed there (thankfully floor was clean, but I wouldn't have cared if it wasn't) for about ten minutes. Thank goodness for cold bathroom floors. Didn't end up throwing up, which was nice. Then I was able to leave - thankfully DH had driven me over, so I didn't have to drive. After that, I was absolutely shot for the day.
Not sure why I had the reaction. I'm guessing that it was just the length of the shot - either my mind or my body couldn't handle it. I have had that reaction only once before, when I went in for a rather lengthy blood draw. It stinks.
And yesterday was on the crummy side anyway!
Moving on.
Did some more reading of my last pregnancy journal yesterday. Noted a couple of things.
My last journal was littered with "I can't believe how much better I'm doing than last time!" statements - the difference between an unmedicated HG pregnancy and a medicated HG-in-remission pregnancy. What is scary is how much better I am doing this time than last time - and I still feel horrid!! But in comparison, I'm doing way better than last time. Here are a few things:
- Right now, praise God, I'm not throwing up. Last time I was throwing up a minimum of once a day into the late teen weeks.
- Right now I am able to eat vegetables, handle most foods, and even do some simple food prep (like peeling fruit). At this time last time, it was a no to all of the above.
- Overall, I am just a lot more stable, functional, and okay than I was last time. It's kind of scary to think about, especially as whiny as I feel right now.
This has made me question the wisdom of reintroducing carbs after the first trimester. If the diet really is helping, I don't want to regress (right now I'm doing better than I was last time at 13 weeks). If I have the willpower, I'm thinking I should push it out a couple weeks further. We'll see.
Okay, off for nap time! Feeling pretty crummy, so am looking forward to a break.
Yesterday - mmphthphth. Yup, that about sums it up.
Baby's tummy troubles continued into the morning, so we ended up canceling his therapy appointment. Good thing. He stayed either cranky or comatose for most of the day, improving at the end.
In the afternoon, went over for the vitamin shot to the naturopathic college. From that experience, I can now report that there is a vast range among caregivers in injection skills. Youch.
So the girl I normally see - she is fast, skilled, and the shot occasions only a minimum discomfort. No after-effects but soreness, and I walk out and go home.
Yesterday... no.
The girl who did it was very sweet, but I think that she must have been new. She took 3-4 times longer doing the shot, and it hurt a LOT. Yowzer.
When it was finally over, I was really relieved. And then - oh, shoot. I started feeling all those yucky pre-fainting symptoms. Nausea, dizziness, light-headedness, ringing ears, general "oh crud, I'm in for it now", etc. I immediately told them that I needed to sit down, which I did, and they kindly stayed with me. However, it just got worse from there, and I eventually asked to be shown to a restroom before I threw up.
Once there, I immediately fell face-first onto the floor and stayed there (thankfully floor was clean, but I wouldn't have cared if it wasn't) for about ten minutes. Thank goodness for cold bathroom floors. Didn't end up throwing up, which was nice. Then I was able to leave - thankfully DH had driven me over, so I didn't have to drive. After that, I was absolutely shot for the day.
Not sure why I had the reaction. I'm guessing that it was just the length of the shot - either my mind or my body couldn't handle it. I have had that reaction only once before, when I went in for a rather lengthy blood draw. It stinks.
And yesterday was on the crummy side anyway!
Moving on.
Did some more reading of my last pregnancy journal yesterday. Noted a couple of things.
My last journal was littered with "I can't believe how much better I'm doing than last time!" statements - the difference between an unmedicated HG pregnancy and a medicated HG-in-remission pregnancy. What is scary is how much better I am doing this time than last time - and I still feel horrid!! But in comparison, I'm doing way better than last time. Here are a few things:
- Right now, praise God, I'm not throwing up. Last time I was throwing up a minimum of once a day into the late teen weeks.
- Right now I am able to eat vegetables, handle most foods, and even do some simple food prep (like peeling fruit). At this time last time, it was a no to all of the above.
- Overall, I am just a lot more stable, functional, and okay than I was last time. It's kind of scary to think about, especially as whiny as I feel right now.
This has made me question the wisdom of reintroducing carbs after the first trimester. If the diet really is helping, I don't want to regress (right now I'm doing better than I was last time at 13 weeks). If I have the willpower, I'm thinking I should push it out a couple weeks further. We'll see.
Okay, off for nap time! Feeling pretty crummy, so am looking forward to a break.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Monday (9w6d)
Yesterday was icky, but not as bad as Saturday, thank goodness.
Last night was a killer! DH was up and down all night with one of his headaches. Baby was fussy all night with an upset stomach. I was up and down all night with nausea, and then with a terrific thunderstorm that kept me awake (so thankful it didn't wake the kids). It was like a pantomime - who is going to pop out of which trap door next? Very tired.
