Fighting Hyperemesis for the Sixth Time

When I found out I was pregnant this time I must admit that I wasn't afraid because I thought I had found the answer to my extreme morning sickness issues: a low carb diet. I was so hopeful and excited! I had been doing it faithfully for about a month before I got pregnant and continued into my pregnancy. At 5 weeks I still had not thrown up or felt extreme nausea (just minor nausea if I hadn't eaten) and I was feeling pretty confident...but still afraid of that 6 week mark. That is usually when it hits pretty hardcore for me.

Lo and behold, I was 5 weeks and 6 days and sobbing in bed because it hit me like a tidal wave. I just laid there filled with disappointment and fear and sadness. All the old feelings came back from the previous five pregnancies.

Now don't get me wrong. My first three were by FAR worse. Throwing up so much I would throw up blood from my stomach lining. That hasn't happened the last three pregnancies. The part I am not sure of is: are my pregnancies improving because some women who struggle with hyperemesis get better with each pregnancy or because I am understanding hyperemesis more and more with each pregnancy? Not sure.

Here is my post from my last pregnancy on tips for morning sickness. I stand by each of those tips this time as well! I only take about 1/2-1 zofran pill a day. So that is super good. I broke the tiny pill up into quarters this time and I am so glad I did! I know there are many lawsuits out on zofran and I want to take the bare minimum.

So, guess what though?! This time, my sixth time fighting hyperemesis, I have only thrown up like 3 times and I am pretty sure that is because the stomach bug was going around our house at that time! Crazy. So what changed? Not much really. But I did one thing MORE that I think made a difference.

I rested a lot more. I STAYED IN BED EVERY MORNING UNTIL 9:30 OR 10:00. Sounds like such a simple thing but I truly believe it made all the difference. Here's the sad part. I fear that some of my hyperemesis friends don't have the luxury I have in being able to do this. My husband is able to go in later to work and just stay later at work. I have a 7 and 8 year old that are a BIG help. And I have inlaws close (about 3 doors up the street) that can help too! If you struggle with hyperemesis I HIGHLY recommend figuring something out where you can do this.

We did hire a couple young ladies from our church to come a couple mornings so that Scott could get to work. That may be an option for some of you. Do you know of a family with young ladies that could lend you a helping hand in the morning? I highly recommend having a plan BEFORE you get pregnant. Simplify your morning routine. Have your older kids understand how much life will change when you get pregnant. And stay in bed.

I would just lay there and Scott would bring me my peanut butter toast and I would suck on my apple sauce packets. Every night I fill three of these with no sugar added applesauce. I eat them through out the night when my nausea wakes me up and it's perfect because I don't have to move much to eat it... you just kind of suck it down. In the morning there is usually some left and I finish that while my husband gets me my toast. And then I lay there for 2-3 hours. I don't drink ANYTHING until after noon. Fluids make my nausea worse.

After I get out of bed I move to my recliner and "run the house" from there. With homeschooling with ACE curriculum I just assign my big kids 4 pages in each pace and then have them bring them to me when they are done to correct them. It's also good just sitting there because I am fully available for questions and teaching.

The worst of my nausea seems to be behind me already! I started feeling much better and noticing that I wasn't taking any zofran around 14 weeks. That is early for me and very exciting. Some days are better than others but I am seeing glimpses of normal. People just don't appreciate normal :)

Hyperemesis is debilitating and depressing but as my husband and I have yielded our family planning to God  I am learning to embrace it as a part of my life for a while. Some people get terribly sick and that's all they get. I get sick and get a wonderful new life added to our home. I have learned to appreciate the ability to move around and clean a house more than others who haven't experienced this form of suffering. I am thankful.

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments. I find great joy in encouraging mamas with hyperemesis. 

Are Your Kids Doing Your Job Mama?

I have been sitting A LOT the last 7 weeks. My morning sickness started at about 6 weeks and I am 13 weeks now. It usually lets up around 17 weeks. I am so looking forward to being on my feet more and being about my normal day to day activities and chores! I hate sitting around like this. But I am thankful for something it has caused me to contemplate.

I am sure you have all heard the saying: "Good parenting is working yourself out of a job." While I get the gist of it, I don't like it overall. Here is why. It feels like I have been out of a job these last 7 weeks as I shout orders from my recliner. I feel like this lazy woman (I know, I'm not...but it FEELS that way) barking at my little servants to do... my job.

