Monday, March 7, 2011

Pregnancy and Hospital Update

Man, this week has flown by. I figured I'd just give a little update. This week has been uneventful. Ronnie's still in the hole getting all tuned-up, and I have just been working and enjoying his company after work. We have started getting back into a little bit of a workout routine (at least our typical hospital workout routine), so we go for 2-4 mile walks each day, Ronnie runs (I still am not running because I'm still bloated, so my ovaries are probably still pretty swollen/enlarged) and then I've been riding the exercise bike in Ronnie's room for 20-45 minutes a day. It's felt great to get back into a bit of a workout routine.

Which brings me to my pregnancy update - I am thankful that I still have the energy to work out. I am pretty wiped out by about noon each day, and my body wants to nap, but if I get up and move around a bit, I can wake up long enough to finish the work day and get back to the room. I try to get in my workout before I get too comfortable, or I probably wouldn't get back up. Surprisingly, my workouts wake me up and give me a pretty good second wind, which keeps me up until around 9:30 - then it's doze off time during our typical evening TV watching. I haven't had any morning sickness yet. I've read that most people have morning sickness set in around week 6 or 7 (if they have it at all), so I'm anticipating I'll likely start not feeling so great in the next week or so (I'm 6 weeks on Tuesday). I'm getting a little tired of the Progesterone shots (which I'm on for another 2 weeks from Tuesday). My butt is a little sore, but it's certainly become pretty routine, so it's not too bad. We've been taking belly shot photos, which I'll start posting next week, but they're a little skewed because I look about 3 months pregnant from my bloating - which is starting to go down! YIPPEE. For you ladies out there who may be wondering, I will be posting (starting next week) my belly size and weight (GULP) if anyone's curious how my body is changing. As of Tuesday (our 6 week mark) we'll be the proud parents of one or two lentil(s) - they've grown a ton in just one week!

I'll be honest, I'm really ready to have Ronnie get out of the hole this time. I don't know what it is about this hospital stay, but I've been ready to get back into "normal" life more than I ever have (normally I'm not in a rush at all). I'm not sure if some of it is because things were so wacky the 2 weeks before we came in for the tune-up, as I was so sick from the egg retrieval, sleeping on the couch, unable to really eat normally, not exercising, etc. So we have been out of our "normal" routine for longer than usual between the IVF stuff and the hospital stay. I am so looking forward to getting back into our gym and run/walk routine, dinner routine, sleeping in our bed together, all those little things. I love the hospital time - the time with family and the unique time together - but I'm just ready for a little routine back into our lives (sans nurses, PCTs, and RTs coming in every hour.) I will say this though, I've thoroughly enjoyed watching Chuck seasons, Dunkin' Donuts Saturday and Sunday morning, yummy meals prepared by Ronnie's mom, and time spent with family - that I am not looking forward to leaving behind.


Comments (7)

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Hi Mandi! I love to hear about the pregnancy. So, all you know right now is that you have @ least one & possibly two, correct? There is a young lady blogging about her pregnancy. I don't know the name of the blog but she is expecting spontaneous quadruplets, I think. Let me know if you are interested & I will try to find it for you and Ronnie. I don't mean to be nosey but what kind of work do you do? Sounds like you and Ronnie have super understanding employers. What makes you think you will start to get sick in a week or two. How about YOU WILL NOT HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? I like that better. LOL! In fact, I am joking with my friends and family that even though I am Jewish I have decided to give up chronic, daily severe migraines, nausea and vomiting. Wish me luck! Take care! Love, From IL; Jodi
3 replies · active 734 weeks ago
Hi Jodi - You are correct, all we know is that we have at least one baby and possibly two. We find out at our first ultrasound (next Monday) if it's one or two. I would love to read her pregnancy blog, so pass along the name of it whenever you find it. I actually work for the Pediatric Pulmonary Center (PPC) in Tucson, AZ - facilitating a relationship with the PPC and CysticLife (where I used to work full time and Ronnie currently works full time). We work together to create educational handouts and booklets for CL to distribute, with the help of the medical professionals on the team. I also am in charge of all of CysticLife's marketing, communications, educational materials, and website development. Additionally, I help with the PPC's different marketing and family support objectives - organizing family days, newsletters, etc. I actually normally work remotely (as we live about 1.5 hours from Tucson), but when Ronnie is in the hospital (which is in Tucson) I work from my office here. I am very fortunate to have a flexible employer, but as long as I'm getting in 40 hours+ a week, they don't mind where I'm doing it from.

I sure hope I don't get morning sickness, but with a majority of women getting it, and how easily I get a queazy stomach from hormones and nervousness, I have a feeling I may not be lucky enough to escape it!
thanks mandi! I will look for the blog for you. is your email somewhere and if so can i use it when i don't want to post / write something on a public forum? your job sounds great. do you and Ronnie meet at work? What is your connection to CF out than Ronnie The Great? that didn't come out right, sorry. do you know others with cf or just wanted to get involved? sorry for asking so many questions. so does the baby (or babies) have a less % chance of having CF becasue of how you conceived? sorry for being nosey. and one last thing.....YOU WILL NOT HAVE MORNING, DAYTIME, AFTERNOON OR EVENING SICKNESS. You will have a PERFECT PREGNANCY! Why? Because I SAID SO! Hugs, Jodi
Hey there - You can email me at amanda@cysticlife.org. Ronnie and I actually didn't meet at work. Ronnie started CysticLife when we had been dating almost a year, and pulled me onto the team full time a few months after he started it.

The baby(ies) have less than a 1% chance of having CF because I was tested and I am not a carrier for any of the known 1600 mutations. If I was a carrier, we would not have done IVF, as we didn't want to risk having a child with CF.

No worries about questions - ask away :)
Mandi,
Thank you so much for posting all of the details of your pregnancy. My husband and I are the proud parents to a wonderful 15 month old boy who has Cystic Fibrosis. We are just now starting the process of IVF/PGD to have our second baby and it has been so very helpful to watch your journey. Thanks for sharing and also a big thank you to Ronnie who has showed us the wonderful possibilities that lie ahead for our son and his journey with CF. I can't wait to find out whether you have one little lentil or two!
Yes, there totally is the chance that you will NOT have morning sickness. I didn't throw up AT ALL during my pregnancy.. And I had a healthy 8 lb. 5 oz baby boy!!!
Kristen Brockman's avatar

Kristen Brockman · 734 weeks ago

Mandi, so excited for you and Ronnie!!! You will be great parents!

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