It's Baaaa-aack... (The Hyperemesis, that is)

Today I announced to the world that I'm 6 weeks pregnant.

Those close to me all asked the same follow up question:  "How are you feeling?!"

For me, this question is far more loaded, and contains far more subtext...beyond queasiness, beyond tiredness, beyond the growing pains of pregnancy.  This question means "is your hyperemesis back!?"

The short answer: yes.

The long answer: yes, but managed far, far better than last time.

I went into this pregnancy on a special diet (high protein, extra vitamin b6), extra medical treatment (chiropractic care, pre-conception doctors meetings), and a wing and a prayer.  With my Levi-pregnancy, I started feeling sick at 4.5 weeks.  So early that I thought it was all in my head.  This time, I made it a whole extra week.

This puts us at Tuesday the 15th.  Actually, the nausea started Monday the 14th, but I chalked it up to the fact that I got stuck at work longer than anticipated, and was STARVING when I got home.  Then, Tuesday morning, I woke up feeling awful.  The few sips of gatorade I managed came right back up.  Things were smelling weird, and I was grossed out by even my favorite foods.  Luckily, it took a quick phone call to the doctor, a hurried visit (2-year-old in tow), and a Zofran prescription to at least get me to the point where I was keeping water down.  Whew, right?

Well, Wednesday I stumbled through work, kept a few things down, and fell into bed.  Thursday was worse...it was Levi's birthday, and there I was, dry heaving in the parking lot of Choo Choo Johnny's.

Sidenote:  My toddler thinks this is hilarious.  He stands in the doorway and giggles when I vomit.  He makes gagging sounds when I do.  When I was in the ER Friday, he pressed the "Y for Yak" button repeatedly as I was checking in.  He's a peach, really.  It really made his birthday special that he had a "meal on train wheels" AND a barfing Mommy.

Friday morning, I woke up and felt like I was having a panic attack.  Realized that my heartbeat was super fast (heartrate in bed: over 100), and called the doc back...and was promptly sent to the ER.  Last time I had HG (My HG story), I fought tooth and nail to avoid the ER.  I have a HUGE needle phobia, hate anything medical, and worry about the cost.  But, in a clear, non-HG moment, I promised myself that I would get fluids if needed this time.

Let me tell you, it was the best.  After the first bag, I was still panicky, heart rate was crazy, and my blood pressure was like 100/52.  The doctor had the "there's a crying pregnant woman" look in his eyes, and I was promptly hooked up to bag #2.  At this point, Little Guy went home to sleep, and I got fluids, more IV Zofran, and Anderson Cooper, uninterrupted.  Heaven.  I felt a million times better.

Today I've been fine on the Zofran, kept food down (melons and mashed potatoes), and had enough energy to throw my little man a birthday party.  We also told all the relatives and friends with this shirt:

He wouldn't hold still long enough to get a picture!

So I will keep the internet-world updated.  Hopefully my life won't involve any more IVs (or punctured veins...I currently look like a heroin addict), and hopefully this little person will be nicer to me than Levi was!