Sick and Tired

It's been over a month since I've blogged. And I really enjoy blogging. Many of you know why I've been missing.

It seems this pregnancy has a life of it's own. It began the day after my last blog post actually. We went to church that Sunday, enjoyed a fellowship meal and from there it was all downhill. I took a nap in the hopes of feeling better after getting some rest and woke up to find that I felt even worse. Nothing would stay down, not even water. The next day was more of the same. By that afternoon I felt miserable and had pain in my lower abdomen. I went in and saw my OB, who did some tests and gave me a prescription for the Zofran pictured above. However, it was a little too late, I was already getting so dehydrated that by that night we were in the emergency room. I wasn't sure what was wrong, but the pain in my abdomen was comparable to stages of childbirth. They ran more tests and did an ultrasound (which we didn't get to see). They said the baby (singular, no twins) and the uterus looked healthy and all my test results were fine except that I was severely dehydrated. So we stayed long enough for them to pump two IV bags full of fluids into my system.

Pete's mom came to our rescue that night, and for the next few days she helped take care of all of us. She even made me her amazing homemade chicken noodle soup. After a couple days, I tried to stop taking the medicine because we thought that the sickness had been a bug. No such luck. I immediately started getting sick again. And to top it off, I added a UTI to my troubles. This mama who tries not to take much medicine at all during pregnancy was back on the Zofran and adding to it a strong antibiotic to knock that nasty UTI out. That was one of the longest weeks of my life. I honestly think that I feel better the week after childbirth with little to no sleep than I felt that week. It was not fun. Thankfully, Pete's mom was here for much of that time and he was able to work from home the rest of it. And in the meantime, my sweet Jon and Sam were making me cards:

I counted all the cards that they brought me just to my room (there were others around the house that I think found their way to the trash can--shhhh!) and there are 48. Yes, forty-eight! Jon made about 2/3 of them and Sam made the rest.

That's just a sample.
From that week forward has been a steady improvement. My doctor had said to feel free to play with my dosage if I felt better, so I have. Once I hit 13 weeks, I went down to half the dosage and still felt pretty good. I went a little lower, only 1/4 of the dosage and it wasn't so pretty. I was a little disappointed at first, but ultimately I am just thankful that there is a medicine that I can take that helps me to function and be able to take care of my family. This whole experience has made me very thankful for the good health that I normally take quite for granted. Also, my husband has been a rockstar throughout this whole time picking up all the extra slack for me. That whole "in sickness or health" part of our vows has been put to the test lately.

Since hitting that 13 week mark, I've had a lot more energy. I still get tired easily, but comparatively I'm feeling pretty good. I have been more sensitive and irritable this pregnancy than I remember being in the past 3, but now that I've recognized that, I'm praying and trying to be less reactive. Pete's praying with and for me in that regard as well. If you think of me, I'd love for you to pray for my health, this baby and that I would be more patient with my kiddos and my sweetie. Thank you all in advance!
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13
P.S. Yes, we're planning to find out, if the baby cooperates, whether this little one is a he or a she. The ultrasound should be around the 8th of August. Of course, I'll share the news here after we find out and share with loved ones. :)