Part 4 - Still very early middle...

Around the end of August, I started to suffer morning sickness. Except that it wasn't just morning - it was ALL DAY LONG. I had a job as a doctor's office receptionist (but oh so much more than that) and I was always the first one in. I would wake up at 6 a.m., and before I even made it out of bed I would start gagging. (You know what follows that.) No matter what I ate or drank, I threw up. If I didn't have anything to eat or drink, I had the pleasure of spewing stomach acid.

From the end of August to my birthday at the end of September, I was hospitalized 3 times (including on my 29th birthday). The first two times, I was given IV fluids and IV Phenergen, then when I was discharged, I was given the pill form of Phenergen. The medication made me a zombie. I was still being sick, but I was so drowsy I could no longer get myself out of bed to make it to the bathroom in time, so I had to have a wastebasket next to me at all times. It got to the point where I had to make the decision - either take the Phenergen, and still be sick or get out of bed for the day and still be sick. At least off the medication I could think clearly, and tried to work - but I was lucky if I made it through the day at the office. On my 29th birthday, I woke up the same way as I always did, but I was feeling even worse than usual. I knew my husband had arranged flowers to be delivered to me at the office (as was his ritual), and I wanted to be there to get them. I got to the office at 7:30 a.m. and the next thing I remembered was waking up face-down on the floor next to stacks of charts, just as one of my coworkers was arriving. I immediately called my husband, who came to pick me up and took me to Dr. J's office (which was just a few doors down). Dr. J was in surgery at the time, so I saw one of his partners, who barely looked at my face, let alone talked or listened to me and just told me to go to the hospital again so they could give me IV fluids.

This time at the hospital, I was given IV Zofran in addition to the fluids. I had absolutely no side effects and felt better almost immediately. I was given a prescription for the pill form of Zofran, which is dissolved on the tongue, then swallowed. It worked! For 2 weeks. Then it all started over again. I barely worked, I barely ate, but I tried to drink as much as possible so I wouldn't have to go to the hospital again.

By the first week in October, I had lost 20 lbs. I'm not saying I didn't need to lose it... but you have to figure during pregnancy is the WRONG time to lose weight. Dr. J alleviated my fears that the baby was being harmed. He put it this way. "Your baby, the little cute little critter that it is, is a parasite. You're the host. The parasite takes everything it needs to live from the host."

As crude a remark as it was, it was true. (I've long forgiven him for calling my baby a parasite - he's truly made up for it, as you'll see in posts to come.) If I could just get through the next week, it would all be worth it when I go to see the perinatologist. We'll get an ultrasound, and see our little "critter" - in 3d!