Posts Tagged ‘pregnancy travel’

Pregnancy Week 11

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

I think week 11 can be summed up in one word – tired. Make that exhausted. I’ve reached the hibernation point of this pregnancy. I sleep about 10-12 hours a night, and by noon/early afternoon each day I’m ready for a nap, and by the time evening hits I’m completely worthless. A friend told me that she slept through the entire third month of her pregnancy, just missed the entire thing, doesn’t remember it. Isn’t that nuts? I don’t think I’m there, but a close second.

It’s still just so insane to me how much, and how quickly, your body changes. To that, I still have days where I have to go oh wow, I’m pregnant! This is real! If it weren’t for the symptoms I think I’d never believe it.

The sonogram and the picture of the real baby helped. We had a sonogram last Monday, as my bleeding had returned. Thankfully all signs of the blood clot are completely gone and the doctor believes it’s just the last little bit draining off. I’m still seeing very faint, very mild spotting here and there, but I think we’re completely out of the woods on this. Thank God! I’ve been told that some women will spot their entire pregnancy. I’m hoping that’s not me, but at least now I can take a deep breath and not completely panic.

Toward the end of the week I started feeling sick again. Nauseous, everything stinks, nothing sounds good, just miserable. So I spent the majority of the weekend lying right here on this couch vegging in front of the TV, eating crackers. I’ve also learned something about pregnancy that can be filed under the “things no one ever tells you.” I can’t brush my teeth. The thought of having to brush my teeth makes me want to run to the toilet. And I thought I was being weird so I tried to get over it. Until I told a few friends who all either concurred or told me about three other people they know who have resorted to gum or rinsing with mouthwash. And I’m thinking, well, that would work but I cannot live with the fuzzy slipper teeth. Since I work at home, and I don’t have to come into contact with humans for the majority of the day, I’m not making it the first thing I do in the morning. Because I’m not kidding, I will vomit. So I have breakfast, let that digest, and closer to lunch I brace myself for brushing my teeth. And I use the TINIEST dob of toothpaste and we get in and get out. Fast. And I try not to breathe while doing it. The entire task is horrendous and I really, REALLY hope this passes. I need to make a dentist appointment and I’m avoiding it because I am one hundred percent certain I will puke on the hygienist. And maybe the dentist, too.

The bump is continuing to grow, getting more bumptastic all the time. Depending on what I wear it’s completely obvious (for instance, today I’m in yoga pants and a slim long sleeve t-shirt). It’s fun, makes this entire thing a bit more real. I think I’m about at the point of having to give up my regular jeans. Sigh. I’ve held out as long as I could. But yesterday, squatting, bending, sitting or just moving was too much. They were so tight and so uncomfortable. The downside is that I’m not quite big enough for my maternity jeans, they slide off of me like an 8-year-old boy with no hips. And who knew they didn’t put belt loops on maternity pants?! What the hell?!

Week 12 is starting off a bit rough, and I’m going to spend week 13 in NYC. So I’m really going to take it easy on myself this week and hope it gets better and that I have the energy to take on the Big Apple.

Pregnancy Week 7

Monday, September 14th, 2009

So I decided that instead of doing my weekly pregnancy updates at the start of the week I would do them at the end – that way I can capture what happened in that week. So this week is my eighth week, and I want to talk about the seventh.

I’m still hungry. All the time. Around the clock. Hunger has just become a part of who I am. I joke that I haven’t felt full since August 15. Unlike previous weeks I’ve reached a point where I’m so unbelievably, nauseatingly hungry and yet there is nothing that sounds good to me. Shelton made a turkey sandwich for me last night and I really thought I was going to puke in my lap. It looked horrendous. And sadly the things that do sound edible to me, are things I should not want to eat. I want a lot of pizza. Potato chips and macaroni and cheese and blah blah blah. I’m really trying to limit this stuff – but when it’s the only thing I can or want to eat I guess I’m justifying it.

We went camping this past weekend and I literally ate for four solid hours. If I wasn’t eating, I was fighting off nausea and trying not to get sick in front of our friends in the woods. So from 8:30 a.m. to noon I had an apple, three glasses of OJ, a peanut butter sandwich, eggs, bacon, ham, goldfish crackers, a banana, a turkey and swiss sandwich, cucumber slices and bbq potato chips. I don’t even know how many calories that is. But after that four hour binge I felt fine the rest of the day.

So on that note, I think my fairy tale of no morning sickness is over. The latter part of last week I started getting hit with bouts of nausea. It’s awful. I can’t think of many things I hate more than being nausea. And this lasts for hours! And it’s not necessarily morning sickness, it’s just pregnancy sickness and it comes any ‘ole time it wants. Yesterday, the start of week 8, it hit me hard. I’d felt fine all day, got home from camping, took a shower and a nap, and then got very sick and lost everything I’d eaten all day. I was out the rest of the evening. Today, I pretty much fought nausea all day long, but never got sick.

I also had to start a “these pants don’t fit pile.” Probably more to blame on my eating habits than the baby, but either way, those particular khaki shorts have been removed from circulation.

We had a sonogram last week and the little baby is just growing rapidly. It’s positively fascinating to watch this baby grow. It was up to 1.2 cm on Thursday with 154bpm for the heartbeat. It also has a head now! With what I’m calling a snout. Doc says the baby is where it should be for this point in our pregnancy.

IVF Handbook and a Scheduling Conflict

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

I told you about receiving our IVF handbook/packet, which turned out to be an oddly emotional moment for me. I didn’t want to waste any time and so I asked Shelton to read through the entire thing with me – giving us a chance to discuss things, question things, maybe even laugh at a few things. He suggested we each read it separately, and then regroup to discuss. I suggested more strongly that we do it the way I had originally suggested.

In the end, we read through it together. All 50 some pages in one evening. We scribbled notes in the margins to ask at our June 3 IVF class. We read really big scientific words and referenced the glossary often. We were forced to discuss some of those uncomfortable ethical situations that those “easy breeder” couples don’t seem to ever face. You know – like who gets the embryos if we divorce, do you dispose/donate/freeze additional embryos, if you have multiples do you do selective reduction, etc. All things we’ve discussed ad nauseum previously, but forced to face a little more head on this time.

At the end of each page or section I would summarize by saying, “Bottom line, Brandi might die.” I’d giggle. Shelton wouldn’t. I guess the side effects with the fertility drugs, surgery, the actual carrying of the baby in my womb come with a lot of risks but the statistics seem to be on our side. We hope. Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) seems to be the strongest risk, and this was expressed by Dr. T some months ago. I’m reassured by the daily or every-other-day visits we’ll be having once I start my meds. Surely if there are red flags that will allow us to catch them early and begin treatment.

I am so very hopeful that OHSS or any other side effects or circumstances force us to cancel our cycle mid-way, or not even start. They make it very clear that there are serious demands not only on your body and mind, but also on your schedule. It is imperative that you be available to make all of the labs, ultrasounds, check-ups, etc. It seems we’re already running into a bit of a scheduling conflict. Next month, one month before our cycle begins, I’m supposed to go in for “third day labs.” Blood is drawn on the third day of my period (and I could very well be completely botching this explanation) and they test for FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) levels. This helps them determine the dosage of my fertility drugs in July. Well, I have a business trip planned during that week (as always, my quarterly trip to NYC for work never fails to conveniently fall right at that time). Our IVF coordinator, “M”, is checking with Dr. T to find out how we should handle this. Regardless, I’ll still begin my birth control cycle next month.

That seems to be the low-down on where we stand right now. I really can’t believe we’re getting so close. Just one more week to the IVF class!