Tag Archives: symptoms

Desperate times

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I can’t poo.

I don’t remember being this constipated last time.

I’ve been taking co.lac.e but it’s not enough.  It’s time to break out the big guns.  I am sure I have posted this recipe here before but it was in reference to constipated toddlers, but I am hoping it will work for me too.

POO PEARS (aka Cinnamon Pears)

Ingredients:
– 2-3 pears (and apples if you want), cubed
– prune juice
– flax seeds
– vanilla extract
– cinnamon
– high fiber or whole grain bread, preferably something raisiny and cinnamony but not necessary

Directions
– Preheat to 375
– Cut enough pears or apples to cover the bottom of the pan
– Add enough prune juice to go up to about halfway up the pieces of pears
– Mix in a bunch of flax seed meal, about 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract, a bit of cinnamon
– Bake partially covered for ~15min, maybe more, until the pears are soft
– While baking, cut the bread into small cubes
– When finished baking, mix the cubes of bread into the pears, so the remaining juice can soak into the bread

—-

When the kids used to hold in their poo (we went through a long phase of that) we ate a LOT of poo pears.  I was trying to keep the poos soft, and also hope that their body would sneak it out even if they were trying to hold it in.  Some mornings I also sampled the pears.  We all ended up pooping within 15min of finishing our pears.  It was glorious.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE work for me!

i’m following it up with a cocktail of cran-apple juice and prune juice.

PLEASE. PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE.

The next 2ww

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I don’t have an OB appointment until January 22.

JANUARY 22.  Two weeks from now.

When the nurse called with my last beta she said I should call my OB.  And I was like, you don’t want me to come in for an ultrasound or anything?  Nope.  All right …

That’ll be at 8.5 weeks.

Yesterday I went to my new endocrinologist and she asked me how I was feeling.  I was like honestly I don’t feel pregnant except I am tired.  Maybe sometimes I’m a teeny tiny bit nauseous.  It’s hard because I am not paying attention, I don’t know if I’m nauseous or hungry sometimes.  And Wednesday Banana accidentally elbowed me in the boob and I involuntarily cried out in pain, startling her, making her cry for a while (and had to hug her and calm her down while my boob echoed in pain).  Otherwise I don’t feel pregnant.

It’s unfair to compare because last pregnancy was a twin pregnancy, and by 6 weeks I was knocked out nauseous already, violently repulsed by certain foods, overwhelmed by smells, etc.  This time, I’m just wondering if maybe I’ve gained a little weight.  And I am pretty tired all the time, like a little bit more than usual.  And a little grouchier but that could be from the tiredness.

So basically I don’t really BELIEVE I am pregnant except for the numbers I got from my last beta, which was already a week ago.  No I haven’t peed on anything since then.  I’ve just decided I am going to continue living … trying to believe I am pregnant … waiting two weeks.

Every time I pee I think “oh man I just wasted an opportunity” – to take an OPK, or pregnancy test, or whatever.  I remind myself, no, I am not peeing on things now, supposedly I am pregnant.

Just thought I would update at 6 weeks.  It’s been fun going back and reading my weekly posts from the last pregnancy so I’m tagging them together so I can read them all at once.

Feel like a dope

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I *can’t* believe I got excited.

Here’s what happened:

Weight fluctuations and goo told me I was likely to be ovulating.

I – get this – gave myself a T.a.rot card reading that told me that I was basically going to get pregnant right away.

Then I got really excited…  And then I was so sure I had actually ovulated, and that we had gotten busy in time, and then was so sure of all of the following signs:

  • Bubbly feeling in uterus at (estimated) 3dpo
  • Gigantic pinch at (estimated) 6dpo
  • Ball in uterus feeling like I had last time, at estimated 7dpo (at this point I was 99% sure I was pregnant)
  • Various other “signs” like crying at things, getting upset at things, imagined transient boob pain, etc.

Also, I won a raffle on the day I felt the pinch and I was sure that was a sign.  I was like, I should be buying lottery tickets right now!

I was honestly getting really excited.  I bought a fancy FRER pregnancy test.  I imagined the post I was going to write.  It was going to be something like, “I can’t believe it was this easy” or “this is what it must be like to be fertile” or some BSy stupid BS like that.

If you can’t tell from the tone of this post, I got a negative.  Not even a squinter.  And squint I did, believe you me!

