My Pregnancy Advice

1. Tums can be your best friend.

2 If water gives you heartburn, take a Tums before drinking.

3. Only tell a select few people you are pregnant before you hit the 12 week mark. I told everyone and has yet another loss, meaning I then had to let people know there would be no baby to bring home.

4. Start researching diapering options. Cloth diapers have come such a long way and you may like them more than disposables. #makeclothmainstream

5. Don't be afraid to ask questions. There is so much that can go on with our bodies, you may be surprised. This pregnancy has led me to learn about cholestasis and symphysis pubis dysfunction, among other things.

6. Understand that every pregnancy is different, even your own pregnancies can be completely different from each other!

7. Download an app like Ovia or Baby Center so you can see the week by week developmental progress on baby as well as learn a bit about the changes your body is going through.

8. The best fed baby IS a fed baby. No matter which you choose, breast or bottle, as long as baby is fed don't let anyone make you feel bad about your choice.

9. Join eBates to do your pregnancy and baby needs shopping. You will earn cash back and it quickly adds up. It's a free app and I absolutely love it! (And you can buy much more than baby related stuff, of course! So many stores participate here!)
Click eBates to join!

10. Be prepared for changes no one tells you about! I will share some of those in my next blog post!

These are 10 of my picks from my experiences with pregnancy!

My Favorite Pregnancy App! Ovia!

There are quite a few pregnancy apps out there including those that are more "forum" oriented. While the more forum centered apps are "meant" to be supportive and helpful, they can also be full of drama and judgement, neither of which are my cup of tea.

Shortly after I became pregnant, my friend did as well. She started sharing things from an app to a popular social network we are both on. I loved the posts and had to try  Ovia for myself.

I quickly downloaded it free from my app store to check it out!

The first fun thing I did was pick my theme! You have several choices of what baby's size can be measured against.

Screen shot from my Ovia account

I chose "Weird but cute animals" and have had so much fun seeing what critter size Little Fox is every week!

   

Another awesome feature of the app is the "Ovia Exclusives." There are several helpful and awesome deals to be found here! I'm not sure if the deals offered stay the same or change, but they are definitely worth a look! I took advantage of the free Bamboobies offer so all I had to pay was shipping and handling for a pair of breast pads and a sample of Boobease 100% organic nipple balm. All I needed to do was use the code "OVIA" to get the discount.

There are so many great features in this app that I encourage you to check out. Insightful facts show up daily on your home page. Another favorite feature of mine is the Food Safety Lookup.

I have no complaints at all about the Ovia app. It's free, educational, fun, resourceful, and easy to use. Enjoy!

Unexplained Itching? The Horror!!!

I had hives with my daughter but they were short lived, manageable, and tolerable.

While I've had no hives with Little Fox, I've had itching from time to time pretty much all over. It was short lived, though but my OB had me tested for cholestasis of pregnancy and at that time, the results indicated a negative result.

Little Fox looking healthy this past appointment

Fast forward to a few days ago: the itching returned with a vengeance, especially on my tummy and leg areas. It's absolutely horrible at night, and I had tried benadryl, vinegar bath, coconut oil, lotion, and calamine lotion....there was no relief!

I called the on call OB at about 1 am and she put in a prescription for Hydroxyzine and triamcinolone acetonide ointment (steroidal ointment).  I took the hydroxyzine tablet and used the ointment where the most severe itching was and had......no relief!! For several nights I wanted to literally get out of my skin!

Luckily I had an early morning appointment with my MFM OB and made him aware that the itching was unbearable. He drew blood to recheck for cholestasis and prescribed me prednisone.

I took my first dose last night and the itching was gone! An entire night of peace!

I'm still waiting for my blood results but for those of you wondering, cholestasis is a liver condition that usually shows up in the third trimester. It can cause intense itching that is especially bad at night, which is why I'm getting retested. (Update: Cholestasis testing, bile value, showed no indication of cholestasis. So...itching unexplained still!)

It really is wild and amazing, what can occur to your body when pregnant. Some things are amazingly awesome, like feeling those baby movements, while others are quite hard to deal with or explain.

*My MFM Dr let me know that the use of prednisone during pregnancy can result in premature rupture of the bag of waters. Unfortunately, the intensity of the itching was so severe, this was a necessary medication and would be used if my testing for cholestasis comes out positive. 

Third Trimester Already?

Seems like just last week I got my bfp. I vividly remember the fear and trepidation I had about telling my husband I got a positive. Then the fear we both had about getting excited, telling anyone, and our reluctance to be hopeful.

Ironically, after our last loss we had given up. We were done trying. That last loss almost broke me. It was so devastating. But here we stood, wondering how long this baby would stay.

I remember my first appointment with my MFM doctor and going over my pregnacy history. Seven miscarriages in my life, three in a year and a half time frame. He was patient, comforting and honest. He made no promises and told me he had short term goals of getting me to nine weeks, then ten, and so on. When we passed the twelve week mark, his eyes lit up with hope for our little family, as the miscarriage rate was now considerably lower.

