Just a warning to anyone currently pregnant: *foodments*
Now that that's out of the way...recovery this time is SO MUCH EASIER than last time. I think that there are a lot of factors involved, which I may or may not get into at some point, but I'm just so relieved that things are going much more smoothly. Physically I'm in a good place, health-wise I'm doing great, and mentally and emotionally I'm also doing really, really well. After my first birth things were kind of dark there for a while until I figured out that I had PTSD, and then I was able to start healing. This time I feel that there isn't as much healing to do, largely due to the support that I know I have and to the significantly better care that I had.
I'm sure that it also helps that I'm way too busy to actually think about things. NM lost his job five days after I gave birth, and since we're just barely getting by and don't have any savings for a rainy day (because if we were setting aside for savings then we wouldn't be getting by) - I returned to work at 2.5 weeks postpartum. This isn't really as scary as it sounds; I work from home to begin with. I could do without the added stress, but on the other hand it gives me an outlet to just be me and not the milk machine and cuddler and diaper changer that my kids think I am. My job is really fascinating...most of the time, and I'm very good at it. It's nice to be able to sit down and work, do something for myself intellectually while also supporting my family.
Now here's my really big struggle this time: I don't know what normal eating looks like. I feel like I'm always eating these days, and yes, I know that breastfeeding mothers need extra calories and shouldn't be on any sort of diet. But I just feel like I'm eating SO MUCH. But is it really a lot of food and maybe too much, or is it just so much more than I was able to eat while pregnant?
Ever since my first pregnancy in 2010, I never eat until I have that 'full' feeling. I eat until I am relatively satisfied and call it done. Why? Well originally it was because eating until I was full would make me nauseous and I was terrified of losing my meal because...well...you know why. Did more than enough of that.
Now I find myself wondering if eating until I'm full will actually make me nauseous, or if I just think it will and am too scared to find out. Either way, I have completely no clue whatsoever as to what on earth a normal portion size is and I can't for the life of me estimate how much food I'm supposed to be eating. I'm considering seeing a dietician simply to get the answers to those questions, because I'm feeling a bit lost here.
In the meantime, I eat whatever I want, whenever I want it. Since I did actually gain weight this time around, I could afford to lose up to 5 kg but am not yet doing anything actively to shed that weight. I just don't want to be gaining weight, so I guess that as long as I'm keeping it steady I won't worry too much about things.
But do you know the one worst thing about such an easy recovery? It makes me forget how awful things were, and I would totally be stupid enough to do this all again. So far I have given two complete pregnancies to HG, plus I didn't get back to myself until my daughter was 14 months old. That's basically three years of my life that HG has stolen from me already - and since we're still a month-and-a-half away from our fourth wedding anniversary, that's almost our entire marriage that has been screwed up by HG.
*Sigh* At least I know that a good recovery is possible.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
HG Vanquished
It's been a LONG time since I wrote anything. I just couldn't deal with keeping this blog updated...not that I have a particularly large readership to begin with. :)
Baby Boy (AA) has arrived, finally, after nine VERY long months. He is now three weeks old and what can I say - we're in love. :) Big sister LH will be turning three later this month. It's hard to believe that I was stupid enough to do this twice in the span of three years, but hey - sometimes man plans and God laughs, and let's just leave it at that.
Overall, I would have to say that my pregnancy with AA was easier than with LH. For starts, this time we knew what we were dealing with and we knew what treatment to demand. I was on zofran from around 5 weeks this time, versus last time where I didn't get it until second trimester. Second trimester, can you believe???
I lost the same amount of weight with AA as with LH (10 kg), but I started out 2 kg heavier this time around so while I was much skinnier than I should have been, I wasn't actually as horribly ill-looking as last time. Also, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles - I actually gained weight beyond my pre-pregnancy weight! After about 20 weeks I started to gain weight and managed to gain not only the 10 kg I had lost, but an additional 7 beyond that. That means that after I gave birth, I was just 1-2 kg above my pre-pregnancy weight and that's where I'm holding.
My recovery from this pregnancy is about a zillion times better and easier than in my first pregnancy. Part of it is the better medical care, part of it is knowing what the heck is going on, part of it is being much better at asking for help and making myself take it easy. A big part of it is the fantastic birth that I had with this one. For a quick overview of my two births, and why this recovery is so much better:
LH - labor was a total of 9.5 hours. All natural birth; got to the hospital about three hours before the birth. Went from 4 cm to birth in around an hour or so. Even though she was small (2.948 kg, or around 6lbs8oz), I had some pretty significant tearing and the lovely stitches and more difficult recovery that goes along with that. Not to mention that I was not in good health at the time of her birth due to the HG, and I was suffering from PTSD.
AA - labor was a total of 2 hours 50 minutes. Yes, you read that correctly. I woke up at 12:47 AM with a strong contraction. The next one was seven minutes later...next seven minutes later...then six minutes...then five...then we hopped in a cab to the hospital. It's about a 10 minute drive and by the time we got there, I was contracting every two minutes. Of course the first thing they did at the hospital was lay me flat on my back and strap me to a monitor, after so helpfully informing me that I was only 3 cm. I felt like I was dying and pretty quickly changed my mind about wanting an epidural. So they sent me to L&D (had been in triage). They were really hopping that night with women giving birth, so we had a midwife with us but no nurse or doctor in sight. Basically, she told me that the anesthesiologist was busy with another woman at the time but that she thought I was moving too quickly to be able to get an epidural. Each time she checked me (at close intervals) I was a centimeter further along. Finally when I was 7 cm, she told me that she thought if she broke my water, I would give birth. While I didn't really want unnecessary interventions, I just wanted the pain to end so I gave her permission. She broke my water and I had an immediate feeling of relief...until my body starting pushing! Needless to say, she was right. She broke my water and five minutes later I was holding my son. He was 3.565 kg (a coupld of ounces shy of 8 lbs), with a much bigger head than his sister, and I had absolutely NO tearing (even though I felt like I was being ripped open while pushing him out). Fast, intense birth + no stitches = significantly better recovery. Not to mention that I was in better health to begin with.
At any rate, I find it very interesting to take a look at my toenails. You can clearly see where my health was bad and I was malnourished, and where it got better. I like the smooth nail part where it got better; but the not-nice-looking nail part legitimizes for me how sick I was. I mean, it's not that easy to mess up your nails like that through normal fluctuations in diet. But what I was experiencing was NOT a normal fluctuation, or a small fluctuation like an acute illness. It was honest to goodness malnutrition.