A note: My nose is behaving itself more this pregnancy. Smells are unpleasant and to be avoided whenever possible, but they are not the source of absolute torture (you all know what I mean!) that they usually are. In fact, two weeks ago there was something yucky in the fridge, and DH discovered it before I did! (Of course, I don't actually breathe when opening the fridge, but usually that doesn't matter! LOL)
Okay, back to it! An unfortunately busy day ahead - therapy for our little dude and then vitamin shot at the naturopathic college.
Love to all!
Last night was a killer! DH was up and down all night with one of his headaches. Baby was fussy all night with an upset stomach. I was up and down all night with nausea, and then with a terrific thunderstorm that kept me awake (so thankful it didn't wake the kids). It was like a pantomime - who is going to pop out of which trap door next? Very tired.
A note: My nose is behaving itself more this pregnancy. Smells are unpleasant and to be avoided whenever possible, but they are not the source of absolute torture (you all know what I mean!) that they usually are. In fact, two weeks ago there was something yucky in the fridge, and DH discovered it before I did! (Of course, I don't actually breathe when opening the fridge, but usually that doesn't matter! LOL)
Okay, back to it! An unfortunately busy day ahead - therapy for our little dude and then vitamin shot at the naturopathic college.
Love to all!
Severe NVP Article
From "The Modest Mom," an article she wrote after coming out of severe NVP:
"How to Physically Survive Morning Sickness"
I love-love-love her closing words:
"How to Physically Survive Morning Sickness"
I love-love-love her closing words:
"And please remember that every woman is so incredibly different. What triggers my morning sickness may not trigger yours. Likewise, what helps me through may not help you. I've also learned that while I love using herbs and believe strongly in the help they can bring, sometimes medicine is in order. Please don't judge a woman if she has to go on medicine. I'm sure nobody really wants to go on medicine while pregnant, but hard choices must be made and in my case I don't regret going on the medicine one bit. Honestly my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. My children went through a lot while I was so sick, and emotionally it was terribly difficult on our whole family. I'm still trying to play catch up on my house from when I was down. Until you have gone through a severe form of morning sickness I just don't think most woman can understand what it is really like. I *thought* I knew all about morning sickness until this pregnancy. God knows I need to be humbled."So true!!!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Sunday 9w5d
Yesterday was pure yuck. Yuck yuck yuck.
So much for getting back to church today.
A few notes:
- Having a lot of issues with dizziness/shakiness/faintness.
- Noted from my last pregnancy diary that the amazingly-fast "tummy pop" occurred at 11 weeks last time - it was at 8 weeks this time. Quite a jump!
- I'm afraid my mum cut up a bit rough when I told her yesterday, in answer to her query, that we are not announcing baby names in advance - which is odd, since that's what we did last time. It's regrettable, but we have learned our lesson! When we announced our first-born's name in advance, it unleashed a storm of criticism from both sides of the family - it was awful! With our second-born, we didn't announce until we were able to say "Baby is here and his name is such-and-such." Such an improvement! It was quite obvious that no one liked our name any better the second time around, but at least no one told us about it (much). People tend to criticize name plans more than actual names, thank goodness.
As a matter of fact, it wouldn't matter if we did spill names, because we're already changing them! LOL At least our boy name - it's currently in a state of transition.
- Finding hunger to be a nuisance - it's like my body can't get enough food. Probably the combo of pregnancy and breastfeeding. Plus the fact that I'm only eating a few bites of food at a time. But as eating is quite unpleasant, it's a real nuisance. Last night I had to get up out of bed to eat three separate times. Yuck.
Okay, back to life.... I am so praying that I don't have many days as bad as yesterday. Happy Sunday, all!
So much for getting back to church today.
A few notes:
- Having a lot of issues with dizziness/shakiness/faintness.
- Noted from my last pregnancy diary that the amazingly-fast "tummy pop" occurred at 11 weeks last time - it was at 8 weeks this time. Quite a jump!
- I'm afraid my mum cut up a bit rough when I told her yesterday, in answer to her query, that we are not announcing baby names in advance - which is odd, since that's what we did last time. It's regrettable, but we have learned our lesson! When we announced our first-born's name in advance, it unleashed a storm of criticism from both sides of the family - it was awful! With our second-born, we didn't announce until we were able to say "Baby is here and his name is such-and-such." Such an improvement! It was quite obvious that no one liked our name any better the second time around, but at least no one told us about it (much). People tend to criticize name plans more than actual names, thank goodness.
As a matter of fact, it wouldn't matter if we did spill names, because we're already changing them! LOL At least our boy name - it's currently in a state of transition.
- Finding hunger to be a nuisance - it's like my body can't get enough food. Probably the combo of pregnancy and breastfeeding. Plus the fact that I'm only eating a few bites of food at a time. But as eating is quite unpleasant, it's a real nuisance. Last night I had to get up out of bed to eat three separate times. Yuck.
Okay, back to life.... I am so praying that I don't have many days as bad as yesterday. Happy Sunday, all!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Saturday 9w4d
Yesterday - ick.