I was now allowing myself to be hopeful and happy and it felt good. Our little fox has had a strong heart beat from the beginning and has been in target with his growth.

Fertility issues are painful. Most keep their struggles quiet, suffering in silence. I have very rarely talked about my own struggles because it is hard. I am grateful, however, that even with my difficulties becoming pregnant and sustaining a pregnancy, I have two healthy children and my third on the way. I'm an older mom now, which makes things a bit riskier but we are taking it day by day.

I was placed on bed rest yesterday due to ongoing contractions with nausea and such which started Friday. Last night, my husband put his face next to my belly and told Logan not to be in such a hurry to get here, to stay put, and not come just yet.

So here I lay, willing our baby boy to stay safe and cozy for quite a while longer, letting him know that 24 weeks and 4 days is just not long enough to ready him for the world just yet.

All the while feeling and watching him kick and play within my tummy without a care in the world.

Insomnia and Heartburn...Teaming Up on Me!

Insomnia is a long time foe of mine. We have been battling it out together for years. I have tried all sorts of remedies natural and prescription (I'm never taking prescription meds for it again!) and have had very limited relief. And by limited, I mean a few nights of decent rest before the remedy no longer offered even a hint of help getting me to sleep.

Combine my regular insomnia with pregnancy insomnia and well...I'm essentially a zombie currently. I'm tired. I'm irritable. And I'm likely to chew on you if you try to get close to me!

So...what can cause insomnia during pregnancy? Several things actually.

- Getting up to pee several times every night
-Heartburn
-Leg cramps
-Difficulty getting comfortable
-Vivid dreams (and I have some doozies!)
-Anxiety
-Hormonal changes

So...what is a mom-to-be to do?

I put myself together a small "insomnia" kit. I always wake up thirsty so having water to sip on is a must. Heartburn hits me randomly at night so I've got some Tums at the ready. And of course, reading material for when there isn't a chance I'm falling back asleep anytime soon!

I've heard that exercising, cutting caffeine, temperature adjustments of the bedroom, lighting, and routine can all help overcome insomnia. However, I've tried it all plus some and have yet to find relief but you may so try them out and see!

If you still can't sleep, you can use this quiet time to catch up on some much wanted reading so not a total loss!

I've heard for years pregnancy insomnia exists to help us get ready for sleepless nights once the baby is here. I think its just some freak of nature issue many of us have to endure that has nothing to do with sleepless nights as a new mom, which have causes all of their own!

Walking Dead Pregnancy Announcement

I know, I know...definitely not fox related but our family loves The Walking Dead. A lot.

So when we passed the point of when we had our losses and hit that 12 week mark, we chose to announce our "brave New world" Walking Dead style.

I had a lot of fun coming up with this and excitedly shared it on my birth board before taking the plunge and Facebook announcing (after informing those closest to us personally of course).

Below is my finished announcement. Enjoy!

"Ass kicker" onsie from The Woodbury Shoppe
"Team Daryl" cloth diaper from The Striped Tangerine
Photos borrowed from Google images

I Should Be Excited

I'm pregnant. 

It's official. Two positive tests.

Frequent urination.
Aversions to smells.
Breast tenderness.
Bloating.
A bit of morning sickness.
Pregnancy rhinitis.

My last lmp and a due date calculator put me at just over 5 weeks and due in August.

I should be happy. I should be excited about this.  But I'm not.

I should be looking forward to kissing a little nose, feeling tiny fingers wrapped around my own, and loving on little toes. But I'm not.

I'm terrified.

We have had three miscarriages in a row, the last having happened this past October.

I start to feel myself become hopeful, my hand gently caressing my bloated "baby belly" and I stop myself.

My husband, still feeling the sting and heartbreak from not only his feelings over our losses but from watching the pain in my eyes, the tears on my cheeks, and the wails of my broken heart escaping from my lips, tells me often not to get excited. He doesn't want to get attached, afraid he will again have to say goodbye.

I want so desperately to feel excited and happy. I want so badly to relax a bit and enjoy all I can about being pregnant. 

Instead I analyze everything.  Are my breasts still as sore? Am I peeing less? Do things like popcorn, coffee, and other "stuff and thangs" still smell bad and make me nauseous?

While many pregnant women are complaining about their symptoms I'm cherishing mine, terrified they will lessen and disappear. I crave these "annoying" side effects of pregnancy more than you can imagine.

The last loss was almost too much for me to handle. I seriously thought I would be holding my baby in May, because the pregnancy felt different from the last two.

But it was not meant to be and in October I felt the agony, physically and mentally,  while I watched helplessly as my body let go of the child I desperately wanted.

So here I sit, my heart and mind in constant conflict as my mind tries to protect my heart and my heart tries to love without worry.

But I know, at any moment,  my heart will win the war and I will fall in love with my little dragon so deeply and the joy and excitement will come pouring out of me like the beautiful rivers of lava flow from the volcano.

But as of this moment,  I'm terrified and trying to get a grip on the confusing mass of emotions that are squeezing my heart.

And trying to take things day by day.