That's right, I'm pregnant again!
I can finally be excited about it, too, because, since getting an official diagnosis of hyperemesis gravidarum, and the necessary medications (and yes, they are most definitely necessary) I am no longer bed-ridden or highly ketotic! YAY!
So here's the deal for whoever's curious: I am 11 weeks pregnant. This is my fourth pregnancy. My previous three consisted of two miscarriages (emotional hell on earth) and one very unpleasant pregnancy (filled with hyperemesis gravidarum! heartburn and adverse reaction to Zantac! and 3, count 'em, 3 bleeding episodes!!! ... Fun times.) which brought about our very much loved son.
This time, we had our dating ultrasound at 8 weeks due to my history of miscarriage and everything was normal. YAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!! ... *ahem* :)
Yesterday, we heard the heartbeat, briefly, at our midwives' office. She couldn't hold it because the peanut was wiggling around like crazy. Heard a few kicks, too! Statistically, the odds of miscarriage at this point are 2%.
Again, I have mild to moderate hyperemesis gravidarum. It is not the same as morning sickness. Helpher.org is an excellent source of information and I strongly suggest you check it out - more people need to know about hyperemesis. I cannot emphasize this enough. It isn't "princess' morning sickness."
It. Is. Horrible.
Needle-phobe that I am, I finally caved and went (well, was driven, my eyes shut all the way) to the hospital when, even though taking 6 diclectin a day, I could no longer keep saltines and ginger tea down. Once there, I was given a Zofran drip, a litre of saline (I'm told I really needed 4L,) and a prescription to up my meds.
Now, I take 8 Diclectin and 2 to 3 Zofran (Ondansetron) a day. I feel tired, but fine, as long as I'm careful to avoid my triggers. I'm lucky. Zofran works for me, and I had previous experience with this so I recognized the warning signs and triggers much sooner than I did last time.
Triggers are different for everyone. For myself, aside from icky smells, the main culprits are onions, garlic, and added sugar. If I eat any of these, I will get horrible heartburn and it seems to decrease my tolerance to nausea, making me much more likely to vomit. (Sorry.)
It doesn't sound like much, but really, I mean ANY garlic, onion, or sugar and so, so many items contain at least a small bit of one of those three. Restaurants are basically out of the question. Go to a grocery store, pick up an item, and read the ingredients. Tell me if it doesn't contain Garlic, Onion, (scallions, chives, leeks, shallots, "spices," "seasonings") or Sugar (glucose, fructose, sucrose, cane sugar, cane/brown rice/maple/corn syrup, agave, honey, etc.) Artificial sweeteners are always out because they're just gross. Naturally occurring sugar (read: fruit) seems to be fine, but everything else is largely out.
On top of that I'm following the basic guidelines of the GERD and Hyperemesis (DRY) diets to guide me towards foods less likely to make me ill. Plus avoiding all those tasty things pregnant women get scared away from eating. Are we having fun yet? Oh wait, there's also my food allergies (peanuts, chickpeas, and a couple suspected intolerances.)
Eating and staying hydrated is my full time job, with overtime, requiring an assistant - my dear husband - to buy and cook the food when I'm not feeling strong enough to do so. That would be "always" though I did manage to do some of tonight's experiment myself. (Progress!!!)
In my spare time (ha!) I'm a stay at home mom to our two and a half year old son. I won't lie: right now, TV is a crucial tool to getting through the day.
Luckily - or not, but let's be optimistic for a minute, shall we? - I LOVE food, so living off of crackers, rice, water poached chicken breast, diluted apple juice, string beans, and the like, all with minimal to no fat and seasoned lightly with salt, well, that just isn't going to happen. It's just a little bit too sad. So, this has required me to research and get creative. I find lots of good ideas on other blogs, so a blog seems a good place to post those experiments and their results, no?
Tonight, to celebrate how far I've improved in a week, the treat was safe-ified chocolate cherry ice cream.
Ohhh yeah.
Recipe and photo to come soon.
