25 Things!
I was looking at Facebook today and found an old, old post from like 2008-- basically people wrote out 25 interesting things about themselves that their friends may or may not know. Everyone was doing them and I found mine and it was funny to read back... I can't believe how much my life has evolved since then! So, I thought it might be fun to blog a revised list. Here are my 25 things.
1. I just gave birth to my first child, 8 weeks ago, a boy... Colton Mack Nilles (Cole). He is my life! I am just obsessed with my little one.
2. Cole was a miracle baby- I was told I'd never get pregnant or carry a pregnancy and 3 months later, without trying or help (actually we were preventing), God shocked me with a pregnancy. Things were touch and go the entire pregnancy, but God followed through and gave us our blessing, healthy and stunningly gorgeous. 3 weeks early but perfect!
3. I am obsessed with taking pictures of Cole and posting them on Facebook. I love for my family near and far to be able to see him grow and change. And I'm just so proud of him, I love to show him off! :)
4. I should probably find other things to talk about besides Cole. :)
5. I married my high school sweetheart Jon on May 26, 2013. He's an amazing husband and knocks my socks off as a daddy. There is nothing better than watching my husband love on my son.
6. On November 12, 2012, I had a near death experience when I contracted Necrotizing Fasciitis in my leg, and spread to my abdomen. Nec fasc is otherwise known as the flesh-eating bacteria. I was given a 5% survival chance, and I survived!
7. I was hospitalized for 2 months with the nec fasc and in a coma for 5 weeks. I underwent 10 total surgeries to remove the infection and skin grafts. Most of these surgeries were abdominal, which is why the doctors told me it would be impossible to conceive. They were wrong :)
8. I am a die-hard marathon runner. I've run 16 marathons and 12 half marathons. My favorite was Big Sur in California.. it was mostly up a mountain, but so stunning it was worth the pain.
9. I am somewhat addicted to reality television.
10. But I am more addicted to diet coke.
11. I am a labor & delivery nurse and love my job, but for the past 2 years, my job has been recovering from necrotizing fasciitis, getting through a very difficult pregnancy, and taking care of a newborn. Will be hopefully returning to work in another month or two. Right now, my hubby and I can't imagine handing him off to anyone. Luckily, my hub has a great job and has been able to support us.
12. My family is beyond amazing. My parents are better than yours. Period.
13. My beagle Mady made me a mom. I love her so much it hurts sometimes. She's the best dog ever and when I'm not posting pictures of Cole, I'm posting pictures of Mady. She is very protective of her baby brother, but isn't quite ready to show her affection. We can't wait for the day they can play together.
14. I love interior design, style, and fashion, although most of my ideas come from pinterest. I don't know what I'm doing, but I love looking at pretty homes and pretty fashions.
15. Kauai, Hawaii is my favorite place on earth. It's literally the closest thing I can imagine to Heaven. I cannot wait to go back!
16. Speaking of Hawaii, I ran a marathon there, too.
17. I am an obsessive clean freak. I clean and clean and clean the house... and even more since the baby was born. Nothing is better than the smell and peace of a clean house.
18. I LOVE eating snow. No, really. Every hour or two, I fill a cup up with fresh snow and eat it with a spoon. It is so weird but I LOVE it. What am I gonna do when it melts??
19. I have a very strong sense of smell, and am obsessed with smells... my favorite smell is the wood aisle at Home Depot or Menards. One day, I strapped the baby on me and walked the aisles for over an hour, just smelling the wood. Mmmmm... I might just go do that again when i'm done with this list.
20. I finally know what people are talking about when they say being a mom is the very best thing ever and a love like you've never known, but also the hardest thing ever. It is just as hard as it is amazing. And it is so worth it.
21. Alright this list is taking a long time. Maybe I should've done 20 things.
22. If I could be anything I wanted, I'd probably be a dancer. I danced as a child, but stopped at 12 and I wish I hadn't. My very favorite show is So You Think You Can Dance. Dance just speaks to me.
23. I am a horrible sleeper. Borderline insomniac.
24. Some people say college was the best time of their life-- for me, it was high school. I loved my friends, sports, just everything. I miss it so much.