We SHOULD train our children. They SHOULD be helping us because they live at home too and should be contributing when it comes to it's upkeep. BUT I am noticing something that is happening. I feel like more and more moms are spending more and more time on their computers/i-phones and less and less time keeping the home. Which we are commanded to do.

"...encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, WORKERS AT HOME, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored." Titus 2:4-5

"So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to MANAGE THEIR HOMES and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander." 1 Timothy 5:14 

When we aren't keeping and managing the home we are allowing the word of God to be dishonored and we are allowing the enemy opportunity for slander. 
Keeping the home WELL is no joke. There are many things that can be done everyday to make our homes run more smoothly and efficiently. We as the managers and keepers of the home are deciding everyday how well our homes will run and how chaotic and messy our homes will be. 

In a day and age where we have so many conveniences (dishwasher, vacuums, washer, dryer etc.) there is really no excuse for a home to not be managed/kept well. Some of us, myself included, need to be asking: "Are my kids doing my job?" The Lord has not called our children to manage and keep the home. Yes we should be training them and it will bless them later in life if we do so, but we should never be barking orders from our sofa all day with the laptop and i-phone in front of us because we are too indulgent and selfish. If our homes are falling apart it's on our shoulders.

I will be the first to admit I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to keeping the home. My poor mother always worked full time outside the home and she never really gave any thought to training us. I am starting from scratch AND I am a very un-organzied person by nature. But I know God wants me to keep my home well and so I know He will answer my prayers to be a better at it. I pray to Him for wisdom on how to be the best keeper of the home I can be.

Don't embitter your children toward you. Don't make them question if mom is training them or just being lazy. We are called the keepers of the home and we need to live up to that title. 

Morning Sickness Tips

Morning sickness. The. Worst. Thing. Ever. Okay... maybe not ever. But it is TERRIBLE. Especially when you have hyperemesis like I do where you can't stop throwing up. I was so sick we actually decided to stop at three children... but then reversed our decision!

I have been asked numerous times if I have any tips to help mamas suffering with "morning"/all day nausea. After five pregnancies with extreme morning sickness here are my tips: 

1. Eat. Eat. Eat. Really Katie? Eat? That's what you got for me? This really is the best tip I have. I remember with my first pregnancy I had no idea that eating was the main answer to combating my nausea. Who wants to eat when they feel like throwing up? I threw up so much with my first pregnancy I lost 20 pounds in three months and threw up blood because I had thrown up so much. My doctor gave me these nasty suppositories that made me feel drugged and tired all day (which I am sure is also what it did to my baby) but he never advised me to simply eat as often as possible. The main key with eating is to eat BEFORE you get too nauseated. For me, this meant going to bed with three bananas and eating them through out the night whenever my nausea woke me up. If you don't have morning sickness that badly I recommend having a banana by your bed and eating it first thing in the morning while laying down with your eyes closed. Don't get out of bed till you feel the nausea has gone away. Eat whatever sounds good. Don't worry so much about what is the healthiest those first few months. Just eat whatever you crave and can keep down. Worry about eating healthy later when the nausea has subsided a bit. I did Trim Healthy Mama this last pregnancy toward the end and only gained 30 pounds total. Ginger, motion sickness bracelets, probiotics etc. did nothing for me.

2. Rest. If possible, lay around... a lot. The more you move the worse you will feel. Remember, this is not forever and you are growing a human being. Even if you do nothing else all day that is a huge accomplishment! ;) If you have other littles, like me, purpose for this time to be about reading lots of books with the kids and watching beneficial movies/documentaries. Rest.

3. Zofran. If your morning sickness is as bad as mine you may have to take medication to keep yourself from going to the ER for dehydration. I recommend zofran as a last resort. They say there are no side effects but I have a feeling in a few years they will tell us it causes growth of a third eye or something. Take it if you must, but first try to eat and rest.

4. Unisom at night. Along with zofran this would be last resort but in those beginning months you can. Take one at night with a vitamin b6. It really helped me with my middle of the night throwing up episodes.