Must admit that things have been worse since I've been eating the Panda Express, even though it's relatively low carb. However, after three days of it, I've had about as much as I can stand, so maybe it's back to regular no-carb choices. *Sigh*.
My mom is in town now, which is a big help. Thank goodness.
Can I say.... without being too too whiny.... that I am ready for this to be over? I'm so ready to start feeling better. I sure hope things turn around soon.
Love to all.
Must admit that things have been worse since I've been eating the Panda Express, even though it's relatively low carb. However, after three days of it, I've had about as much as I can stand, so maybe it's back to regular no-carb choices. *Sigh*.
My mom is in town now, which is a big help. Thank goodness.
Can I say.... without being too too whiny.... that I am ready for this to be over? I'm so ready to start feeling better. I sure hope things turn around soon.
Love to all.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Comparisons
This afternoon I gathered up my courage and went back to my blog archives to read some entries from my last pregnancy in order to compare experiences. (I don't know about the rest of you, but reading accounts from past pregnancies is like experiencing war-time flashbacks. Bad.)
There is no doubt that as of this moment, I am having my easiest pregnancy (barring our first, which was not a viable pregnancy). Compared to this time in the pregnancy last time around, I am much more stable, much more functional, much less sick.
Why? Well, there's the diet I'm doing, there are the idiosyncrasies of individual pregnancies, could be a gender change of baby, and could be the fact that I think I'm taking more Diclectin than last time. Or a combination of any of the above.
My reading confirmed my vague memory that my NVP peaked at around 10 weeks before plateauing and then starting to incrementally improve (I wish it would clear up quickly, but it never has.... always an inch-by-inch process). I noted in an entry last time at 12 weeks that I could definitely see that I was on the upswing. That's good news, and I hope it stays this way for this pregnancy.
My plan, if I can hold on another 3 1/2 weeks, is to stay on the VLC diet through the end of the first trimester. Can I hold out? Not sure. It's worth it not to be throwing up, but it is extremely difficult with only a handful of food choices.
Once I hit the magical 13 weeks, my first non-low-carb meal is going to be a vegetarian burrito, and we'll see where it goes from there! Either it will be fine, or it will be a crash-and-burn (or somewhere in between). But either way, I should be stable enough to handle it without catastrophe. I will report in then. Let's see, by the calendar that will be August 2nd, so mark your calendars! I can't wait.
That's if I last until then.
One of my goals with this pregnancy is to gain less weight than I did last time..... but I suspect that I am going to be carb-binging once the restrictions are gone. I have a long list of things I want to eat, and they're mostly simple carbs! (Lemon bars, bagels, waffles, frosties, apple pie, fruit cobber, etc.) I'll have to keep an eye on that!
One difference between my first and second times through NVP was the amount of weight gained. With my first, I lost so much weight initially that I only gained 25 net pounds. With my next, having the HG under control, I (more than) doubled that. And frankly, carrying that much extra weight made for a much harder end-of-pregnancy, not to mention leaving behind an extra 20 pounds that was impossible to lose (only lost it when I did the first bit of the very-low-carb diet). So I'd really prefer to keep it more reasonable this time....though, as I say, it may be harder than it looks.
Okay, off to do something! I'm really blogging to keep my mind off of myself, because right now I feel absolutely horrid. So "doing something" will probably translate to "lying on the bed staring at the wall." Oh, well.
Love to all!
There is no doubt that as of this moment, I am having my easiest pregnancy (barring our first, which was not a viable pregnancy). Compared to this time in the pregnancy last time around, I am much more stable, much more functional, much less sick.
Why? Well, there's the diet I'm doing, there are the idiosyncrasies of individual pregnancies, could be a gender change of baby, and could be the fact that I think I'm taking more Diclectin than last time. Or a combination of any of the above.
My reading confirmed my vague memory that my NVP peaked at around 10 weeks before plateauing and then starting to incrementally improve (I wish it would clear up quickly, but it never has.... always an inch-by-inch process). I noted in an entry last time at 12 weeks that I could definitely see that I was on the upswing. That's good news, and I hope it stays this way for this pregnancy.
My plan, if I can hold on another 3 1/2 weeks, is to stay on the VLC diet through the end of the first trimester. Can I hold out? Not sure. It's worth it not to be throwing up, but it is extremely difficult with only a handful of food choices.
Once I hit the magical 13 weeks, my first non-low-carb meal is going to be a vegetarian burrito, and we'll see where it goes from there! Either it will be fine, or it will be a crash-and-burn (or somewhere in between). But either way, I should be stable enough to handle it without catastrophe. I will report in then. Let's see, by the calendar that will be August 2nd, so mark your calendars! I can't wait.
That's if I last until then.
One of my goals with this pregnancy is to gain less weight than I did last time..... but I suspect that I am going to be carb-binging once the restrictions are gone. I have a long list of things I want to eat, and they're mostly simple carbs! (Lemon bars, bagels, waffles, frosties, apple pie, fruit cobber, etc.) I'll have to keep an eye on that!
