Signs of Pregnancy

While carrying Baby Bunny #1 and Baby Bunny #2, I tried to interpret every possible thing going on with my body as being signs of pregnancy...or, after I knew I was expecting, I interpreting everything as having its roots in being pregnant.

A bit much, right?

Other than the clinical pregnancy symptoms I talked about in my last post, there are just some signs of pregnancy that seem to be universal – or, at least, they were universal to my pregnancies!

Here's my lineup:

• Heightened sense of smell – I had this with all of my pregnancies, starting very early on
• Heightened sense of fullness – This one is psychological; there's no way a newly fertilized egg can create a sense of fullness...but I fel one anyways...so there ya have it!
• Crampy – For me, I felt minorly crampy throughout every pregnancy. At the beginning, I interpreted this as AF coming, but in hindsight, it felt different than those monthly cramps. The general crampiness in my pregnancies seemed broader – not as sharp.

What were/are your signs of pregnancy? If you're still TTCing, what symptoms are you looking at hopefully?

Alternatives to Reglan for Pregnancy

Alternatives to Reglan

Because of the allergic and dystonic reactions I suffered because of ingesting Reglan, I had to turn to other options to control my motility and digestive issues.

The first medicine I took for this, while in the hospital a couple months before my Reglan experince, was Phenergan, which I took as an injection in my IV line.

It didn't make me sick, per se, but it did cause me to feel anxious and caged. I especially hated that they gave it to me late at night which ruined my ability to sleep. It was effective, however, in helping to control my system.

Next, I took Zofran. I've since taken Zofran in three forms – injection in IV, dissolvable pill, and infusion pump. It has been my saving grace, even though it hasn't been the most effective. Let's put it like this: I'll take slightly lower efficacy to avoid reactions!

Zofran as an injection in my IV was the least effective for me. Too low concentration, to inoften given.

The most effective form of Zofran for me was the infusion pump that I was tethered to for 6 weeks. It ran a needle into the thick of my thigh and kept me on a constant dosage, plus could deliver an extra dose on demand when needed. It was a pain in the butt because it caused scarring on my legs and it was painful to change out needles every 12 hours and find an uninflamed spot to poke. It was also annoying to wear a fanny pack with the meds in. But it was very, very, very effective! And my insurance covered it 100% - no small feat, because this is also the most expensive option.

Most recently, I've been taken the dissolvable Zofran pill. It was one of the meds the gastroenterologist put me on after the Reglan reaction caused my OBGYN to give up and hand off the case. It tastes a bit funky and isn't nearly as fast acting as the pump, but I've relied on this medicine for almost a year to “rescue” me when I feel like I'm on the verge of becoming ill.

In addition, I took herbal ginger pills, wore a seasickness patch behind my ear, and took both Zantac and Prevacid to prevent stomach acid from taking over my life. And with that enormous combination of drugs, I was able to get through the rest of my pregnancy with Baby Bunny #2 – and actually keep some food down.

What's your rescue med when you're feeling the ill effects of pregnancy?

Mama Bunny and Reglan

Mama Bunny and Reglan

Reglan can be a very powerful and fast acting medicine. I was prescribed Reglan for motility and digestive issues while pregnant with Baby Bunny #2. I started taking it when I was around 3.5-4 months pregnant, after having taken different medicines beforehand that my OBGYN didn't consider to be as effective.

I was prescribed Reglan on a Friday. After my doctor's appointment, I had my prescription filled, but decided not to take it until the next day and just finish up that day with the prior medicine, Zofran.

On Saturday, I took one dose of Reglan with breakfast, one dose with lunch, one dose at dinner, and one dose at bedtime.

After breakfast, I felt no different. Reglan is fast acting...but not that fast!

After lunch, I started to feel a little iffy. Caged. Anxious. Highstrung.

I ignored it and went grocery shopping. Came home, made dinner, and popped my third Reglan.

This time, my tongue started swelling up and my throat itched. I didn't connect these symptoms with Reglan and instead figured that I must have eaten something that I was allergic to. All of those symptoms were consistent with how I've reacted in the past to food allergies.

