Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Dearest Husband


Dearest Husband,

As you know our lives are about to change very shortly. Change is fast approaching as the due date draws closer and I wanted to take this time to express to you what a wonderful father I know you will be. Your caring, loving and nurturing personality will continue to shine through as a father to our little boy and I can't wait to see you hold him for the first time. Touching his soft skin and smelling his sweet smells (well until his diaper is full anyways).

You have been extremely supportive the last 37 weeks through this pregnancy, as rough as its been at times for my physically, and I know you will be there in the years to come. You have been my rock at all times. Whether its been making sure I am eating regularly, taking my vitamins and medications, buying garbage cans to decorate each floor of our house during my vomiting episodes, telling me I look beautiful as the stretch marks continue to grow, or cleaning things up around the house...these all just a few of the wonderful things you do for me....you have been there through it all. For this I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

You made me proud as the only father in our prenatal class who had actually read a pregnancy related book, and continued to amaze me as you would answer questions or start a conversation with me about pregnancy/baby related things I had no idea you knew about. Thank you for explaining the different kinds of breast milk to me ;)

The past 7 years I have spent with you have been absolutely breath taking. You continue to put a smile on my face each and everyday, for this I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Waking up next to you is an absolute blessing.
I look forward to each day we have together and all the years ahead of us as we start a new chapter in our life
and build a loving family.

Thank you for wiping my tears away during emotional times of the pregnancy, squeezing my hand when I needed to know I was not doing this alone, for sharing in the smiles and joy of feeling the baby kick and more recently seeing
my stomach move around and be kicked by the little guy growing inside.

Thank you for being so supportive and encouraging as I make this transition to from the workforce to motherhood and sharing your thoughts openly on becoming a parent. Your love for our child already shines through brightly
and I cannot wait to see your face when he finally makes his arrival into our lives.

So from my heart to yours I love you forever and always. I promise to support you as a father, encourage you as we learn together on this special journey and to alway be there no matter what. Thank you for being you.


Love always,
Amanda

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Embracing the Belly

Last Sunday we had the wonderful photographer, Daisy Ducharme of Baby & Belly come into our home to take pictures of my ever growing belly. We wanted to do something that would allow us to always remember this wonderful journey (well if you can ever call constant nausea wonderful!) but also important for me to be able to minimize the stretch marks that show up in pictures ;)

Daisy brought all her equipment to our home and made us feel very relaxed throughout. I highly recommend her and can't wait until we do our newborn photo shoot once this baby decides to make his arrival!














Thursday, April 8, 2010

Morning Sickness

To all those suffering from morning sickness, or from what I have called permanent day sickness (PDS) please know that you are not alone! This post is to share what I have learned along my journey the past 8 months and most of all for those of you who may be suffering and reading this to know you are not alone!

For me it all started within 4 weeks of finding out I was preganant. I was scheduled to present at a fitness conference in Halifax, a full 8 hour event that featured none other than the newly pregnant me. I started feeling a little queasy in the mornings a few days before I was to travel and thought nothing of it. This is what I had read about and was prepard for. A little uneasiness in the morning and on with my day I would go.

I made it to Halifax late afternoon and by the next morning when it was time for me to shine I had already hugged the toilet a few times too many. I made it through the day with some grace and nobody seemed to suspect anything, or mentioned otherwise. The next morning in my hotel room was followed with some dry heaving and I made my goal of making it to the airport and flying home.

From the first day home forward my PDS began. I thought that for some this was the morning sickness they spoke of and that it would soon pass.

However I learned after a week of not being able to leave my bed or the toilet that this was not the regular morning sickness described in books. The depression started to hit me. Getting out of bed in the morning was a scary thought, even just opening my eyes after being asleep as I knew the vomitting would come next.

I had been so excited for this pregnancy and always dreamed of being the glowing and vibrant pregnant women and was devastated at first that this was not me.

I tried different food combinations, drinks, smoothies, etc. Nothing seemed to help. What went in usually came back out. I read and read books and information on the internet. However most pregnant women do not experience nausea and vomitting to this extreme. I was at my wits ends and realized that I needed help if I wanted to be able to function at all throughout this pregnancy.

Thanks to Ann Douglas and our twitter conversations I picked up the phone and called MotherRisk out of Sick Kids in Toronto.

Here are some things I found helpful throughout my pregnancy and hope they may help you......

*Call motherrisk @ Sick Kids I cannot express this enough. They have tips and tricks that will make you feel better! Not cured but can take the edge off most days. They are also usually better at informing of diclectin doses than Dr. And will tell you other anti nausea meds that are safe and can help keep diclectin down ;)

*get your doctor to prescribe diclectin

*eat very very small meals

*never drink fluids while eating. The combo is guaranteed to bring on vomit!

*Gwen from Nayla Natural Care I cannot thank you enough! I am ever grateful to the introduction to Earth Mama Morning Sickness Tea & Preggie Pops Gwen- your thoughtfullness, caring nature and warm thoughts from experience sincerely helped me get through some very dreary days over the past months. We have yet to meet in person but I cannot wait until the day we do!

*eat whatever you can whenever you can. Dearest Husband looked a little crooked eyed at me somedays with my requests and even asked the doctor if he should be concerned with making sure I ate certain things. The Dr. said give the girl what she wants! There were some very odd requests at times but the concern is getting food in and keeping whatever you can down. Poutine was something that for some reason or another usually would stay in! Breakfast requests, 2 days in a row, was poutine and mozzarella cheese sticks. I don't know why but thats what worked. Othere days it was toast, crackers or anything else with salt!

*jello made with pedialite or sports drinks turned into ice cubes also was a great way to stay dehydrated. Sports drinks on their own were too sweet for me but watered down or made into ice cubes was good. That being said too much of one thing can be bad. I hope to never see a sports drink again ;)

*some medications say not to take during pregnancy but talk to your doctor & Mother Risk. ex: anti-nausea pills say not for pregnant women. Mother Risk has done much research on how much and when you are able to take them. For me they were prescribed to take before my diclectin just to keep that down!

*some vitamins can increase nausea. Talk to your doctor about your options to help you get appropriate nutrition and stay vomit-free for a few more minutes ;)

*be forewarned that the nausea may improve but it may also stay with you through the duration of the pregnancy.

*ask for help and support. Don't be afraid to tell others about your permanent day sickness! There are more of us out there than you usually think. Most importantly you are not alone!

~A