Learning the Ropes of Pregnancy

As many of you read last week, we're pregnant! And as you can imagine, we're thrilled. We currently are the proud parents of 1 or 2 (we find out in a few weeks) little "poppy seeds". It's so crazy how much I can love something so tiny! I feel completely fine still. No morning sickness (think that doesn't kick in for another week or two). I'm still bloated from the egg retrieval and transfer, but my tummy has gone down quite a bit. I am feeling pretty tired, but who knows if that is from being pregnant, or sleeping on a cot in a hospital room. I've been pretty hungry (not unusual for me in general though). I've been burping more? Not sure if that's actually from anything...just an observation.

I am doing everything I can do get educated. I've started reading anything and everything about pregnancy - including, but not limited to, what's happening in my body, what's happening with our baby(ies), how much exercise I can do, what kinds of exercise, what to eat, what to avoid, you name it. And let me tell you, my head is spinning. I am so nervous that I'll blow it by doing something wrong, eating something wrong, using a product that is wrong, yadda yadda yadda! Every time I go to eat something, use something (like lotion) or do something (like work out), I first google if I'm allowed to eat, use, or do whatever it is. (Anyone have any helpful hints of how they navigated this period in their lives...does it get easier or will I be a paranoid, psycho forever?)

I thought I'd take today's blog to share some interesting findings - ones that have shocked me the most:

1. TOBI - Ronnie's on TOBI this month. And you all know, when you use TOBI, it seems to fill the room with a thick haze. I sat next to him while he was puffing away, and then lightbulb, "I wonder if this is ok for ME to breath in...second hand smoke is bad, what about second hand TOBI?" So I googled it. GULP. A bunch of articles warning pregnant woman about taking TOBI, harmful to fetus, heating loss caused in utero. UMMMM EXCUSE ME. That freaked me out so bad I now banish myself from the room when Ronnie's is doing TOBI. Who knows what it can do second hand, but I'm not taking that chance.

2. Tea - Not all caffeine free tea is safe to drink? What? How does anyone know this stuff? I have now just stopped drinking tea altogether because I can't keep all the hot drinks straight, and I can't even enjoy it as my brain questions if it's causing harm or not.

3. Albuterol - After I read about TOBI, I started googling Ronnie's meds like crazy. Albuterol, in animals, was shown to cause birth defects to babies apparently?! Again, who knows if second hand it even matters, but NO THANKS. Looks like treatment will not be spent together for the next 9 months. I will say though, the Albuterol at least doesn't fill the whole room with a cloud of it's baby harming effects (probably a little dramatic!).

4. Deli Meat - "MMM a sandwich sounds good." I thought last week while trying to decide what to have for dinner. Google. Ok, no sandwiches? Looks like deli meat isn't recommended (I've read mixed feelings on if it's deli meat in general, or if just deli meat that you don't heat WAY up isn't good). Regardless, I'll stay away from deli meat! Goodbye Subway - we will meet again in 9 months.

5. Exercise - Exercise is good. Not so much of a novel fact. But I'm trying to wrap my head around, so I keep trying to read more articles. I am still nervous that someone I will shake the baby(ies) out of me (sounds stupid even typing it). I am nervous that somehow I'll cause myself to miscarry. But I have read a ton, and it looks like by all accounts, unless you're a high-risk pregnancy, that exercise is actually advantageous. So I've gotten back into the exercise saddle (slowly). I still have to be careful, since I still have bloating, it's likely that my ovaries are still swollen from the egg retrieval, and they tell you to take it easy, or you could get ovary torsion (unlikely, but not good). I have started walking daily, and we got an exercise bike in Ronnie's room (hospital provides them), so I've been riding that quite a bit. It feels good to be back in the exercise saddle after not doing anything for 4 weeks (ever since I've started the stim. meds I couldn't exercise).

So there you have it. There are some of my findings over the last week. I will say this though, while it's a little overwhelming trying to learn what I can and can't put into my body for the next 10 months, I couldn't be more thrilled. It's not a matter of being concerned with having to change what I'm doing, it's just me wanting to do everything right for our little poppy seed(s).