Whew! My baby is as big as a lime!

I’m eleven weeks and a couple days pregnant now- and things have changed a lot since the tenth week.

I am grateful (and really, really lucky) that I got pregnant in the winter time- as my schedule is almost always really light with work in the colder months. And where that’s hard on the ol’ wallet- it sure has made it easy to be as sick as I’ve been. Napkin (do I just refer to him as Baby Daddy now?!) has been amazing at taking care of me and basically every other aspect of our lives– I have been totally bed ridden and unable to function. AT ALL. Because of this, I spend too much time on the internet. I read too many pregnancy horror stories on forums that are light purple and butterfly themed.

I think that all those hours clocked on “What to Expect” community forums may have been the catalyst for this growing fear of medications. When I first found out I was pregnant, I also went into full blown sinus infection mode. Apparently, pregnancy and sinus infections go hand in hand because your whole body is changing and your nose is not exempt from all that. Your baby is also an immune system stealing pirate.

My midwife explained to me that Sudafed was totally okay to take during pregnancy. But when Napkin went to the pharmacy counter to buy some, and mentioned that I was pregnant to the pharmacist, he said Sudafed was COMPLETELY UNSAFE for the baby. (It’s a matter of opinion and depends on who you talk to.)

So I just suffered through it. For weeks. (In fact, I’m still a little congested.)

Morning sickness hit me full force in the seventh week of pregnancy. I went from being super excited about being pregnant to being positively miserable. Overnight. As a longtime sufferer of IBS- I thought I could handle a little nausea. But, almost daily, I’ve thrown up at least twice a day. I’ve lost eleven pounds. My food aversions can be summarized this way: I have adverse feelings towards ALL food. Nothing is ever good. And if it is good- it is good only until I barf it up later and never want to eat it again. #truestory #goodbyepineapple

This went on for five weeks. The lack of appetite started causing other problems, like dizziness and even more fatigue. But things really got bad when I decided that I would try and play a show with my band. I took a shower. When I got out, I wrapped myself in a towel and (thankfully!) made it from the bathroom to my bedroom before I FAINTED. It was super quick. My knees hit first and all I remember was that my hearing had gone whacky and my vision got blurry. So I was only out for a matter of one or two seconds. But if that had happened later? On stage? I would have either fallen off the stage into the crowd or backwards into the drum set. And I could have hurt my baby.

It was the fainting episode that left Napkin and I with no choice. We couldn’t just let me stay bed ridden anymore. It wasn’t working. So we called the midwife and went ahead and filled a prescription for Diclegis. It’s a medication that has been FDA approved and tested about as many times as a medicine like this CAN be tested… and has proven itself to be a lifesaver for women with severe morning sickness.

I’ve been on it for four days now and I’ve definitely improved! It wasn’t an overnight fix and I don’t necessarily feel GOOD but I have only thrown up twice in the past four days and it was mostly because I drank a half gallon of orange juice. #lessonlearned

I’ve already put a couple pounds back on, I’m sitting downstairs at the kitchen table writing this as opposed to my bedroom turned pregnancy-sick-cave, and most importantly I’ve been able to eat. It’s still not my favorite thing to do– but I’m able to keep food in my body and give myself a little more energy each day. At eleven weeks, I’m hoping that my first trimester blues are on their way out and that I can start weaning myself off of the medication and start experiencing those funny food cravings that I’ve dreamed about.

But I can’t help but be worried about side effects. I mean, I worry about everything. This is uncharted territory for me and there’s no guide book. Every woman’s pregnancy is totally different. But Napkin and I both have tried really hard to stay away from any medicine or ingredient that might be harmful to the baby. From food coloring to preservatives to parabens. And if something happens? If there’s any sort of problem? I will immediately wonder if it’s because I took medication for being nauseous. I mean, I haven’t even taken a tylenol! But which is worse, you know? Suffering nonstop or chemicals in your body to help you function somewhat normally?

To my momma friends out there– how was your first trimester? Did you swear off babies forever because it was so bad? Did one of those internet-old-wives-tales work for you? Or did you get ultra frustrated with everyone trying to tell you “that they had it worse than you?” Were you one of the lucky ones who breezed through pregnancy like a maxi skirt in  a Pinterest-worthy maternity photo shoot?

Lemme know!

More soon!