I suffered from PTSD after my pregnancy with LH, but I honestly don't think I'll have a problem this time. Physically, mentally, and emotionally I just feel so good. I have to attribute a lot of that to the better support network I had this time. As much as I may not see eye-to-eye with my in-laws all the time, they really helped out a lot. They took care of LH when I couldn't, drove me to and from hospital/urgent care/doctor's appointments, and we actually lived by them for a full month when I was at my worst. They were a steady item in her life when everything else was topsy-turvy.
I can't not mention KT, a very dear friend with the biggest heart in the world. We first 'met' online while she was in the midst of her second HG pregnancy and was reaching out for support. I feel blessed that I was able to help her when she needed it...and she has repaid that a thousandfold. I can't even begin to list the things she has done for us, but let's just say she is awesome awesome awesome.
Of course I couldn't have done it without my husband, NM. Between his full-time job and running out household during that time, he most certainly had his hands full and he came through it much better this second time around.
The other friends and family who helped out, supported, gave LH some sense of normalcy, tried to do everything they could to help me feel better...what can I say, it makes all the difference.
And of course, my mother arrived two days before the birth and the help and support she provided in the three weeks total that she was here were invaluable. It was so good to be able to just take it easy and not have to worry about things like cooking and housework while I started to recover.
Baby Boy (AA) has arrived, finally, after nine VERY long months. He is now three weeks old and what can I say - we're in love. :) Big sister LH will be turning three later this month. It's hard to believe that I was stupid enough to do this twice in the span of three years, but hey - sometimes man plans and God laughs, and let's just leave it at that.
Overall, I would have to say that my pregnancy with AA was easier than with LH. For starts, this time we knew what we were dealing with and we knew what treatment to demand. I was on zofran from around 5 weeks this time, versus last time where I didn't get it until second trimester. Second trimester, can you believe???
I lost the same amount of weight with AA as with LH (10 kg), but I started out 2 kg heavier this time around so while I was much skinnier than I should have been, I wasn't actually as horribly ill-looking as last time. Also, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles - I actually gained weight beyond my pre-pregnancy weight! After about 20 weeks I started to gain weight and managed to gain not only the 10 kg I had lost, but an additional 7 beyond that. That means that after I gave birth, I was just 1-2 kg above my pre-pregnancy weight and that's where I'm holding.
My recovery from this pregnancy is about a zillion times better and easier than in my first pregnancy. Part of it is the better medical care, part of it is knowing what the heck is going on, part of it is being much better at asking for help and making myself take it easy. A big part of it is the fantastic birth that I had with this one. For a quick overview of my two births, and why this recovery is so much better:
LH - labor was a total of 9.5 hours. All natural birth; got to the hospital about three hours before the birth. Went from 4 cm to birth in around an hour or so. Even though she was small (2.948 kg, or around 6lbs8oz), I had some pretty significant tearing and the lovely stitches and more difficult recovery that goes along with that. Not to mention that I was not in good health at the time of her birth due to the HG, and I was suffering from PTSD.
AA - labor was a total of 2 hours 50 minutes. Yes, you read that correctly. I woke up at 12:47 AM with a strong contraction. The next one was seven minutes later...next seven minutes later...then six minutes...then five...then we hopped in a cab to the hospital. It's about a 10 minute drive and by the time we got there, I was contracting every two minutes. Of course the first thing they did at the hospital was lay me flat on my back and strap me to a monitor, after so helpfully informing me that I was only 3 cm. I felt like I was dying and pretty quickly changed my mind about wanting an epidural. So they sent me to L&D (had been in triage). They were really hopping that night with women giving birth, so we had a midwife with us but no nurse or doctor in sight. Basically, she told me that the anesthesiologist was busy with another woman at the time but that she thought I was moving too quickly to be able to get an epidural. Each time she checked me (at close intervals) I was a centimeter further along. Finally when I was 7 cm, she told me that she thought if she broke my water, I would give birth. While I didn't really want unnecessary interventions, I just wanted the pain to end so I gave her permission. She broke my water and I had an immediate feeling of relief...until my body starting pushing! Needless to say, she was right. She broke my water and five minutes later I was holding my son. He was 3.565 kg (a coupld of ounces shy of 8 lbs), with a much bigger head than his sister, and I had absolutely NO tearing (even though I felt like I was being ripped open while pushing him out). Fast, intense birth + no stitches = significantly better recovery. Not to mention that I was in better health to begin with.
At any rate, I find it very interesting to take a look at my toenails. You can clearly see where my health was bad and I was malnourished, and where it got better. I like the smooth nail part where it got better; but the not-nice-looking nail part legitimizes for me how sick I was. I mean, it's not that easy to mess up your nails like that through normal fluctuations in diet. But what I was experiencing was NOT a normal fluctuation, or a small fluctuation like an acute illness. It was honest to goodness malnutrition.
I suffered from PTSD after my pregnancy with LH, but I honestly don't think I'll have a problem this time. Physically, mentally, and emotionally I just feel so good. I have to attribute a lot of that to the better support network I had this time. As much as I may not see eye-to-eye with my in-laws all the time, they really helped out a lot. They took care of LH when I couldn't, drove me to and from hospital/urgent care/doctor's appointments, and we actually lived by them for a full month when I was at my worst. They were a steady item in her life when everything else was topsy-turvy.
I can't not mention KT, a very dear friend with the biggest heart in the world. We first 'met' online while she was in the midst of her second HG pregnancy and was reaching out for support. I feel blessed that I was able to help her when she needed it...and she has repaid that a thousandfold. I can't even begin to list the things she has done for us, but let's just say she is awesome awesome awesome.
Of course I couldn't have done it without my husband, NM. Between his full-time job and running out household during that time, he most certainly had his hands full and he came through it much better this second time around.
The other friends and family who helped out, supported, gave LH some sense of normalcy, tried to do everything they could to help me feel better...what can I say, it makes all the difference.
And of course, my mother arrived two days before the birth and the help and support she provided in the three weeks total that she was here were invaluable. It was so good to be able to just take it easy and not have to worry about things like cooking and housework while I started to recover.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
24 weeks, yay viability!
Well I'm 24 weeks today. For all you HGers out there, you know how important this milestone is: viability. All of the suffering, all of the misery, and if something goes wrong now - there's still a chance that you can get a live, healthy baby out of it. So yay.
At any rate, I'm actually doing fantastically well. I make a poor excuse for a woman with hyperemesis at this point. :) It just goes to show that if you get proper medical care from the beginning and if you know to fight for what you need, then things can go a lot better.
