Do Milestones Matter?

Suffering with hyperemesis changes the whole dynamic of pregnancy. For myself, I tend to focus on the minute-by-minute feelings and lose sight of the big picture. Symptoms like extreme nausea and vomiting cause hypersensitivity to pretty much everything because you are constantly trying to evaluate what makes you feel better, worse, the same. But I realized over the last few weeks that while I was micromanaging my hyperemesis symptoms, I slipped into my second trimester, gained my first pound, and heard my baby's heartbeat for the first time.

It is so easy to lose sight of these important milestones when you are miserable and hurting and worried. But I would challenge you to try and step outside of yourself every once and a while, take a look at your pregnancy calendar, and pick out a few good things to think on. The truth of the matter is time is going by, albeit it slowly on those bad days, but each day is one day to closer to the amazing reward at the end - a baby!

Free phone app - BabyBump by alt12

Chin up - and do your best to celebrate the milestones of pregnancy. It will help give you a glimmer of hope and positivity on the rougher days. And these milestones are just as important to you - if not MORE important, because of the struggles you are experiencing. Celebrate your progress every step of the way!

Words of Encouragement

No one is pregnant forever!

~me

Surviving Hyperemesis : Food Log 4/19/2012

12 weeks 1 days:
2 pieces of white toast, with peanut butter & raspberry jelly 
1 "Egg and Soldiers"
Honest Tea: Just Plain Black Tea, sugar added to taste
Schweppes Ginger Ale: sipping

Cravings: Burger King Classic Chicken Sandwich
Weight: Unknown

It's My Pregnancy - I'll Cry If I Want To....

So my (almost) 13 year old daughter is finding it sooooooo amusing how I cry at the drop of a hat. I'm normally quite emotional - crying during movies and even TV commercials is a pretty regular occurrence. But boy, my emotions have really bumped up a notch, or two or three, during this pregnancy! Lately, it's a freaking Tide commercial for the London Olympics that gets me started. And it's not just a stray little tear either, it's full-on sobbing! Even right now, while I'm writing this post about crying, I'm getting teary. :( 

Well, I know this increase in emotions is a normal symptom of pregnancy because of the increase in hormones, and the nausea and exhaustion of hyperemesis doesn't help the situation. So, I've decided I will just let it come, let it run its course, and not get down on myself for being overly-emotional. I have every right to cry! And I usually feel a little better afterward.

It's your pregnancy - you can cry if you want to! ~Andrea

Surviving Hyperemesis : Food Log 4/18/2012

12 weeks 0 days:
2 pieces of white toast, with peanut butter & raspberry jelly 
2 "Egg and Soldiers"
1/2 mini blueberry scone 
~dozen almond rice crackers
3 Pepperidge Farms Gingerman cookies
Honest Tea: Just Plain Black Tea, sugar added to taste
Wegmans Black Tea, sugar added to taste 

Cravings:
Weight: Unknown

Scale-ophobia

I have not owned a bathroom scale since my first pregnancy and the drastic weight loss which occurred as a result of my hyperemesis. I was so incredibly stressed out and disappointed each time I stepped up on the scale; the pounds just disappeared on a daily basis. At 40 weeks, I was only 5 pounds over where I started; at my lowest point I was 95 pounds. Following the birth of my beautiful baby girl, Morgan, the scale went in the dumpster and I've not owned one since. 

This time around, I'm experiencing hyperemesis again and the weight is again coming off at a rapid pace. At my last prenatal appointment, I was hopeful that I had maintained 114 pounds because I had not been vomiting and I had found some foods that I was eating consistently. Unfortunately, I was devastated to see that I had lost another 7 pounds, now 107 from my start at 128.

I'm now wondering if waiting the 2-4 weeks between my prenatal appointments to weigh myself is such a good idea. Would it be better to have a scale at home and to see a pound or two (+ or -) difference, rather than the long length of time and big differences between appointments? The shock was really unbearable, and caused a day or two of feeling really depressed and hopeless.

To weigh or not to weigh - that is the question.

Surviving Hyperemesis : Food Log 4/17/2012

11 weeks 6 days:
Raisin bran muffin
"Egg and Soldiers" (a favorite from childhood: soft boiled egg with white toast cut into strips for dipping)
4 pieces of white toast, with peanut butter & raspberry jelly
Honest Tea: Just Plain Black Tea, sugar added to taste

Cravings: Banana bread, potato salad (mom's secret recipe - minus onions)
Weight: Unknown

Surviving Hyperemesis : Food Log 4/16/2012

11 weeks 5 days:
Raisin bran muffin
"Egg and Soldiers" (a favorite from childhood: soft boiled egg with white toast cut into strips for dipping)
Corn chex, dry 
2 pieces white toast, peanut butter & jelly
Honest Tea: Just Plain Black Tea, sugar added to taste

Cravings: None
Weight: Unknown 

First Time Mom...Again

Hello everyone! Welcome to my new blog. I am a 36 year old mom of a teenage girl and I'm also 12 weeks pregnant. Crazy? Maybe! I was married to my first husband for almost 13 years - and following a challenging, drawn-out divorce process, I met Orion and we were married in 2008. Orion is also the father of a teenage girl, our daughters are just 1 month apart. We tried to get pregnant for almost 5 years, but opted not to try any invasive procedures - our philosophy was if it was meant to be, it would happen. 

About a year ago we kind of "gave up" and mentally and emotionally moved on from the hopes of having a baby together. Well, fate had other plans and we discovered we were indeed pregnant in February 2012. Shortly thereafter, I was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum, and was admitted to the hospital for IV fluids for the first time on March 13, 2012. Not a stranger to hyperemesis, (I experienced it with my first pregnancy 14 years ago for almost the entire pregnancy), I'm finding my circumstances and support systems to be a much better environment for dealing with these incredibly debilitating symptoms this time around. Hyperemesis gravidarum is defined as:

"a debilitating and potentially life-threatening pregnancy disease marked by rapid weight loss, malnutrition, and dehydration due to unrelenting nausea and/or vomiting with potential adverse consequences for the newborn(s)." 

To learn more about hyperemesis, check out : www.helpher.org.

As with my first pregnancy, I've had to go out on disability from my job, and I've returned to the hospital several times for IV fluids. The differences this time around are that I'm not vomiting as much, I'm able to eat and drink a select few items (albeit only before 1 PM each day) and I'm taking a drug called Zofran to control the nausea during the day and Unisom at night. Also, I'm trying acupuncture and Reiki as treatments for my hyperemesis symptoms. 

My hopes for this blog is that it will help me get through the day-to-day challenges of hyperemesis, that I may help others with hyperemesis realize that they are not alone and provide suggestions for coping, and to chronicle my journey of becoming a mom....again. I realized very early on in this pregnancy that A LOT has changed in the past 13 years since I had my last baby. Despite being a mom for 13 years, I'm feeling very new at this - as though I'm learning how to do this all over again! Not only that, I'm dealing with the challenges of having two teenage girls - and helping the family deal with the big changes that are to come with the new addition!

Thank you for checking out my new blog! Future posts will include tips for hyperemesis, planning a "gender reveal party," new and must-have baby products, designing a nursery space, having a baby after 35, and much more! ~Andrea