Ah the pregnancy glow! Who came up with that anyways? That all women get this beautiful glow once they become pregnant? Let me tell you, that was not the case here! I found out I was pregnant right away at 4 weeks. The following weekend I had committed to attending my dear friend Hilary's bachelorette party in Nashville. Even though I wouldn't be able to drink, I was still excited to celebrate this special time with her and enjoy a trip with the girls! Going down there I didn't want to announce my pregnancy and take away from the bride, but I knew it was going to be hard to hide the fact I wasn't drinking. Everyone knew I was trying to get pregnant and not drinking at a bachelorette party would send major red flags. Needless to say, I pulled Hilary aside and shared my news and of course she was happy for me! I felt major relief not having to deceive my friends. Overall the weekend was a lot of fun and other than getting sick once, I felt great and really enjoyed myself! That's where it ended. As week 6 approached, I increasingly became more sick. Soon I found myself staring at a trash can and toilet more often than not. I tried every old trick, bland food, ginger ale, warm pop, preggy pops, eating frequently, and nothing worked! I couldn't even keep water down, literally one drink and I'd throw up.
Day after day it just got worse and soon all the color left my face and I had no energy left. I would drag through work then come straight home and lay in bed. This continued until I was so dehydrated that I was in tears. I called my doctor and they had me come in to get fluids. I was hooked up to an IV and let me tell you, it helped tremendously! I was finally able to eat some crackers and keep water down. They suggested that I do an in home IV pump and at that point I was up for anything. The nurses came the following day, hooked everything up and taught me how to change the bags. I was very hopeful that the fluids would continue to make me feel better, and they did for the most part. I had the IV for about 2 weeks, during which I was stuck about 10 times because the IV's kept blowing my veins. I had bruises up and down my arm so it was recommended that I get a picc line. I went back to the doctors, this time seeing my regular obgyn. Before getting a picc she wanted to try a combination of medications. I started about three medications a day, and it helped as much as the fluids did. Honestly, I wasn't thrilled about keeping an IV in my arm anyways.
Taking medication and being pregnant isn't ideal, but it was better than being that dehydrated. I had Hyperemesis Gravidarum so I had to find some way to cope. The medication alone did not completely cure the nausea. I still threw up at least once a day, but I was finally able to function. Overall I had "morning sickness" from about week 6 to 17. I would say it was completely gone by week 18 and I started getting my energy back. I didn't take a lot of pictures of my pregnancy progressing (which I regret) because a lot of the times I felt so horrible. For anyone going through this, I feel ya. It is not enjoyable. You want to feel excited about being pregnant but instead you feel miserable. There is no shame in that. Just because you don't enjoy being sick doesn't mean you're any less excited about being pregnant!
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| 39 Weeks |
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| 12 Weeks |
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| 24 Weeks |
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