I'm rapidly gaining weight (I expect to return to my pre-pregnancy weight within the next few weeks), I'm regaining lost muscle (catching up on five months of housework will do that), and I'm able to be more active in my daughter's life. Although I still have to be careful about what I can eat, I CAN EAT. Yesterday my husband was standing there looking at me devouring a small plate of food and he told me how much he loves seeing me eat. I love it too, as does the fetus. :)
My tummy is still teeny-tiny, but I'm pretty sure that I just carry small no matter how the pregnancy is going. We had an anatomy scan two weeks ago that showed a perfectly healthy child with long arms, long legs, and HUGE feet. Seriously, huge is not an exaggeration here. The feet were 4.5 cm long at 22 weeks gestation. Now pull out a ruler and see how big that is. Keep in mind that the baby was probably about the length of an ear of corn at the time, so now think about that proportionately. Huge. Feet.
I'm daring to hope at this point that I am completely past everything and that there is no looking back from here, but I know that I may get sick again as the pregnancy progresses. For the moment, though, despite the limitations and the issues that I still have, I am going to wholeheartedly pretend that I am having a fluffy pregnancy. I always wanted one of those. :)
On a sad note, I am praying for all those who were in the tornado's path in Oklahoma earlier this week, for those who lost their lives, those who lost loved ones, those who were injured, and those who came through unscathed but without a single piece of clothing to their name except the shirt they escaped in. I can't imagine what the parents of those nine little angels are going through right now. I hope that they are able to find some peace and comfort down the line.
At any rate, I'm actually doing fantastically well. I make a poor excuse for a woman with hyperemesis at this point. :) It just goes to show that if you get proper medical care from the beginning and if you know to fight for what you need, then things can go a lot better.
I'm rapidly gaining weight (I expect to return to my pre-pregnancy weight within the next few weeks), I'm regaining lost muscle (catching up on five months of housework will do that), and I'm able to be more active in my daughter's life. Although I still have to be careful about what I can eat, I CAN EAT. Yesterday my husband was standing there looking at me devouring a small plate of food and he told me how much he loves seeing me eat. I love it too, as does the fetus. :)
My tummy is still teeny-tiny, but I'm pretty sure that I just carry small no matter how the pregnancy is going. We had an anatomy scan two weeks ago that showed a perfectly healthy child with long arms, long legs, and HUGE feet. Seriously, huge is not an exaggeration here. The feet were 4.5 cm long at 22 weeks gestation. Now pull out a ruler and see how big that is. Keep in mind that the baby was probably about the length of an ear of corn at the time, so now think about that proportionately. Huge. Feet.
I'm daring to hope at this point that I am completely past everything and that there is no looking back from here, but I know that I may get sick again as the pregnancy progresses. For the moment, though, despite the limitations and the issues that I still have, I am going to wholeheartedly pretend that I am having a fluffy pregnancy. I always wanted one of those. :)
On a sad note, I am praying for all those who were in the tornado's path in Oklahoma earlier this week, for those who lost their lives, those who lost loved ones, those who were injured, and those who came through unscathed but without a single piece of clothing to their name except the shirt they escaped in. I can't imagine what the parents of those nine little angels are going through right now. I hope that they are able to find some peace and comfort down the line.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Happy Post!!!
Most of the time I fell decidedly UNhappy with this whole grueling process, and I get the feeling it may show through in my writing. So since I am no longer chronically completely dehydrated or starving to death, let's have a happy post for once with all of the GOOD things going on in my life.
- My husband, NM, is doing really, really well at work. He has been promoted and received a raise, with the option for more good things in the future and things like a bonus every month. Big sigh of relief on the financial front; we are by no means rolling in riches, but we're feeling less poor and this will help with the financial impact the HG has had.
- I gained weight! As I have said before, I lost 10 kg/22 lbs at the beginning of this pregnancy (same overall weight loss as last time, but this time I started out slightly heavier). Well in the last week or so (I'll be 20 weeks tomorrow) I have started to gain back some of what I lost! To anyone who has ever dealt with HG, you know how big of an accomplishment this is and how much it means. Last time I didn't start gaining until 22+ weeks, and never got beyond my pre-pregnancy weight.
- I'm 20 weeks tomorrow! That's the halfway point, and the second half (for me) is decidedly better than the first half. Just three more weeks until my anatomy scan to check up on the Brownie, and just four weeks until viability. Once you reach the point of viability, even though 24 weeks is NOT something you want to be looking at, it's such a relief to know that you've gone through all this pain and suffering and even if something goes wrong now, you still have a chance to get a live child out of it all.
- Work for me has been going really well as well and has been very busy, so my paychecks should be quite reasonable. I work as a freelance transcriber and editor, so I get paid by the file - the more I take on, the more I get paid. I have been very lucky to be very busy lately, and that will be really good for our bank account.
- Our 2.5-year-old daughter, LH, is awesome as usual. :)
- I've been able to eat more in the last two weeks than I ate probably in all the 15 before that. Now THAT's an accomplishment!
- The Brownie gives me plenty of jabs and does plenty of somersaults to let me know that everything is good and that he/she appreciates the food I've been sending down there for supper.
- I have still been unable to reduce my Zofran dosage, even by a tiny amount, but at least I have good insurance coverage so I only pay a fraction of the cost. If I have to stay on it long-term, at least I won't go bankrupt for it.
And now I've run out of happy happy things to write, but I think I made a pretty good list of it. :) For any other sufferers out there, I can only hope and pray that you also have an improvement in your symptoms. I know that not everyone does, and I count myself very lucky that I have. Stay strong, mamas! You can do it!
- My husband, NM, is doing really, really well at work. He has been promoted and received a raise, with the option for more good things in the future and things like a bonus every month. Big sigh of relief on the financial front; we are by no means rolling in riches, but we're feeling less poor and this will help with the financial impact the HG has had.
- I gained weight! As I have said before, I lost 10 kg/22 lbs at the beginning of this pregnancy (same overall weight loss as last time, but this time I started out slightly heavier). Well in the last week or so (I'll be 20 weeks tomorrow) I have started to gain back some of what I lost! To anyone who has ever dealt with HG, you know how big of an accomplishment this is and how much it means. Last time I didn't start gaining until 22+ weeks, and never got beyond my pre-pregnancy weight.
- I'm 20 weeks tomorrow! That's the halfway point, and the second half (for me) is decidedly better than the first half. Just three more weeks until my anatomy scan to check up on the Brownie, and just four weeks until viability. Once you reach the point of viability, even though 24 weeks is NOT something you want to be looking at, it's such a relief to know that you've gone through all this pain and suffering and even if something goes wrong now, you still have a chance to get a live child out of it all.
- Work for me has been going really well as well and has been very busy, so my paychecks should be quite reasonable. I work as a freelance transcriber and editor, so I get paid by the file - the more I take on, the more I get paid. I have been very lucky to be very busy lately, and that will be really good for our bank account.
