It appears that the staph infection is finally gone!  It sure was a hard one to kill and even though I hated taking all those antibiotics, I know it was needed. 

And the scale says....

that I'm down 8 pounds in 6 weeks!!  The cool thing about it is I have been eating whatever I want - gotta love breastfeeding :)

Just 5 more to go..... but I do think my baby's big head has made my hip bones wider :/

Second Test Results

They found staph in my milk.  Going to be starting another round of a different abx for 1 week and then retest.  I cannot believe this!

Test Results

I did go see my ob on Monday and she took a sample of my milk to culture.  I called the office this morning and found out that it didn't grow anything.  She had warned me on Monday this was possible since I was still on the antibiotics and sent me home with another swab.  I need to finish the antibiotics that will go through Monday then on Wednesday collect another sample of milk and drop it off for them to test. 

I'm praying it will be completely cleared up this time, but if it is not we will know what I am dealing with. 

Mastitis For The 3rd Time

It struck again Thanksgiving evening while we were with family in Pennsylvania.  I called my doctor, we located a 24 hour pharmacy and I was on the antibiotics within 2 hours.  By getting them so quickly, I was able to spare myself the worst of the pain and high fever (though it was almost 102 by the time I got the abx). 

My doctor mentioned it could be MRSA (the superbug) and I might need to see an infectious disease doctor to find out for sure and to kill it for good whatever it is. 

I know that God will not give me more than I can handle, but I sure am feeling worn down :(

Good news is Wilhelm went 8 hours last night!

6 Weeks Post Partum

It seems like the mastitis is gone!  I still have a red area where the infection started and my Dr. doesn't know why.  Maybe it's due to the stretch marks I have there?? Just as long as the mastitis doesn't come back.

 Sadly, I have oral thrush but I have been working hard to clear it up.  Thankfully the baby doesn't have it and I am praying I don't get an overgrowth of candida in my guts.  I'm taking 50 billion organisms of probiotics a day and will continue doing so for a while. 

I'm still healing from the birth and in another month or two I will have to decide if I want/need to have some out-patient surgery to correctly put me back together. 

Still have 11 to 12 pounds to lose.  This is the longest it's taken me to lose the baby weight.  With the other two I was wearing my pre-preg clothes right after birth and the weight was gone by 2 weeks post partum.  It's taking longer, but the breastfeeding does work for me and I know it will go. 

Mastitis Round 2

I can't believe it.  Yesterday morning the mastitis came on hard and fast....it's scary how fast it hits.  My ob wanted me to come in and she admitted me to the hospital for IV antibiotics.  I had hopped to come home after 2 doses but my white blood cell count was too high (23).  I had to stay for at least 24 hours.  Let me just say I feel like a pin cushion.  My veins are very hard to get, then my first IV went bad and I had to get another one.  A total for 4 sticks for the 2 IV's and then 2 blood draws. 
Then antibiotics through the veins burns!!!!  I was so glad to be done and come home. 

I'm still dealing with a fever and redness/pain on my breast.  I'm hoping and praying when I'm done with the 10 day antibiotics I have this will be GONE!

Mastitis

Oh my!  I can't believe how fast and hard this came on yesterday morning.  I nursed the baby between 3:30 and 4 Friday morning and had no indication anything was wrong.  I woke at 6:30 wondering why my back was so achy and my right breast felt like it was engorged.  I thought it was weird since the baby had eaten just 3 hours ago.  I got the pump out and wow!  I could not believe how bad it hurt as I pumped out 6 ounces.  I actually cried.  Then my daughter noticed a red area and it was at that point I realized it was infected.  Checked my temp and yes, I had a low fever. 

I called the answering service to get the dr. to call me, but for some reason it took 3 calls into the service and over an hour before she finally called me.  By that time the fever was getting higher and I was in a lot of pain even though I had taken Tylenol.  

I had to wait until 9am for the pharmacy to open for her to call in a prescription for antibiotics and by then my fever was a raging 103.1 (and that was on tylenol).  It was just awful and I had no control over my body, I was freezing! 

Thankfully the fever had spiked and by the time I got my antibiotics it was slowly coming down.  Even though I was (and still am) on tylenol for the pain, the fever is still here.  Thankfully the redness is starting to go away and the streaky lines are gone.  I was sooooo close to needing to go in for IV antibiotics yesterday and am glad I didn't have to take that hour drive up there. 

I am sad that I am taking the antibiotics, but I didn't have the knowledge and time to do any natural remedies.  That and it was so scary how sick I got in a short amount of time.  So, I am taking a LOT of probiotics during this time.  I had antibiotics with both of the other births and never got thrush, so I hope it's the same this time.  Also, my stitches have been feeling a LOT better since taking the antibiotics, now I'm wondering if something was brewing down there.

How did this happen?  Well, my dr. said mastitis is cause by staph, that is naturally on our skin, when it enters into a milk duct.  Well, this happened on the baby's favorite side and he had made the nipple crack and bleed even though I have been applying Lansinoh Lanolin after every feeding.

Taking A Deep Breath

And I don't feel sick anymore!  It's all gone.

I no longer have that yucky taste in my mouth
I can drink a glass of water whenever I want and it doesn't make me throw-up
I can eat anything, instead of looking for something "that might stay down"
I can let myself feel hungry and not get nauseous.

I can bend and it doesn't make me throw-up

I can take a long hot shower and not feel sick

I can sleep at night

My heartburn is gone

Most of the restless leg syndrome is gone

Yes, I'm still very much recovering from the birth but to be done with HG is wonderful.  As hard as it was, my baby was worth it.  So far he is a great sleeper only waking once a night.  I pray it continues. 

Wilhelm's Birth Story

First off, I would like to thank my husband for updating this blog after Wilhelm arrived!

I guess I would have to start by saying his labor really did start on Sunday the 3rd as those contractions continued through Monday and Tuesday.  I guess that it was made my "real" labor only 6 hours with pushing for another 3 hours.
Went to bed Tuesday evening and woke at 12:30 am to use the bathroom.  When I came back to bed I could tell that the contractions were much more painful.  I waiting for 3 of them before waking my husband.  He jumped in the shower and got dressed and I did the same.  We were in the car at 1:30 and arrived at the hospital at 2:30. 

They set me up on the monitor and contractions were anywhere from 3-5 minutes apart.  I could not talk through them, but the nurse thought I was not "working hard enough" through them.  So after listening to baby for about 45 minutes, she let us up to walk.  We walked the halls until I felt the need to come lay down.  By this point I was making noises during the contractions. 

I'm not remember the times very well, but I think it was between 5:30 and 6am when she finally checked me.  When a very surprised look she said "wow, you are really dilated.  I would say 6cm".  At this point she started checking me in and called the dr. 

It was only 3 contractions before the doctor arrived and I was at 9cm!  She broke my water and said I could start pushing if I wanted to.  Wow, I could not believe how "easy" the labor part was!!! 

Pushing was a problem.  Just like last time, I never felt the urge to push.  Also I was having AWFUL back labor and pushing was the last thing I wanted to do as I was trying to get through the back pain with each contraction. 

I was told it took me a good hour to used to pushing and then another 30+ minutes to stop fighting the contractions because of the pain.  So, even though I was pushing for 3 hours it was only just over an hour of "good pushing".  

