My Mom Rocks

I don't have a ton of updates, but I'm trying to blog consistently, so I thought I'd post about my wonderful mom.

Wednesday and Thursday, I was severely nauseated for 48 hours, straight. I only threw-up once, but I felt like that was only by the grace of God and because I pretty much refused to move and didn't eat anything. Thursday night I was so desperate, I called my mom to ask if she'd come up to help me on the weekend get caught up on all the stuff that had fallen by the wayside while I was so tired and/or sick. She graciously agreed!

Friday, I had a much better day. I was able to clean my kitchen, make some bread dough, do a little laundry and complete a few errands. It took me all day to do that, including a long nap in the middle, but I got it done. Mom spent the day at her house cooking and baking for us. She arrived Saturday and I felt woozy, but ok. We ran some errands and she helped me do my grocery shopping, which was funny for her because I move slowly, forget things, and totally space out these days! We puttered around the house, and she attacked my kitchen. I'd cleaned it the day before but she deep cleaned it--wiped down everything on the counters, cleaned my fridge inside and out, washed my trashcan--all that stuff I never do, because, despite being born to the housekeeping Yoda, I am an epic failure at it.

Saturday night was awful. I was up most of the night with a sick tummy, and then I proceeded to throw up all day Sunday. Whoever called it morning sickness is a big fat liar! :P

While I sat on my bum doing NOTHING except puking, mom vacuumed my carpets, cleaned my tile floors (on her hands and knees--and our house is more than half tile!), dusted, rearranged my tupperware cabinet (it's always a disaster) and deep cleaned both of our bathrooms. She did other stuff I'm sure, but that's all I'm remembering. I think the only time our house was ever this clean was when 1) we moved in and 2) we had our homestudy visit.

I finally called Diana last night, who recommended a cocktail of Unisom and Vitam B6. Diana suffered from Hyperemesis Gravidarum with both of her pregnancies and is well read on all kinds of morning sickness cures, from old wives tales to heavy duty prescriptions. I tried her cocktail and finally received some relief from the vomiting, but then proceeded to be knocked into a heavy sleep (imagine that, with sleeping medicine!) I called my doctor this morning and he approves/recommends the same combination, so not long after the overnight dose worse off, I took another and proceeded to be a zombie the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, my mom made us a crockpot full of stew, a casserole, three other meals, and chopped all our fruits and veggies for easy consumption this week. Each of those dishes makes two meals (or more, if DH is the only one eating them). She also had brought up another casserole and a couple pounds of cooked taco meat with her and two dozen whole grain muffins (easy on my tummy). So now we have almost three weeks worth of dinners so that if I don't feel up to or can't stomach cooking, DH can just pull something out of the freezer and microwave it and I don't have to feel bad about leaving him to fend for himself! I'm so grateful for my sweet mom, who gave of herself so selflessly this weekend! Thank you mom! I can't say that enough. She did have to go home today--and probably for the best because after this weekend, she needs a break!

The Unisom wore off this afternoon and I didn't feel sick enough to take another dose so I was finally able to come out my zombie state and go to work for a few hours, so it was nice to feel productive.

If you're struggling with morning sickness/NVP, here are some things I've tried that have helped:

1. Eat often
2. When you do eat, eat small and eat well.
3. Eat a few crackers before you get up in the morning. When you do get up, rise slowly so you don't jar your tummy too much. If you wake up in the middle of the night, eat a couple crackers then, too--keeping your stomach from getting totally empty seems to be key and night time is the longest your tummy goes unattended.
4. Eat a little, right before bed, so your tummy has something to work on overnight rather than completely emptying itself out.
5. Have mint gum handy at all times. I now have packages of it stashed in near every room of my house and I can't tell you how many episodes it warded off this weekend. Costco sells it in bulk. No, really :)
6. Stay well hydrated
7. If you have a problem of producing excess saliva (a side effect of pregnancy that some, myself included, experience), spit it out rather than swallowing it because the extra fluids can aggravate your tummy. Make sure you stay well-hydrated though. And the gum can be counter-productive to the minimizing excess production, but for me, it's worth it anyway.
8. Figure out what your instant-fixes or deterrents are (if you have any) and have them handy-put some in your purse, in your desk drawer, etc
9. Complex carbs are your friend. But all carbs are not created equal. Just because that piece of wonder bread or those mashed potatoes sound like they'll be soothing, they probably won't be. Try whole grain bread or oatmeal or something else. I've found that white starches just sit in my stomach and mock me.
10. Avoid fried foods

Saltines and 7 Up have helped a little but not much. I've been afraid to try ginger, as it gets mixed reviews on whether or not it can lead to miscarriage. The mint gum works wonders. Citrus and sucking on a lemon has not worked at all. Sometimes, something sweet helps, other times, it doesn't. Teas are hit or miss, too.

Find the snacks that work for you. For me they are:
Peanuts
Fruit Snacks
Oranges
Popsicles (they make 100% fruit, no sugar added ones)
Cucumber
Apples
Carrot Sticks
Milk
Chicken Lunch Meat
Oatmeal with Walnuts and Raisins
Milk
Chocolate Milk
Cold pudding
Flavored Yogurt

I keep peanuts and fruit snacks in my purse at all times. Any time you feel yourself getting even the slightest bit hungry, eat something!

One of my books also said to experiment with different textures and temperatures. I've found that I do best with frozen stuff, and with hard crunchy stuff. The softer, in-between textures are hit or miss. I can do yogurt and pudding, but I can't do bananas and smoothies. I can eat cantaloupe and watermelon if it's cold, but not if it's room temperature. And then there are days when this all goes out the window and you just barf anyway ;)

In all honesty, I feel like the biggest wimp on the planet. I've had what I would describe as a few tough days, 2 hard days, and one pretty terrible day, plus quite a few days when I've felt fine and have just been too tired to do anything, and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. I've also developed hives of some sort (I think related to the progesterone), for which the doc said I can take Benadryl but not hydrocortizone. Benadryl knocks me out too, so between that and the Unisom, I'm often in a state of zombie! I was truly unprepared for how different I would feel this quickly. I don't want to have a complaining spirit and in a lot of ways, I really am still grateful for the continued "reminders" of pregnancy so I'm just praying for God's strength and sustaining power, a heart of gratitude, His provision of physical reprieve when I need it, and gratitude for the love and help of friends and family.

We get another peek at little-love-bug on Wednesday morning and I can't wait. While most women don't get to see their babies for several more weeks, we get several "previews." I guess that's one of the few perks of infertility ;)

Thanks for checking in! I'll post Wednesday after our ultrasound!