- Our 2.5-year-old daughter, LH, is awesome as usual. :)
- I've been able to eat more in the last two weeks than I ate probably in all the 15 before that. Now THAT's an accomplishment!
- The Brownie gives me plenty of jabs and does plenty of somersaults to let me know that everything is good and that he/she appreciates the food I've been sending down there for supper.
- I have still been unable to reduce my Zofran dosage, even by a tiny amount, but at least I have good insurance coverage so I only pay a fraction of the cost. If I have to stay on it long-term, at least I won't go bankrupt for it.
And now I've run out of happy happy things to write, but I think I made a pretty good list of it. :) For any other sufferers out there, I can only hope and pray that you also have an improvement in your symptoms. I know that not everyone does, and I count myself very lucky that I have. Stay strong, mamas! You can do it!
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
19 Weeks, We're Getting There!
Today I am officially 19 weeks along. Yay! One more week until the halfway mark, five more weeks until viability, and more weeks than I care to write until the babe himself is here. But the point is, we're getting there!
In the past nine days, I have had a significant improvement. I still am not gaining weight (total weight loss of 10kg/22lbs), but I am also not losing. One day I tried to reduce one dose of zofran slightly, and that didn't go too well. Heartburn is increasing, but so is my teeny tiny little pregnant belly. My belly is slightly larger than it was with L.H., so I'm taking that as a good sign.
I can eat more overall (around 1500 calories a day now, yay!), and I can also eat a larger variety of foods. The past couple of days protein has been staying in the best, so that's what I'm eating. I'm not going to go into details of specific foods, in case an HG sufferer is reading this...no need to cause you any more issues than you're already having!
My big issue right now, which of course makes all other issues worse, is that I am having an incredibly difficult time sleeping at night and I have no clue why or how to improve the situation. I fall asleep just fine and sleep really well for around three hours before waking up and, for the most part, failing to fall asleep again. As you can imagine, this makes all of the bodily aches and pains, the nausea, and my general mood and ability to cope much worse.
We're still taking it one day at a time, but now I have hope (which is a much bigger thing than it sounds like, to anyone to has never been through this). I still spend a lot of time fantasizing about the birth and planning different scenarios for how it can go down, but I also plan some more short-term things, like maybe this afternoon I'll go to the grocery store across the street to pick up three foods I think I can eat. I can now walk into the store without automatically vomiting, so we're really making progress.
My improvement this time came several weeks earlier than it did last time, and it is also a much more marked improvement than last time. Of course, until I start managing to put on a little weight and hopefully manage to reduce my zofran by at least a little, I won't feel quite like I've halfway beat HG. But in the meantime, I'm doing my best and fighting as hard as I can to bring this little life into the world.
Anatomy scan coming up soon (we wound up skipping the first one this time because I couldn't physically get over to the doctor's office to pick up the referral). My last u/s showed a healthy baby who measured about a week ahead, so apparently whatever it is that I'm doing is working for the baby, even if it's not working for me. Hopefully the good news about this wriggly little creature will keep pouring in.
I hope that all fellow sufferers out there are doing okay, and that even if you don't wind up with such a wonderful improvement like I have this time, that you at least have your fair share of good days.
In the past nine days, I have had a significant improvement. I still am not gaining weight (total weight loss of 10kg/22lbs), but I am also not losing. One day I tried to reduce one dose of zofran slightly, and that didn't go too well. Heartburn is increasing, but so is my teeny tiny little pregnant belly. My belly is slightly larger than it was with L.H., so I'm taking that as a good sign.
I can eat more overall (around 1500 calories a day now, yay!), and I can also eat a larger variety of foods. The past couple of days protein has been staying in the best, so that's what I'm eating. I'm not going to go into details of specific foods, in case an HG sufferer is reading this...no need to cause you any more issues than you're already having!
My big issue right now, which of course makes all other issues worse, is that I am having an incredibly difficult time sleeping at night and I have no clue why or how to improve the situation. I fall asleep just fine and sleep really well for around three hours before waking up and, for the most part, failing to fall asleep again. As you can imagine, this makes all of the bodily aches and pains, the nausea, and my general mood and ability to cope much worse.
We're still taking it one day at a time, but now I have hope (which is a much bigger thing than it sounds like, to anyone to has never been through this). I still spend a lot of time fantasizing about the birth and planning different scenarios for how it can go down, but I also plan some more short-term things, like maybe this afternoon I'll go to the grocery store across the street to pick up three foods I think I can eat. I can now walk into the store without automatically vomiting, so we're really making progress.
My improvement this time came several weeks earlier than it did last time, and it is also a much more marked improvement than last time. Of course, until I start managing to put on a little weight and hopefully manage to reduce my zofran by at least a little, I won't feel quite like I've halfway beat HG. But in the meantime, I'm doing my best and fighting as hard as I can to bring this little life into the world.
Anatomy scan coming up soon (we wound up skipping the first one this time because I couldn't physically get over to the doctor's office to pick up the referral). My last u/s showed a healthy baby who measured about a week ahead, so apparently whatever it is that I'm doing is working for the baby, even if it's not working for me. Hopefully the good news about this wriggly little creature will keep pouring in.
I hope that all fellow sufferers out there are doing okay, and that even if you don't wind up with such a wonderful improvement like I have this time, that you at least have your fair share of good days.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Zofran Rainbow
I want to meet whoever invented zofran and give him or her a big hug. Seriously, this drug works wonders. I'm skimping a bit on my dosage because I need this to last until I can get a refill, but with some creative scheduling I'm getting by.
It's like night and day. I still have nausea on my minimal dose, but I can drink enough to stay hydrated and eat enough so that I hopefully won't lose weight. On the zofran I'm much more like myself; without it I'm a pathetic, sick creature who can't do anything. Not that I'm getting anything done even medicated but at least I don't feel like I'm dying.
My issues are far from over, but at least I have several hours each day when I feel mostly human and can think straight. It's a wonderful feeling.
It's like night and day. I still have nausea on my minimal dose, but I can drink enough to stay hydrated and eat enough so that I hopefully won't lose weight. On the zofran I'm much more like myself; without it I'm a pathetic, sick creature who can't do anything. Not that I'm getting anything done even medicated but at least I don't feel like I'm dying.
My issues are far from over, but at least I have several hours each day when I feel mostly human and can think straight. It's a wonderful feeling.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Preparing for Another HG Pregnancy
I had hyperemesis with my first - and as yet only - pregnancy. According to my doctor and research, however, I have a very high likelihood (60-70%) of having it in future pregnancies as well. Since I gave birth 21 months ago, I have been preparing myself for another pregnancy. The physical preparations are pretty simple. The emotional and psychological preparations are not.