One difference between my first and second times through NVP was the amount of weight gained. With my first, I lost so much weight initially that I only gained 25 net pounds. With my next, having the HG under control, I (more than) doubled that. And frankly, carrying that much extra weight made for a much harder end-of-pregnancy, not to mention leaving behind an extra 20 pounds that was impossible to lose (only lost it when I did the first bit of the very-low-carb diet). So I'd really prefer to keep it more reasonable this time....though, as I say, it may be harder than it looks.
Okay, off to do something! I'm really blogging to keep my mind off of myself, because right now I feel absolutely horrid. So "doing something" will probably translate to "lying on the bed staring at the wall." Oh, well.
Love to all!
Friday (9w3d)
Greetings, all!
Have you ever noticed that a good day, after getting one's hopes up, is almost sure to be followed by a not-so-good day? It's so predictable that it's scary!
So yesterday was not-so-awesome, but whatever. Not in HG, will live.
I am finding, once again, that I do not enjoy breastfeeding while pregnant. Don't know why, but the feeling changes, and it becomes something that I would rather avoid. During our last pregnancy, I ended up weaning our son (when he was about 33 mos.) about 3-4 months into the pregnancy. That worked just fine. I wouldn't have weaned so soon had I not been pregnant, but it worked out fine and the timing was fine. This time, I am quite sure that our little chap (age 22 mos.) is not in the least ready to be weaned, so I am doing my best to tough it out. My intention, if I make it through, is to tandem nurse, which will be a new experience for me. However, there are no guarantees - nursing through pregnancy is not easy!
One part of pregnancy nursing that I find most difficult is night nursing, which we're still doing for the next month or two while our little guy co-sleeps (something that will be ending as soon as I feel up to some sleep training). This is especially so since he likes to stay attached and nurse on and off most of the night! (That, and it wakes me up so I can experience night-time nausea.) Lately I've been pulling him into bed, letting him nurse, and then moving myself down to the foot of the bed so that I can go back to sleep without nursing continually. Works pretty well. As I said, it's a firmly temporary arrangement that will be ending soon - hopefully by early September. We ended our eldest's co-sleeping arrangement when he was 11 mos. old, so by the time the next baby came along, I had been able to sleep through the night for over two years. This time, it's going to be only a couple of months, but I want to grab for it, because I am tired.
DH and I have moved into our usual voting camps for baby's gender - I want a boy, DH wants a girl (though both of us are, naturally, fine with either gender). DH has voted for girls from the beginning, and he's really hoping that this one will fall into the female persuasion. :)
I, on the other hand, love boys and would prefer an all-boy family. Why? Well, several reasons. #1 - Boys are simpler with a lot less "emotionalism" - I love that. #2 - We have the clothes! I am not in any way a shopper by nature, so I would much prefer to use our already collected boy clothes. Heck, I probably will do that even if it is a girl. :) #3 - I have a deep, deep dread of the female teenage years. Yikes!!! I know that on occasion there can be peaceful mother-daughter relations during that time, but I have seen enough to make me cower in fear. I know that my mother and I put each other through the wringer well enough, and I didn't even do any serious rebelling! Oh, my goodness.
Anyhow, that's mostly tongue-in-cheek. We'll both be fine with either gender, and it will be fun to find out at the birth. Right now I'm thinking that we will not be doing a diagnostic ultrasound (I don't have the same feeling that we need to with this baby as I did with our last), so I won't have to worry about the tech blowing it and revealing baby's gender (something that made me a nervous wreck at our last ultrasound). I love the surprise!!
My mom is coming into town tonight, so my checking in may be kind of sketchy for the next week or two. Don't worry if you don't hear from me! But I'll do my best to check in when I can.
Happy weekending, all!
Have you ever noticed that a good day, after getting one's hopes up, is almost sure to be followed by a not-so-good day? It's so predictable that it's scary!
So yesterday was not-so-awesome, but whatever. Not in HG, will live.
I am finding, once again, that I do not enjoy breastfeeding while pregnant. Don't know why, but the feeling changes, and it becomes something that I would rather avoid. During our last pregnancy, I ended up weaning our son (when he was about 33 mos.) about 3-4 months into the pregnancy. That worked just fine. I wouldn't have weaned so soon had I not been pregnant, but it worked out fine and the timing was fine. This time, I am quite sure that our little chap (age 22 mos.) is not in the least ready to be weaned, so I am doing my best to tough it out. My intention, if I make it through, is to tandem nurse, which will be a new experience for me. However, there are no guarantees - nursing through pregnancy is not easy!
