Hormone Soup
I am so, so happy to be pregnant! I’m currently in my 7th week (6 weeks, 2 days pregnant). And, I’m sick as a dog. I’m not throwing up but I’ve dry heaved, gagged and stood over the toilet more times in the past week than perhaps in all my life combined. When I’m not doing any of the above, I feel a low, mid or high level nausea all the time. It seems like ages ago that I loved food. Now, nothing looks good and most things look bad. I sort of force myself to eat because I need to, sometimes I just can’t really get it down.
I’m doing ginger, acupuncture and homeopathy tinctures along with most of the other little tricks I’ve learned. They help some but really just a tiny bit, for a tiny while– which I suppose, is better than nothing. Our midwife (whom we met and fell in love with this past Monday) was great. She reminded me that inside my body right now, I’m a giant hormone soup. And that’s what it feels like, too.
In the Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy, the author jests about “morning sickness” a) not being just in the morning at all (which is so true) and b) it should more aptly be called “progesterone poisoning”. Last night I almost forgot to take my estrogen and progesterone, laying in bed when I remembered and thought about taking them I got a huge wave of nausea and almost threw up (even typing and thinking about it now makes me queasy). In that moment, it occurred to me that maybe it’s not just a joke, “progesterone poisoning”. Maybe, because I’m still taking supplemental progesterone and estrogen during the time that my body begins to make lots of it’s own I’m getting a double dose? In other words, my body has too many hormones in my hormone soup.
So, I called Caitlin today and ran my theory by her. She concurred that it’s entirely possible that’s why I feel so sick (particularly the estrogen, she said). I asked if I could take a blood test tomorrow to see if my estrogen and progesterone were too high. If my levels show high, they’ll either take me off the meds or reduce them. If my levels are not too high, she’ll keep me on the meds but prescribe an anti-nausea med for me to take. Even though I go in on Monday for the ultrasound and routine bloodwork, the thought of feeling so sick the next 4 days was too much, so I’m all fingers crossed for being able to easy off the synthetic meds and let my body do it’s thang so I can get a bit of respite this weekend. Stay tuned!
PMS Wife + Pregnant Wife = Bad Mix
Gina has been super amazing for me. It’s humbling and feels so good all at once. This morning I had a small respite from my nausea and jumped on the chance to make her food for once in the last week or so. We sat down to what would have been a lovely breakfast and over nothing at all got in a quarrel. Oh, not a big deal but not fun. I felt so super upset (thank you hormones) and she was, well, how she gets when she’s pre-menstrual. In the shower (why do all my revelations happen there?) it occurred to me for all the wonderful benefits of being two chicks in a relationship, occasionally there’s a downside and we were looking at it dead-on. We kissed and made up and went about our equally but different hormonal days.
Current Pregnancy Symptoms Include (I have pregnancy symptoms!!!!!)
The nausa is the thing that I’m most present to but here are the other pregnancy symptoms that I am experiencing. Again, it’s all kind of fun given I’ve waited to so long to feel all these things. So odd to feel so happy to feel so bad.
Backache, leg cramps
Uterine cramping
Incredibly Mood Swingy (today it seemed like everyone was a jerk until I realized I was the common denominator, which only pissed me off more)
Tired, tired, tired. Even when I nap, I’m still tired
Insomia at night and early morning
Police-Dog nose (I swear I can smell things from blocks away. And almost everything smells like mold or mildew, including Sookie)
Sore boobies (along with other boobie changes that shall remain private- suffice to say, the moms reading this know)
Sensitive teeth and gums
Just plain ole’ sensitive (I cry at everything including when I’m sitting in the midwife’s office or watching Pia being kicked off of American Idol)
Peeing all the time, I go about 5-7 times a night. It’s crazy!
Pregnancy brain (I thought this was just something that happens late in the game. From what I’m reading and experiencing, it’s not. Turns out to be quite embarrassing whilst co-leading a healing women’s group)
Yahoo!!!!!!
This weekend, our dear friends Karen Seto, her husband Rob and their son, Jing come to town. Years ago, when they were out here for a visit, they sat on our couch and told us they were pregnant. We are so excited to tell them this time that we are too!