My tongue swelling and throat itching went down and I continued eating.

It approached bedtime, so I took my last scheduled Reglan dose for the day.

Within 10 minutes, my tongued had swelled up, throat swelled mostly shut, and the muscles in my upper back and neck froze still and essentially locked me in place.

Panic time! At this point, I realized that I was feeling like that because of the medicine, not any food I had eaten. But I could barely move, could barely breathe, and couldn't talk at all.

I managed to communicate to Papa Bunny what was up and he called a friend of ours who is a pharmacist. At her urging, he pried open my jaw, which was also frozen in place, and dumped an entire bottle of baby Benedryl down my throat. I began to feel relief from my allergic reaction almost immediately and the swelling and itching mostly receded over the next half hour.

The dystonic reaction of frozen muscles – I was “grimacing” - took far longer to go down and were not impacted by any medicine. In fact, all of my frozen features didn't fully relax until the next morning.

Dystonic reactions are cumulative, which means that if I have another, it'll be like a continuation of the previous episode in terms of impact, instead of a new episode.

Needless to say, I haven't taken Reglan ever again! It might be a great option for many people, but not for me!

Reglan for Tummy Troubles

When I was busily brewing Baby Bunny #2, I became quite ill. In fact, I spent almost a full week in the hospital while they tried to figure out how to get me to stop losing everything I ingested. While on IVs, I was given Phenergan and then Zofran. After some additional time on Zofran post-hospital, my OBGYN decided it wasn't doing enough for me and placed me on Reglan.

I believe that Reglan medicine is great for many patients. I also believe that the attorneys on the television trying to drum up business from Reglan side effects are a bit much. But unfortunately, I was one of those patients who had an adverse reaction to the Reglan instead of it helping my motility and digestive issues. More about Phenergan, Zofran, and my Reglan reaction in a later post.

For now, let's talk about the need for Reglan medicine and whether you should talk to your doctor about its use.

Many women, while pregnant, experience terrible issues with nausea, vomiting and heartburn. Although it is not approved for this instance, many doctors prescribe Reglan medicine off-label. And for a vast majority of cases, it's effective. Reglan can be taken as an injection or a pill and its effect can often be felt quickly.

On-label, Reglan is used for people with motility issues – slow stomach emptying – caused by anything from diabetes to gastroparesis. Again, in a vast number of cases, it's highly effective. But not all.

If you're having awful issues with eating and retaining meals while pregnant, Reglan is a viable option to discuss with your doctor. But some of the side effects should be studied first, and other options should be exhausted before its use.

Side effects include allergic reactions such as swelling and breathing issues, as well as dystonic reactions that cause abrupt movements, shaking, freezing, and a feeling of being caged. Let's be real, here. All medicines have side effects. And different medicines work differently on different people. And the worst side effects occur in such a small portion of the population that reports of drug issues are almost nearly always overblown.

If your doctor does decide that Reglan is the right choice for you, just be aware of what side effects you should look for, take it exactly as prescribed, and never take it without a prescription.

I'll post most later about my own Reglan medicine experience, as well as my experiences with other similar meds.

Relactate with Me

Nursing moms can run into lactation issues for any number of reasons. With Baby Bunny #1, I had mastitis, then oral surgery, then bleeding/chafing while pumping issues. I managed to bounce back from each and she never had to use formula, although we did use about 100oz of donor milk to supplement through the mastitis and oral surgery issues.

With Baby Bunny #2, it has been an entirely different issue. First, my milk was late in fully coming in. Next, he suffered terrible reflux and ate even more constantly as a result, which didn't actually succeed in bringing more milk in, but instead drying up quickly. Finally, I have had a number of health issues, which included a variety of tests, procedures and medicines that aren't friendly towards breastfed babies. And I'm starring down surgery again in probably a month. At one time, when Baby Bunny #2 was 2 months old, I was pumping 16 ounces a day, nursing 3-4 times, and he still had at least 1 bottle of formula on top of that. Right now, finally off meds again for the flu and an upper respiratory infection, I'm nursing once a day and pumping 2-4 oz.

