Baby #2 :) and HG :(

Well A LOT has happened since my last post.

On April 5th, we found out that we are expecting our second baby! YAY! So exciting! This time it was more of a surprise than with Tanner. With Tanner it took 2 years and fertility treatments. This time, it happened all on its own. Of course we were ecstatic, thrilled and happy. Then thoughts of my difficult, nightmarish first trimester with Tanner came flooding in.

With Tanner I had Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) for the first 14 weeks. HG is one of the worst things anyone can experience. It is painful, debilitating, exhausting and scary. It is unrelenting nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Now, this is NOT morning sickness. This is throwing up upwards of 13 to 15 times a day. Throwing up blood and bile because your stomach is so raw and empty. Everything is absolutely disgusting and is an irritant to your stomach. It causes your body to become severely dehydrated and malnourished. Due to the nature of this disease, daily functioning is thrown out the door. I could barely lift my head without gagging. Needless to say, working, driving, cooking, cleaning, etc. is impossible. This is all stuff I learned after I felt better with Tanner. Only .5% to 2% of pregnant women get this, and 2/3 of those that had it in prior pregnancies will have it again.


I had some scares with this pregnancy and went to the ER twice both in my 6th week. I received to ultrasounds and a fetal pole and heartbeat couldn't be found. They thought I had a blighted ovum miscarriage. I was devastated. I had no other symptoms of miscarriage, yet each day I was getting increasingly sick and nauseous.  I was made a my body for "acting" like it was pregnant when the doctor's said they thought the baby stopped growing. I followed up with my OB and had an ultrasound about a week later because my beta kept rising. They didn't want to do a D&C without triple checking that their wasn't a baby in there. I had a third ultrasound and I couldn't see anything, but I never really could with Tanner's early ultrasounds. It was the end of the day and I didn't get to see the doctor after it, they told me to follow up the next week.

My doctor called the next day to say that baby had a heart rate of 104. I was shocked! For a week, I thought I was miscarrying. She scheduled another one for 2 weeks later. That is when the HG started to flare up. I went to urgent care twice and they told me they would send me to the hospital if I came again for fluids because I was severely dehydrated and wanted to make sure the baby made it. It is much faster at Urgent Care to get fluids so that is why we went that route. So when I was so severely dehydrated again, back to the hospital again. The doctor and nurses remembered me. My doctor at this point started the home nursing process for the Zofran pump and IV hydration. Insurance took 2 weeks to approve it! With Tanner it took 1 day. I was dying...literally. Myself or Adam called constantly to check and it was always "under review" UGH! FINALLY it came, the nurse came on a Saturday night to hook me and I thought I would feel much better right away. Didn't happen. She said it might take longer because it took longer to get it started. Much like taking a Tylenol after you ran a marathon instead of before. It takes longer for it to start working.

On the Friday that we got approval, we were actually at the doctor for the 2 week follow-up ultrasound and appointment. Right away I saw baby's heart beating away. It was awesome! Heart rate was 168 and baby was measuring right on track for our Dec. 13 due date. I was relieved!

Meanwhile, this time around with HG, I have lost 17 pounds in the matter of 2 weeks. With the pump, I have maintained within a pound or two of that weight. I haven't been able to work since the middle of April. I haven't been able to take care of Tanner. He has had to go to daycare because I can barely take care of myself. It is a horrible feeling, but I know he is having a blast over there. I did try to go back to work once last week. I made it 2 hours before some of my amazing co-workers said that I had to leave NOW, and they drove me home because I was not looking good. I miss my students. I miss doing normal things like taking a shower without feeling like I am going to pass out or need a 3 hour nap to recoup afterwards. Grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, taking a walk, walking up our stairs, etc. has been impossible. Adam is amazing. He has done anything/everything and worked full-time during an extremely stressful time at work. He has gone to the store for me, cleaned the house, entertained Tanner while I couldn't. He is AMAZING. My co-workers have helped me so much at work with IEP's, packing my classroom, teaching my students, picking up Tanner, having the kids send cards to me to lift my spirits. My mom and Adam's mom have come down to help with Tanner when I couldn't do anything. Tanner's daycare teacher Ms. Cory has driven Tanner home when I couldn't or shouldn't. She is amazing and so patient with me. I am grateful to have amazing people in my life.

I will be 11 weeks tomorrow and hope that the worst of the HG is gone, but I am not holding my breath. The majority of HG patients have HG until 21 weeks or longer. I hope I can get lucky and only have it until 14 weeks again, we shall see, but this time around has been significantly more difficult. It will all be worth it in the end...it will...it will...

That is all for now, hopefully the next update will be happier :)
Thanks for reading :)