One part of pregnancy nursing that I find most difficult is night nursing, which we're still doing for the next month or two while our little guy co-sleeps (something that will be ending as soon as I feel up to some sleep training). This is especially so since he likes to stay attached and nurse on and off most of the night! (That, and it wakes me up so I can experience night-time nausea.) Lately I've been pulling him into bed, letting him nurse, and then moving myself down to the foot of the bed so that I can go back to sleep without nursing continually. Works pretty well. As I said, it's a firmly temporary arrangement that will be ending soon - hopefully by early September. We ended our eldest's co-sleeping arrangement when he was 11 mos. old, so by the time the next baby came along, I had been able to sleep through the night for over two years. This time, it's going to be only a couple of months, but I want to grab for it, because I am tired.
DH and I have moved into our usual voting camps for baby's gender - I want a boy, DH wants a girl (though both of us are, naturally, fine with either gender). DH has voted for girls from the beginning, and he's really hoping that this one will fall into the female persuasion. :)
I, on the other hand, love boys and would prefer an all-boy family. Why? Well, several reasons. #1 - Boys are simpler with a lot less "emotionalism" - I love that. #2 - We have the clothes! I am not in any way a shopper by nature, so I would much prefer to use our already collected boy clothes. Heck, I probably will do that even if it is a girl. :) #3 - I have a deep, deep dread of the female teenage years. Yikes!!! I know that on occasion there can be peaceful mother-daughter relations during that time, but I have seen enough to make me cower in fear. I know that my mother and I put each other through the wringer well enough, and I didn't even do any serious rebelling! Oh, my goodness.
Anyhow, that's mostly tongue-in-cheek. We'll both be fine with either gender, and it will be fun to find out at the birth. Right now I'm thinking that we will not be doing a diagnostic ultrasound (I don't have the same feeling that we need to with this baby as I did with our last), so I won't have to worry about the tech blowing it and revealing baby's gender (something that made me a nervous wreck at our last ultrasound). I love the surprise!!
My mom is coming into town tonight, so my checking in may be kind of sketchy for the next week or two. Don't worry if you don't hear from me! But I'll do my best to check in when I can.
Happy weekending, all!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Thursday (9w2d)
Yesterday was eh, but not bad by comparison.
I find myself of two minds lately:
The first mind is the complaining, whining mind. As in, "This is taking forever! I feel awful! Waaahhhh!!"
The second mind is the one that slaps the first mind across the face with the aforementioned wet haddock and says, "Stop complaining, you wimp! You're fine! You're stable! You're okay! You're not in HG! Dang it, you're living the dream!!!!"
I go back and forth. On the one hand, I do feel yuck, and it does feel like time has stopped. On the other hand, I am okay and stable, and I am very grateful for that. Very.
So if any truly-in-HG mamas out there would like to slap me for complaining, don't worry - I've got you covered. :)
Other than that, life proceeds slowly but well. I do my best to shut my eyes to all of the ways my life crumbles in around me during NVP - child discipline, TV limits, clean house, family activities, etc. There will be time to rebuild, hopefully soon. As a matter of fact, I can't drudge up a bit of enthusiasm for any of my usual pursuits - cooking, cleaning, child training, hobbies, anything - but I trust that that also will return in time.
Have a good day, all!
I find myself of two minds lately:
The first mind is the complaining, whining mind. As in, "This is taking forever! I feel awful! Waaahhhh!!"
The second mind is the one that slaps the first mind across the face with the aforementioned wet haddock and says, "Stop complaining, you wimp! You're fine! You're stable! You're okay! You're not in HG! Dang it, you're living the dream!!!!"
I go back and forth. On the one hand, I do feel yuck, and it does feel like time has stopped. On the other hand, I am okay and stable, and I am very grateful for that. Very.
So if any truly-in-HG mamas out there would like to slap me for complaining, don't worry - I've got you covered. :)
Other than that, life proceeds slowly but well. I do my best to shut my eyes to all of the ways my life crumbles in around me during NVP - child discipline, TV limits, clean house, family activities, etc. There will be time to rebuild, hopefully soon. As a matter of fact, I can't drudge up a bit of enthusiasm for any of my usual pursuits - cooking, cleaning, child training, hobbies, anything - but I trust that that also will return in time.
Have a good day, all!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Wednesday (9w1d)
Moving along.
Yesterday - eh. It was.
Back to the college for weekly vitamin shot, which went well.
DH telecommuted yesterday, so we took the time to sit down and watch the Casey Anthony verdict. In thinking about it, I don't think I've actually watched a live verdict since the OJ Simpson case, which was over 15 years ago. (And I remember that one quite vividly.... Our P.E. teacher called us off the field and took us into the weight room to watch it. What a trial.) Anyhow, the two definitely had a similar feeling, though I have not followed this trial closely enough to have concrete views on whether or not this was a true miscarriage of justice. It will be interesting to see where Ms. Anthony takes her life from here. Will she be careful not to stick her neck out again, or will she blow it again - like OJ did, and like the Aruba suspect did? It will be interesting to see.