25. Despite loving our life in Naperville, I'm still trying to get my husband to move us to Hawaii. I'm sure my family would follow. :)
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
up to 37 weeks
Almost 37 weeks! I cannot believe I've made it this far and am so happy and blessed everyday he stays in there and is able to grow and develop.
Around 34 weeks, I started not feeling great-- not uncomfortable pregnancy stuff- something else.... I was flushed, felt hot in the face, started swelling in my hands and face, besides my bad leg which had been swelling for several weeks before that. One Saturday, I felt excruciating pain in my left side and I thought- this is it... something is wrong- we're gonna have to go to the hospital... I'm probably pre-eclamptic and abrupting and they're gonna have to crash section me at 34 weeks (the mind of a labor & delivery nurse) haha. I did everything I knew to do to try and stop that sick feeling all over and the pain, and I finally fell asleep that night feeling a little better.
I went in for my appointment 2 days later, and my doctor was worried. "Why didn't you call? You should've called... you know better," she scolded. "I know, but I didn't want to bother you if it was nothing at all..." She shook her head and smacked me in the arm. "You L&D nurses are the worst patients." The pain was gone completely by that point, so I wasn't that worried anymore, but she was. My blood pressure was up and she immediately drew pre-eclampsia labs, which ended up coming back quite abnormal. She told me then that she hadn't expected me to get past 32 weeks, and every week since then has been a blessing. She put me on bed rest and biweekly appointments and we started doing 24 hour urines to watch for the pre-eclampsia to worsen. "Let's try and get to 35 weeks," she told me. I wasn't excited about bed rest, but I was happy to be staying pregnant and giving the little one some more time. Honestly, at that point, I think had I told her I was worried enough, she would've delivered him that day.
I've been on bed rest since then, and we've had some ups and downs since then, but I'm still pregnant and he continues to grow and develop, and we're just so blessed for that. My pre-eclampsia labs and blood pressure have remained fairly stable, except for my hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, which have been low since nec fasciitis, which took a dive last week and required an IV iron infusion. This week, they're stable, so we're shooting for another week. Once I hit that 37 week mark and he's considered "term" I'm going to feel so much better. I started contracting yesterday and they've become more and more regular and so I'm a little concerned that we might not have much more time, but I'm laying on my side and drinking water and keeping that little bugger in there as long as I can. My scarring feels pretty miserable. When I contract, I can feel my abdomen harden, but it pushes against the scars and it won't give way. That part is pretty darn painful. But honestly, after skin grafts and wound vacs, what's a little scar ripping? (which is what it feels like).
The nursery is done and looks awesome. I'm so happy with it. It was alot of work but we got it done, and now it's all ready for a baby. Working on packing on my hospital bag and doing last minute things, but it's hard because I can't really be on my feet. The room is grey with one grey and white striped accent wall. His furniture and bedding are from Pottery Barn and we found his glider chair at Walmart.
***
Finishing this post up as the baby is 7 weeks old :) I was on bed rest until 37 weeks with a couple ups and downs-- contractions, scar pain, and signs of pre-eclampsia that came, then went, then came again. When I finally hit 37 weeks (and my dr was THRILLED), I was able to come off bed rest. That very night, I went back to the gym and hopped on the treadmill. I was going so stir crazy that I couldn't wait to be active again.
And that was enough to do it! I got to meet Cole just 3 days later... to be continued to Cole's birth post!
Around 34 weeks, I started not feeling great-- not uncomfortable pregnancy stuff- something else.... I was flushed, felt hot in the face, started swelling in my hands and face, besides my bad leg which had been swelling for several weeks before that. One Saturday, I felt excruciating pain in my left side and I thought- this is it... something is wrong- we're gonna have to go to the hospital... I'm probably pre-eclamptic and abrupting and they're gonna have to crash section me at 34 weeks (the mind of a labor & delivery nurse) haha. I did everything I knew to do to try and stop that sick feeling all over and the pain, and I finally fell asleep that night feeling a little better.