Pushing through so much pain was awful.  I was begging for something for the pain, but of course there was nothing I could have at this point.  I was having a hard time getting the baby's head to come past my old scar that was not stretching at all.  The nurse was great and kept encouraging me to squat but I was too tired.  She brought in the birthing stool and set it on the bed.  Sitting on it intensified the pain sooooo much, but it allowed the baby's head to come out in the next push and didn't go back in.  In the next push he was out! 

Wilhelm's 14 3/4 inch head did not come out without doing damage.  It took an hour to get stitched up and put back together.   I am so swollen I can't sit and walking is very hard.  I'm told it will get better, but I'm wondering how long. 

But it was ALL worth it and my HG baby is perfectly healthy.  We are home now and the other children are loving on their baby brother so much. 

Thanks for all the congratulations comments! 



Wilhelm James

born 9:42am, 10/6/2010
9 lbs. 13 oz.
22 inches
14 3/4 inch head!

Finally

Not Yet

For all you who are wondering, I have not had the baby yet :( 

Went in for an appt this morning and the timing was good because baby hardly moved yesterday and last night.  They sent us for a BPP u/s right away and it confirmed baby is not moving much at all, but baby is healthy.  There was enough fluid, baby was "breathing", heart looked good, etc. 

We were given the choice to go in and have my water broken on Thursday morning or wait a while longer.  I am still contracting (talk about SORE muscles!) and am 4cm.  Even though I've done so much reading and research on VBAC induction, I plan to do more this afternoon as we have to get back with a decision today.  

Please pray for wisdom for us!

The Longest Labor

This is so frustrating, especially considering I have been having start and stop labor for the past 3 weeks!

About 3am yesterday (Sunday) morning I was awakened to much stronger, painful contractions. I was able to get back to sleep only to be awakened by more contractions. Yay, this must by it, right?  

We started the day thinking that this was going to be it.  Contractions came all day long at 10 minutes apart and lasting a good solid minute.  Late in the afternoon I called my doctor.  She thought 10 minutes apart was a good time to come in given the fact we are almost an hour away and I was already 3cm.  

I put together an overnight bag for the kids who would be sleeping next door at my parents and we went over to have dinner (I wasn't hungry at this point).  

We got to the hospital at 7:30 and on the drive the contractions were closer to7 minutes apart.  Got set up on the machine and they were coming 5-6 minutes.  Got checked and was told I was 4cm.  

After being there over 3 hours there was just one problem....... the contractions were just not getting stronger or closer together, even though I was sitting on the birth ball, walking and squatting.  Got checked again at 11pm and I was still 4cm.  

We were given the choice to try and sleep there or we could come home.  I was so discouraged and tired I just wanted my own bed.  We came home and shortly before getting home I was hit with contractions that were starting to really make my squirm.  I went strait to bed and the harder ones kept hitting in the light sleep state I was in.  I was finally able to get to sleep and when I woke 2 hours later, they had slowed down.  Got back to sleep and by 6am I knew they had really slowed down.  

So, here I am this morning still having contractions every 10-15 minutes........ how much longer can this go on for?!!!    

Still Here

And I really can't believe it!  I'm still just as uncomfortable and in pain, but this baby seems to be very comfortable in there.

I had no change at my appt yesterday.  We had another NST and baby looks great.  I was having some contractions, but not enough for labor.  Got my membranes stripped again, but that doesn't seem to be doing much of anything today. 

Waiting and waiting and waiting.....

A Guessing Game!

I'm bored waiting for this baby to come and I can't stand the thought of doing any more cleaning in my house!  So here is a little game for anyone who wants to play...

Guess Baby's Weight and Length. 

Some clues:
Baby #1 born at 39 weeks was 7lb 9oz 20 3/4 inches
Baby #2 born at 39 weeks 6 days was 9lbs 1oz 22 inches

Tuesday Morning

I am very happy to say that I slept last night!!  I got about 9 hours and I feel so much better.  Thank you LORD!

I ended up going into the office yesterday afternoon to see what was going on.  I am still 3cm 80%.  It's a little discouraging to not have made any more progress, but on the other hand it gives me some comfort that I wont deliver on the interstate. 

The NST (non-stress test) showed that the baby was looking really good and we got to listen to the heart for 30 minutes!!!  My uterus on the other hand is being very irritable.  There was no pattern to the contractions and it is not labor.  At least I know that when I feel this again I am not in labor.  Now, I am waiting for the real painful ones to come - bring on the pain!!!  They are not sure about all the diarrhea (still happening today), but were very strict that I drink a lot of water.

As much as I want to have this baby, I am hoping I don't go into labor until Thursday.  Why?  The doctor who is my least favorite is on call today and tomorrow.  Starting Thursday - Sunday MY doctor is on call. 

Next appt is on Thursday. 

Monday Morning

It's 3:30 in the morning - I have been up since 12:30. 

I have been crying. 

cried because I just want to sleep

 cried because of all the pain I'm in

cried because all I keep getting is early labor and no baby

Lord please give me the strength to keep going!

39 Weeks

 So far today I have:

Gone grocery shopping

Vacuumed my house
Mopped my floors
Cleaned and vacuumed my van

Done laundry

Cleaned 2 bathrooms
Walked outside a LOT

Still having a LOT of cervix pain and the spotting continues today.

Hmmmm, just like a watched toaster never pops.  A watched pot never boils. 

A watched 9 month pregnant woman never goes into labor. 



Full Moon Not Working

NOTHING!!

And I can't sleep since the insomnia hit at 2am.  All that I'm getting are really strong BH, a baby that is alternating between kicking me under my ribs, stretching its little legs ALL the way to my side and hiccuping.

I was so hopeful last night that I would be holding my baby today.  How can I be 80% effaced, 3cm, baby's head lower than 0 station and not be in labor?  What's holding this kid in?

Larissa, she stripped me knowing how uncomfortable I am and it was the least intervenative (is that a word?) way to try to get some labor going.  She really can't believe I haven't gone yet.  She will only do this or break my water to encourage labor - nothing else for which I am thankful.  It was with this practice last pregnancy when I was using the midwives and they mentioned pitocin!! That was when I switched to home birth.  Funny how an ob can be more "midwife minded" than some midwives!

38 weeks 5 days

Just got back from my appointment - 3 cm and 80% effaced. 

She stripped my membranes. 

Waiting to see if baby comes tonight (it is a full moon).

Round 2 of Prodromal Labor (pre-labor)

It started when I got up yesterday morning.  Was feeling "off" and kept having what I think were braxton hicks contractions.  The only thing is they came all day long and didn't go away with anything I did.  Some were stronger than others and some hurt my low back, but none were strong enough to stop me in my tracks. 

I was also experiencing loose bowels, feeling nauseous, very emotional and tired.  Thankfully my mom took the kids for the afternoon and I just rested on the couch until it was time for Hubby and I to head to our chiropractor appt at 6:30.  Came home from that and I got into bed.  The contractions/BH kept coming and I was unable to go to sleep because they were causing great heartburn and more nausea.  Finally at 9:30 I started watching my clock.  They were coming every 3-5 minutes and lasting about a minute. 

I got up to pee, but also threw up at this point.  Went back to bed and they kept coming.  Hubby got the computer and started tracking the contractions and after an hour of that we called the doctor. 

She suggested I take a shower..... Not really wanting to (because I was feeling sick) we made our way to the bathroom where I threw up again.  Finally, I got in the shower for about 10 minutes.  It felt good to be all clean after throwing up! 