Yesterday I also forced myself into the kitchen to process some baby food carrots that I'd cooked a few days ago. Have you ever tried to process baby food while severely nauseated? Here's my advice: Don't do it. I might as well have saved myself the trouble and thrown them in the trash:
Batch 1 - Only after I started to see wee bits of white plastic floating about in the carrots did I remember where I'd stored that extra plastic gasket. In the blender. Bad idea. Exit batch 1.
Batch 2 - Made it through without incident.
Batch 3 - In desperation to get through, got wooden spoon too close to the blades. Exit batch 3 and my favorite wooden spoon.
However, even after throwing out two of three batches, I did get almost four trays of cubes, which is something.
Good news - my mom is coming out on Friday for a week or two. Thank goodness!
I remember telling someone last time that I had noticed that the NVP got worse until 10 weeks, and the plateaued and then finally started getting better. Am hoping for the same this time, as week 10 is just around the corner.
Yesterday I tried more Panda Express - low carb this time - vegetables and their two lowest-carb entrees (8g and 9g, respectively, and I left the sauce off of one of them). It was delicious and I haven't felt any ill effects, which means..... I'll probably be sending DH for more tonight!!! :)
Poor guy. He spends most of his leisure time running errands. But thankfully he likes running errands, and it does give him and DS something to do together, which is good.
After this is over, I'm going to have the usual battles to re-fight, including working our son out of a picky eating rut (the result of fast food overindulgence), restarting things like chore cards, etc. Well, that will be for another day.
Have a good day, all!
Yesterday - eh. It was.
Back to the college for weekly vitamin shot, which went well.
DH telecommuted yesterday, so we took the time to sit down and watch the Casey Anthony verdict. In thinking about it, I don't think I've actually watched a live verdict since the OJ Simpson case, which was over 15 years ago. (And I remember that one quite vividly.... Our P.E. teacher called us off the field and took us into the weight room to watch it. What a trial.) Anyhow, the two definitely had a similar feeling, though I have not followed this trial closely enough to have concrete views on whether or not this was a true miscarriage of justice. It will be interesting to see where Ms. Anthony takes her life from here. Will she be careful not to stick her neck out again, or will she blow it again - like OJ did, and like the Aruba suspect did? It will be interesting to see.
Yesterday I also forced myself into the kitchen to process some baby food carrots that I'd cooked a few days ago. Have you ever tried to process baby food while severely nauseated? Here's my advice: Don't do it. I might as well have saved myself the trouble and thrown them in the trash:
Batch 1 - Only after I started to see wee bits of white plastic floating about in the carrots did I remember where I'd stored that extra plastic gasket. In the blender. Bad idea. Exit batch 1.
Batch 2 - Made it through without incident.
Batch 3 - In desperation to get through, got wooden spoon too close to the blades. Exit batch 3 and my favorite wooden spoon.
However, even after throwing out two of three batches, I did get almost four trays of cubes, which is something.
Good news - my mom is coming out on Friday for a week or two. Thank goodness!
I remember telling someone last time that I had noticed that the NVP got worse until 10 weeks, and the plateaued and then finally started getting better. Am hoping for the same this time, as week 10 is just around the corner.
Yesterday I tried more Panda Express - low carb this time - vegetables and their two lowest-carb entrees (8g and 9g, respectively, and I left the sauce off of one of them). It was delicious and I haven't felt any ill effects, which means..... I'll probably be sending DH for more tonight!!! :)
Poor guy. He spends most of his leisure time running errands. But thankfully he likes running errands, and it does give him and DS something to do together, which is good.
After this is over, I'm going to have the usual battles to re-fight, including working our son out of a picky eating rut (the result of fast food overindulgence), restarting things like chore cards, etc. Well, that will be for another day.
Have a good day, all!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Tuesday (9w0d)
Nine weeks!
Yesterday - ick.
Came to a depressing realization yesterday. I wondered why I'd been getting "more energy" and yet was feeling crummy - dare I say, crummier. Then my own idiocy slapped me in the face like a wet haddock. I'm not getting "more energy" - it's just the drowsiness effects of the Unisom wearing off! Definitely a "DUH" moment, and a disappointing one. So much for a fast recovery.
Good part of yesterday was watching the Capitol Fourth show - it was excellent. Usually we switch between the different shows in a vain attempt to avoid having to listen to yowling pop stars, but this year there was some really excellent music in there - Broadway songs, some awesome military bands, and our favorite - some beyond-brilliant bluegrass. Good stuff. We watched it as a family, which was a fun first, while our 5yo danced madly around the room playing a "guitar" to the music.
Oh, a bit of fun trivia - my sister-in-law got to meet Weird Al! It was on a professional basis rather than a fan basis, so she got to talk to him for a couple of hours. She thought he was an awesome guy! Pretty neat.
Hope you all have had a good fourth!
Yesterday - ick.
Came to a depressing realization yesterday. I wondered why I'd been getting "more energy" and yet was feeling crummy - dare I say, crummier. Then my own idiocy slapped me in the face like a wet haddock. I'm not getting "more energy" - it's just the drowsiness effects of the Unisom wearing off! Definitely a "DUH" moment, and a disappointing one. So much for a fast recovery.