Today is my estimated 11dpo.

And by estimated I really mean completely-totally-BS-made-it-up kind of estimated, considering I haven’t had a period since September, and imagined I was ovulating for six straight weeks in November-December.

11dpo is still “early” to test so I will test again on Thursday, which I guess would be my completely-totally-BS-made-it-up kind of estimated 15dpo.

I was literally 99% sure I was pregnant.  At first I freaked out because we started “trying” at our minimum age gap, and holy sh.it my kids would be so close in age, and that is a lot of crazy time lumped together.  Then I got really excited and happy, like, WOW who knew getting pregnant could be this easy?  This is what it was like for {FertileFriendA}, {FertileFriendB}, {FertileFriendInfinityPlusOne} the first time around…??  So easy?  So surprising?  So… (kinda) fun?

I imagined how I was going to tell my parents.  Because we’re moving into a new house and I was going to say “well, we shouldn’t put anything in this room right now, because when the baby comes it will be the nursery” and they will go “oh okay… wait, what?  What baby??”

I looked at baby names that matched our kids’ names.

UGH I FEEL LIKE A DOPE. LIKE I WAS TOTALLY SUCKED IN TO THAT BS.

AGAIN!

I remember this is what it was like the first time we started trying.  Every freaking week I thought I was pregnant.  I never get my period so who knows?  There’s no way to know!  So for the first several months I was pretty much constantly convinced I was pregnant.  I got a UTI that made me nauseous and I was head over heels excited (it was a UTI).

I should know better.  I should know better!

But I don’t.  And I am going to fall for it again and again and again.

(Because at this very moment I am still convinced I am pregnant. I am 63% convinced. I’m testing again on Thursday. Ugh, somebody stop me.)

This post is mostly not about nausea

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I feel like soon “nausea” is going to be the biggest tag in my tag cloud!

Anyway.  So I said this post is mostly not about nausea.  I’m trying to come up with other things to talk about.

Here’s an exciting one: I think I am going to start changing shape soon!  Like maybe in the next couple of weeks!  Last night when putting lotion on my belly and surrounding regions I could certainly feel my uterus under my skin.  I’m about 85% sure that’s what it was because it was much more firm than the area around it.  I have two beings in there somewhere between blueberry and raspberry size (plus the surrounding fluid filled sac) so it’s taking up quite a bit of space.  And like I said I’m pretty small.  So based on being able to already feel my uterus under my skin I have a feeling like there might be something to see sometime in the next 2-3 weeks.  It might just be that I’ll look like I’ve gained a bunch of weight, I don’t know, but I think I’m going to start changing shape in the middle.

I think there’s a good chance I’ll start showing early because one of the babies is implanted in the front and the other is back and to the left, so they’re basically stacked in a way that would make my uterus go out in front instead of side to side.  But who knows, right?  I already have my eye on some cute maternity spring dresses from Old Navy haha.

Another great thing is that despite the nausea I have managed to gain almost 3 pounds!  Everything I’m reading about twins says that I should be trying to gain as much of the suggested pregnancy weight early on because later it gets harder to eat (because there’s just no room).  And, for my size, I’m supposed to gain somewhere between 40-50 pounds.  That number alone is terrifying to me.  But, apparently, gaining the right amount of weight at the right time will decrease the chances of preterm labor and will hopefully increase the size/weight of the babies at birth – two things to hopefully prevent a stay in the NICU.

So every little bit I gain feels like a triumph.  I am only keeping my food down through sheer force of will, including deep breathing and whatever else I can think of when the nausea gets really bad.  I’ve got to keep it down, so I am trying as hard as I can.  But honestly I still don’t understand where those pounds came from because even though I’m keeping my food down I’m not eating very much.

But the weird part is that at the same time there is a little piece of my brain that still tells me to lose weight.  Even though the bigger part of my brain goes – yay! I’ve gained almost 3 pounds!  The smaller part of my brain goes – it’s going to be hard to lose this weight later, you shouldn’t gain too much now.  Maybe that’s a bigger post for another time.

Anyway, I think I’ve kept nausea out of a majority of this post, though it is certainly here.  And now, I am going to take a nap.