Went back up to bed and the contractions were still coming but not as strong or long.  Called the dr. back and told her I felt that I wanted to sleep.  She agreed and finally about 1am I was able to get some sleep until I woke just before 5. 

I guess I should mention that baby was acting very mad in between contractions!!  Poor kid wont have to feel them anymore if it would just come out!

So here I am waiting and wondering how long this can go on before the "real" labor starts. 

Monday Update

I'm still pregnant!  I think baby doesn't want to make up its mind on whether it wants out or not.  

Yesterday I was having so much pain I called my ob.  She said it was sounding like the baby was in really bad position and putting a lot of pressure on my cervix and hitting my femoral nerve - that baby has a lot of nerve to give me that kind of pain when I'm not even in labor :) 

I've been cleaning and organizing like crazy, walking a lot, drinking red raspberry leaf tea...... and waiting!

Tomorrow I have a chiropractor appt and I plan to have him apply pressure to the "labor pressure points".  He told us he has sent women away in labor.  Maybe that will be me tomorrow?

As for some HG news - I'm 3 days into not taking any Diclectin!! 

Waiting

Waiting for labor....

Thursday I had a prenatal appointment and I learned I was already 2cm dilated and baby is fully engaged at 0 station.  Of course she couldn't say for sure, but she did think maybe this weekend!

Thursday night I was awakened to strong, painful contractions coming 8-10 an hour.  After a couple of hours I was able to get back to sleep, but they were still there when I got up.  Took a shower, started with my laundry and cleaning, hubby decided to work from home...... then about 10am they ALL stopped!  Bummer.  Sent hubby to work and waited and waited.  I was able to take a nap while the kids napped (a very rare thing) and still nothing.  Went to bed thinking labor would start last night and I was VERY disappointed to not have a single contraction. 

Today I am very, very uncomfortable with a lot of pain "down there" and a lot of discharge. 

I've been cleaning, organizing, walking outside.......maybe, just maybe labor will start tonight?!

Please baby, I want to meet you so badly!!!

Final Touch

That I made and added to the baby's hospital bag today.

Soft flannel slippers

Over Due Update

Wow, already a full week into September!  Time is going by, but not fast enough for me.  The cooler Fall days are very much appreciated by me.  While it's chilly for some in my family, I'm enjoying it!  The pool is pretty much done for the season so that means no more floating my belly :( 

Baby update:  Had a great appt last week, so good that I was given this week off from an appt.  I've been going every week since 30 weeks and it's a 45 minute drive each way, so it's a nice break.  As of last week baby has its head right on my cervix (talk about pressure) and I was 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated. 
Hip pain is pretty bad and I'm hoping I can get some relief at my chiropractor appt on Friday. 

Today I'm getting my hair highlighted!!  It's been over 6 years since I've had highlights and I'm really excited for a little change :) 

Guess that's it for now.

Crib!

We are ready for baby now!

35 Weeks

Everything is looking great!  I am no longer on restrictions and can be up and about.  Baby is free to come when it wants to.......I keep telling myself that I will probably go late, though I hope it's not true.  My hips hurt so bad and one would laugh to see me walk, or my attempt at walking. 

For some reason (and I'm fine with it) I have not gained any weight in the past month....but my stomach keeps getting bigger and is stretching my clothes to their limit....hmmm, I wonder how big this baby is going to be.

I'm trying to prevent my episodes of low blood pressure.  I've had a couple times where it was about 86/54 and was very dizzy.  I've actually never experienced a room spinning before.  Gatorade was recommended and I did drink some, but would prefer something more natural.  I found that the packets of Emergen C has what the Gatorade does and a lot more good stuff (and no junk). 

We have the baby stuff out and it feels good to ready for baby.  Still waiting on the new crib and that is due to be delivered on Tuesday.  Bags are packed for the hospital, carseat base is in the car..... we are ready!

34 Week Appt.

Everything is looking good with baby, but the best news is that my cervix has not changed since last week.  We are now 2 weeks out from the fFN test and baby is still cooking! 

I couldn't have asked for a better appt. 

Thank you Lord!

32 1/2 weeks

It was such a busy week with apptointments, but I must say the ultrasound was so enjoyable!  To see our little baby was just great!  I asked the tech if possible, if she could get me a foot picture and this is what she got:

How sweet is that?!

Ok - Baby is going GREAT!  First u/s was wrong.  The baby does have a 3 vessel cord and I do not have placenta previa - yay!

Other news is the FFN test they ran came back positive and that means there is a chance Baby could come within the next 2 weeks.  Cervix is starting to soften and dialate, so I'm now to take it easy and get plenty of rest - ha!  How can I rest, if I can't sleep at night?!  It's so frustrating not being able to sleep.

We are praying baby will stay put for at least another 3 weeks, making me 36 weeks along.  It will be much better for the lungs and less of a chance Baby will need to be in the hospital. 

The u/s put Baby's weight at 4lbs 10 oz!

Picture of Baby!

    Profile with hand above face and to the left.

What a Day

It started last night with lots of contractions that continued this morning.  We finally decided to call the doctor and like we thought, they had me come in.  Thankfully the contractions are only braxton hick contractions and not the real ones. 

But, there was the possibility that my water was leaking.  Up we went for an ultrasound to check the fluid level.  That turned out okay, but we were then told they only saw a 2 vessel cord for the baby.  Good news in the baby's head is down, but so is the placenta and they were not able to see exactly where the placenta is.  Right now they have me using some test strips to see if my water is leaking.  Then on Tuesday I go for another ultrasound to check for placenta previa and also a full anatomy scan on the baby. 

Now I'm just trying not to worry and praying that everything is okay with the baby. 

It' August!

I got to thinking that if baby comes a few days early, I can now say we might have a baby next month!!  I start to stress out just a little as I have nothing out and ready for this baby.  Our new bedroom, is at most, 3 weeks away from being finished.  You better believe as soon as the carpet is in, the crib is getting set up and baby clothes will be washed and put into the changing table, all the little diapers laid out, burp clothes ready, etc.  I can't wait!!

As for me, I had an appointment last week and every looked great. Baby is very active and the heart rate was between 139-144.  We are pretty sure the head is down, but just to be safe we will be having an ultrasound on the 27th.

I have thoughts going through my head these days about what this labor will be like.  My worst fear is that it will be as long and hard as my last baby (which was my first labor since baby #1 was a c/s).  I have so many people tell me second labors are so much faster and even my ob wants us to start the almost hour drive to the hospital as soon as things get going.   I really don't think I can handle over 24 hours of med-free back labor again. 

As for the HG, I am still taking 1 diclectin a day and plan to until I give birth.  I have a day here and there where I just don't feel great and fight some nausea, but it's nothing like it was in early pregnancy.  Fatigue is really setting in and not sleeping at night is making it much worse.  I have to say that the aches and pains (expect my feet) are very mild as I've been seeing my chiropractor for the past 10 weeks. 

Insomnia

There is a new symptom I've been dealing with the whole pregnancy, something I've not had with the others.....and that is insomnia :(   

I was so tired around 7:30 this eveninng and ready for sleep, but once I laid down my restless legs started in and the pain from them being swollen started in.  Once that starts, I'm wide awake and can't sleep. 