5. Drink diet coke. Ha. But seriously, this worked wonders for me. If you are scared of the aspartame drink something carbonated and prefereably with caffeine. The combination of caffeine and carbonation is great! Scared of the caffeine? Fine. Drink carbonated something :)

6. Focus on eternity. This is essential with morning sickness. Just ponder for one second what you are doing. You have a little eternal soul growing inside of you. Hello. That's crazy and amazing. What a gift! In the midst of great trial and suffering God is accomplishing something miraculous in your womb! With each nauseating moment ponder what He is creating and give thanks. He is able to encourage you through nausea as you focus on your sickness being temporary and your sweet baby living forever. These were the verses that I meditated on day and night:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:24) Remember, even when you feel like you are dying physically that God is bringing forth much beautiful fruit through it. 

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Cor. 4:16-18) Don't lose heart!!! Even though you feel like you are wasting away, God is creating life inwardly! Your sweet baby is being renewed and growing day by day. Your nausea is light in momentary in light of the eternal glory it is accomplishing which far outweighs all your suffering. Fix your eyes not on what you feel and see but on your sweet baby that you can't see which is eternal. The one "seen thing" you should fix your eyes on is your other children (if you have some). This helps me immensely because it reminds me of what my suffering will bring forth! I would gladly go through nine months of nausea all over again for any of my children.

Lastly: "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans 5:3-5) As much as we all hate suffering, God thinks highly of it and uses it for own good! The suffering is not what we rejoice in but it is what suffering produces, and in this case it produces a wonderful, one of a kind child!! As well as, endurance, character and hope.

Those nauseating days seem to never end but they will. Your baby however won't. They will live on forever!

Below are pictures of what 45 months of nausea produced for me. :) 

My Sweet Ricky! Named after my dad. My second born.

Rhea (pronounced Ray-uh). Our first born child! We love our Rhea Grace!

Charis (pronounce Care-us... like Paris). Our fourth child and first reversal baby!

Johnny. Our third child. He is our special boy!

Our most recent blessing from God. Chloe. Now 3 months old! Our second reversal baby.

My First THM Pregnancy

I have some pretty difficult pregnancies because I struggle with what is called hyperemesis which is a fancy word for terrible, all day, "morning" sickness. With my first three I was so sick I was hospitalized with ivs because I was throwing up, on average,  12 times a day. Because of this we decided to stop at three... and then we reversed our decision and I was filled with anxiety and excitement when I got pregnant.

My pregnancies are manageable through two things: zofran (a chemo patient drug that helps chemo patients with nausea) and FOOD. I eat up to three bananas a night throughout the night to fight off nausea and I have to eat with my eyes closed and no movement to keep myself from throwing up. I have to lay in bed eating until I feel the nausea has subsided enough that I won't start throwing up and then I make my way to the recliner where I spend the next few hours eating and waiting. I am not usually able to move until about noon. My days, for the first 20 weeks or so, consist of constant eating and laying around which is a perfect combo for gaining lots of weight fast.

With my first "reversal pregnancy" I gained 60 pounds, which was average for me. I lost it all before getting pregnant again but I was still overweight. I started my second reversal pregnancy at the same starting weight that I had started my first reversal pregnancy. I wanted to try out Trim Healthy Mama (THM) but I was finding it nearly impossible to keep anything down except bananas and other simple carbs. I gained 20 pounds in five weeks and was pretty discouraged. As my nausea subsided, around 20 weeks, I began to incorporate THM snacks and meals into my diet. It started getting easier as time went on and by 30 weeks I was doing mostly THM with a few crossovers a day (like combining 2% greek yogurt with cottage cheese and berries and not keeping track of the fat, protein and carb count or like having an apple with peanut butter or bananas as needed for nausea). Even with all those crossovers I only gained 10 pounds the rest of the time!!! I can't believe it! THM helped to cut my weight gain in half! I am 3 days past my due date and I have gained 30 pounds total! Hopefully this encourages those of you who are like me and can't stomach much meat/high protein meals during those highly nauseating months. You can just start a THM lifestyle when possible and still fin dit helps a lot!

I am so looking forward to continuing THM afterwards and hopefully getting well below my pre-pregnancy weight. My pre-pregnancy weight was still about 50 lbs overweight... so I have a ways to go.

I should also mention that for the last three months of my pregnancy I have been doing 30 minutes of moderate cardio (on our elliptical machine) 4-5 times a week. 