I'm determined to build back up again both prior to and after surgery. Want to join in my relactation journey? I'm not starting from zero, but pretty darn close.

My plan*, which takes into account that I work full-time outside of my home:

• Nurse twice a day - in the morning upon waking, and after work upon arriving home
• Pump 4 times a day: 3 times at work, once before bed or once before work
• Herbs - Fenugreek, Marshmallow, Alfalfa, Blessed Thistle, and Mothers Milk tincture**
• Massage and finishing each pump session with hand expression

I've come back from low levels before, with both Bunnies. Let's hope I can do it again! I will update you all on my progress, and would love to hear your tips as well!

*A reminder that I am not a doctor, lactation consultant, nurse, or offering you medical advice of any sort; I'm simply sharing my experience, mom to mom.
**I have discussed all with my OB/GYN, particularly in concert with my prescription meds.

Pregnancy Symptoms

Pregnancy symptoms are the absolute hardest thing to detect, aren't they?

When I got pregnant with Baby Bunny #1, I was tracking every last little thing that happened with my body – and almost any of them could have been pregnancy symptoms. Some of the more promising were:

• 12 DPO or 14 DPO Spotting
• 15 DPO or 17 DPO Sore Bbs
• 15 DPO or 17 DPO Constant Hunger

Of course, the cycle, where all of those pregnancy symptoms aligned in just that order was when we found out Baby Bunny #1 was on the way...after many previous attempts and months where those things didn't line up so nicely.

When I got pregnant with Baby Bunny #2, I was definitely not tracking anything. In fact, I was still breastfeeding Baby Bunny #1, hadn't had anything resembling a cycle in almost two years, and wasn't trying. So what were my pregnancy symptoms that time?

Pneumonia. I'm not kidding. I had pneumonia for almost four weeks. At the end of that, I still wasn't feeling “right”...and turns out Baby Bunny #2 was on the way.

What pregnancy symptoms are/were your biggest or most promising clues?

A Year?

It's hard to believe that a year has gone by since I really got into the thick of my last pregnancy - you know, the hospital stays, ER visits, more specialists than friends, and what the heck moments.

I've promised you a look at some areas that I experienced - Reglan do WHAT? - so you could learn from my, uh, issues, and with so many things going on, I never delivered.

Bad, Mama Bunny.  Bad.

I'll be back this year to do just that, though.  Based on how many hits certain posts on this site get even when I'm not actively updating, I'm also going to go back and recover some topics from the past.  The posts on what signs and symptoms are hopeful at 8-10-12-14 DPO are especially popular and so look for new schtuff on that soon!

I will also be starting an ASK ANY QUESTION forum here.  I'm not looking to replicate a discussion board, but just create an area where if you have something miscarriage, pregnancy or fertility-based bugging you, it can be posed.

Hope everyone is having a happy and healthy 2011!  If you've added a new baby to your life, congratulations.  If you're expecting, here's to a happy and healthy nine months.  If you're still in the process, please keep at it...miracles do happen.  And if you've experienced a loss, HUGS.

Love,

Mama Bunny

I'm Baaaa-aaack!

Have you missed me, dear readers?

I have missed you! And boy, what a long 5 months it has been since we last conversed!

The highlights:
~Went on maternity leave early because of preterm labor
~Had a baby - Jeffrey Brent, 7/19/10, 7 lbs 8 oz
~Incorporated nephew and niece into household - nephew for a few months, niece for the summer
~Cate went to day camp 1/2 days, 2 days a week
~Cate started preschool (today) full days, 2 days a week
~Husband got a new job

And I'm sure there is more that I'm missing! But I'm back to blogging now (you'll remember that I took a similar hiatus both last summer and following Cate's birth) and hope to reconnect with many of my Blogging Buddies!

A taste of what's coming soon...

Breakfast at Tiffany's:
~Elections are coming, and I have opinions on races for local offices, state-level positions, and candidates for the US Congress. Stay tuned!
~A return to Tuesday Travels...I have many more tales to tell!