I am really counting down the days till my due date!!  Of course then I will have a baby to keep me up - so no relief in sight. 

28 Weeks

Finally, I've hit the 3rd trimester!! 

I had my appt yesterday - it was long due to getting the 28 week blood draw for gestational diabetes testing and my Rh negative blood type.  We went out to dinner and then back to the birthing center (since it was after office hours) so I could get my RhoGAM shot.  At least this appt is over and I didn't get a call from the dr. today, so that means I passed the GD test. 

Today hasn't been the best day.  I forgot to take my middle of the night Diclectin (the only one I'm still taking a day).  This morning I was feeling sick and ended up loosing my breakfast (and being 7 month pregnant I also peed on the bathroom floor while throwing up - yuck!).  I've had a headache and have been very tired and was questioned by my DD why I've taken 3 naps in a row today!  Poor girl was so bored today. 

On researching side effects of the rhogam, I learned these are all possible.  So, I really don't know if it's from missing the diclectin or the rhogram.  I just pray that tomorrow I feel much better. 

Baby was breech at the appt yesterday and even though it's still early enough for it to move all around, it still makes me nervous.  The head is not in the same place today (baby was very active last night probably due to the jelly beans I ate for the GD test) and I'm thinking it might be down today.  We will get an u/s around 34 weeks to check for sure. 

Appts are every 2 weeks now!  It's going to make for a busy schedule on top of an already busy summer. 

Relief For My Feetsies?

*Update - they came and I only wish I had gotten them sooner!  They are WONDERFUL!

Just ordered these and I really hope they help my sore feet!

Time Is Going By

Today my pregnancy tickers says I am down to 98 days until my EDD.   That means 182 day done so far - that is a lot considering I found out I was pregnant at 23 days.  Just 2 more weeks until the 3rd Trimester.

I didn't do it on purpose, but one day last week I forgot to take my afternoon Diclectin.  It was 4 hours late by the time I realized it and figured it was too late to do anything about it.  I did fine.  Here I am 5 days later only taking 1 Diclectin a day.  Maybe I don't even need that, but I will give it a few more weeks just to see.

My daughter absolutely loves to feel the baby move and will kiss my belly while talking to Baby.  My son likes to give Baby raspberries and kisses. 

I am feeling the need/urgency to get all our baby stuff out to clean and organize it, but I don't have any place to do that.  For the past month+ we have been having work done on our house.  We had an unused bedroom that needed to be all redone (an apt. kitchen torn out, closet built in it's place, old stairwell hole filled in, and new electrical wiring put in) and another room turned into a playroom.  So, until this room is finished, DH put the primer on over the weekend, I can't get anything out.  Now it needs painting and new carpeting put in.  Then I will get all my baby stuff :)

OK - I have no idea why that last part is highlighting in white, and I can't get it to go away!

A Note To Baby

After a long day your Mommy is tired, very tired.  You really need to find a different time to do your water aerobics, because bedtime is NOT a good time for mommy. 

Thank you,

Your Mommy

25 Weeks

25 weeks today and it's the first day of summer!  Baby and I are doing very well, but we do try to stay cool since it's easy for us to get too hot.  We don't have our a/c unit in yet, so I am thankful for the pool :)

It was a busy morning and early afternoon but a lot got done - 5 loads of laundry washed, dried, folded and put away, 3 bathrooms cleaned, house vacuumed and picked up.  The fun part was that I painted my and my daughter's toe nails hot pink :) 

After all the work and nice hour was spent in the pool. 

June Update

Wow - 23 weeks already!   This pregnancy is going by so much faster than the others and I'm sure it's in part to me not feeling so sick day after day after day.  Of course I also have 2 very active children that keep me plenty busy (and very tired). 

My prayer for this pregnancy was that I would be able to enjoy it without constantly feeling sick.  God anwered that prayer for me!!  Yes, it was still hard from about weeks 5-13, and I did have thoughts of "I can't do this anymore."  But that is all gone now.  Of course I have the pregnancy aches and pains, sore hips, cramps in my legs, heartburn, pregnancy cough, etc.  But these are all much more manageable than 24/7 nausea.  

We went away this past weekend to a conference in Taunton, Ma for family integrated churches (ncfic).  I was able to attend all the speeches and never once felt sick.  In addition to being refreshed by God's Word, we were able to catch up with our friends from NC. 

I am still feeling tired from the trip and I think I may be coming down the the cold my boy woke up with yesterday :( 

That's my update for now..... oh, I guess I should mention that baby is very, very active but tends to quiet down when brother and sister are yelling at my tummy :)  Poor thing must get scared!  I wonder what it will be like after birth?!

Needing to Rest

Well, first off I have been feeling great without a trace of sickness for a couple of weeks now!  Praise God!  Yesterday I was brave and cut out another diclectin.  Here I am on day 2 of only taking 3 tablets and I'm still doing well.  I have never felt this good during pregnancy and it is an answer to prayer.  I really wanted to be able to enjoy being pregnant.

The only bad thing is that I am finding it easy to over do and that is what happened today.  We did a yard sale with my parents (they live next door) this morning and this afternoon I was helping my DH organize the garage.  It was then I experienced 2 very powerful contractions and was sent to the sofa by my DH.   It was then that I realized I had only had 2 glasses of water all day.  I started drinking water like crazy and resting.  I've had 1 more strong contraction and lots of little ones.  Hopefully after a good night's sleep they will all stop.

So, that is my update for this week.  I had an appt. on Monday that went great.  Baby's heartbeat was 166 - maybe a girl? :)

Hot

It's 85 degrees today here in Vermont.  Let's just say this pregnant mama is HOT!

Half-Way!

Today I've hit the 20 week mark!  I'm excited to be half way through this pregnancy. Overall I am doing very well, actually I'm the most active this pregnancy than the other 2. 

Good - I spend a good part of the weekend planting in our garden! 

My house is clean and all laundry/ironing is caught up.  

Still only need 4 diclectin a day.

Baby is giving some pretty hard kicks.

Not so good - My eye twitching is back....a sign that I'm overly tired.
Overdoing it causes my legs to swell up really big and also my hands so my wedding rings don't fit :(

Still have low blood pressure dizziness to deal with.

I'm eating a lot....and I mean a lot.

Food Funny

Last night after dinner we all had some ice cream (yum!).  Afterwards when I was putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher I saw the little bit of left over lettuce from dinner.  I thought why waste it? So I ate it.  My Hunny says "ice cream and lettuce?"  I responded with "I'm pregnant!" 

So, it's totally allowed, right? :)

19 Weeks

Just one more week until I hit the half-way mark!  Baby is very active but mostly at night - I'm really praying we don't get another non-sleeper.  For the most part m/s is gone, though I still have times when I feel sick, but thankfully I haven't thrown up in a few weeks.  I'm working on lowering how many Diclectin I take a day. Just today I came up with a plan to take 4 a day.  It would be great if it works at this dosage because I'm tired of being tired from the medication. 

We've had an above normal Spring here in New England with temps touching the 90's already.  The leaves have been in  full bloom for about 2 weeks now when normally they would not be until the end of May.  Even my tulips are done already!  Our pool is completely open and ready for swimming, that is if you don't mind 68 degree water :)
I really started to panic about what this Summer is going to be like if it's this warm now - I already do NOT handle the heat well and add pregnancy to that and I just may live in our pool.  I've been struggling with my low blood pressure the past few weeks.  I've always had low blood pressure but it goes lower when I'm pregnant causing me to feel very week and light headed.   It's really hard to stand for a long time, like when I'm working in the kitchen or ironing.  I've done some reseach on the internet and one thing I found was to increase my salt intake.  This is very interesting because when I was pregnant with my first I started craving salt and salty foods and with all 3 pregnancies I've craved french fries - now I know why!

