First Trimester Nesting?

I will never be compared to Betty Crocker nor Martha Stewart. I can cook just enough to get by and I can sew some awesome pillows and curtains. Asking me to sew anything else would be a joke. Yet during the past week I've found myself "craving" to cook. Cook things I wont even eat. I want to make baked chicken with garlic cloves and basel. I want to make homemade crock pot mac & cheese, homemade chili, and biscuits that don't come from a can. My desire to make the cut little snow men cake tops I saw on pintrest is consuming me. I have saved more recipe sites on the internet in the past 2 days than I have my entire life.   I want to cook. I want to take down my sign that reads "I only have a kitchen because it came with the house" and hang aprons from the hook instead. I'm so glad I coupon. This could be a serious problem otherwise. 

And then there is sewing. I want to make a King size comforter for my bed that is fluffy, and beautiful. I want curtains and pillows galore! I want to sew a dust ruffle (even though they are totally off limits at my house since they serve no purpose but collecting dust) 

I want to re-do my fireplace and make it look pretty again. I want to buy a million picture frames of all shapes and sizes and spray paint them complementing colors and hang them all over this house. I wont even get started on what my mind is doing to my boys rooms. ha ha. 

I'm not sure if I should consider this some sort of "first-trimester nesting"or what... But I'm enjoying it while it lasts!!

I'm going to take before pictures of the house just in case I act on my desires and start changing everything in sight. :) 

Old Wives Tales to determine pregnancy? Here are mine!!

Gender Predictors & Results

**Please remember, these are all supposed to be for fun. Do not have babies if you are not okay with either gender! There is no way to know for sure until you get an ultrasound and/or deliver**

Acne:

Are you glowing during pregnancy or is the baby stealing your beauty? Girls are said to steal their mother’s beauty so if you are having serious acne issues, expect a girl.

Answer: GIRL (looks like I may be carrying 5 baby girls then)

Heart rate: 

Take the baby's heart rate during pregnancy for gender clues. A girl baby has a fast heart rate, around 170 beats per minute. A boy baby's heart rate is closer to 150 beats per minute.

Answer: GIRL (baby’s heartbeat was 180)

Wedding ring test: 

Hang your wedding ring from a string and hold it over your belly. If the ring swings in a circle motion, you are having a girl. If the ring swings back and forth, it is a boy.

Answer: GIRL

Key test:

Pick up a key. If you grabbed it by the top, you are having a boy. If you picked it up by the bottom, the baby is a girl. Picking the key up in the middle means that you will have twins.

Answer: BOY

Garlic test:

Eat a clove of garlic. If eating the clove makes you exude a strong garlic scent, you will have a boy. If there is little to no odor, you will have a girl.

Answer: GIRL

Chinese Chart:

We all know this chart. Google it.

Answer: BOY

Baking Soda:

Mix 1tsp of baking soda and urine and see if it fizzles. If you get fizzle, expect a boy. If nothing happens, a girl will make her appearance.

Answer: GIRL

  Cravings:

Craving Sweets? A prince is baking. Craving salty and spicy? A princess is due.

Answer: GIRL

Dreams:

If you dream about a girl, you’ll have a boy. If your dreams are about a boy, you’ll have a girl.

Answer: BOY

The Mayan Tale:


If you are Mayan then you may follow their beliefs and use numbers to determine the sex of your baby. The Mayans take the mothers age at conception and the year of conception and add them together. If the result is a even number then mom is having a girl. If the result is an odd number then a boy is on the way! The Chinese have a similar way of determining the sex of a baby.

Answer: BOY

Ramzi Method:

Which side is your placenta on? Left means girl, Right means Boy.

Answer: GIRL

Hair Line Gender Predictor:

If your child's hair line goes straight across, your next child will be the same gender. If it comes to a point, you will have the opposite gender. 

Answer: GIRL

That’s all I’ll post at the moment… as the pregnancy progresses, I’ll update this list. Please know, I do not believe any of these hold true. It’s really a 50/50 chance. 

I fully expect to have another boy. :) 

Appointment was awesome!

There is something about seeing your baby healthy on an ultrasound that makes all the morning sickness worth it. This is our beautiful baby boy or girl unaffected by the issues I am having. 

