My very limited HG tips and some pictures

I don't have much of an update. Still sick, though not as bad as last week. Diana posted on her blog last week on my behalf, asking for some other suggestions of things for me to try. There were a couple of things that I've tried that seem to be helping. I've also discovered a few things on my own. I thought I'd post them here in case anyone else can benefit from them. So, if you don't care about HG helps, stop reading now.

Diana suggested drinking Boost (like the Old Person shakes). It's really pretty much sugar and water, but it is fortified with protein and some small portions of vitamins and minerals. Some days, it's the only protein I can keep down, and one little bottle has 15grams, so it's worth it. It doesn't taste too badly, either.

Today the Pharmacist suggested gummy vitamins. I don't know why I didn't think of that. They're certainly better than nothing, and I can space them out. My prenatal vitamins were too hard on me and I continually threw them up, but so far, the gummies seem to be working. The pharmacist suggested that the sugar in them might be part of what's helping. If these don't work, I'll try the little kid ones, which are even less potent.

Diana's blog buddy suggested Zantac 75 to suppress stomach acid. It's a Class B drug so I felt comfortable taking it. I've found that it works much better than Tums. I still take Tums at bedtime for the calcium--some googling I did said that Zantac and Tums can cancel each other out if you take them simultaneously, so watch for that. I've found that the Zantac has made the single biggest difference so far. She also suggested Prilosec, but it's a Class C and I wasn't comfortable with risks. Check with your doctor or midwife before taking anything.

The other big suggestion was basically just easing the work load on my whole system. So what I've been experimenting with the last few days is taking 2 Colace every day (not just when I feel I need it because that's usually too late), the Zantac, and my Zofran. I also try to drink a lot of water because it suppresses the acid production (my Chiro told me that).

I've also taken to skipping lunch and drinking either a fruit smoothie or a Boost or something. I found that when I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner, by dessert time, I was miserable. I also found that when things...ahem...backed up intestinally, my vomiting would increase, hence the Colace. My body just seems to not be able to process food that quickly. I'm too hungry to skip lunch altogether but consuming it in liquid form seems to tax my system less. I also try to eat REALLY slowly, and chew my food excessively. I also stick to really simple foods--fruit, simple carbs, and other things that are very easy to break down.

Baby sits transversely, right on my tummy and intestines. In most pregnancies, baby would have moved north by now, but he still seems to LOVE hanging out way down there. So I'm purely hypothesizing, but I think the fact that he's still sitting on those organs is why I continue to have such a hard time this late in pregnancy. He's sitting on a system that's already working slowly because of his very existence. Then he hinders it farther, so the food just gives up and comes back up. My chiropractor thought there could be some validity to this. On the flipside, I don't have the difficulty breathing and the kicks to the ribs, which is just fine with me.

I've noticed two huge non-diet factors that affect me: heat and fatigue. If I do more than about 2 hours of activity--any activity, even light things like walking, by the end of that day, I'm really bad. So I just need to be really disciplined about not overdoing it, especially when I feel "good" and want to make up for lost time. And if I'm behind on sleep, I have to make it a priority to sleep or nap immediately. The more tired I am, the worse I vomit. I nap at length, every single day. The dog loves it! :D

Heat is like kryptonite. I don't know why, but the second I get overheated, I'm done. I just have to pay super close attention to my environment and sit near fans or air conditioners, move slowly, etc.

So I've been trying to concentrate on these things this week. I'm still sick every day, but less frequently and less forcefully. Today was a pretty bad day, but Monday and Tuesday were bearable.

So anyway, those are just some things I've been playing around with and that you may try if you're having a rough time--or you may have already tried them. I'm reading a few books, too, which will hopefully give me some other ideas.

I had to run a couple of errands yesterday and since I was too sick on Sunday to get up and out, we didn't take a picture. So yesterday I put some makeup on and dressed a little more nicely and took a picture, not knowing again this week when I'd feel up to it! (A shower, clean, matching clothes, and makeup all happening on the same day is a rarity these days :D )

So here's 25 weeks. I feel like my belly changed overnight. I'm definitely feeling it in the way I move and walk now.


And lastly, our first "baby." This is Lewis. He HATES the camera. HATES it. He absolutely refuses to look at you when you have it out. He'll turn his back, walk away, hide his head, whatever he can do. DH was trying to take his picture and Lewis wouldn't look at him. I went behind DH and called Lewis and he looked up. We thought we'd fooled him, until we saw the picture. This makes me giggle every time I look at it. Hope it makes you smile.