May. 3, 2007 - Sicker Than I had Ever Been
(This entry has not yet been edited for spelling and punctuation)
Well, friends, I know that there is no way I will ever finish my story if I wait 2 months between entries. I'll not let that happen again, God willing. So, let me go on.
It was 6 years ago this month that God brought forth life in my womb. 8 weeks later I would realize this was not going to be easy like my last pregnancy. God was definately continuing His refining work...
August 10, 2001
Letter # 2 - Bringing You Up to Date
Dear Family and Friends,
I hope you all will accept my apology for not sending this out sooner. In fact, most of you will be receiving this at the same time as the first one. Read on and you'll discover why.
The last 10 weeks have been full of the adventures of early pregnancy, and rather difficult at times. Around week 8, I began to experience severe morning sickness. This was very new to me as I did not have any morning sickness with Victoria. After three days of this severe sickness I had only been able to keep down about 2 cups of fluid and no food. I also had incredible pain in the back of my head any time I tried to stand up. On the fourth morning Victoria woke up and I couldn't even get off the couch to get her out of bed. Fortunately the phone was nearby and I called my neighbors - an absolutely wonderful Christian family who love Victora - and they came and got her. Then I called Russ to come home and take me to my family practitioner. My doctor immediately admmitted me to the hospital where I spent the next 4 days receiving intravenous fluids, anti-nausea medication, and steroids. Finally, I got to the point where I could keep down saltines and gingerale and was allowed to go home. I had about three more weeks where I couldn't eat much of anything. During that month, I lost 12 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. [I started out this pregnancy at 123 lbs. 111 lbs. is not at all healthy for a person who is 5' 6"]
Russ and I try to look for the positive side in any situation. My time in the hospital afforded Russ a great learning experience he may not have had otherwise. The first night I was in the hospital, Russ came by to visit with one of our neighbor's kids - 14 year old Stephanie, who is Victoria's babysitter. Russ explained to me that he had some errands to run and just didn't know how to do that by himself with Victoria - thus the reason Stephanie was along. It's not that Russ was incapable of taking care of her by himself, he just had never had to. Well, by Saturday afternoon (two days later), he was bathing her, taking her to the park, and feeding her without any direction or help. He even got her up, dressed and to church on Sunday morning! So, the positive side was that Russ gained confidence in taking care of Victoria without mommy around.
I am in my 17th week of pregnancy now and everything is going smoothly. The morning sickness is just an unpleasant memory and my appetite is extremely strong now. So far, I have gained back 7 of the 12 pounds I lost initially.
We have had two ultrasounds since the one we had at 5 weeks. They were at 9 weeks and 11 weeks and both showed a very active little baby with a strong heart beat. Even at two and a half centimeters, there was no mistaking this tiny human being. Our next ultrasound is in a little over a week. This one will be more in depth and they will be checking various parts of the anatomy to make sure everything is developing properly. We hope to be able to find out the sex of the baby at that time. Amazingly, the baby that was two and a half centimeters just 8 weeks ago will be four and a half inches at this next appointment. The baby will look like a fully-formed human being, although very tiny... it even has fingernails at this point!
I have been feeling very light fetal "flutterings" for a few weeks now but, just this week, I began to feel stronger bump-like movements. At my doctor's appointment last week, the fetal heart rate was 150 beats per minute. Despite the discomfort of the early months, I am into my second trimester and doing great. I am still tired... but I think that has a lot do with with chasing after a rapidly-maturing toddler all day!
[I did ommit a part of this letter here for protection of privacy]
In about 5 weeks, I will begin my weekly trips to Charleston for IVIG therapy. Please be in prayer that we can find volunteers to go back and forth with me each week and that the treatments work like they should. I hope to send out another update in two weeks with all the news about our ultrasound.
...up next - tragedy and bravery
|