I went in for my appointment 2 days later, and my doctor was worried. "Why didn't you call? You should've called... you know better," she scolded. "I know, but I didn't want to bother you if it was nothing at all..." She shook her head and smacked me in the arm. "You L&D nurses are the worst patients." The pain was gone completely by that point, so I wasn't that worried anymore, but she was. My blood pressure was up and she immediately drew pre-eclampsia labs, which ended up coming back quite abnormal. She told me then that she hadn't expected me to get past 32 weeks, and every week since then has been a blessing. She put me on bed rest and biweekly appointments and we started doing 24 hour urines to watch for the pre-eclampsia to worsen. "Let's try and get to 35 weeks," she told me. I wasn't excited about bed rest, but I was happy to be staying pregnant and giving the little one some more time. Honestly, at that point, I think had I told her I was worried enough, she would've delivered him that day.
I've been on bed rest since then, and we've had some ups and downs since then, but I'm still pregnant and he continues to grow and develop, and we're just so blessed for that. My pre-eclampsia labs and blood pressure have remained fairly stable, except for my hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, which have been low since nec fasciitis, which took a dive last week and required an IV iron infusion. This week, they're stable, so we're shooting for another week. Once I hit that 37 week mark and he's considered "term" I'm going to feel so much better. I started contracting yesterday and they've become more and more regular and so I'm a little concerned that we might not have much more time, but I'm laying on my side and drinking water and keeping that little bugger in there as long as I can. My scarring feels pretty miserable. When I contract, I can feel my abdomen harden, but it pushes against the scars and it won't give way. That part is pretty darn painful. But honestly, after skin grafts and wound vacs, what's a little scar ripping? (which is what it feels like).
The nursery is done and looks awesome. I'm so happy with it. It was alot of work but we got it done, and now it's all ready for a baby. Working on packing on my hospital bag and doing last minute things, but it's hard because I can't really be on my feet. The room is grey with one grey and white striped accent wall. His furniture and bedding are from Pottery Barn and we found his glider chair at Walmart.
***
Finishing this post up as the baby is 7 weeks old :) I was on bed rest until 37 weeks with a couple ups and downs-- contractions, scar pain, and signs of pre-eclampsia that came, then went, then came again. When I finally hit 37 weeks (and my dr was THRILLED), I was able to come off bed rest. That very night, I went back to the gym and hopped on the treadmill. I was going so stir crazy that I couldn't wait to be active again.
And that was enough to do it! I got to meet Cole just 3 days later... to be continued to Cole's birth post!
Friday, January 30, 2015
February
One of my favorite bloggers does a monthly goals post at the beginning of every month to lay out her goals for that month... some goals are simple, like laugh more... others are more work... like read 3 books this month. I like this idea-- especially since this little newborn of mine requires so much of my time and energy that lists are absolutely ESSENTIAL now. Not that they weren't before (I'm a type A list writer, just like my dad).
So here are my February Goals.
1. Blog more! I need to catch up on the last few weeks of pregnancy posts and then Cole's birth and first month. I NEED to get those done before he gets any bigger and I get farther behind! I've been great about keeping up with his baby book, but I also plan to do a birth post and then posts for each month. I'm so sorry for the long zzzzz nap I've been taking away from the blog. We're just enjoying our new life here as a family of 3. (well 4 if you count Mady).
2. Print out Cole's newborn pics and get them matted and framed
3. Get Cole's birth certificate and SS card and his passport ordered.... we are going international in a few months with our little guy... First family vacation will be to Mexico in June for my sister's wedding.
4. Get back into my pre-preggo skinny jeans. Self-explanatory. I'm getting there but still have some baby weight to shed. It helps that I ran until the day he was born (with a few weeks of bed rest in there)... it's been easy to get back into the gym routine... not so easy to shed those last few pounds though.
5. Have more playdates with friends. I still have some close friends to meet up with so they can meet Cole. He was born over the holidays, so that made it difficult and then the flu epidemic hit, so we've been waiting until everyone is healthy. Excited to introduce my little guy to all of my buddies!
