The First Three Months (Thank God That's Over)

Finding out you are pregnant is one of the most joyous and happy times in life. It is such an emotional time. However, I would like to give you a little glimpse into my last couple of months and why you most certainly have not seen or heard from me in quite some time. Right about when week 6 hits, things get a little (or a lot) rough. Here is a little insight on what my first not so pretty trimester was like. 

Nausea, oh the freaking nausea. Morning sickness my ass. Try sickness 24 hours a day. I would even wake up in the middle of the night from the nausea, then not be able to go back to sleep because I kept feeling like I was going to hurl all over Blake, and then actually hurl an hour later (not on Blake, made it to the bathroom almost every time). You know what it feels like? It feels like you went out for a bender the night before and are the most hungover you have ever been. The worst part is no amount of sleep, food, gatorade, tylenol, etc. helps. Ever.  I even tried acupuncture a few times, and that was no help at all. I wouldn't be able to peel myself out of bed most days, and certainly not out of the house. I was an invalid. An invalid living a dark hole. Literally. I would sometimes throw up five times a day. I cancelled so many plans, and even had to give up new work projects. And, let me tell you, I could count on one hand the number of times I had thrown up before I was pregnant. The worst part about it all is that throwing up doesn't actually make you feel any better. Maybe for the two minutes immediately following there is slight relief, but then the nausea comes back with a vengeance.

Now, hopefully when you are preggo it won't be this bad for you. My doctor told me I had hyperemesis gravidarum which is extreme and persistent nausea and vomiting during pregnancy that can cause dehydration and malnutrition. Me and Kate Middleton. I had to go to the hospital to get fluids once, and probably should have another couple times. I lost a total of 10 pounds in my first trimester. Wait, I thought I was supposed to be gaining weight?  It was misery, but that is behind me now. THANK GOD. Although I am still nauseous, the uncontrollable vomiting stopped around week 13. A huge thank you to Blake, my mom, my sister, and Nan for taking care of me. I don't know what I would have done without y'all.

Some things that did help somewhat…

• Ginger. Well, this worked some for the first couple of weeks, but then I needed to bring out the big guns. I took it in pill form and would take it three times a day since the bottle said that was the max. 

• Zofran and Diclegis. (The big guns). Now, I am not a proponent of meds while preggers, but I needed to keep food down. My doctor prescribed both meds above. Zofran is what they give cancer patients undergoing chemo when they experience nausea. It helped only a little, and when it would wear off after 4-5 hours I would up chuck. Like clockwork. Diclegis is a mix of unisom and vitamin B6. This did help me sleep a little better at night, and not wake up first thing in the morning feeling like I was going to die.

• Preggie Pops Drops. My sister introduced me to these. I ordered mine on Amazon. They are all natural and contain B Vitamins and other essential oils. 

• La Croix. Really any sparkling beverage will due. Gingerale works just the same. The bubbles help to settle your stomach and make you burp which help alleviate the sick feeling. 

• Eating a snack right before bed. Usually toast for me. 

• Small meals throughout the day. Keeping your blood sugar in check helps. When I would eat a larger meal, I could tell it got worse. The good news is that eating smaller meals throughout the day is easy because you feel so bad you never want to sit down to a feast. 

• Avoid food with any flavor. I lived off of plain rice, crackers, toast, applesauce, plain chicken, and chicken broth. Literally. Yuck. I had such high aspirations of eating perfectly for the little one, but all that flew out the window. Any vegetable I would try to eat would come right back up in its entirety. 

The Fatigue. My mother in law said it best. "There is no tired like pregnancy tired". I was tired all the time no matter how much sleep I got at night. 10 hours? 11 hours? 12 hours? Didn't matter, still tired. The hardest part about this I think is not feeling up to working out. I have worked out all my life, at least four days a week. The extremely lethargy mixed with nausea makes for poor motivation in the work out department. Working out is a habit for me, and I feel off when I can't do it. I guess I felt off anyway from being pregnant though. Either way, it was still hard.

Mood Swings. It's basically like bad PMS the whole time. Blake can barely joke around with me without me crying. I am so damn sensitive! I also seem to be picking more fights. I am so sorry babe. Just remember, its the hormones and that I love you.

Indigestion. All the time. I mean, if one eats plain toast, one would think they would escape it. Wrong. There is no escaping it. Sometimes it got so bad that my stomach would literally burn. Not heart burn, but stomach burn. There was just too much acid. 

Constipation. Now, I am no stranger to this aliment, but it doesn't make it suck any less. And this was extreme...

Extreme Amounts of Saliva. This is an odd one that I had no idea about. The amount of saliva that I produce is unreal. I have to carry a spittoon around with me where ever I go. Gross, huh?  About every 2-3 minutes I will have an entire mouth full of saliva. One can only swallow so much, so the spittoon to the rescue. This symptom of pregnancy is common with those with hypermesis. It's called Ptyalism, and my doctor said it should go away. I'm still waiting...

I am very much looking forward to the second trimester, which is from what I've heard is the best part of pregnancy. I can't wait for this little baby girl to arrive in a few short months. All of the misery of pregnancy will be worth it ten fold when I hold the little one in my arms for the first time.  Let the bows and tutus begin!