Good part of yesterday was watching the Capitol Fourth show - it was excellent. Usually we switch between the different shows in a vain attempt to avoid having to listen to yowling pop stars, but this year there was some really excellent music in there - Broadway songs, some awesome military bands, and our favorite - some beyond-brilliant bluegrass. Good stuff. We watched it as a family, which was a fun first, while our 5yo danced madly around the room playing a "guitar" to the music.
Oh, a bit of fun trivia - my sister-in-law got to meet Weird Al! It was on a professional basis rather than a fan basis, so she got to talk to him for a couple of hours. She thought he was an awesome guy! Pretty neat.
Hope you all have had a good fourth!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Monday (8w6d)
Yesterday was another "eh" day, with a rather yucky night - lots of night nausea, and a super-cranky baby who made good and sure that I was awake to savor every minute of it.
I hadn't realized how much nausea goes on at night that I usually sleep through. I knew that the nausea calmed down eventually at night, but that doesn't actually happen till rather late in the night - like 3a. and later. With a co-sleeping baby, I am getting to experience a lot more of it. One of my set-in-stone tasks for this pregnancy is getting baby to sleep through the night (no way can I get up to nurse two), but I am not up to that task right now, so the adventures continue.
Looking forward to bidding farewell (and good riddance) to week eight!
As time passes, I have come to the pleasant realization that there is (and will be) more to this pregnancy than just nausea, fear, panic, etc. There's the fun stuff too! Visits with our midwife (the most wonderful thing in the world).... feeling baby move..... getting to do placenta medicine again (one of my passions)..... planning another homebirth..... and writing birth plans!! I have a special fondness for writing birth plans. Due to birthing at home and having a superb birth team, I have never actually needed any of the birth plans that I've written, but I write them anyway because I enjoy it so much. A couple of days ago I wrote out preliminary birth plans for this birth! One for home and one for hospital transport. I had a ton of fun! I'll post them later in their more finished form.
It's just nice to realize that pregnancy is more than HG and HG-fear. At the beginning, I'm afraid, pregnancy just means fear-fear-fear-fear-FEAR. Still there, but not as badly. I am, though, so looking forward to seeing the other side of the first trimester mark.
Okay, everyone! Have a great Independence Day! We will be doing (as we have done with all of this month's birthdays and holidays) absolutely nothing. Fun!!! :)
I hadn't realized how much nausea goes on at night that I usually sleep through. I knew that the nausea calmed down eventually at night, but that doesn't actually happen till rather late in the night - like 3a. and later. With a co-sleeping baby, I am getting to experience a lot more of it. One of my set-in-stone tasks for this pregnancy is getting baby to sleep through the night (no way can I get up to nurse two), but I am not up to that task right now, so the adventures continue.
Looking forward to bidding farewell (and good riddance) to week eight!
As time passes, I have come to the pleasant realization that there is (and will be) more to this pregnancy than just nausea, fear, panic, etc. There's the fun stuff too! Visits with our midwife (the most wonderful thing in the world).... feeling baby move..... getting to do placenta medicine again (one of my passions)..... planning another homebirth..... and writing birth plans!! I have a special fondness for writing birth plans. Due to birthing at home and having a superb birth team, I have never actually needed any of the birth plans that I've written, but I write them anyway because I enjoy it so much. A couple of days ago I wrote out preliminary birth plans for this birth! One for home and one for hospital transport. I had a ton of fun! I'll post them later in their more finished form.
It's just nice to realize that pregnancy is more than HG and HG-fear. At the beginning, I'm afraid, pregnancy just means fear-fear-fear-fear-FEAR. Still there, but not as badly. I am, though, so looking forward to seeing the other side of the first trimester mark.
Okay, everyone! Have a great Independence Day! We will be doing (as we have done with all of this month's birthdays and holidays) absolutely nothing. Fun!!! :)
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Sunday (8w5d)
Moving through week eight!
Yesterday was definitely an "eh" sort of day. Not horrible, not great.
Confession: I cheated a wee bit on the diet, by eating a couple of bites of Panda Express Orange Chicken. My favorite! But definitely a dish under the "would you like some chicken with that sugar sauce?" category - not low carb at all! Coincidentally or not, last night was unusually pukey, and this morning has continued that trend. Back to the diet! Boredom is better than nausea.
One plus side: I am entirely missing out on Phoenix's latest 118-degree heat wave, being that I am only stepping outside of the house about once a week. Hurray!!! Being that I utterly abhor both heat and sunlight, staying indoors with the curtains drawn and air conditioning on is definitely my way to spend the summer. (I think I might be living in slightly the wrong climate - you think?)
I almost made church this morning but couldn't swing it in the end - going to try again next week.
Happy Sunday, all!!!
Yesterday was definitely an "eh" sort of day. Not horrible, not great.