Other news is we have to look for a new crib - ours had been recalled :(  I'm really sad that all of our children will not have slept in the same bed, but on the other hand I am thankful nothing happened to them while they were in the crib.   I really like the style of our crib and hope we can find another one we like without having to spend big $$. 

Here is a warning from CPSC about ALL drop side cribs.  I think it's possible that sometime in the future they will end up recalling all drop side cribs.  Our recall had to do with the mattress support frame and the drop side breaking. 

18 Weeks

I must say that I can't remember a point in my other pregnancies where the nausea was gone like it is now.  It's been over a week since I've felt sick or even gagging.  I'm down to 5 Diclectin a day and possibly soon I will be at the normal 4 a day dosage. 

I'm still dealing with a daily headache, but thankfully a cup of coffee will take it away most days.  I need to make an appointment with my chiropractor as my hips have been hurting for weeks now and just yesterday I started to feel sciatic never pain down the same leg as my last pregnancy - not fun.  

The baby has been very active lately!  I really enjoy being able to feel the movement, but can't wait for them to be stronger so the children can feel it too. 

Just a short, but very good update for now!

Appointment!

Yesterday was my routine pre-natal appointment.  We brought along the kids who have been waiting for so long to hear Baby's heartbeat.  The look on their faces when they heard it was so special - it was a look of amazement with jaws down to their feet!

Baby proved hard to find and would move as soon as the doppler picked up the heartbeat...... hmmmm..... just like Eliana did. When we did find it, it was between 155-160, so still high.   Baby has plenty of space to move and hide as I'm measuring large with my uterus already to my belly button (about 4 weeks ahead).  No, I'm not really worried about twins (though the kids would LOVE it), as I really think we would have found heartbeats easier than we did it there was more than one in there. 

Other than that my blood pressure was great - 114/60 and I gained 3 pounds since last time. 

Second Baby's Birth Story

Early in this blog I wrote my birth story with my first, so I thought I would write out my second.

My goal for this birth was to have or at least attempt to have a VBAC.  It was very important to me to find a care provider who would not use any form of induction to start labor, even if I went past my due date.  That being said, the midwives (there were 3 of them) I was seeing assured me this was their practice.  That is, until my 7 month appt when the midwife felt the need to talk about the 'what if's' during my labor.  It was then I got the first red flag.  She said she would use pitocin if my labor stalled at any point.  Even though the chance is low, there is always the possibility of the pitocin over stimulating my uterus and that could lead to rupture.

At this point we changed gears and decided for a homebirth.  My official due date was Dec. 30, 2006.  About 3am on the morning of Dec. 28 we were awakened by our DD (yes, she was not sleeping thru the night yet).  I realized at that point "something" was going on.  Being 9 months pregnant and in the middle of the night, I needed to pee.  I then saw the 'bloody show'.  Great excitement!!  We tried to sleep, but at least for me I couldn't as I was too excited.  Penn went to work that day expecting the call to come home at any point. 

The contractions were very light and not really regular.  They picked up after a long walk my mom took me on but seemed to stop after a nap that afternoon.  A couple of hours later they were back and starting to be timeable.  By 9pm they was no mistaken them for real labor and we called our midwife.

As I labored through the night they got stronger and stronger. At every contraction how much my back hurt so very much - I endured back labor the whole time.  No amount of counter-pressure or heat could relieve the pain (actually I had bruising on my back from how hard I was having them push on my back!)

There was no sleeping this night and I had every hope of having a baby by morning.  Not so! I must have progressed very slowly even though my labor never stalled at any point.

Come morning was I getting very discouraged and tired, both physically and tired of the pain!  We plugged along ALL day long and by evening on the 29th, I was so tired I would sleep between contractions that were 2 minutes apart.  I begged to be taken to the hospital - I wanted pain relief! 

About 7 pm we headed to the hospital where I had started my care, but would now see the OB on call.  I was checked and told I was a very stretchy 8cm - at least I had progressed! It was then they broke my water.   For pain relief I was only offered something in my IV that made me feel dizzy, but took none of the pain away.  Thankfully it wore off fast (they had only given me half the dose) so the dizziness went away soon.

So, 2 hours after getting to the hospital and having my water broken I was told I was ready to push.  I was so tired I had no idea how to push.  The OB was very kind and she helped me through it and after about 40 minutes, my baby was FINALLY born.  But it was not without much damage - he tore me all the way through and gave me 2 hematomas :(  Not a fun recovery, but better than a c/section.

After 24 1/2 hours of labor (I count it as when the contractions got regular) my VBAC baby was born.

He was 9 pounds 1 oz and 22 inches long born at 9:35pm December 29, 2006 

Just days before they guessed he was about 7 pounds!

My biggest fear for this labor and birth is the back labor pain!  I have a high pain tolerance, but man, that pain was bad!  I have been told by many, that more than likely this labor will be a lot faster and easier than my last one.  I pray that is true!

16 Weeks

Baby has gotten more active and even gave me some good kicks, one that even my husband felt! And me? Well, the m/s still comes and goes. Last week started off really good with hardly feeling sick, but by Thursday I was back to fighting the urge to throw up. Then to top it all off, I caught my family's cold on Saturday. We had gone through 2 rounds of this cold and everyone was finally getting better and I thought I has avoided it - not so. And it's a nasty cold.

Some good news is about 10 days ago I cut back on my Diclectin by 1 tablet. I had wanted to be down another tablet by my appt this Friday, but I don't think it's going to happen. At least I'm heading in the right direction. With my other 2 pregnancies, the HG started to let up at the 20 week mark. Maybe, Lord willing, by then I will be doing much better. I had great hopes of feeling "normal" by this point with the Diclectin, but alas, I really can't complain. I would much rather feel how I feel now than be in the hospital getting IV's.

 

Here is a picture of baby's home - lol :)  Our daughter can hardly wait to feel some kicks and in the mean time she is always giving kisses to baby. 

Week 14!

Can I already be 14 weeks into this pregnancy?!  Time has seemed to go by faster this time. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I have not been as sick as last time. 

We had a beautiful weekend with a high of 79 on Saturday!  That is pretty much unheard of for early April in Vermont.  I was outside as much as I could be.  We went for a family walk (maybe almost a mile and yes, I was and still am sore from it), did lots of watching the kids play, did some yard work and checked out the bulbs that are blooming.  The crocuses are almost done but the first daffodil came out yesterday with many more right behind it.  Ah, Spring is wonderful!

And Today I am pleased to say I do NOT feel sick!!  I almost don't dare hope the m/s is gone for good, but I am praying it is :)  Still taking 8 diclectin a day and if I continue to do good, I will start cutting it back soon. 

Baby is very active, but the movments are not strong enough for anyone else to feel - maybe in another month.  My daughter loves for me to tell her when baby is awake.  It gives her the biggest smile ;)

Make Your Own Diclectin/Bendictin

I've been thinking for a few days that I should write it out how to make your own Diclectin/Bendictin, in case there is someone out there needs to know.  Many OB offices will tell you as well.

