Story of Joy

This being our 2nd pregnancy with Hyperemesis Gravidarum, we had an opportunity to 1.) Be depressed, give up, push God away & be bitter OR 2.) Find the good, be thankful, and press into Jesus & Trust Him even when we walk through "the valley".

Unfortunately, with my last pregnancy with our son Trust, I chose option #1 most of the time. I was SO afraid after losing our 1st baby a year and a half earlier, that the same thing would happen again, PLUS I had NO idea what was happening to my body. Light, sound, movement, smells anything and everything made me throw up. Even something touching my mouth made me vomit. I felt like I was being tortured. Minute by minute, second by second. I couldn't even sleep through the intense nausea. The only thing I could do was sing worship songs in my head because even the TV made me sick. It was the loneliest, darkest time of my life and I isolated myself. I gave up hope, I felt angry that God wouldn't take my suffering no matter how much I begged and pleaded. I became bitter at Him, I needed someone to blame for my pain, and He graciously took on my blame shifting and loved me through it. 

It took many months of counseling to realize God wasn't punishing me or wanting this to happen to me.. That my life & my son Trust's life was so valuable that the Enemy was hard pressed to try to steal, kill and destroy me and this precious babe. God showed me that despite these horrible things happening to me, He was DOING something, in me. Turning around the awful plans of the Enemy to harm me, and turning it around for His good. 

Hindsight is always 20/20. The verse I cling to now in ..James 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." Was not even a thought in my mind, but holds SO true if you really press into the hard thing you are facing. You won't be the same on the other side of the hardship for good or for bad if you stare it straight in the face. 

Which leads me to this pregnancy and choosing option #2. 

Looking down at the pregnancy test and seeing PREGNANT in that small window, made my world stand still for a moment. Remembering the pain and suffering and how I weathered it less than gracefully before. After finding out I was pregnant, I laid in bed depressed for a week. Fears creeped in my mind and I let them stay for a few days. Then one day, I got up out of bed ready to FIGHT. I prayed and asked God to strengthen me and thanked Him for this second chance to do things differently, PLUS blessing us with another child we thought we'd never have. For SOME REASON, beyond myself, I was able to get up and see things from a whole new perspective. This was my second chance. 

Psalm 40:2-3 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,out of the mud and mire;he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth,a hymn of praise to our God.Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. 

I was out of the pit for a second, but knew the battle ahead would try to swallow me back up again. I had to rely on Gods strength and Trust Him through the battle, knowing He'd get us though it. 

The battle plan was simple. I knew I couldn't do this on my own strengths. I needed God to strengthen me daily & I couldn't isolate myself like I did before, I needed the prayers, support & help of others. 

After a vomiting fit I'd pray "God give me strength, help!" Then eat a bit, and throw up again. I was determined to fight and not give in. He has been my ROCK a solid place to stand on shaky ground.

We set up a support system of friends, family and our beloved church community to help with my son Trust, they would bring us meals, pray for us, help around the house etc... I reached out instead of trying to do everything on my own, and the difference between last pregnancy and this pregnancy is NIGHT and DAY. 

Don't get me wrong here, my Hyperemesis Gravidarum has been JUST as severe if not worse, landing me in the hospital 2 times + I still had to be on the Zofran pump and many more horrible things BUT the thing that has changed is ME. My mental state & my Trust in The Lord. I think that going through the last pregnancy really built that foundation for me to be where I am now. That my pain & suffering wasn't for no reason, it was just another piece to this Story God is weaving through our lives. And He is using the Stories of our kids!!

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2 days ago we got to see our sweet babe on the Ultrasound and found out we are having a GIRL!!! Like our son Trust, we decided to name her through what we feel like God is showing us or teaching us as a reminder for the rest of her life. We chose the name Story Joy. We really feel like this girl does and is going to have an amazing testimony & story to tell! She has also taught us to have Joy, not just surfacey happiness in even the toughest of circumstances and her life alone brings us such JOY! We feel so excited and loved seeing her during the ultrasound!

We have SO much to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving. Plus, I am pretty grateful I'll actually be able to eat and enjoy food!!! 😊

Surviving Pregnancy with Hyperemesis (Extreme Nausea & Vomiting)

I had one of the WORST Pregnancy experiences known to women. 

After about a week of being pregnant I got EXTREME "Morning Sickness" or as I would call it "All Morning, Noon and Night Sickness". I couldn't see light, smell scents, see movement, hear noises, put anything in my mouth, move my body, etc without violently throwing up. It got to the point where my body was so starved and dehydrated I had to have home care and special IV nausea Medication that they give to Cancer Patients. The Doctors soon found out I had a rare condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum. It's just a Lofty term for extreme nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Below are some tips I got from my Home Care Nurses at Alere that literally saved my life. I have given them to MANY of my pregnant friends too! 

YOU CAN DO THIS. It may be the hardest thing you've ever had to fight for, but in the end you get an amazing gift!

Tips for Nausea from my Home Care Nurse

-Prenatal vitamins can increase your nausea, while feeling sick try flintstone vitamins!

-Eat small, frequent meals. Too much food on your stomach can make you sick. Lots of snacks! Pretzels, teddy grahams, mashed potatoes, canned fruit and dry cereals are good. I ate a lot of boxed breakfast cereals and it got me through.

-choose BLAND foods! Starches are the best.

-No intense flavors like garlic, terryaki, onion, NO acidic things like tomato sauce, certain fruits like oranges and lemons

-Be careful with dairy (Dairy is hard to digest) and meat (NO RED MEAT! It sits in your stomach for 24 hours and is hard to digest)

-Fluids-Suck on Ice, Drink Gatorade (balance gatorade w/other liquids), Lemonade, Hawaiian Punch, Kool-aide, ginger ale, sprite, and popsicles instead of water. Water sits in your stomach and can make you feel nauseated.

Easily Digested Carbohydrates:
-Saltines or other low fat crackers
-Graham crackers
-Bread or toast, white or wheat
-Plain Bagels, English Muffins
-Pretzels
-Vanilla wafers, angel food cake
-Ginger Snaps
-Rice, Noodles
-Baked Potato, Mashed Potato
-Cream of Wheat, Oatmeal, Grits
-Dry cereals
-Canned peaches/pears, applesauce
-Ripe Bananas

-chew on some beef jerky for protein. (if you can stomach it!)

-Drink Ensure if you can't do prenatal vitamins to supplement my diet with some vitamins. It has lots of good stuff in it! Like protein and folic acid.

-Keep snacks by your bed at night and munch on them if you wake up in the middle of the night, or for in the morning right when you wake up, it helps!

-If toothpaste makes you sick try brushing with just water or baking soda.

-Don't lay down right after eating, it can cause acid reflux!

-Stay away from strong smells like Cooking (someone else might have to cook and tell them to turn the fan on and open a window), cleaning products and perfumes.

**You may lose some weight in the beginning because of being so sick. Don't worry! Your baby is NOT effected. They are feeding off of YOUR nutrients (like a parasite) so you are really the one that the doctors are worrying about in the beginning.

**Be talking with your doctor about how bad your sickness is! There is a lot they can do! They can prescribe Anti Nausea Meds that are safe and they can prescribe Home Care where you can be monitored by nurses over the phone & get Meds in an IV you stick in your leg if you can't take meds by mouth.

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If you have ANY questions please feel free to ask me! Or if you need emotional support I'd love to be a listening ear too. 

The Video is of a Song I wrote for my son Trust when I finally got through all of the sickness. It's called "Trust" naturally :) -- The video is from a long time ago, that is Trust when he was a baby in the background!