Here is a list of things to do to prepare for another HG pregnancy. I have compiled this list from the list here from the Help HER website, as well as feedback I received from other HG mothers when I asked them what they thought would be good to do in advance. I have split it into several categories for the sake of clarity and organization.
CHILDCARE
If you have older children, be sure that they are taken care of. Have a rotation of friends and family look after them, but keep in mind that they will sorely miss you. For younger children, consider having a basket of quiet activities to keep near you so that they can play near you and with you if you are up for it. For older children, let them know that you are willing to listen whenever they want to talk and ask them to come sit with you and tell you about their day each afternoon. See if there are any activities you can do together while you lay down. Board games? If they are in a sport/dance/play/whatever and you can't make it to their performances or events, have someone videotape it for you and make sure to watch it with your child afterwards.
For pre-school-aged children, consider getting together with other mothers for a round-robin playgroup. If there are five children then each mother has the children only one day a week. Perhaps you can get a family member or friend to be at your house the day the kids are 'yours' and run the activities and take care of them. It would even be worthwhile to hire someone to help, if that is a possibility.
HOUSEHOLD
Make sure that you aren't planning a move for the next year or more. Moving while pregnant sucks, especially if you have HG. Take if from me. I did it. DON'T DO IT.
Stock up on EVERYTHING beforehand. Your husband/significant other will be so overwhelmed just with taking care of you and trying to keep things somewhat sane that you don't want to add extra stresses. Stock up on all non-perishables, and if you have a deep freeze you can stock up on some frozen goods as well. Don't forget about things like toilet paper, soaps, cleaners, clothing, etc.
In all your stocking up, try to avoid anything perfumed or otherwise scented as this can be a trigger for vomiting.
Cook and freeze in advance. Again, a deep-freeze is good for this because the food keeps longer. Store the food in containers that are the correct size for one meal for how ever many people are eating. Last time soups wound up being good for hydrating me, so this time I will precook soups and freeze them in single servings in the hopes that they will work again.
Look into grocery delivery services. Again, this will make your husband's life easier.
Do a deep clean of your house beforehand or hire someone to do it for you. Organize. If possible, arrange for a cleaner (or an awesome friend) to come by once a week and help out with cleaning.
Keep a cabinet full of new toys/activities to keep older children busy when you're at your worst. Go to the dollar store or the dollar section at Target and stock up. Brainstorm and write up a long list of fun activities so that when your brain is in HG mode you don't even have to think too hard and come up with something new.
DENTAL HEALTH
Go to the dentist for a cleaning and x-rays and address any cavities or other issues. Also ask the dentist about a sealant for your teeth to help protect them against all the vomiting.
GENERAL HEALTH
Address any other health issues before considering trying to conceive.
Quit smoking, drinking alcohol, reduce caffeine intake. Avoid artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, etc.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet and make sure you have moderate exercise. With severe HG you will have muscle atrophy. It helps if you have some muscle to begin with before it atrophies.
Make sure you are slightly above (10 lbs above) your goal healthy weight. If you are overweight, don't add these 10 lbs. If you are underweight, spend some serious effort bulking up. You don't want to do this by eating ice cream all day. You want to do this by increasing your intake of healthy food and increasing the amount of healthy fats in your diet. For example, never eat a naked salad - always put on dressing.
Ask your doctor for a comprehensive blood test to check B12, CBC, Ferritin, Potassium, Vitamin D, folic acid and any other levels he thinks it appropriate to address. Address any vitamin/mineral deficiencies BEFORE trying to conceive. This blood panel will also serve as a reference point for what your blood looked like when you were healthy.
Start taking prenatal vitamins 3-6 months before trying to conceive. Don't forget to take folic acid. Also, magnesium deficiencies have been shown to contribute to nausea so ask your doctor if you should take a supplement and how much. And don't forget B6 - while I didn't notice it helping any when I tried it, I was already pretty far gone before it was suggested. Taking it in advance or from the positive pregnancy test may work better.
EDUCATE
Educate yourself. Educate your family. Educate your friends. Educate your doctor. Educate your community. Educate, educate, educate. I can't stress how important it is. The HER Foundation has fantastic resources in this area. Use them.
Obviously there are about a zillion and one other things you can do as well. I didn't mention a lot of the things on the list at the HER Foundation because - well, why duplicate effort? Each individual will have their own needs as well. The best thing to do is to sit down with your doctor in advance and make an action plan. Of course we all hope that all of this planning will be completely useless because we'll have happy, fluffy, non-HG pregnancies - but we can't count on that happening.
I hope that this list provides at least a springboard for planning for your next HG pregnancy.
Here is a list of things to do to prepare for another HG pregnancy. I have compiled this list from the list here from the Help HER website, as well as feedback I received from other HG mothers when I asked them what they thought would be good to do in advance. I have split it into several categories for the sake of clarity and organization.
CHILDCARE
If you have older children, be sure that they are taken care of. Have a rotation of friends and family look after them, but keep in mind that they will sorely miss you. For younger children, consider having a basket of quiet activities to keep near you so that they can play near you and with you if you are up for it. For older children, let them know that you are willing to listen whenever they want to talk and ask them to come sit with you and tell you about their day each afternoon. See if there are any activities you can do together while you lay down. Board games? If they are in a sport/dance/play/whatever and you can't make it to their performances or events, have someone videotape it for you and make sure to watch it with your child afterwards.
For pre-school-aged children, consider getting together with other mothers for a round-robin playgroup. If there are five children then each mother has the children only one day a week. Perhaps you can get a family member or friend to be at your house the day the kids are 'yours' and run the activities and take care of them. It would even be worthwhile to hire someone to help, if that is a possibility.
HOUSEHOLD
Make sure that you aren't planning a move for the next year or more. Moving while pregnant sucks, especially if you have HG. Take if from me. I did it. DON'T DO IT.
Stock up on EVERYTHING beforehand. Your husband/significant other will be so overwhelmed just with taking care of you and trying to keep things somewhat sane that you don't want to add extra stresses. Stock up on all non-perishables, and if you have a deep freeze you can stock up on some frozen goods as well. Don't forget about things like toilet paper, soaps, cleaners, clothing, etc.
In all your stocking up, try to avoid anything perfumed or otherwise scented as this can be a trigger for vomiting.
Cook and freeze in advance. Again, a deep-freeze is good for this because the food keeps longer. Store the food in containers that are the correct size for one meal for how ever many people are eating. Last time soups wound up being good for hydrating me, so this time I will precook soups and freeze them in single servings in the hopes that they will work again.
Look into grocery delivery services. Again, this will make your husband's life easier.
Do a deep clean of your house beforehand or hire someone to do it for you. Organize. If possible, arrange for a cleaner (or an awesome friend) to come by once a week and help out with cleaning.