That's about it for goals. I think that'll take me until March...easily. Keep watching for more posts very soon... LO's birth, first month, and our new routine. Thanks for your prayers for a smooth delivery and healthy baby... God blessed us beyond our wildest dreams. We're obsessed with little one and he's healthy and gorgeous and we're so happy :)
So here are my February Goals.
1. Blog more! I need to catch up on the last few weeks of pregnancy posts and then Cole's birth and first month. I NEED to get those done before he gets any bigger and I get farther behind! I've been great about keeping up with his baby book, but I also plan to do a birth post and then posts for each month. I'm so sorry for the long zzzzz nap I've been taking away from the blog. We're just enjoying our new life here as a family of 3. (well 4 if you count Mady).
2. Print out Cole's newborn pics and get them matted and framed
3. Get Cole's birth certificate and SS card and his passport ordered.... we are going international in a few months with our little guy... First family vacation will be to Mexico in June for my sister's wedding.
4. Get back into my pre-preggo skinny jeans. Self-explanatory. I'm getting there but still have some baby weight to shed. It helps that I ran until the day he was born (with a few weeks of bed rest in there)... it's been easy to get back into the gym routine... not so easy to shed those last few pounds though.
5. Have more playdates with friends. I still have some close friends to meet up with so they can meet Cole. He was born over the holidays, so that made it difficult and then the flu epidemic hit, so we've been waiting until everyone is healthy. Excited to introduce my little guy to all of my buddies!
That's about it for goals. I think that'll take me until March...easily. Keep watching for more posts very soon... LO's birth, first month, and our new routine. Thanks for your prayers for a smooth delivery and healthy baby... God blessed us beyond our wildest dreams. We're obsessed with little one and he's healthy and gorgeous and we're so happy :)
Sunday, October 12, 2014
30 weeks!
30 weeks! Can't believe it. We are down to the final stretch.... and stretching certainly is happening.
I have good days and bad days... yesterday was a bad one-- I was contracting on and off all day.. not really painful, but scary, because the last thing I want is to end up in the hospital- at least until he's born. Then I'll be happy to be there. I had done some cleaning and walking- nothing to out of the ordinary, but I didn't feel right all day and then noticed that every time I'd stand up, I'd contract. I drank a bunch of water and laid on my side (my labor & delivery skills kicking in) and called Vanessa at work just to fill her in and make sure I was fine to stay home. I didn't want to bother the dr if I didn't have to. She suggested drinking Smart Water (new tip, which was awesome) so I did, and then finally got some sleep last night.
Today, I'm still having an occasional contraction, but not bad and I feel a little better than yesterday. It's crazy how I've been a labor & delivery nurse for the last 8 years, but it's totally different when you're pregnant. I try to give myself advice I'd give a patient, but when it's me, I start to panic a little. Anyways, I see my OB again on Tuesday so I'll fill her in and she'll probably check things out a little further if I'm still contracting.
The nausea hasn't stopped so I'm still on the zofran as needed, and I'm still puking probably once a day, sometimes more. Nothing like it was the first 22 weeks though. He's growing proportionally, and everything has looked great on all of his ultrasounds besides the 2-vessel cord and the foci on his heart that hasn't closed yet.
The nursery got painted last weekend thanks to the enormous help of my mother-in-law, father-in-law and hubby. It took four of us to create the grey stripped accent wall-- oh my gosh, so difficult. The room looks amazing though. I am so excited to get the furniture in there and all of the finishing touches. I'll post some pics when it's all put together. It doesn't really have a theme- It's grey and white with some accents of navy and orange. There is also some nautical and rustic touches since I have always envisioned myself as living on a sailboat for the rest of my life. I'll have to settle for an Anthropologie sailboat on his shelf for now.
Here are some 30 week pictures. Please excuse my messy bedroom and horrible picture taking skills. I hate selfies and it's really hard to do one when you're this pregnant. I wasn't gonna do any more belly pics but here you go. I'll update again soon! Keep praying for my L.O. (No, he doesn't have a name yet, and the way it's been going, he probably won't until he's born and Jon and I are forced to come to a decision). :)
I have good days and bad days... yesterday was a bad one-- I was contracting on and off all day.. not really painful, but scary, because the last thing I want is to end up in the hospital- at least until he's born. Then I'll be happy to be there. I had done some cleaning and walking- nothing to out of the ordinary, but I didn't feel right all day and then noticed that every time I'd stand up, I'd contract. I drank a bunch of water and laid on my side (my labor & delivery skills kicking in) and called Vanessa at work just to fill her in and make sure I was fine to stay home. I didn't want to bother the dr if I didn't have to. She suggested drinking Smart Water (new tip, which was awesome) so I did, and then finally got some sleep last night.