1 tablet of Diclectin/Bendictin is:

10mg Vitamin B6

10mg Doxylamine Succinate (Unisom, make sure it's not max. strength)

Buy a bottle of 25mg vitamin b6 and the regular Unisom sleep tablets (25mg round blue pill)

In the AM take:
1/2 tablet vit. b6

1/2 tablet unisom

In the Afternoon take:

1/2 tablet vit/ b6

1/2 tablet unisom

At bedtime take:

1 full tablet vit. b6

1 full tablet unisom.

At this dose you are taking 2 unisom tablets a day.  At first you will feel pretty tired but after a week or 2 your body will adjust to it.  You can take up to 3 unisom tabets a day.

You can always call up Motherisk and talk to them about how much you should be taking.  They are very knowledgable on the subject.

Being Thankful

It's always easy to complain when things aren't perfect - it's raining (again), kids are fighting because they have been shut in the house too long, morning sickness that wont go away....... the list could go on and on.

Today I wanted to start a list of things I'm thankful for!

A new baby that we heard the heartbeat a few days ago

Family that lives next door and helps me at a moments notice

A husband who is:

1) happy to help with whatever needs to be done when he gets home from work

2) does not complain about the lack of meals made by me

3) does not complain about the condition the house is in

4) tends to all the children's bath/bed time needs

Frozen pizza!!  It's a 'safe food' for me right now!

We Have A Heartbeat!!

It's always a great appointment when you get to hear the heartbeat!  It was a long wait to 12 1/2 weeks, but hearing that wooshing sound made it worth it.  It was nice and strong at 164 beats per minute.  If the old wives tale holds true (and it did for our first two), then this baby will be a girl!  Just what our daughter wants.  And hubby and I wouldn't mind another little pink bundle :)

The only yucky part of the appt. was having to get my blood drawn - it proved to be just as hard as ever to get blood.  After fishing around in my arm for the vein (that loves to roll away), he had to try the other arm.  At least it's done with until 28 weeks. 

Everything else was great and I got another Rx for Diclectin.  So, it's another 4 week wait. 

What a great way to end a not so great week (the morning sickness has returned to me this week).

Week 12

We are back from our trip to Pennsylvania and I did very well in the car.   I hardly felt sick while we were there and I was able to spend a LOT of time outside in fresh air.  Maybe a little too much as I got a little sunburn.

I'm waiting for my appt on Friday - just 3 days away!!!.  We are bringing the kids as they want to hear 'baby's heart'.  I'll give an update after Friday. 

11 Week Update

As I was feeling pretty tired yesterday and wondering when my energy would come back, it dawned on me that I stopped taking my 2 hour mid-day nap.  It made me smile to think that maybe I am getting some energy back!  Just a week and a half left in the 1st trimester.

My huge accomplishment this week was that I made an oven roasted chicken dinner with all the trimmings by myself!  And it tasted soooo good. 

My house is starting to look cleaner, except for when the kids leave toys all over the house. 

Finally, we are going to take a road trip to PA this weekend to visit the grandparents.  It will be a very nice diversion for us (me)!

***As I wrote this, baby was really wiggling!***

Whew, I'm tired now

Today I was able to get some work done in the house and it felt good. 

I started with vacuuming upstairs (yesterday I changed the kids sheets), then I cleaned the bathroom (well, just 1 out of 3), really cleaned my kitchen and started on my huge ironing pile.  I only stopped since my tired 3 y/o was crying for me to hold him. 

I had wanted to mop my floors, but that will have to wait for another day. 

I am thankful for the work I was able to do!

Looking Up

I do believe the m/s is starting to let up.  I'm not having to fight the nauseous feeling as much or as hard the past few days.  I've been up more and attempting to do a little more around the house - making meals is still hard as I can't stand the smell of food cooking.

With the warmer weather I've gotten out for a hour or so for the past 3 days with the kids.  Well, I sit on the porch and watch them run and play.  It feels good to be out in the sunshine and I KNOW that they need the exercise. 

Call me crazy but I think I've felt this little baby move on 2 different occasions.  I know it's early, but I felt the other 2 earlier than I was suppose to.  I guess I'm really in tune to my body :)

I've gained 4 pounds!!!  What a difference that is from last pregnancy where I had lost 8 pounds at this point. 

Heartburn has not come (yet) and I'm wondering if it's from throwing up a WHOLE LOT LESS.   The last two times I developed a chronic cough and I was told it was caused by all the acid from throwing up.  This cough was awful and fits of it would cause more vomiting. Both times it went away as soon as baby was born.

Still feeling very tired 24/7.  I had to stop taking my prenatels due to the m/s, so I'm sure I'm getting low on iron.  I have a bottle of Floradix (best iron supplement there is) that I will start taking today.  Probably once it's gone, I will be able to take my vitamins. 

Thank you Lord for an 'easier' pregnancy!!

Today, I plan to put the rest of our seed order together for the garden.  We are using heirloom seeds, so we can save our own seeds year after year!

10 Weeks Today

I am pleased to say that I went a full week with only throwing up one time!!!!  And I was able to get out a little and even went to church. 

The HG is really much more under control this time around for which I am beyond thankful.  Yes, I still feel that I am very much in 'survival mode' most days. I found a food that really seems to agree with me and it's bacon.  If I eat some in the morning, it really helps me to feel better. 

I am counting down the days until the first trimester is over - 3 weeks from today. 

I can't wait to get my energy back and am praying that the sick feeling will go away once I hit the second trimester!

10 week baby belly :)

Thursday

I guess I really can't complain since I had 3 days of feeling pretty good, but it's always hard (at least for me) to throw up. 

In all fairness though, I think it was triggered by my taking the trash out just a little while ago.  Yes, I was already feeling sick and had been gagging a lot this morning, but that smelly trash - yuck!

All right, I need to get my 3 y/o down for his nap :)

WOW!

I can't believe the difference in how I've felt today and yesterday compared to the awful week and weekend last week.  Is it going to last?  Don't know, but I'm thankful for the good days I have now.  I never felt this good at this point in my other pregnancies, so I'm sure it's due to the Diclectin working.

First Prenatal Appt!

We had our first appt on Friday and it went very well!  It was just too early to hear the heartbeat, but my uterus was measuring right on track at 8-9 weeks. 
This was our first time seeing an OB as we used midwives the other 2 times.  She was really understanding of our desire to stay low intervention.  Actually, the one nurse said "wow, it's refreshing to hear you don't want an ultrasound. Normally the question is 'when can I have my first ultrasound?'"

As for my popped out tummy, she assured me that it is the baby (or uterus) and not all fat - lol! That makes me feel better about wearing maternity clothes.

Our next appt is March 26th, right when I will be starting the 2nd trimester and we should hear the heartbeat then for sure. 

8 Weeks Today

Oh, where to start?  So many thoughts in my head today. 

I'm 8 weeks today and when I think back to 8 weeks in my last pregnancy, I remember being in tears.  My body was hurting so bad because I was dehydrated and unable to keep any food down and I feared miscarrying.  This time not only am I not down any weight, I've gained 2 pounds!