Keep a cabinet full of new toys/activities to keep older children busy when you're at your worst. Go to the dollar store or the dollar section at Target and stock up. Brainstorm and write up a long list of fun activities so that when your brain is in HG mode you don't even have to think too hard and come up with something new.
DENTAL HEALTH
Go to the dentist for a cleaning and x-rays and address any cavities or other issues. Also ask the dentist about a sealant for your teeth to help protect them against all the vomiting.
GENERAL HEALTH
Address any other health issues before considering trying to conceive.
Quit smoking, drinking alcohol, reduce caffeine intake. Avoid artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, etc.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet and make sure you have moderate exercise. With severe HG you will have muscle atrophy. It helps if you have some muscle to begin with before it atrophies.
Make sure you are slightly above (10 lbs above) your goal healthy weight. If you are overweight, don't add these 10 lbs. If you are underweight, spend some serious effort bulking up. You don't want to do this by eating ice cream all day. You want to do this by increasing your intake of healthy food and increasing the amount of healthy fats in your diet. For example, never eat a naked salad - always put on dressing.
Ask your doctor for a comprehensive blood test to check B12, CBC, Ferritin, Potassium, Vitamin D, folic acid and any other levels he thinks it appropriate to address. Address any vitamin/mineral deficiencies BEFORE trying to conceive. This blood panel will also serve as a reference point for what your blood looked like when you were healthy.
Start taking prenatal vitamins 3-6 months before trying to conceive. Don't forget to take folic acid. Also, magnesium deficiencies have been shown to contribute to nausea so ask your doctor if you should take a supplement and how much. And don't forget B6 - while I didn't notice it helping any when I tried it, I was already pretty far gone before it was suggested. Taking it in advance or from the positive pregnancy test may work better.
EDUCATE
Educate yourself. Educate your family. Educate your friends. Educate your doctor. Educate your community. Educate, educate, educate. I can't stress how important it is. The HER Foundation has fantastic resources in this area. Use them.
Obviously there are about a zillion and one other things you can do as well. I didn't mention a lot of the things on the list at the HER Foundation because - well, why duplicate effort? Each individual will have their own needs as well. The best thing to do is to sit down with your doctor in advance and make an action plan. Of course we all hope that all of this planning will be completely useless because we'll have happy, fluffy, non-HG pregnancies - but we can't count on that happening.
I hope that this list provides at least a springboard for planning for your next HG pregnancy.
Monday, April 16, 2012
No More Milk???
Sadness has come over this household: my milk supply suddenly disappeared. One day we were doing just fine, and the next I'm running on empty. I know that breastfeeding all the way until 18 months is quite an accomplishment and I really am proud of myself, especially seeing how LH thrives on my milk. The thing is, neither of us were ready to give it up quite yet.
It's been a rough few days so far, with no signs of my milk supply returning, despite my best efforts. LH is taking it really hard, and I can't blame the kid. I didn't prepare her for this. It wasn't the gradual, baby-led weaning I was planning on. She just had to quit cold turkey.
And just when I finally got around to converting my regular bras into nursing bras, too...
It's been a rough few days so far, with no signs of my milk supply returning, despite my best efforts. LH is taking it really hard, and I can't blame the kid. I didn't prepare her for this. It wasn't the gradual, baby-led weaning I was planning on. She just had to quit cold turkey.
And just when I finally got around to converting my regular bras into nursing bras, too...
Monday, March 19, 2012
Pesach (Passover) with HG
This post is inspired by K., who is currently suffering from hyperemesis and recently got in touch with me to ask questions about how I handled Pesach while pregnant. To those of you who are not religious Jews this may seem like gibberish. I'm just hoping that some poor woman who doesn't know what to do with herself for the week-long holiday will find this post and feel just a teeny tiny bit better.
Unless you are Sephardic, and even depending what kind of Sephardic you are, chances are that you don't eat kitniyot (legumes and more) on Pesach in addition to the restrictions that everyone has on chametz (leavened bread). If you are suffering from HG and your food intake is already severely limited, these additional restrictions can seem stifling and even problematic from a health perspective.
K. mentioned to me that she knows she could get a rabbi to give her a heter (permission) to eat kitniyot foods on Pesach, but that it just didn't feel right. If it was medically necessary then she could understand it, but since she has improved a bit she didn't feel that it was really as medically necessary.
I think that women with HG have a skewed sense of health and sickness. If you have gone a week without an IV or if you can now eat 800 calories a day then you're doing great, right? Well yes, but only in comparison to how poorly you were doing before. Try to look at yourself from an outside perspective, from a 'normal' perspective, before saying that you're well enough that you don't need to get permission to eat normally 'forbidden' foods (although these foods are only half-forbidden, in a way).
My point is, if you are suffering from hyperemesis around Pesach time - even if you aren't in your first trimester, even if you are doing miles better than you were - get the heter from the rabbi for kitniyot. What's more, don't let even the slightest bit of guilt enter into your conscience. Even if you feel pretty good your body is still not itself and you have to worry about the little one growing inside. During an HG pregnancy there are so few foods that you can eat to begin with that you don't want to limit yourself unnecessarily.
If you are living in America, getting the heter might not actually provide a huge amount of relief simply because you can't find so many kitniyot items that are labeled as Kosher for Pesach. In Israel, however, you'll find everything labeled as kitniyot, from cream cheese to chocolate to coffee to more obvious things like rice and beans and the like. Buy them. Have them in your house. Even if you wind up not using them, at least you know that you have the option.
This is not a time to tell yourself that you're better just to avoid doing something that is outside your comfort zone religiously speaking. Health comes above all else. Take care of yourself and your little peanut.
Unless you are Sephardic, and even depending what kind of Sephardic you are, chances are that you don't eat kitniyot (legumes and more) on Pesach in addition to the restrictions that everyone has on chametz (leavened bread). If you are suffering from HG and your food intake is already severely limited, these additional restrictions can seem stifling and even problematic from a health perspective.
K. mentioned to me that she knows she could get a rabbi to give her a heter (permission) to eat kitniyot foods on Pesach, but that it just didn't feel right. If it was medically necessary then she could understand it, but since she has improved a bit she didn't feel that it was really as medically necessary.
I think that women with HG have a skewed sense of health and sickness. If you have gone a week without an IV or if you can now eat 800 calories a day then you're doing great, right? Well yes, but only in comparison to how poorly you were doing before. Try to look at yourself from an outside perspective, from a 'normal' perspective, before saying that you're well enough that you don't need to get permission to eat normally 'forbidden' foods (although these foods are only half-forbidden, in a way).