I met my new doctor today. She was amazing! She talked to me in detail about what was going on. She looked through my chart, and then looked through my chart again. We talked about the medicine I was currently on and she suggested a few others I could try. 

She took this very serious. And for that I am thankful. 

Because of the type of insurance I have, I will need an approval for a Zofran pump. She stated she would go ahead and try to get that approval for me. Hopefully by Friday I will know the status of it. 

She talked about what to do until then. She isn't against the PICC line, but wants to try the pump first. I will have my thyroid checked as well just to make sure everything is working as it should. 

I don't have a lot of answers at this very moment. But I have hope. And right now, that's the best thing I could ask for. 

I hope my appointment on Friday brings even more answers, and even more relief. 

I promise to keep you guys updated. 

How you get through dinner with HG

Yes, I'm serious. 

Normally the smell of turkey in the crock pot would make my mouth water. I LOVE turkey. Any other time I would be as giggly as a kid on Christmas morning. However, living with Hypereremesis the smell of dinner cooking in the kitchen is enough to make me start an all day throwing up session. So this is how I cope. 

Excuse the way I look. I have just got out of the shower (which was also torture as the heat made me sick) and I have zero makeup on. I'm surprised my eyes aren't completely bloodshot due to throwing up. 

I'm excited and nervous about my doctor appointment tomorrow morning. I'm ready for some reassurance. I'm ready to know that I have a doctor I can call on those really bad days and will do whatever they can to help me. I am nervous though because of my last visit. Saying a prayer this new doctor will take this serious. 

I want to add how incredibly blessed I am to have a husband who will pick up the slack while I'm dealing with all this mess. He doesn't complain either. He just does it. He is washing clothes, dishes, and helping with the boys. I have become a permeant fixture to both the bathroom and the couch. I could not go through this without him. He's amazing! Thanks babe for all that you do. I know how frustrating this is for you. I really do. And I will be forever grateful for the help you are giving. 

I sure do miss my OBGYN Dr. Bailey right about now.....

I spent the better part of my teenage years looking for a doctor who didn't say the words "You'll never have children" in our first appointment. Endrometriosis had effected my life so much already, and I refused to believe God would give me the desire to become a mother and raise lots of babies and never bless me with a fruitful womb. I can't recall every doctor I saw, but I do know that I went to every doctor in my area, and those within an hour drive each direction. None seemed like they were willing to help me. And then I met Dr. Bailey at Lakeside OBGYN. I can only compare my first appointment with Dr. Bailey to the first time I met my husband. (well... the first time I met him when I was old enough and wise enough to get to know him) It was "love" at first chat. No, I'm not in love with my OBGYN. Not like that anyway. But after we spoke for the first time, he looked at me and said "I will never tell you that you will carry a baby, but I also will never tell you that you won't." I KNEW at that very moment, I had finally found the doctor I had been looking for. You can read my first blog entry for all the details after that visit.

Lets fast forward to yesterday.

I went to my new OBGYN (in another state) and was nervous after my diagnosis I was given the previous night but hopeful that I would be able to grasp what was happening to my body. I got weighed, to which I saw that in 2 weeks I had lost 11lbs, and went into the exam room. I waited and within a few minutes Dr. White walked in. He never introduced himself but instead looked at me puzzled and asked "Now why are you here again?" I, now just as confused as he was, began to explain that I had been to the ER twice in one week, and the previous night had been told by the OBGYN at the hospital that I had Hyperemesis Gravidarum. I handed him the paper they had given me at the hospital with the diagnosis on it hoping it would ring a bell. (The OBGYN I saw at the hospital told me he would be speaking to Dr. White and explaining the situation before my visit) Dr. White glances at the page and half way throws the paper back to me explaining I do NOT have HG. In fact, he proceeded to tell me I had a virus. Or perhaps just a weak stomach. It would pass around 14 weeks into the pregnancy. I am now fighting back tears. Tears of frustration, tears of anger. I KNEW this feeling. The feeling of realization that yet another doctor would not be helping me figure things out. I would say I would make this story short, however the visit itself lasted about 10 minutes tops, so I'll finish it. He then proceeded to tell me that all I could take was Zofran, to which I explained to him I had been taking and has now stopped working. With zero sympathy he tells me that's all I can take and he doesn't know what to tell me. I immediately begin to cry. Not the quiet crying, but the sobbing uncontrollably kind of crying. He isn't affected. I asked him what am I supposed to do now? The Zofran isn't working, the phenergan isn't working, and I'm still making a trip to the ER twice a week. His response? "Well I guess you'll be making a lot of trips to the ER for fluids then now wont you?" Yes. I'm serious. That was his response. And at that, still crying my eyes out, he stands up, and walks out the door. I only knew the visit was over because I saw my check out form laying in the chair he had been sitting in.