And the biggest thing is that I am showing!  My clothes no longer fit - this is so new to me.  With Eliana I was half way through the second trimester before needing maternity clothes and with little Penn I was about 15 weeks.  I keep telling myself, it's because it's my 3rd and everything is stretched out :)

I am beyond thankful for the Diclectin, even though it's not taking away all the sickness it's helping tremendously.  HG started 3 weeks ago tomorrow and I've only thrown up 12 times.  That may seem like a lot, but it's not coming from someone who threw up 6+ times a DAY with the last 2 pregnancies.

I find myself feeling nauseous most everyday and have to keep still (I spend a lot of the day on the couch) in order to not throw-up. Even bending over to put dishes in the dishwasher is risky.  My house is showing a lack of attention these days, as I can only do the bare min.

I am thankful for my wonderful husband who has pretty much taken over the kitchen duties.  From doing dishes, feeding himself the kids and me (though he is thankful for the meals Mimi makes for us!) and cleaning up.  I don't help him at all for the bath/bedtime routine.  He even is braiding Eliana's hair for her!  I started braiding it when it got long to help prevent tangles, and when I was unable to do it, he took it on himself.  How sweet!!

This week we have our first pre-natal appointment.  I am excited and am hoping to hear the heartbeat.  We heard Eliana's at 9w5d and I will only be 8w4d, so it's probably not very likely.

Every week I pull up a picture on the internet of what our baby looks like to show the kids.  They really enjoy that along with talking to baby most everyday. 

Almost out

UPDATE - IT CAME IN WEDSNESDAY'S MAIL!

I'm almost out of my Diclectin :(  I placed a reorder on Feb 5th, but as of today's mail I haven't gotten it.  If I cut back and take one at bedtime tonight and tomorrow, I will have a full dose for 2am thursday.

I will have to get some unisom if it doesn't come tomorrow.  I wonder how well the b6 and unisom will control the HG?  I'm not looking forward to the effects if it doesn't. 

Word of advise - place your reorder way before you need it!

Managing

  I think at this point it is fair to say that the diclectin is making my HG manageable. Mornings are still hard and it's no earlier than 10am when I get my shower, but the rest of the day is a little easier. I'm still gagging a lot during the day, but in the 10 days that HG has been here, I've only throw-up 5 times.

The hardest thing is dealing with food. I am having a hard time in the kitchen. My poor kids, sometimes I feel like I'm just throwing whatever food I can their way and by no means is it a complete meal. My 3 year old comes from the pantry with a box of cereal asking me if he can eat it - poor baby! Of course I say yes and he is soooo happy.  I am thankful for my wonderful husband who is stepping up in this area and feeding us.

My mom has the kids this morning, so I was able to pick up the messy house and run the vacuum. Now, I am ready for a nap. I can't believe how tired I am! I go to bed right after the kids (about 7:30) and get up when they do at 7 and I'm still tired. Can't wait for the 1st trimester to be over and I get some energy back

Ups and Downs

That's what it feels like I've been going through.  I have been praying and pleading with God to spare this sickness from me, to have mercy on me.  The first day I took the diclectin, I was so exctied since it took all sick feelings away.  My best guess is that as the HG was getting worse everyday, the diclectin was not working as well.  After much reading on motherisk (a Canadian website), I learned that I was taking the min. dosage of diclectin and often times women who have more severe m/s are told to take more. 

So, I doubled up on the tablets (after an awful day on Sunday) and I am pleased to say that it is helping.  I am by no means "perfect", but at least I can function - something that was not the case with my other pregnancies. 

**Canadian studies have shown that taking up to 12 diclectin a day does not change the baseline risk of 1% to 3% chance of birth defects in ALL pregnancies.

Good News!

As you saw by my post this morning, I ended up starting the Diclectin today.  I got up and 6:30 this morning and came rushing downstairs to eat some almonds.  They seamed to take the edge off, but less than an hour later they were in the toilet. 

It took a little while to get over all the sick feelings from the morning, but as of right now I can say that I feel GREAT!  I know that's it's probably too soon to make a good judgment if it will work all the time and only time will show me that. 

I had wondered if the drug would make me tired, since I was told by some who made their own OTC version that it knocked them out.  I am happy to say this has not been the case for me.  I'm tired, but that's because I'm in the 1st trimester and I'm not sleeping well at night. 

************

We've know about this baby for 2 weeks today and during that time when I felt 'not pregnant' I would tell my husband "oh, wouldn't it be great to feel this good the whole time?!"

Needless to say I was disappointed to feel the start of sickness yesterday.  But at least it is telling me that my body is pregnant and Lord Willing, we will have another baby in 8 months.

I pray that the Lord will give me the strength of Job to get through the pregnancy even if the diclectin does not work.  He never once complained aobut his hardships. 

Diclectin Day 1

The subject says it all....

Morning Sickness

Has begun  :(

I'm fighing it by eating little bits of food ALL the time and  splitting my 50mg of B6 in half so I can spread it out more during the day. 

I will wait on the Dliclectin until I actaully start to throw-up. 

Feeling a little off....

I'm wondering if I'm starting with the morning sickness and if I am, this would be the earliest it has hit me.  I have moments of feeling not really sick, but a little off.  I've been taking an extra 50mg of vitamin B6 to help ward off morning sickness.  I have no idea if it will help, but thought it was worth a try.  After all the diclectin is half B6. 
From my looking online, it appears that 100mg of B6 is not only safe but good during pregnancy. 

Where To Give Birth?

Since you asked Larissa I thought I might as well make it a post, after all, this is my pregnancy journal.

First baby was a birth center with midwives, that ended with scheduled c/section.

Second baby started with midwives, but changed to homebirth midwife.  After 22 hours of back labor, I begged for the hospital where our baby was born via VBAC.

Now, with this baby I am using the o/b who delivered #2.  It's an hour drive one way, but I really liked her and I trust her.  She is more 'midwife minded' than the midwives I started with for baby #2.  She helped me get the Diclectin and will not induce me if I go late.  I can even see her for ALL my prenatal visits. 

Very Tired

I'm not sleeping!  I've never had this problem with the other pregnancies and wonder why I'm getting it now. 

I lay in bed for hour after hour and when I finally fall asleep it's such a light sleep, that I wake at the smallest noise (last night it was my boy's stuffy nose). 

After 5 nights of this, it's really hitting me today.  Since my boy has a little cold, I think we will have a low key day and hang out on the couch together.  I sure am thankful for laptops!

First Thoughts

It's been 3 days since we got the first positive test and the biggest thought I've had is that I wish I would feel this good for the next 8 months!  Realistically though, that is not going to happen.  At best I probably have just 2 short weeks until I start to feel sick. 

The children are so excited and my daughter has come to me several times saying "Mommy, I'm worried about baby.  Would you please drink some water to give to baby?"

They both want to play with baby and it was not getting through to them just how small baby is right now.  Yesterday I went into the pantry and got 2 grains of rice.  I gave one to each of them saying "this is how small baby is.  Can you play with baby?"  No, they each said.  They finally understand that baby needs to grow in mommy's womb for a loooooooong time.

We told the family by putting our son in a shirt that said "Big Brother". For family who live out of state we did a Skype call and those that were close we did it in person.   Some got it right away, but not everyone :)  It was a lot of fun to watch everyone's reaction when they figured it out.  It took my dad a long time.  He went in the other room to play with the kids and after DH and I had left (they were babysitting), came back to my mom and said "so when's it due?" 