My point is, if you are suffering from hyperemesis around Pesach time - even if you aren't in your first trimester, even if you are doing miles better than you were - get the heter from the rabbi for kitniyot. What's more, don't let even the slightest bit of guilt enter into your conscience. Even if you feel pretty good your body is still not itself and you have to worry about the little one growing inside. During an HG pregnancy there are so few foods that you can eat to begin with that you don't want to limit yourself unnecessarily.
If you are living in America, getting the heter might not actually provide a huge amount of relief simply because you can't find so many kitniyot items that are labeled as Kosher for Pesach. In Israel, however, you'll find everything labeled as kitniyot, from cream cheese to chocolate to coffee to more obvious things like rice and beans and the like. Buy them. Have them in your house. Even if you wind up not using them, at least you know that you have the option.
This is not a time to tell yourself that you're better just to avoid doing something that is outside your comfort zone religiously speaking. Health comes above all else. Take care of yourself and your little peanut.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Obsession
I am obsessed with food. I don't mean that I like food; I mean that I am completely obsessed.
Aren't we all? you ask. Nope. I distinctly remember that I used to like food, I used to think it was yummy and all and I would eat regularly and with relish, but I didn't spend my entire day thinking about it or planning in detail what I was going to eat next.
Do you know how on a fast day you might spend hours - particularly the last few - fantasizing about the food to come? You can almost taste it and your mouth waters in anticipation. Now imagine that for eight straight months of your life, you have access to plenty of food but can't eat any of it. Do you see where I'm going?
I spend an embarrassing amount of time on cooking websites and blogs, just looking for ideas or even just looking at recipes so I can say 'yum' and then go grab myself a snack. There are some days when I eat like there's no tomorrow, and other days when I'm afraid to eat top much because it might come back up - except that the pregnancy is already a distant memory, and I know that nothing short of the stomach flu will make me upchuck now.
There must be some trick to convincing your brain that really, the nightmare is over. It's okay to go back to normal now. But is it really? My stomach is permanently more sensitive than it used to be and still can't handle a large amount of food in one sitting, and there is a list of foods that I still have a strong aversion to and simply can't convince myself to consume. N. is always asking me to make lasagna, but I know that I won't eat it so I keep putting him off and putting him off. Will I ever be able to eat lasagna again?
Knowing that the HG is more likely than not going to plague me with future pregnancies also makes me cautious, because in a way it seems like it can hit at any moment - even when I know logically that it won't. It is difficult to break free of a fear and an expectation when you know that it lies in your future.
I suppose if an obsession with food is the worst problem I have, I'm doing pretty well - so long as I don't overdo it.
Aren't we all? you ask. Nope. I distinctly remember that I used to like food, I used to think it was yummy and all and I would eat regularly and with relish, but I didn't spend my entire day thinking about it or planning in detail what I was going to eat next.
Do you know how on a fast day you might spend hours - particularly the last few - fantasizing about the food to come? You can almost taste it and your mouth waters in anticipation. Now imagine that for eight straight months of your life, you have access to plenty of food but can't eat any of it. Do you see where I'm going?
I spend an embarrassing amount of time on cooking websites and blogs, just looking for ideas or even just looking at recipes so I can say 'yum' and then go grab myself a snack. There are some days when I eat like there's no tomorrow, and other days when I'm afraid to eat top much because it might come back up - except that the pregnancy is already a distant memory, and I know that nothing short of the stomach flu will make me upchuck now.
There must be some trick to convincing your brain that really, the nightmare is over. It's okay to go back to normal now. But is it really? My stomach is permanently more sensitive than it used to be and still can't handle a large amount of food in one sitting, and there is a list of foods that I still have a strong aversion to and simply can't convince myself to consume. N. is always asking me to make lasagna, but I know that I won't eat it so I keep putting him off and putting him off. Will I ever be able to eat lasagna again?
Knowing that the HG is more likely than not going to plague me with future pregnancies also makes me cautious, because in a way it seems like it can hit at any moment - even when I know logically that it won't. It is difficult to break free of a fear and an expectation when you know that it lies in your future.
I suppose if an obsession with food is the worst problem I have, I'm doing pretty well - so long as I don't overdo it.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Ode to N.'s tea
Okay, so not quite an ode. But seriously, N. makes the most delicious tea. Whenever I make tea it turns out okay, but if you're sick and you want a really fantastic cup of tea N. is the man to make it. He gets the balance between the sugar/honey and the lemon just right.
Then again, my former roommate (A.) also used to make me really good tea when I was sick. She bought limes and if I remember correctly, the tea was just hot water, fresh squeezed lime juice, and sugar or honey. I actually did feel a big improvement after drinking her tea.
The bottom line is, if you want a good cup of tea - don't come to me. I was sick and actually waited all day for my husband to come home before I drank tea, just because I knew that his was so much better. Yay for husbands who make tea. :)
Then again, my former roommate (A.) also used to make me really good tea when I was sick. She bought limes and if I remember correctly, the tea was just hot water, fresh squeezed lime juice, and sugar or honey. I actually did feel a big improvement after drinking her tea.
The bottom line is, if you want a good cup of tea - don't come to me. I was sick and actually waited all day for my husband to come home before I drank tea, just because I knew that his was so much better. Yay for husbands who make tea. :)
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Being thankful
There are a lot of things to be thankful about how things turned out in the end after my terrifying pregnancy, but I feel that I need to mention the seemingly simple acts of two friends in particular.
At some point during my first trimester, I developed a fever. I didn't have any medicine in the house that was safe for pregnancy with which to lower my fever, but I felt that I had to get it down. So I called up my faithful friend I. who had Tylenol and who lived a 10-15 minute walk away. Even though it was already pretty late at night and she had to be up early the next morning, she came over with the medicine and sat with me for a little while before going back home to bed. From her side it was such a simple thing to do, and yet to me it meant so much that I had a friend whom I could call upon when needed and who would help me out, even though it was inconvenient. I am so thankful for that.
My other friend who bears mentioning is D., along with her husband O. On a Wednesday I had gone in for IV hydration, but I still wasn't doing well. As in, by noon on Thursday I was thinking that we should go back in again. I wanted to wait it out a little bit and see. D. came over that evening with her husband and a pot of orange soup that he had made for me that day. It was the best present ever. I don't know how, but by some amazing miracle I was able to eat all of the soup and it all stayed in without a fuss. It gave me enough liquid that I was able to skip the hospital visit that evening, and I was put back onto a good track (well, a good track for a woman with HG...).
They say that soup has healing powers, and it's true. Not only did I feel the warmth of friendship; it actually physically made me better. So to I. for her Tylenol and friendship, and to D. and O. for their soup and visit, I am eternally grateful. You have no idea how much that meant to me at a very dark time of life.
