Monday, June 29, 2009

Health and Pregnancy Update

Many of you have been wondering how I have been doing and how my pregnancy is going. Thanks for your concern! I have been pretty quiet on my blog because I have been so tired lately. I'm always tired and sleepy, but I have been even more so for the past few months. I don't know exactly why, but I do have a few guesses:

- We had a hard and busy spring semester. This used up a lot of my strength and energy.
- Extra fatigue due to pregnancy. My body is now trying to not just take care of itself, but take care of a little one, too.
- My body is getting used to medication changes I have had because of pregnancy.
- Symptoms are getting worse in general.
- Symptoms are getting worse for just a time because that happens.
- Summer heat. Even though I don't stay outside when it is in the 80s and 90s, just going to and from the car for church or a doctors appointment takes a lot out of me. It is hard for me to recover from even a brief time in temperatures above 80 degrees.

It could be any of those things, or it could be a combination of things. I am trying to figure out the right balance of rest and activity, which is no easy thing! I definitely do not want to push my body too much now that I am pregnant. However, I also need to keep moving and exercising as much as I can so that I do not become deconditioned. It is a delicate balancing act that I am always working on!

Here is our little one (picture taken 5 weeks ago). I had an OB appointment last week, and everything appears to be going well with the baby. In only three weeks I will be going back to the doctor for another ultrasound. As long as the baby cooperates, we will be able to find out if we are having a boy or girl!

Early on in my pregnancy I had a subchorionic hemorrhage, but that is now completely gone. Praise the Lord! Other than that complication for a few weeks, everything is going very well for me pregnancy wise. I had very little morning sickness. I rarely feel nauseated during pregnancy; I just get a heightened gag reflex and some food aversions. Those lasted about two months for me this time around. I didn't mind at all, though. It just reminded me that I was pregnant, which is a happy thing! I'll take symptoms due to pregnancy any day. Those are happy symptoms to have. :)

I will be having a lot of ultrasounds during this pregnancy because the high risk OB that I had a consultaiton with is concerned about one of my meds, Midodrine. It has been shown to cause stunted fetal growth, but it is not actually as bad as it sounds. Midodrine has only caused stunted fetal growth when given to lab rats in 8-10 times the normal dose. In addition to having too much of the medication, the rats don't need the medicine in the first place! Midodrine has not been reported to cause a problem in pregnancy for people.

My body needs Midodrine to keep my blood from pooling so badly. I would actually be more concerned with going off of the med than with being on it. I certainly do want the blood flow to my baby to be compromised, which I believe it would be, and my doctor agreed with me. If I stand up without Midodrine and compression, I turn blueish from the waist down due to blood pooling. That is not good for the baby! I take Midodrine and wear compression to prevent this.

All that to say, Midodrine is the biggest "risk" right now in my pregnancy. So because it is "risky" I will get to have a lot of ultrasounds. :) If the baby doesn't cooperate the first time around, then there will be several more chances to find out if we're having a boy or girl.

4 comments:

  1. Stopping by from SITs. Being pregnant during the summer is awful. Congrats and Take Care!

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  2. Just coming over from sits!! I will be praying for a healthy pregnancy for you!!

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  3. What a nice surprise to find out that a blog I already follow was a comment (or two) above me in Roll Call this morning. Just stopping by to leave a comment and to say Happy Wednesday!

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  4. What a beautiful miracle is growing inside you, Rachel! So glad that you seem to be holding your own physically. thanks for keeping us updated!

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