An update on the relief bands

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Just wanted to update.  They lasted about 3-4 hours, then it wore off and I had to take them off.  Then I was on the couch moaning for a while.  Then I put them back on and they are working again.  So it turns out you can become desensitized to them, which makes sense.

I wanted to update because I gave such a raving review before and I didn’t want anyone to be disappointed if you try it and they wear off.  Just take them off and wait and put them back on later. 🙂

Drug-free, food-free nausea help whaaaat

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So one of my problems with all of the nausea aids I’ve found is that they require me to eat or drink something at a time when eating or drinking something is the farthest from my mind.  Plus I only seemed to really get relief while I was eating or drinking, so I was constantly eating and drinking but not the right, healthy food I’m trying to eat for the behbehs.

Then, while searching online for nausea relief anything (including lip balm, which I’m getting in the mail next week hahah) I found these things – I put them in my amazon order, but then I found that even just putting my finger there while I slept helped me get through the night last night so I ran out and bought another pair today.  I just couldn’t wait until next week.

OH MY GD.

It’s like night and day.

I mean last night I slept with my hands in such a position so my thumb was where that white thing is, and I slept through the night (except for when I moved my hands in my sleep and got nauseous again).  I ran out and got these today and put them on, immediate relief, and the longer I wear them the better I feel.  I don’t feel 100%, but the nausea has gone back into its cage for the most part.  At least for now.  Still sensitive but not gagging all day.

It’s just a piece of elastic with a hard ball placed in a specific accupressure point.  I got them at Walgreens for $8 (they come as a set, you’re supposed to wear one on each wrist).  They’re called motion sickness bands or SeaBands, but they are good for morning sickness too.  Completely drug-free and safe.

HOW DOES THIS MIRACLE THING WORK?????

I actually don’t care!  All I know is, I am feeling less nauseous than I have in a week!!

Feeling better, phew

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Thank you for your suggestions 😀  I am actually feeling better now that I’ve chugged an entire can of ginger ale and moaned a bit on the couch some more.

I have a case of ginger ale, gum (apparently chewing gum after meals helps?), tums smoothies, and sugar-free jolly ranchers.  I’m going to make it through Shabbat damnit!  Ha!

Poor Mr. Brightside, though.  Because I’ve been so nauseous this week I have really been unable to even think about food.  Which means I haven’t gone grocery shopping.  Which means we haven’t had much in the house by way of food, and we’ve been ordering delivery a lot, and I have no idea what Shabbat is going to look like meal-wise.  It’s just hard to menu plan when even watching commercials about food on TV make me want to hurl.

Then I look at the ultrasounds of Apple and Banana and I’m like, okay, I can do it, we’ll power through this – but remember guys I need to eat so you can, too!!

Need anti-nausea advice

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I’m really struggling over here with the nausea.  It’s getting worse and worse, which I guess is to be expected!  I woke up nauseous and couldn’t go back to sleep, and when I finally got out of bed I could barely stand up.  I’m sucking down ginger tea but it’s not enough.  I’m trying to power through it and eat something but it’s hard to get things down.

Just now I ordered some remedies: ginger sucking candies, sea-band accupressure ant-nausea wrist bracelet, and anti-nausea lip balm (supposed to have pleasant smells that help with nausea).  So I’m trying to attack it from as many angles as possible.  Also, I’m going to buy some ginger ale so maybe the bubbles will help me, too, and also some jolly ranchers or other sucking candy to have in the meantime while I wait for my ginger candies to arrive.

I’m only at 7 weeks, so I feel like it is going to get much worse before it gets better.  So, I’m trying to prepare since I am already basically lying on the couch moaning.  Well, instead I’m sitting at the computer moaning.  This morning after a long queasy night I was like, how does anyone do this?? How are people ever born??

And, on a related note, what is something I can take for the accompanying heartburn?  Is Tums okay?

Help!

(Also, is it possible that twin pregnancies are more nauseating than singles, or do I just have a weaker stomach than I thought??)

PS: Just a warning, I’m probably going to complain about my symptoms, but I am glad to have the reassurance of the pregnancy even though I basically want to curl up and sleep until the second trimester!

Compared to a fruit…

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This has become my new obsession (besides continuing to symptom spot, which has become mostly a constant mix of nausea and starvation, two things that don’t go well together)…

How big is the baby, compared to a fruit or vegetable.