Today, I'm still having an occasional contraction, but not bad and I feel a little better than yesterday. It's crazy how I've been a labor & delivery nurse for the last 8 years, but it's totally different when you're pregnant. I try to give myself advice I'd give a patient, but when it's me, I start to panic a little. Anyways, I see my OB again on Tuesday so I'll fill her in and she'll probably check things out a little further if I'm still contracting.
The nausea hasn't stopped so I'm still on the zofran as needed, and I'm still puking probably once a day, sometimes more. Nothing like it was the first 22 weeks though. He's growing proportionally, and everything has looked great on all of his ultrasounds besides the 2-vessel cord and the foci on his heart that hasn't closed yet.
The nursery got painted last weekend thanks to the enormous help of my mother-in-law, father-in-law and hubby. It took four of us to create the grey stripped accent wall-- oh my gosh, so difficult. The room looks amazing though. I am so excited to get the furniture in there and all of the finishing touches. I'll post some pics when it's all put together. It doesn't really have a theme- It's grey and white with some accents of navy and orange. There is also some nautical and rustic touches since I have always envisioned myself as living on a sailboat for the rest of my life. I'll have to settle for an Anthropologie sailboat on his shelf for now.
Here are some 30 week pictures. Please excuse my messy bedroom and horrible picture taking skills. I hate selfies and it's really hard to do one when you're this pregnant. I wasn't gonna do any more belly pics but here you go. I'll update again soon! Keep praying for my L.O. (No, he doesn't have a name yet, and the way it's been going, he probably won't until he's born and Jon and I are forced to come to a decision). :)
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
28 week updates!
Ohh I owe you guys this one. I have to stop first and apologize for being MIA over the last few months. After hyperemesis basically overtook my life, things got a little rough. I was sick of puking, and sick of writing about it. Around 22 or 23 weeks, things seemed to finally get a little better. To this day, I'm still using the Zofran IV pump at home, but take breaks during the day with no meds at all as long as I'm feeling okay. But things are soooo SOOO much better than losing my stomach 20-30 times a day.
28 weeks this Saturday. All of a sudden, LO decided he felt like growing and he has. Within the last week, people have stopped telling me I don't look pregnant and replaced that with "wow, he's popped!" Not sure if I'm offended by that or not. Bottom line, my stomach is bigger and the kicks are harder and all of a sudden, I'm uncomfortable. Hurts to sit, hurts to stand, sleep is very uncomfortable. And LO loves to kick constantly. I don't think I have alot of cushion between him and my skin because my whole stomach moves when he kicks and that HURTS! Lo is gonna be an athlete. How could he not with his father's genes and mine?
Jon is finally off my back about eating and running. He's been giving me a hard time since the day the Lo was conceived about how I need to be eating more and I better be growing him right, etc etc. For weeks he's told me I'm not big enough, even though I was growing fine. This week, he looked at me and said "whoa. he's really in there." HA! Told you, husband. I know what I'm doing.
Mady and the L.O have become best buddies. lately, when she barks, he kicks. It's beyond adorable.
OK, mama is tired. I'll do another post this week about what I ended up registering for this past weekend and you can all weigh in on what I really do and don't need. Then we have to figure out a baby's room, people. I need your help with that too. And by the way, if you could give us a name that we both like, that would be much appreciated. so there's your homework. weigh in on my registry, design my nursery, and pick out a name for the L.O.
