Pickles, Zofran and Legos

One of the reasons I decided to start writing this digital journal is because I'm pregnant, and being pregnant is very difficult for me.  I am plagued with Hyperemesis Gravidarum, but luckily it has been much less severe in this pregnancy than it was when I was pregnant with Ryan.  Even with that fact, there are some days when the only thing I feel good enough to do is lie in bed and cry.  Today is one of those days.

When I was pregnant six years ago, I only wrote in my journal once throughout the entire nine months, and I really wish I would have written more, as it was such a pivotal and challenging time in my life.  I have an incredible memory, but that pregnancy was so traumatic and awful that my memories of it have gotten pretty blurry.  For a long time I was perfectly fine with that, because I had no desire to look back and remember any of it...but now that I am pregnant again - which I swore I would never be - I often find myself wishing I had more concrete details somewhere that I could compare with this time around.  So now one of my goals is to actually write about my pregnancy - both the good and the bad - and hopefully in the end I will have many more positive memories to look back on.

Since June 2, 2012 (the day I found out I was pregnant), I have been praying and working as hard as I could to not get as sick as I was last time.  Amazingly, most of it has worked.  I went into this pregnancy armed with a better knowledge of care, treatment, and prevention, and I did my best to educate Pete as well.  We both went into it with a solid relationship and an understanding of what we were up against.  And now, 15 weeks into the pregnancy, I feel it is safe to say that we have fought the HG as best we possibly could.

It has not been easy by any means.  I have been very sick.  I have spent most of the past two months lying on the couch or in my bed in an effort to not throw up the food and liquids I have forced down.  I have lived on a strict daily regimen of medications and vitamins (Zofran, Unisom, B6, Colace, Zantac, Miralax, Prenatals).  I have not been able to get out of the house much, nor have I been able to do anything productive inside the house.  Pete has taken up all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, and playing with Ryan.  But overall, we have kept the vomiting under control, we have avoided severe dehydration and IV fluids, I have stayed out of the hospital, I have only lost 10 lbs (and gained a few back), and I have even been able to lower my dosage of Zofran over the past three days.  And I cannnot stop eating pickles.

So today is not a great day.  I am spending the day in bed watching "E.R." on DVD, with no energy whatsoever and a very upset stomach.  I am lonely and tired and bored.  But I am eating pickles, thanking God for Zofran, and Ryan is enjoying playing with Legos all over my bedroom floor.  It could definitely be worse, and I'm trying my best to remind myself of that.