Confession: I cheated a wee bit on the diet, by eating a couple of bites of Panda Express Orange Chicken. My favorite! But definitely a dish under the "would you like some chicken with that sugar sauce?" category - not low carb at all! Coincidentally or not, last night was unusually pukey, and this morning has continued that trend. Back to the diet! Boredom is better than nausea.
One plus side: I am entirely missing out on Phoenix's latest 118-degree heat wave, being that I am only stepping outside of the house about once a week. Hurray!!! Being that I utterly abhor both heat and sunlight, staying indoors with the curtains drawn and air conditioning on is definitely my way to spend the summer. (I think I might be living in slightly the wrong climate - you think?)
I almost made church this morning but couldn't swing it in the end - going to try again next week.
Happy Sunday, all!!!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Saturday (8w4d)
Hi, guys!
Very tired today - insomnia kept me up till 2:30p. Very bad!
Yesterday was odd. I decide to try a new food - cottage cheese. (I am in definite need of new foods, as my current diet in toto consists of peanuts, chicken, turkey lunchmeat, and string cheese.) It's not on the very-low-carb list, but it is low-carb/high-protein, so I decided to give it a try.
Directly after eating it, (1) I felt awful, (2) I had an actually upset stomach (not just nausea), and (3) I fell into some weird sort of catatonic stupor/nap on the couch (thankfully DH was working from home). I don't know which of those was cause-and-effect and which was coincidence, but it doesn't matter because I'm not going to try again - cottage cheese has been officially asked to leave the party. Too bad.
Definitely don't quote me.... But I do feel like we might be starting to turn a corner for the better rather than the worse. I have slightly more energy, I'm not having night chills much anymore.... I'm just hoping that this is an upward trend. I hope so, and I pray that it is so!!
By the way, I will sometime get around to writing out the story of the first week (week 4) of this pregnancy. It just won't be any time soon, because it is too frightening to think about while I'm still in HG danger-land. Look for it in a few months.
Happy weekend, all!
Very tired today - insomnia kept me up till 2:30p. Very bad!
Yesterday was odd. I decide to try a new food - cottage cheese. (I am in definite need of new foods, as my current diet in toto consists of peanuts, chicken, turkey lunchmeat, and string cheese.) It's not on the very-low-carb list, but it is low-carb/high-protein, so I decided to give it a try.
Directly after eating it, (1) I felt awful, (2) I had an actually upset stomach (not just nausea), and (3) I fell into some weird sort of catatonic stupor/nap on the couch (thankfully DH was working from home). I don't know which of those was cause-and-effect and which was coincidence, but it doesn't matter because I'm not going to try again - cottage cheese has been officially asked to leave the party. Too bad.
Definitely don't quote me.... But I do feel like we might be starting to turn a corner for the better rather than the worse. I have slightly more energy, I'm not having night chills much anymore.... I'm just hoping that this is an upward trend. I hope so, and I pray that it is so!!
By the way, I will sometime get around to writing out the story of the first week (week 4) of this pregnancy. It just won't be any time soon, because it is too frightening to think about while I'm still in HG danger-land. Look for it in a few months.
Happy weekend, all!
Friday, July 1, 2011
Friday (8w3d)
Yesterday was shaky, but infinitely better than Wednesday, praise the Lord. I was militant about eating every 30 minutes and staying faithful on my meds - maybe that helped.
Reasons why Wednesday may have been so horrible: (1) it was just a bad day, (2) did I skip meds somewhere?, (3) I think I was drinking a lot and maybe forgot to eat as often as I should have, (4) I took a bite of something that made my whole being revolt (chicken from Whole Foods), had to spit it out immediately - maybe my body just took the cue from there.
Quote of the day, from Becky: "Remember, it does get better, and then it goes away." Thank goodness for that! Thank you, Becky!
I notice that I am having a hard time keeping hydrated, because anything more than a sip or two of liquid makes me sick. I'm trying to be faithful to constant small sips of water, but it's hard - (1) I forget, and (2) when I want water, I want to drink a TON of it! Bad idea, bad idea.
Something that I have really noticed helping - taking a bath. Seriously! For some reason, I feel infinitely better in the bath. For that reason I have started taking one- to two-hour long baths in the evenings. When I mentioned my observation to DH, he said "Well, don't you know you're supposed to take a bath to feel better when you have stomach flu?" Actually, no - that bit of folk medicine had completely passed me by! But it must be on the same principle. Whatever that principle is, I'm definitely sticking with it.
Last night I actually (wait for it!).... mopped the floor. Spontaneously. First time in over a month. Considering that I was less than thorough and that I didn't vacuum first, the results were definitely mixed. But it was oddly therapeutic.
Anyway, looking forward to making it through this. I'm tired of being a bad mommy. As in, "No, mommy can't do such-and-such. Mommy is not feeling well enough." Ad infinitum.
Have a great day, everyone! I would appreciate continued prayers. Now off to mooch.
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