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Tuesday 24 January 2012

14 Weeks Pregnant - A Day In My Life


0200: Wake to alarm, reach out for middle of the night milk and drink it. Go back to sleep. (I can't get through the night with nothing or at least having nothing overnight makes the sickness/ nausea worse and I figure having something in the middle of the night helps me get more calories.)
0530: Wake up feeling very thirsty. Drink three mouthfuls of water, feel sick due to drinking so much water and stay awake for the rest of the night.
0700: J's alarm goes off, take medicines.
0715: Take supplements with a glass of milk (brought to me in bed by J).
0725: Eat first half of breakfast in bed. (Half a weetabix with raisins and milk.) Browse Facebook in bed on iPod.
0745: Eat second half of breakfast then lie down hoping not to be sick.
Pray for a few friends, cuddle A who has just woken up and come through then send her to get dressed. Pray a bit more. Turn down offer of more breakfast.
0840: Wake up with a half dead arm. Open and close fist a few times to regain feeling.
0850: Clean teeth in bed, drink a mouthful of water and lie down again. Regret drinking water due to now feeling uncomfortably full and more nauseous.
0910: Consider running to the bathroom to be sick and narrowly escape needing to. Contemplate whether eating would improve nausea or trigger vomiting and conclude it would be the latter.
0930: Call A (who has just cleaned her teeth) through for a cuddle and a chat. Get A to "write" letters on my back for five minutes (inspired by the "40 ways to entertain your kids while lying down" link I found through Island of Grief, Mountain of Joy) while J is busy then give J some suggestions for today's educational activities.
0945: Listen to J and A discuss birds whilst still feeling too close to vomiting to move. Ponder whether eating more and vomiting might be more pleasant than continuing nausea on the brink of vomiting but conclude even the thought of eating is too unpleasant. Wonder whether getting up yesterday and sitting in an armchair was a mistake.
1000: Read Facebook for five minutes and take homeopathic remedies. Ponder whether I can walk to the toilet without triggering vomiting. Decide I can. Almost vomit in nappy bucket. Grab hair bobble off cistern and tie hair back to avoid vomiting on hair. Almost vomit in toilet. Ponder whether I should have eaten more as a fuller stomach makes for easier and less unpleasant vomiting. On vomiting discover stomach was almost empty. Rinse mouth and gargle with water. Decide not to use mouthwash in case it triggers further vomiting. Worry about teeth being wrecked. Return to bed and ponder whether a snack would be a good/bad idea.
1030: Have mouthful of water and ask J for a cheese scone. Realise there was no blood in the vomit and feel relieved. Listen to 2 Peter on iPod. Feel thankful for iPod. Resolve to be more patient. Drink two mouthfuls of water. Pray.
1100: Hear J cooking and feel sick at the remembrance of Sunday's pea risotto. Daydream about being able to select food without consideration of taste on the way back up and being able to eat an entire meal. Try to remember what that feels like. Decide to go on Facebook/other forums as a distraction from the nausea.
1130: A comes upstairs and gives me a present "to help me feel better".
1145: Eat first stage of dinner in bed (rainbow trout, mushrooms, tomato, broccoli & mashed potato) then chat on Facebook.
1220: Take some supplements and eat part two of dinner.
1240: Ponder how much water I can safely drink and have two mouthfuls in a vain attempt to improve dehydration headache. Chat briefly on Facebook before resting in preparation for trip to library.
1345: Ask J to get my clothes out. Get dressed, take medicine and drink additional two mouthfuls of water. Feel thankful for the ability to dress myself. Look at self in mirror on way out in the hope that I might look pregnant but find I still look thin. Hope thinness is due to my lack of fat and not a sign of SGA baby (Isabella was SGA). Go to car to be driven the 300 metres to the library with A.
1400: Sit in armchair in library for one hour of singing and story time. This week I managed most of the actions although it made my arms ache. (Singing is out of the question - I just don't have the energy/breath.)
1500: Picked up and taken home in car by John. Have small snack and lie down to recover as the activeness of the last hour has put me on the brink of vomiting. (Thankfully I did not need the tubs I took with me to the library.)
1600: Feel almost normal. Chat on Facebook and read the odd online news article.
1700: Eat half a ham sandwich.
1725: Take some supplements and eat other half of sandwich. Feel uncomfortably full and slightly nauseous but not at risk of vomiting.
1800: Eat rhubarb yoghurt.
1820: Sit up to play a couple of rounds of "Guess Who?" with A and have goodnight chat/cuddle. Notice A feels warm so ask J to get the thermometer to check. She announces she will have to sit with me and watch the Mr Benn DVD all day tomorrow due to her temperature.
1840: Feel worse from sitting up so lie down to recover. Reflect on the probability of being sick later.
1900: Pray.
1915: Feel thirsty - risk drinking three mouthfuls of water at once.
1930: Start watching a DVD with J. Feel glad that the planning/preparation I did for being ill means we actually get to spend time together. Regret drinking so much water.
2000: Eat 1/4 serving of M&S apple cake given to us by friends. (J must think he should share it equally as he has been eating equally tiny portions of it.)
2030: Feel too worn out to sit up any longer so ask J to stop DVD. Lie down and catch up with messages and Facebook. Feel very thankful for Facebook and friends on Facebook - that and internet access through the iPod really help me to feel less isolated/bored/lonely when ill and limited in what I can do. I am blessed with some wonderful friends.
2045: J gets fresh pyjamas out and I realise with dismay that thanks to going out I am dressed and need to change for bed. Get changed. Clean teeth in bed. Take homeopathic remedies. Realise I forgot to take them this afternoon. Take final antiemetic of the day with three mouthfuls of ice cold water. Appreciate the ability to drink water and think about how useful it is.
2105: Reflect upon how my character could be improved and resolve to make more effort to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.
2115: Listen to J read a chapter of The Horse and His Boy.
2130: Turn light off, pray, note nausea has increased and hope tiredness will outweigh it. Eventually sleep.

Food intake ~1500Cal (about average). Fluid intake ~1.2l (below average).
Overall day in-between average and good relative to the last week.

1 comment:

  1. Such a great post. People need to understand what it's like to cope with this terrible condition. I know it's tough, but I'm so impressed with how well you're doing.

    ReplyDelete