"L.O" or "Lo" is what I've been calling him for short-- in place of "little one". :)
28 weeks this Saturday. All of a sudden, LO decided he felt like growing and he has. Within the last week, people have stopped telling me I don't look pregnant and replaced that with "wow, he's popped!" Not sure if I'm offended by that or not. Bottom line, my stomach is bigger and the kicks are harder and all of a sudden, I'm uncomfortable. Hurts to sit, hurts to stand, sleep is very uncomfortable. And LO loves to kick constantly. I don't think I have alot of cushion between him and my skin because my whole stomach moves when he kicks and that HURTS! Lo is gonna be an athlete. How could he not with his father's genes and mine?
Jon is finally off my back about eating and running. He's been giving me a hard time since the day the Lo was conceived about how I need to be eating more and I better be growing him right, etc etc. For weeks he's told me I'm not big enough, even though I was growing fine. This week, he looked at me and said "whoa. he's really in there." HA! Told you, husband. I know what I'm doing.
Mady and the L.O have become best buddies. lately, when she barks, he kicks. It's beyond adorable.
OK, mama is tired. I'll do another post this week about what I ended up registering for this past weekend and you can all weigh in on what I really do and don't need. Then we have to figure out a baby's room, people. I need your help with that too. And by the way, if you could give us a name that we both like, that would be much appreciated. so there's your homework. weigh in on my registry, design my nursery, and pick out a name for the L.O.
"L.O" or "Lo" is what I've been calling him for short-- in place of "little one". :)
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Bermuda with Baby on Board!
Bermuda was amazing!! Trip of a lifetime.
When I was sick and in the hospital, my entire family was affected. Everyone was affected, and everyone had to deal with what happened in their own way. Watching me almost die and then fight and fight for my life took a toll on everyone in my family. Dealing with doctors at the first hospital not knowing what I had or how to treat it killed my family. Being told I would lose my leg, watching me go into surgery after surgery... feeling hope and then having that hope taken away time and time again... watching me struggle in pain, fight the ventilator, my vitals getting worse and worse... worse then better then worse again... the pain of it all really hurt everyone in their own way.
When I was finally a tiny bit better and on the road to recovery, but still in the hospital, my Uncle Steve, Aunt Nancy, and cousin Nikki came to visit me. Everyone was tired and defeated but hopeful and thankful of miracle after miracle they had witnessed. God had stepped in and taken over and saved my life and everyone couldn't help but feel thankful, blessed, and in awe of God and the power of family, love, faith, and prayer. On Christmas, when everyone was visiting me in the hospital, Uncle Steve announced that when I was healed and better, he wanted to celebrate this miracle by taking the entire family on a cruise.
Last week, he took 20 Bahrs on a sail to Bermuda. It was absolutely breathtaking and beautiful and amazing and such a complete blessing to all be together celebrating life and God's miracle. It was a step in the healing process that we all needed. Just to be together, laugh, have fun. I can never thank him enough for the precious gift that he gave to me and my family. I'm in awe of his generosity.
Probably my favorite thing we did was the day Jon, me, my best cousin Bryan and his wife Gaby rented mopeds and explored the island. We drove to Horseshoe Bay Beach where we met up with the rest of the family and spent the day there. It was so much fun and so insanely beautiful. And I trekked up a very steep cliff with my little fighter of a leg. It was amazing to see how far I've come physically. I had to take a minute up there looking out at the beauty of the sea and the cliffs and just thank God for saving me and my leg and for the determination he bestowed upon me since birth-- that I'm a fighter and I won't give up, no matter how hard it is.
When I was sick and in the hospital, my entire family was affected. Everyone was affected, and everyone had to deal with what happened in their own way. Watching me almost die and then fight and fight for my life took a toll on everyone in my family. Dealing with doctors at the first hospital not knowing what I had or how to treat it killed my family. Being told I would lose my leg, watching me go into surgery after surgery... feeling hope and then having that hope taken away time and time again... watching me struggle in pain, fight the ventilator, my vitals getting worse and worse... worse then better then worse again... the pain of it all really hurt everyone in their own way.
When I was finally a tiny bit better and on the road to recovery, but still in the hospital, my Uncle Steve, Aunt Nancy, and cousin Nikki came to visit me. Everyone was tired and defeated but hopeful and thankful of miracle after miracle they had witnessed. God had stepped in and taken over and saved my life and everyone couldn't help but feel thankful, blessed, and in awe of God and the power of family, love, faith, and prayer. On Christmas, when everyone was visiting me in the hospital, Uncle Steve announced that when I was healed and better, he wanted to celebrate this miracle by taking the entire family on a cruise.