Some of my favorite/go-to THM meals and snacks are:

Snacks:
*slice of turkey wrapped around a piece of string cheese (fp).
*romaine lettuce leaf with a smidge of ranch and slice of turkery wrapped up. (fp).
*chocolate peanut butter squares-taste kind of like butterfingers. (s)
*Different variations of MIMs (muffin in a mug). (s)

Dinner:
*Chicken breast-that I cook at low heat (300 degrees) with chunks of onion, garlic salt, drizzled with olive oil and after cooked I top with a low carb marinara sauce and thick sliced Parmesan cheese. (s)
*Salad with bacon, chicken, parmasan, a few tomatoes, and "guacomole ranch". (s)
*The pizza made with cauliflower crust. (s)
*Broccoli and cauliflower au gratin. (s)
*Chocolate peanut butter "frosty". I put almond milk in my ice cube trays. I use about 6 or 7 almond cubes, a cup of almond milk, a tablespoon of dark unsweetened cocoa, 2 tbsp of chia seed, stevia to taste, a scoop of protein powder, a 1/4-1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1 tbsp all natural pb, cinnamon and a 1/2 tsp of gluco. (s)
*Salmon with a side of sauteed cabbage and/or zucchini. (s)

Lunch:
*usually the same as my dinner meals. Although I often have eggs and bacon :) Yes... I am too heavy on the s meals and working on liking the e meals more... just like everyone else :)

Here is a picture of me at 38 weeks pregnant.

Breakfast:
*Peanut butter oatmeal (this is one of my crossovers) with almond milk. You can use PB2 though and have it be an E meal. Click here to see where I get mine.
*Almost every morning I have 1/2 cup fat free of greek yogurt with 1/2 cup cottage cheese,  2 tbsp of slim belly jelly (recipe in book) and 1/2 cup raspberries.
*Pancakes! (with pb or sugar free syrup)

Dessert:
*The skinny chocolate pb bars I mentioned earlier. (s)
*different variations of low carb cheesecake. (s) 
*Variations of the chocolate shake I make sometimes for a meal. (s)

Now I know that sounds way simple... and pretty boring, but I like it that way. I do eat some other things but these are the most common things that I eat. I am not one who has to have a lot of different meal options, but when I do desire something new there are PLENTY of recipes online! If you need a place for recipe ideas check this out!

Your Body is Wasting Away

well. it is happening. I am getting varicose veins. At first I thought I had a weird bruise on my leg... and then it wasn't going away. It took until the fifth pregnancy to get them. I read this today: "they tend to get worse with each successive pregnancy and as you get older." Great. I have "spider veins" this pregnancy as well which I also read happens more with each successive pregnancy. Lovely. I am going to be looking like a beat up spider lady. :)

At first I was discouraged. And then I thought: "You know what?! Everybody's body gets 'used up' in this life. Praise God I am able to 'use it up' to bring life into this world." Think about Christ Himself. God came, in the flesh, and His body was "used up" to bring us life! What a gift! "have the same mindset as Christ Jesus Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage, rather, He made himself nothing, by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!" (Phil. 2:5-8)

When you become a Christian, your body is a vessel the Lord USES to bring Him glory (if you allow Him to). Like Christ we are to make ourselves servants first to God and then to others. Our bodies are literally the way that we go to others and serve them through a helping hand, a hug or a listening ear. There are many ways for your body to be used! In pregnancy I get the privelage of God "using" my body to form an eternal soul! Along the way I will gain weight, be uncomfortable, hormonal and less attractive all around (hello spider veins!) but I am thankful that this is a way for my body to be used!

Using your body for God's purposes is truly a form of worship!

It is a living sacrifice for God that is wasting away: "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF..." (1 Peter 1:24) Your body WILL be used up in this life, the question is: how will it be used up? For your glory or His? For others' benefit or for your own selfish ambitions? 

I spent much of the first part of my life obsessing over the way my body looked, to the point where I had a severe eating disorder (anorexia) for a few years. I remember when I became a Christian and I was hit with this realization: "I have wasted so much of my life pouring into something that is going to rot in the ground!" The enemy wants to distract us ladies from the true purpose of our bodies, they are to be a living sacrifice FOR HIM, not for us. This does not mean that you "let yourself go". We should take care of our bodies, God Himself said that physical exercise is of SOME benefit (1 Tim. 4:8). The problem is, for many women, the focus is on the physical MUCH more than the spiritual and God says the spiritual "has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." Your physical body will rot but who you are in Christ is eternal.

Ingrain this on your minds: "Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised." Prov. 31:30 Beauty does not last but the fear of the Lord lasts forever! Fear Him, allow Him to use your body up for His glory and keep your minds set on things above not on things of the earth.