Much Better!

Yesterday the new home health agency started working with me at the house. The difference was huge and was a big relief. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of good care when you are dealing with HG in pregnancy. The compassion and proactive treatment of my physician has made such a difference in this pregnancy. Even though I still feel horrible most of the time, I have not reached the critical stage like I did in my last pregnancy. Have a doctor who is willing to take time to keep working with me and working through the issues associated with HG means that I am not in such a huge deterioration and have spent way less time in the hospital.

The new home health agency was wonderful. Where the first company was more concerned about what they would not do and what worked best for the, this agency wants to do what is best for the patient. They took extensive time filling out my history and checking my health. When they found out I had been having some issues, the picked up the phone right there and contacted my doctor. Where the last company would have said I should call, they picked up the phone and called her themselves. In addition to the time and care they took finding out my situation, the offered many helpful alternatives should I need the services. For instance, they have offered to do blood draws and take them to the lab rather than my having to make a special trip to the doctor to have them done. They listed several things they can do as long as they have doctor orders. They were more than willing to do things to make my life easier and were most concerned about what was going to be best for my health. Huge difference, they are definitely patient focused!

Currently I am having trouble sleeping at night, this is not uncommon with my pregnancies. First I am usually up sick most of the night and I am prone to insomnia with my thyroid issues. So I am really exhausted most of the time. I am trying to find ways to resolve the insomnia but if it continues I suppose I will have to talk with the doctor about the issue and see if there is some remedy. I seem to have good days and bad days, days where I am sicker than others and am able to keep less down. I try to balance those days by making sure that I eat good foods the days that I can keep more down. I am currently reading through lists of "pregnancy super foods." I will post a good list once I have them down. However, I do always tell people that you are the only one who can decide what you can and cannot eat. Knowing something is good for you will not over rule the gag reflex if you are not interested in eating that particular food.

I am no in my 17th week. Around 20 weeks is when I see a marked difference in the sickness. Usually around that point things start to taper off and I start to hold more down. I am hoping that this is going to be the same trend with this pregnancy. I HOPE!

Lock, Stock and Barrel

Took my husband to the airport so he could fly back to Texas and go back to work tomorrow. The older kids cried last night and my youngest cried when we dropped him off this morning. I was feeling pretty sad myself and missing him but couldn't let it out since I had an upset baby already. I had five hours in the car round trip which by the time I got back to the house I was so ready to stretch out and ease the cramps in my hips and legs.

Pull up and have that moment of dread, my parents have gone to church and the darn door was locked. I spent five hours outside with the children. NIGHTMARE! So darn hot and so darn humid today, plus we both had on our pajamas so we could not really go anywhere else and just hang out or walk around. Total mood killer as if it wasn't bad enough.

So about 1 1/2 hours into the five I decided we would go for a drive. My hometown is one of the towns that was hit by the tornado in April this year. I had not been to the business district or out to where my friends "live/lived" and had avoided it because I knew it would be profoundly emotional. So of course the first place I turn (what an idiot I was already semi-depressed) I drive right out to have a look since we had to take a drive. You don't really notice much until you get right into the middle of it and then there it is total wipe out of homes and businesses. I drove down the street I went down every day going to middle and high school and all those houses were totally gone. I hit the schools next. My heart was burning by then, there it was all the lovely trees that had been there for generations were gone, the schools were torn to bits and since they are trying to open up in September the parking lots were full of construction equipment and supplies. Really if you didn't know it would mostly look like the area was under development with some older homes getting repairs. There were places where the grass had been ripped out, seriously crazy to think of how powerful that EF-4 was that tore through here, and my hurt hurt all over again.

Drove until I was almost out of gas and then stopped to fill up and drove back to the house to wait and wait and wait. They finally pulled up and I was so happy to get back inside. Did I mention that I didn't take any of my meds this morning because we left so early. Yep, you guessed it, totally sick outside. My feet were so swollen today too. I suppose I will have to call the OB's office tomorrow and find out what they think will be going on with my legs and feet swelling and cramping and my dizzy spells. I am hoping maybe it is just the hormones and not any other issues but I can pretty much predict what they will say.

So that was my day, how was yours? Still 8 weeks and 4 days and counting down to the big arrival. I will try to post my second pregnancy story soon. Hopefully this week.

Tornado relief is still ongoing, if you wish to contribute to my amazing hometown here is an organization working to help those who lost homes and businesses.

http://newpassionchurch.com/relief/

1st Doctor Day for Me and Peanut

Today was the first OB appointment. They got me in earlier than the standard 8 weeks for several reasons. First they got me in because I have had so many miscarriages (six in total). So this is my tenth total pregnancy. Most of the miscarriages occurred during the period we were trying to get pregnant with Aidan. We finally got pregnant and stayed pregnant when we stopped pregnant, talk about irony. The other reason they wanted to see me was that I was going to see my parents for a while and they wanted to get care established. The last reason was for the HG, they need to establish care and get a plan going so they can call in medicine.

The appointment went so well! I am so happy with the doctor, staff, and their care. They were open to everything I had to say. They listened and genuinely cared that I had so many problems from other pregnancies. I am so glad I went in today. I struggled last night with the fear and anxiety. I worried for hours before I fell asleep that this would be like last time and that the doctor would not want to dig in with me and work on a real plan. Thankfully, she really that was not the case and the visit was amazing. They are worried about me going out of town (sharp change from previous doctor, he couldn't care less), they would prefer me close if something goes wrong. They told me to call if there is any issue at any time and of course to go straight to the ER if there is something that requires immediate intervention (I am  praying this does not happen).

They called in my nausea meds, just Zofran for now but will step up as necessary. Told me to go ahead with the over the counter remedies and maintain whatever necessary to make sure that peanut and I are healthy. Now we are about to take naps, all the boys are down since we got up so early. After that we are doing the packing and getting things in the car so we can leave EARLY in the morning. The boys are so excited, they have been packing "travel bags" full of more toys than necessary but we will solve that later.

Where am I today:

• First amazing OB appointment with my new OB...so excited...
• All my meds are ready to go if and when they become necessary...
• After being sick yesterday, no more physical sickness today but nasty nasty reflux, probably more related to the gastroparesis than HG at least I hope. I have kept it in control with gum and extra water...
• Getting ready to visit my parents and cannot wait to see them, have not been home since November...
• Less anxiety and worry than before and feeling more confident about my care.