Last week, he took 20 Bahrs on a sail to Bermuda. It was absolutely breathtaking and beautiful and amazing and such a complete blessing to all be together celebrating life and God's miracle. It was a step in the healing process that we all needed. Just to be together, laugh, have fun. I can never thank him enough for the precious gift that he gave to me and my family. I'm in awe of his generosity.
Probably my favorite thing we did was the day Jon, me, my best cousin Bryan and his wife Gaby rented mopeds and explored the island. We drove to Horseshoe Bay Beach where we met up with the rest of the family and spent the day there. It was so much fun and so insanely beautiful. And I trekked up a very steep cliff with my little fighter of a leg. It was amazing to see how far I've come physically. I had to take a minute up there looking out at the beauty of the sea and the cliffs and just thank God for saving me and my leg and for the determination he bestowed upon me since birth-- that I'm a fighter and I won't give up, no matter how hard it is.
The hyperemesis was still in full force, so I had my IV in the whole time. But after a day or two, the sea and the air calmed me like it always does. I remember how on my honeymoon in Kauai last year, my pain (still pretty fresh at the time) seemed to get better the longer I was there. On Friday (the second to last day of our trip), I decided to take the IV out while we were driving the mopeds.
Little did I realize that night we'd experience the worst waves and boat rocking our captain had ever experienced in his 25 years. We were sailing home on the outskirts of Hurricane Anthony and the boat started rocking back and forth so bad I couldn't stand up without falling. Immediately the vomiting started and it was continuous, every 5 or so minutes all night long. The next day, the boat continued to rock and all I could do was lay there and want to die. By that time, the vomiting was about once an hour. I couldn't even keep a sip of water down without throwing up immediately. I would try to stand up and my legs would literally give out, a combination of extreme sea sickness/hyperemesis, dizziness, and weakness from lack of food and fluids. At one point, Jon got me into the shower and I sat on the floor, just throwing up over and over, and Jon ran to find my parents to try and get some dramamine. My cousin Lance had some, but as soon as I took it, I threw up. I thought I was gonna die that night... seriously. Jon and I were both scared.... here we were in a boat in the middle of the ocean without a hospital to help me. At last, Jon was able to get me up to my parents room on a higher deck and I felt better being higher up where the rocking was a little less and I could breathe fresh air from their balcony. As the second day went on, the sea began to calm and my stomach started to calm too. It took a few days to feel back to normal but I'm feeling much better now. Other than that little hiccup, the trip was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I just can never thank my Uncle Steve and Aunt Nancy enough for blessing me, Jon, and my whole Bahr family with the trip of a lifetime.
Had a dr appointment yesterday. Baby boy is doing great, but mama isn't yet. My nec fasc or scars haven't been an issue at all.... it's the darn hyperemesis. I lost 5 more lbs and the doc said any more and I'm getting a feeding tube. For now, we're gonna try Ensure (ewwww hospital flashback!!) and protein shakes. Please pray that this vomiting subsides soon and kiddo keeps growing. We're gonna start doing serial ultrasounds (every 4 weeks, then every 2 weeks, then every week and then biweekly until delivery). Dr. Yockey foresees bed rest in the future and we're doing every lab and every preventative measure to prevent that. She's concerned that the organ failure during nec fasc might cause some preterm labor or pre-eclampsia/eclampsia later on, so we're being extra viligent. Again, I have the best OB team watching me and this baby and we are so blessed for that.
Keep praying for our little man...grow bean grow! Pray that he is HEALTHY. That's all we care about.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
16 week pictures!
16.5 weeks! We're well into the second trimester and the hyperemesis has no end in sight. I still have the IV pump in continuously. I'm gonna write a more detailed post later about our trip to Bermuda but we just got home a day and a half ago, and I have so much to do. But I did want to post a 16 week picture. Definitely a bump there. Our little man is growing!
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