17 Weeks

I haven't done a pregnancy post since week 13 so I thought I'd document how the second trimester is going. I'm doing a little better, especially from an emotional standpoint. I'm still feeling pretty awful but it's getting a little more manageable at least. I'm smiling a lot more and crying a lot less. The steroids have helped a lot and I'm able to eat a little more variety of foods. I'm still vomiting, but now it's more like 1-3 times a day instead of 10-15 like it was the first couple of months. But the nausea is still pretty constant and I'm still having a hard time getting enough fluids down to keep me hydrated enough, so I'm still needing IV fluids. When the nurse was here last week she had to call my blood pressure in to the doctor since it was only 80/58 (from dehydration) and I got lectured for not calling her sooner. 

Another super fun symptom that I've had this pregnancy that I never had in my other two is ptyalism. Which is basically just a fancy way of saying I have gallons of extra saliva and have had to resort to carrying around a spit cup to prevent even more vomiting caused by swallowing said gallons of extra saliva. Which basically means I am a sexy beast and Rick had no idea exactly how lucky he was going to get when he promised the words, "for better or for worse." I mean, it really doesn't get much hotter than your wife laying around in your clothes filling up cups with spit. Folks, I'm keeping it klassy-with-a-capital-k around these parts. I honestly can't believe I am actually admitting this to the world...but I am trying to keep it real and this child is going to know full well what it took to get her here. Ha! I had never even heard of it before but my doctor said it's more common in HG pregnancies. Thankfully it's only for about half the day at least. 

I'm still nowhere near my normal capacity for activities but I'm getting out of the house a little more lately. I even made it to church on Sunday for the first time in months. I wasn't even in the auditorium for 30 seconds before I began weeping. Singing & worshiping is exactly what my soul needed. The truth that God is so good even amongst trials and suffering is such a beautiful and emotional thing. I've been depressed lately and a huge part of that is because I've been feeling spiritually dry and I have been desperately missing that fellowship with God. I needed to be refueled and it was powerful being back there singing to the Lord and thanking him for His goodness. I didn't make it all the way through the service before having to leave but it was still so worth forcing myself out the door to try.

I went back and looked up what I wrote about how I was feeling during my last two pregnancies. I had HG with Harrison but not quite as severe. But so much of it is exactly the same. I wrote about crying every day, feeling hopeless while looking at how many days are still ahead, peeing my pants, puking in the car on my commute to work, and shutting my office door at lunch and curling up on the floor under my desk. I didn't have my first vomit-free day until week 22 and I'm praying I'll get that same relief this time. I knew I had a rough pregnancy with him but it's funny how you really do forget how bad it truly was once you meet that precious baby. 



Meet My New Best Friend
I Just Got Kicked When I Was Already Down
A Joyous Day!!!

I have my anatomy ultrasound next week. I'm excited but also a little nervous! Placenta previas are almost always a fluke thing and I'm not at any higher risk of having one than I was the first time, but I will feel so much better to have that confirmed by the ultrasound! I know it's silly to worry about something that is almost certainly not going to be an issue and is completely out of my control anyway, so I'm trying to just be excited. It will be fun to see Nugget wiggling around on the screen. It's hard to believe I am getting close to the halfway mark of this pregnancy!

16w4d belly shot

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 17 weeks

Size of baby: 5 1/2 inches from crown to rump. About the size of a large onion.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I've gained back some of the weight I've lost so now I'm netting a loss of 5 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight.

Maternity Clothes: It was confirmed that all my maternity clothes got donated, but thankfully I was able to borrow a bunch of clothes from a friend. Definitely needing maternity shirts but somehow I'm still able to fit into (and button!!) the majority of my normal shorts and jeans. But I mostly prefer to wear Rick's t-shirts and no pants when we are hanging out at the house since anything tight on my waste makes me even more nauseated. Once again, keeping it classy.

Gender: We found out we are having another girl! She still doesn't have a name but she sure is one loved little sweetie already.

Movement: I'm feeling her move more and more. It's my favorite thing about pregnancy. The kids haven't felt her yet but Rick finally did this week. He was talking to my belly and blowing strawberries on it and she kicked him in the mouth. The look on his face was priceless.

Sleep: It's still pretty rough falling asleep at night but it's gotten a little better. Once I'm finally asleep it's great (other than the big kids sneaking into our bed in the middle of the night and flopping around everywhere!)

What I miss: Feeling good and actually looking forward to doing fun things with the kids instead of dreading them and then just feeling like I'm surviving through them. I'm so ready to be myself again!

Cravings: I'm able to eat a few more foods but I rarely ever crave anything or even have an appetite for anything in particular. It's still mostly based on what I think I can keep down or choosing the least gross thing to throw up. 

Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, dehydration, buckets of saliva, sleepy during the day but insomnia at night. One good symptom I noticed is that I don't have to shave my legs nearly as often. Woo hoo!

Best Moment this week: Continued belly kisses from excited siblings and Rick feeling her move for the first time when she kicked him in the face. Lots of sweet moments that I'm so grateful for!