Bill & Cat's Blog About Calla

Gender: Female
Name: Calla Sophia
Birthdate: October 11, 2008

Monday, March 17, 2008

Learning to Love Morning Sickness?

I haven't posted anything here in a while, maybe because I felt like I didn't have much of anything new to say that was positive. I don't mean to sound down, but I've been nauseated for over three weeks, and it's very frustrating. I know it could be a lot worse, and I keep trying to remind myself of that. I'm managing pretty well by eating every two hours, and only eating bland foods. I have not lost any weight, and I continue to take my prenatal vitamins, so I feel confident the baby is getting what he or she needs. I'm getting used to it. I'm counting the days until the second trimester begins; I'm sure the nausea will end near then.

Just after my morning barf session last Thursday, I took a leak and when I wiped I was absolutely shocked to see a lot of blood coating the toilet paper. After a few seconds of just staring at it, a very rational voice in my head said, "Remain calm" - which I did, for all of about 10 seconds, before just completely freaking out. I was so scared and worried.

I wiped again and noticed there was less blood, and I was beginning to take comfort in the fact that I wasn't having any strong cramping or pain. Then I saw that there was a clot of bloody tissue in the toilet, which really upset me. Somehow, I finally regained my composure enough to phone the nurse on call. She asked if I had sexual intercourse recently, then she told me to call the doctor's office in a few hours when they were scheduled to open and make an appointment to be seen that day.

Then I called Bill, who was in Florida for work that week, and just sobbed on the phone for a while. He was so calm and comforting. He managed to make me feel so much better. So I wasn't like a crazy woman by the time I got to the doctor's office. I saw two nurses, both of whom asked me if I had sexual intercourse recently, and then I was ushered into a waiting area next to a ginormously pregnant woman.

Fate was really smiling on me that day, because just as I arrived at the doctor's office, my doctor, who I adore, had just come out of surgery. Instead of dealing with a stranger while I was feeling so scared and vulnerable, I lucked out and got to see my own doctor. She seemed concerned and calm, then asked if I had sexual intercourse recently (I might be wrong about this, but I'm beginning to think maybe having sexual intercourse could possibly cause bleeding during pregnancy.).

She gave me a quick internal exam, which was very reassuring. The blood was gone. My cervix was closed. Everything was in place. Then we did an ultrasound and we saw my little cutie's heart beating on the monitor. I don't know that I have ever felt more relieved in my life. The baby is fine.

I struggled to keep control of my emotions until I got into my car and phoned Bill with the good news. Then I sobbed on the phone for a while, this time with tears of joy instead of fear.

When I saw the doctor on Thursday, we discussed my nausea a bit. She offered me a prescription, but I declined. She suggested that I try Unisom, the OTC sleep aid, because many pregnant women have noticed that it's helpful for nausea. I've tried half a tablet at night, with good results, if I eat before I get out of bed. Otherwise, I PUKE!!! But, I'm finding that after the scare on Thursday, it's easier to cope with the nausea. It still sucks, don't get me wrong, but it's also reassuring to know that nausea is a sign that my pregnancy hormones are strong and supporting the baby's development.

2 comments:

Kim said...

{{{{{Cat}}}}} One "cocktail" that several of my friends swear by is 1/2 a B6 tablet and 1/2 a Unisom tablet. I hope you get a little relief soon.

Catherine said...

Thanks Kim! The Unisom is ::yawn:: really making a huge ::yawn:: difference in my ::yawn:: nausea. I'll grab some B6 soon to try, as well.

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