July Flashback: A Family Announcement

Well, I am pregnant with baby #3. Am I excited? Are we excited? Not really, not yet. It will grow on us though. And yes, we purposefully don’t share the news of our pregnancies for a while, even with family. Get over it people! (I can say that, this is a blog folks). Sorry if I seem a little snarky but it is hard to be excited and talk about something when you are miserable and simply trying to get through each day.

Any who, many of you know that I get sick when I am pregnant. You may think it is morning sickness but it is actually something else…hypermesis gravidarum which is much worse. These are not all of the symptoms but the ones I’ve dealt with my pregnancies: anemia, confusion, severe dehydration (and all of the loveliness that comes with that), excessive salivation (yes, very gross), extreme fatigue, dizziness, motion sickness, headaches, increased sense of smell, intolerance to motion/noise/light, ketosis, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, rapid weight loss of 5% or more, anxiety and depression, vitamin/electrolyte deficiency, vomiting of mucus and bile.

I am usually freezing cold all the time and am extremely sensitive to changes in temperature. So, something as simple as taking a hot shower could start me on a vomiting cycle, which lasts all day. The only time I don’t feel miserable is when I am sleeping, literally. Because of my motion sickness, I usually end up lying on the couch for weeks on end. My poor kids pretty much watched tv all day when I wasn’t receiving help. At my worst Drew had to bathe and dress me because I was so weak. At 8 weeks prego I went in for IV hydration and started oral medication. In the past, oral mediations never worked because I couldn’t keep them down which is why IV’s are AWESOME! With two kids to care for, I felt even more desperate for relief. I forced myself to take them and would reswallow them if necessary. They worked a little but the side affects were horrendous so I eventually quit. Time is my only cure.

We are grateful for all of the help and meals we received. For several weeks, someone from church would pick Carter and Tay up, bring them to their house for the morning, feed them lunch, and then return them for afternoon naps. I think this happened three times a week while it lasted. Drew was able to come home early many days to take care of them as well. Thankfully my mom flew out for two weeks and took care of me. She got our house in order and gave Carter and Tay a little bit of their summer back. I can’t really talk about my hyperemesis experience without getting upset. In fact the first two weeks of attending church again after being gone for 3 ½ months, I literally broke down in tears when some one asked how I was doing. It is far more than feeling like you have food poisoning for days and weeks on end; it is an isolating, lonely, and a depressing experience to go through. For more info go to www.helpher.org.