And also, what does it look like – RIGHT NOW – and does it look human or still like an alien?

Right now my embryo/fetus/baby is between the size of a lentil/sweet pea and a blueberry.  And it does not look human yet.

 

When I was around 7 years old my grandpa gave me a pop-up book on evolution and the very last pop-up page was about fetuses developing in the womb.  It talked about how we all go through every stage of evolution in the womb, re-enacting millions of years of development over the 9 months.  Plus pictures and pop-up images of fetuses.  This was my favorite page besides the single-celled organism page and the dinosaur page.

I have a quirky family.

Anyway, I also have started looking up very graphic images of fetuses at different stages of development – although no real-life images, just detailed renderings.  It’s so fascinating.  This weird little thing can turn into a human being, and it’s living in my body, eating what I eat and sucking up all my energy.

NEAT.

My ultrasound appointment is tomorrow.  I’m actually really, really nervous even though my constant nausea/hunger is a reassurance to me.  I’m trying to come up with a combo word that accurately describes having these two conflicting physical sensations.  Nausgry?  Hungea?  Hungreated?

But I’m also nervous that there might be more than one heartbeat.  Even though we would of course be ecstatic to have twins, we are really hoping for just one baby.  The risks of multiples scare the crap out of both of us, especially with my thyroid and blood sugar stuff.

I had a dream the other night that I gave birth and it was a boy.  And it was the easiest delivery ever.  And I turned to Mr. Brightside and I said – I TOLD YOU IT WAS A BOY.

How I could easily gain weight – and fast

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I’ve figured it out.  I know how I will gain weight if I don’t pay close enough attention.  And I don’t mean gain weight in the good way, like the 25-35 pounds I should expect to gain.

Here’s the problem: I AM STARVING.

(I guess I forgot to put that in my symptom post the other day)

I normally eat pretty healthy food and good sized portions. But here’s what’s been happening:

1) I eat my normal size portion of lunch, for example today I had a big bowl of lentil soup and fruit.  I may have taken more soup than usual but this is in general a normal lunch for me.

2) I’m still hungry.  Hungry like I didn’t eat the soup.

3) Okay, I decide to have my afternoon snack early.  I have 1/4 of a raw cauliflower and a ton of hummus.  (I mean I literally ate 1/4 of an entire cauliflower, this is my “snack.”)

4) Still not full, but I guess not hungry anymore.

(two hours later)

5) STARVING.

6) Try to eat string cheese, which used to be my go-to quick protein snack.  I now find string cheese repulsive and almost gag on it.

(manage to get distracted by a project, make it another hour)

7) EVEN MORE STARVING.

8) Try to find another healthy option to eat.  Freaking out because I’m so hungry and if I don’t eat right this minute I’m going to DIE.

9) Resign myself to eating 4 microwaveable fake chicken nuggets.

(three hours later)

10) STARVING.

11) Try again to find a healthy snack.  Decide to have peanut butter on spelt crackers.

12) Still hungry, but we are now out of snack options in the house that are not repulsive to me.  UGH WHAT I WOULD DO FOR SOME CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE.  (Thank goodness I conveniently forgot about the cookies and ice cream in the freezer)

(an hour later)

13) Dinner.  Scarf down my food like I hadn’t eaten in days.  Finally feel full.  Now I’m way too full, now I’m uncomfortably full, now I am can’t-sit-up-straight full.  At least I’m finally full!!

I think I am going to really resolve to keep junk food out of the house and try to figure out some more healthy snack options that are not absolutely disgusting.  The thing is, what is now absolutely disgusting to me used to be delicious.  So I actually have no idea what I like anymore.

I know I like cookies, brownies, ice cream, french fries, bread, etc etc.  But I must keep these delicious evils from my home or else I am sure I will eat them when I am STARVING.  I never am a little hungry so I know I should eat, it’s like I go from 0-100 in three seconds.

Also, I will take larger portions of the main dishes of my meals, because those are generally the healthiest and most protein-full part of the meal.  So for example I should be pouring myself twice as much soup, to keep from having twice as many snacks.  I’m supposed to eat around 300 more calories per day for the baby, but it seems like I need so much more than that to keep up.

Does anyone have any strategies or suggestions?  I’m trying to keep a low-gluten / low-carb diet, which is also making it hard, but my blood sugar appreciates it.