Our Good News

in case you haven't heard yet, the Lowder's are expecting! Yep :) I'm 8 weeks pregnant, due in mid-march 2011. we had our first ultrasound last friday to make sure i wasn't having twins because of my history of hyperemesis. just one baby in there! claire got to see it too and she thought it was cool, but i think she was expecting a miniature fully-formed baby!

a lot, i mean a lot, of people have been asking me about what my chances of getting hyperemesis or preeclampsia again. as my OB says about hyperemesis, "If you're a puker, you're a puker." So I can expect to have some issues with naseua, vomitting and/or dehyrdation during this pregnancy. I'm preparing and counting on it in fact, not to be morbid, but I guess I'd rather be pleasantly surprised that it isn't happening.

The chance of someone developing preeclampsia in subsequent pregnancies after having it during your first is 33%. So my chances are better there, but at least we know the signs to look for. Last year with Claire I developed preeclampsia and HELP syndrome with Claire at 32 weeks and we wouldn't have caught it so fast if I hadn't been weighing myself every day, which I was doing as a part of my hyperemesis protocol. I had lost 20 lbs in my first trimester, and it took me the rest of the pregnancy to gain it back. I gained like 8 pounds in one weekend and that's what concerned my nurse and prompted me to go in to my OB and eventually get admitted to St. John's...and 5 days later Claire Michaella was here!

SO, so far so good. I'm taking preemptive Zofran. Research is showing that is can stave off symptoms of hyperemesis or prevent them alltogether. So I'm fairly naseuous, I probably have average first semester morning sickness. The exhuastion is overwhelming though. I can't believe how sleepy I am! I go to bed early and sleep until the last minute. At least one day a week I'm going home early just to take a nap and every night after work i'm napping. as Aunt Jackie says, "making a baby is hard! every time you're taking a nap, think about making a cute nose or a little heart..." So on that note, I have some fingers and toes to make, I'm going nighty night!