The Journey Begins

The first test was a faint + on 10 DPO, then 11 DPO it was a little darker and now at 12 DPO it's dark enough for the camera to pick it up. 

12 days past ovulation.

Our Daughter's Pregnany & Birth Story

Okay, it's been almost 5 years and I've never written it out. I wonder how much I will remember. But as I sit here doing Kindergarten with her, I am amazed at how much she has grown. She changed my life the moment she was born. Her love of learning has been with her since day one and I'm not lying. I started to teach her to read a few months before she turned 3 and we were doing pre-school by age 3 and now kindergarten at age 4. I look forward to what the future holds with my little artist.

Here goes.....

One month after we were married, we learned we were expecting! It was an answer to our prayers as we really wanted a baby. I guess you can say it was a half answer to the prayer since we asked God for a boy and got a girl :)!

About 2 weeks after finding out we were expecting, I started with the first feelings of sick. It quickly got worse, to the point of me being in bed most of the day. Just about anything I ate would come back. I remember thinking that I must be a wimp since I couldn't continue on with my normal life. My husband and I were unable to go out on dinner dates, have fun with others (and for me it was getting to know the families in my new church as I had moved to North Carolina from Vermont 2 weeks before our wedding), or anything else newlyweds might do.

One thing I prayed for was that God would give me the strength to go to church every Sunday. It took me a couple of hours to get ready and I would have to eat laying down in bed, but God was kind and as far as I can remember, I don't think I missed a Sunday. But as soon as we got home, I would go to bed.

My husband did not work for the first 3 months of our marriage and he was wonderful in taking care of me and being next to me for every trip I made to the toilet to throw-up.

I remember it was around Thanksgiving time when I started to throw-up a bit less. It went from many (6+)times a day, to only a couple times a day. As the weeks went on, I would find myself going a whole day without throwing up! But I must say the nausea never fully went away and the last time I threw up was the morning our child was born.

We had chosen a free standing birth center that was just over an hour away from our house. It was one of two birth centers in the state of NC at that time and homebirth midwives had to work 'underground'. I really blame myself for not telling them how sick I was, but I didn't want them to think I was a complainer. Since I wasn't losing weight (wasn't gaining much either), I thought I must not be very sick.

Anyways, we enjoyed the more natural approach to pregnancy through our midwives and were never pushed to do anything we didn't want to - we NEVER had an ultrasound until I was 36 weeks along and I will tell you why.

At this appointment the midwife thought the baby was breach. They had recently been surprised by 2 other breach births and didn't want to take a chance with me. They set up an ultrasound appointment later that week. It was our first time in a hospital for this pregnancy, but it would not be the last.

Sure enough our baby was breach. Next step was to schedule a procedure called 'external cephalic version'. Basically they push and pull on your baby in hope of turning it. This was done at 37.5 weeks and was extreamely painful, but I knew if baby did not turn I would have to have a c-section. After what seemed like hours, they gave up. Our baby would not turn. My stomach was very sore (I had bruising that showed up later) and I was having contractions, but the baby's heart rate looked good. After a couple of hour of observation, we were sent home with a birth date of our child - he/she was to be born in 10 days, 1 week before my due date.

So we went from planning a natural childbirth to as medical of a birth you can have. This hospital was one of the largest (if not the largest) teaching hospitals in the state (UNC). The morning of our c-section came and we arrived at the hospital. With the exception of being very happy to have our baby, it would turn out to be the worst day of our lives.

It started by being lied to by the pediatricians that if we didn't give our baby the eye ointment they would have to notify CPS and start a file on us. We were planning on not vaccinating or giving the baby ANYTHING after birth. They had their "talk" with us before our midwife arrived. Later at our 2 week PP check-up she was angry to learn we were lied to.

Next my husband was not allowed in the OR until after I had my spinal placed, a procedure they started BEFORE the midwife arrived. I remember hearing the Dr. say to her when she walked in the room "I didn't realize she was your patient".  Made me wonder if they would have done anything different if they did know.

What happened next was awful. I had to listen to the anesthesiologist tell the student (that's right, a student) where to place the needle. It took 3 or 4 tries before it was placed correctly. I was screaming in pain. Looking back, I wish I would have told the anesthesiologist to do it himself! Because of all the wrong placements, I would have to endure months of horrible back pain and numbness. Pain that would not allow me to hold my daughter while standing for the first months of her life.

Finally my husband was at my head, touching me, kissing me, talking to me. It was a relief to have him there. They went on with the c-section and I remember having a 'hot spot' where I felt a lot of pain. After a lot of pulling and tugging, they got the baby out. It was said the cord was around her shoulder in such a way that she was not able to turn.

Our daughter, Eliana was born weighing in at 7lbs 9oz, 20 3/4 inches. Her eyes were wide open looking all around.

Eliana is a Hebrew word meaning "my God has answered". God had answered our prayer for a baby, it was just a long, hard 9 months to get her.

She had been breach the whole pregnancy and had what was called a 'breach head' and one leg that was very comfortable at her head as it had been in the womb.

Looking back, I now know I had a 'mild' form of HG.  I didn't lose weight, but the sickness prevented me from preforming my daily activites. All the 'morning sickness' tricks people told me did nothing to help.  I can't remember all that I tried, but it was a lot.  I never felt good during this pregnancy and little did I
  know it would be much, much worse the next time around.

Pretty Cool

I just went online to a due date calculator and if I am to get pregnant this month, my due date would be:

October 4, 2010

My 33rd birthday.

Bendectin and Diclectin

You might wonder why I'm thinking (hoping, praying) Diclectin will work for me.  Go back to the year 1977.  Early that year a woman found out she was pg.  Her son was just turning a year old and the thought of being "sick as a dog" while chasing after a busy toddler was overwhelming.  She asked her OB if there was anything she could take. She was told about and given Bendectin and it worked so well she took it again in '79 for another pregnancy.  Who was this woman?  She is my mom. 

Sadly, Bendectin is no longer available in the US and this is why:

Bendectin is an anti-nausea drug that is a combination of Vitamin B6 and doxylamine succinate (antihistamine) and was on the US market from the 1950's until 1983, when it was voluntarily removed from the market by its manufacturer, Merrell Dow. The reason?  False statments that it was causing birth defects. As alarming as that sounds, the evidence and history has not shown any proof between its use and an increase in birth defects. Today most OB's approve of its use and tell you how to "make your own" over the counter version. If you do some research, you will see that upon Bendectin's removal from the market, the rate of birth defects remained steady while the rate of hospitalizations for NVP doubled. It has been thought that Bendectin was used by lawyers, eager for money, as a reason to start suing. The legal fees were costing Merrell Dow more than the drug was making so they removed it from the market.

Most interesting to me is that due to all of this, Bendectin (Diclectin) remains the most studied antiemetic for use in pregnancy. And these studies showed it was safe and effective. Diclectin is a "Class A" drug - the safest rating there is.  I was told by my MW that Tylenol was a "Class B"

Click HERE for the FDA drug rating chart.

Bendectin is still available in Canada under the name of Diclectin, I was able to get some and this is how:

My husband and I met with my OB and talked about our desire to have more children and how to better control HG.

She was comfortable with me taking Diclectin and wrote me a Rx.

I then took to the internet to find a pharmacy in Canada where I could order it.  It was as easy as scanning my Rx and emailing it to a company called canadadrugs.com.  I had it 2 weeks later.