At some point during my first trimester, I developed a fever. I didn't have any medicine in the house that was safe for pregnancy with which to lower my fever, but I felt that I had to get it down. So I called up my faithful friend I. who had Tylenol and who lived a 10-15 minute walk away. Even though it was already pretty late at night and she had to be up early the next morning, she came over with the medicine and sat with me for a little while before going back home to bed. From her side it was such a simple thing to do, and yet to me it meant so much that I had a friend whom I could call upon when needed and who would help me out, even though it was inconvenient. I am so thankful for that.
My other friend who bears mentioning is D., along with her husband O. On a Wednesday I had gone in for IV hydration, but I still wasn't doing well. As in, by noon on Thursday I was thinking that we should go back in again. I wanted to wait it out a little bit and see. D. came over that evening with her husband and a pot of orange soup that he had made for me that day. It was the best present ever. I don't know how, but by some amazing miracle I was able to eat all of the soup and it all stayed in without a fuss. It gave me enough liquid that I was able to skip the hospital visit that evening, and I was put back onto a good track (well, a good track for a woman with HG...).
They say that soup has healing powers, and it's true. Not only did I feel the warmth of friendship; it actually physically made me better. So to I. for her Tylenol and friendship, and to D. and O. for their soup and visit, I am eternally grateful. You have no idea how much that meant to me at a very dark time of life.
Eating homemade, eating healthy
There is a growing movement, at least in the US, to eat more 'natural' foods. This includes less processed food, more whole grains, more organic products, etc. Many people think that since I am a vegetarian (and have been for my whole life), I must be into all of these things, too. Truth be told, organic really isn't my thing. Are there merits to this 'natural' way of eating? Sure. Am I going to take on all of these habits and the extra expense that comes with them? Nope.
That being said, I am changing my cooking and eating habits, and the hyperemesis is largely to blame for that. While I was pregnant I could eat very few foods, and I noticed that some things in particular were sure to come back up. But then I found that the more pure the food was, the fresher, the freer from preservatives and additives, the more likely it was to stay in. The two biggest examples were apple juice and chummus.
I spent my pregnancy pretty much chronically dehydrated, though I only went in to the hospital for IV hydration when I got really really bad. I probably should have gone more often, but even just getting there was such a nightmare, not to mention that I would come home and just continue vomiting. So finding liquids that would stay in was at the top of my list of priorities.
Apple juice seemed like a likely candidate at some point, so we bought some. Mind you, at least in Israel most of the things labelled 'juice' don't necessarily have much relation to the real stuff, but N. went out and bought me a bottle that was labelled as 100% juice (I'm pretty sure he must have spent half of those eight long months going back and forth to the grocery store, trying to find me something that would stay in). Needless to say, this '100% juice' did not sit terribly well. Why, you might ask? Well, it could be the added ascorbic acid or the other couple of things that were in it, if you actually read the ingredients. My juice was not pure.
We finally decided to move up to the refrigerator section, where there were bottles of juice that only had juice listed in the ingredients. And you know what? It worked. That stuff was like magic. Pure apple juice, and it stayed inside my belly where I got needed hydration and calories to keep the babe growing and myself from fading away. There were about two months at the end of my pregnancy where that was all I could drink, so it took me a year after giving birth to be able to drink it again at all.
The chummus was more obvious. If you pick up a package of chummus from the store, there's a list of around 20 ingredients. If you make it yourself - six. My mother-in-law makes her own chummus so that was how I found out that I could tolerate homemade and not store-bought.
Before all of this, I had never really thought so much about the amount of extra things that go into your normal, everyday food. Sure, I wasn't buying those super processed foods that are clearly terrible for you and I was trying to steer away from things like MSG, but I wasn't really thinking about seemingly harmless foods. It takes an overactive stomach to realize that things aren't as innocent as they seem.
Now I make from scratch a lot of food that we were previously buying ready-made, and you know what? We're much happier that way. Aside from being healthier, yummier, and cheaper, it also opens up more options for me in the event that my next pregnancy continues on this trend. So am I an 'organic' person, buying only 'natural' foods? No, and I don't plan to be. I plan to be as healthy as I can on our very limited budget, and trying to keep out of my body things that shouldn't be there.
That being said, I am changing my cooking and eating habits, and the hyperemesis is largely to blame for that. While I was pregnant I could eat very few foods, and I noticed that some things in particular were sure to come back up. But then I found that the more pure the food was, the fresher, the freer from preservatives and additives, the more likely it was to stay in. The two biggest examples were apple juice and chummus.
I spent my pregnancy pretty much chronically dehydrated, though I only went in to the hospital for IV hydration when I got really really bad. I probably should have gone more often, but even just getting there was such a nightmare, not to mention that I would come home and just continue vomiting. So finding liquids that would stay in was at the top of my list of priorities.
Apple juice seemed like a likely candidate at some point, so we bought some. Mind you, at least in Israel most of the things labelled 'juice' don't necessarily have much relation to the real stuff, but N. went out and bought me a bottle that was labelled as 100% juice (I'm pretty sure he must have spent half of those eight long months going back and forth to the grocery store, trying to find me something that would stay in). Needless to say, this '100% juice' did not sit terribly well. Why, you might ask? Well, it could be the added ascorbic acid or the other couple of things that were in it, if you actually read the ingredients. My juice was not pure.
We finally decided to move up to the refrigerator section, where there were bottles of juice that only had juice listed in the ingredients. And you know what? It worked. That stuff was like magic. Pure apple juice, and it stayed inside my belly where I got needed hydration and calories to keep the babe growing and myself from fading away. There were about two months at the end of my pregnancy where that was all I could drink, so it took me a year after giving birth to be able to drink it again at all.
The chummus was more obvious. If you pick up a package of chummus from the store, there's a list of around 20 ingredients. If you make it yourself - six. My mother-in-law makes her own chummus so that was how I found out that I could tolerate homemade and not store-bought.
Before all of this, I had never really thought so much about the amount of extra things that go into your normal, everyday food. Sure, I wasn't buying those super processed foods that are clearly terrible for you and I was trying to steer away from things like MSG, but I wasn't really thinking about seemingly harmless foods. It takes an overactive stomach to realize that things aren't as innocent as they seem.
Now I make from scratch a lot of food that we were previously buying ready-made, and you know what? We're much happier that way. Aside from being healthier, yummier, and cheaper, it also opens up more options for me in the event that my next pregnancy continues on this trend. So am I an 'organic' person, buying only 'natural' foods? No, and I don't plan to be. I plan to be as healthy as I can on our very limited budget, and trying to keep out of my body things that shouldn't be there.
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