Zero to Mom:
~Terrible Two's (which actually start on the day after first birthdays)
~Sibling Interactions (Cate thinks Bubby's a doll she should be allowed to tote around all by her not-so-big girl self)
~Parenting other people's kids (short niece-and-nephew visits are fun; longer stays can be tricky to navigate)

How to Have a Baby:
~Differences between pregnancies
~HTHAB with 5 doctors or more (when it rains, it pours...)
~Jeffrey's birth story

...And more! So happy Tuesday to all, and I'll be back soon to restart my blogging adventures!

(Simul-posted to B@T, ZTM and HTHAB)

Baby 2.0

Hi, everyone!

Just wanted to take a moment to share our good news: we will be welcoming a new baby into our family in late June/early July. We're very excited and think that having less then 2 years between our kiddos will work out quite nicely.

You'll be hearing more about Baby 2.0 on three of my blogs.

~At Breakfast at Tiffany's, I'll be talking about time management and goal management and how those are impacted by a growing family.

~At How to Have a Baby, I'll be dishing the details of this particular pregnancy and some of the health bumps along the way.

~At Zero to Mom, I'll be talking about potty training, preparing for a new baby, preparing a toddler to be a big sister, and sibling rivalry.

Over the next few weeks, you'll also see some major revamping done on our food blog (Worth a Damn Recipes) and some major updates to my book blog (Read and Release). Major remodeling on my freelance and fiction writing web site is almost finished, as well.

So stay tuned with me for the next few months...it'll be a fun ride!

Hugs!

(cross-posted to B@T, HTHAB, and 0TM.)

New Year, New Posts!

Hi, friends!/

Have you missed me?  As devoted as I was to this blog for so long, I've missed you all terribly.  But a few things really sidetracked me from posting here regularly in 2009:

• Being a new mom is time consuming to the max!
• Job and family drama is psychologically draining, not to mention a time suck.

But I'll be back here and posting regularly in 2010!  I still have lots to say on the topics of pregnancy, pregnancy loss, fertility, and various other baby issues.  I hope you'll stick with me as I carve my way back to being a regular blogger!!

Love,

Mama Bunny

Baby Bunny Turns 1!

Can you believe my Baby Bunny, who we waited so long to hold in our arms, turned a year old today?? I can’t, either!

To all of you Mamas who have toiled through TTCing and gotten your reward, hugs as always. And to those Mamas-in-Waiting, hang in there. Somehow, someway, you’ll have a baby in your arms someday!

Love,

Mama Bunny

Back from Hiatus

Hi, Folks!

Well, things are still crazy. But...I guess they always will be. So rather than wallowing in that, time to refocus on the good parts of life! I will probably not be posting a ton over the next couple months, but the goal is to get ramped back up to more regular posting by the holidays.

Thanks for your patience and for continuing to visit me here at How to Have a Baby!

Love,

Mama Bunny

Blog Hiatus

Hi, folks!

Life is a bit crazy right now. I know, I know, that's always been my complaint. But right now, it's just...well...in overdrive. If you live in the DFW area, you've probably already heard some of the hoopla around the Rainbow Lounge. Well, that nonsense has overtaken my life. To read a GREAT account that fires back at the hysteria, check out Restoring Reason.

I'm going to take a bit of a break from blogging for the next month or two, until life in general calms down. I may put up a post here or there, but otherwise, see you back here at How to Have a Baby early this fall!

Love,

Mama Bunny

Breastfeeding and Fertility

I’ve always read and been told that breastfeeding is a natural contraceptive. The basic tenets of this is that your cycle really won’t return and get back to normal while you are still breastfeeding full time. Obviously, that’s not a fool proof form of birth control. Afterall, we see families with closely spaced kids all the time, where the moms did nurse their older babies, even while carrying the younger ones.

But from my experience, I’ve found this to be true. Until Baby Bunny began to regularly eat “solid foods” – rice and oatmeal – my cycle never returned. And then even now that it's back, it's not exactly normal.

I’m ok with this, mind you. We’re not yet in a place to start trying for an addition to the family. I just find it curious that even when not trying, I’m still paying such close attention to cycles and such.

How about you other mamas, especially those who have going through multiple TTC cycles?