And so I've spent the better part of the day enjoying what will probably be my last day of not puking 15 times. I've chased my children around the house, found 25 tickle bugs that attacked the boys, and played as many games with them as I could think of.

I have called and made another appointment with the same practice (but a different doctor) hoping they will redeem themselves before I change practices. I will see a doctor on Monday who will hopefully be able to give me a little more hope on the outlook of my HG. I'll keep you posted.


PS. If you live in the North Georgia area and need an AMAZING OBGYN, go see Dr. Bailey. You will not be disappointed. He makes good doctors look bad. Seriously. Go see him. Here is his facebook link, as well as his website. You could even tell him I sent you, he may treat you extra special. :)

(I like to think I'm his favorite patient)

Lakeside OBGYN Facebook Page- Dr. Bailey
Dr. Bailey's Website

Hyperemesis Gravidarum

I'm not going crazy, I dont just have a weak stomach, I have hyperemesis gravidarum. I received the diagnosis last night after my 2nd trip to the ER for fluids in less than a week. I have to admit I wasn't too surprised as I was sent a link about it a day or two prior from a close friend. I had prayed that I didn't have this because it's pretty severe and it's not something I could "fit" into my life at the moment. I was just hoping I had a simple case of mild morning sickness. Throwing up 15-30 times a day is normal for some women, right? 

Back to the story. 

Even though I knew I had all the symptoms of HG I still couldn't prepare myself for hearing the doctor telling me I had it. Hearing the "treatment" for this disease was too much for this lady. I broke down. I came in for IV Fluids to help me get through my Thursday and now I was lying in the hospital bed refusing an overnight hospital stay and being told I would need to have a "central line" put in to keep me hydrated. I think I missed all that information on the links I was sent earlier that week. I have an appointment with my doctor this afternoon to talk about where we go from here. Hopefully they will reassure me that there is a chance HG *could* get better as I get further along. 

I will keep you updated on this journey, but I'll first ask for prayers. Not only for me, but for my family and those dealing with this same issue. This isn't just something us pregnant women deal with... this effects the entire family. So remember us all as you say your prayers. 

Until next time my friends.....

It's gonna be so worth it!!

This pregnancy is kicking my butt. I'm only 7 weeks and yet I am already finding myself wishing this part would hurry along. Morning sickness started off super early. As soon as I peed on the stick, I started throwing up. I had one good week where I felt like a million bucks. For the past two weeks I have been battling severe morning sickness. On average I throw up between 15-30 times a day. Some days are better than others. A little less than a week ago, I made my first trip to the ER for dehydration. After 3 bags of fluids through an IV and a quick ultrasound to check on the baby(s) I was sent home. I'm now on 8mg of Zofran, which as some of you know causes pretty severe constipation. I'm on day 7 without a bowel movement. I suppose saying my stomach is killing me is a given. I never realized how the lack of bowel movements could completely disable you. Yes, I mean disable. The simplest of things seem to make everything hurt more. Even walking has become painful. Of course, being this constipated has also brought back the throwing up and nausea. So we go around and around.

Acne has been another new pregnancy symptom that has found me. I look like a 16 year old boy going through puberty. I have 5 large boulders on my face with some smaller zits coming up as I type this. I can live with the zits though. They are the least of my concern at the moment.

I'm going in for a follow up with my OBGYN this Thursday. Hopefully they will be able to give me something that can help the morning sickness without completely stopping me up in the process.

With all that being said, I know that as soon as I hold my tiny precious baby for the first time everything will be forgotten. Or at least worth it.