Drugs are amazing. Especially Zofran, which makes my nausea go away. Since I started taking it Thursday, I've been able to eat regularly and function somewhat normally. It is a lifesaver! I haven't felt like myself in weeks and this little white pill finally allows me to feel normal again. I should have asked for it sooner! It's actually a drug they give chemo patients for nausea after treatments. It's amazing to me that a baby could cause one of the same side-effects as chemo. It also made me think that my mom probably didn't feel like herself a lot last year when she was going through chemo. She probably felt frustrated like I have been feeling. It made me think that I really shouldn't be complaining because we have an amazing end result to look forward to and I'm not feeling bad because I'm fighting for my life like my mom did. Really puts things in perspective.
Love always,
Erin
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Our First Doctor's Appointment
Yesterday we visited the OB doctor for the first time. My regular family doctor suggested Dr. Lowden at Heartland Women's, so that's where we went. Our first appointment was long. They talked to us a lot about dos and don'ts and answered a few of our questions. They also drew blood for some routine tests. The most important thing they did was check to make sure everything was growing as it should be....and it is! Everyone at Heartland was very nice and accommodating and we are excited to share this journey with them.
After the appointment, we decided it was time to share the news. So, we started spreading the word. By that evening, most of our close family and friends knew and we officially told the rest of our friends on Facebook. It's amazing how quickly news spreads! It has been pretty calm the last few weeks since we found out, which has allowed us to get used to the news and start planning. However, I think things are going to start to pick up a little now that everyone knows.
We go back to the doctor in 4 weeks and we'll get to hear the heartbeat then. I'm excited for all of these little milestones along the way. Plus- in 4 weeks I am hoping my nausea and tiredness drops off a little (or a lot!).
Lots of Love,
Erin
After the appointment, we decided it was time to share the news. So, we started spreading the word. By that evening, most of our close family and friends knew and we officially told the rest of our friends on Facebook. It's amazing how quickly news spreads! It has been pretty calm the last few weeks since we found out, which has allowed us to get used to the news and start planning. However, I think things are going to start to pick up a little now that everyone knows.
We go back to the doctor in 4 weeks and we'll get to hear the heartbeat then. I'm excited for all of these little milestones along the way. Plus- in 4 weeks I am hoping my nausea and tiredness drops off a little (or a lot!).
Lots of Love,
Erin
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Saltine Crackers
Food has been a big challenge so far. I've never considered myself a picky eater (besides my dislike of most fish), but I have definitely become one. It depends on the day and time, but most of the time lately, nothing sounds good at all. My meals mostly consist of saltine crackers and cheese, ginger ale, granola bars, and water. Meat sounds especially gross most days and so do most meals that are really rich and hearty, like one of my favorite foods- lasagna.
After seeing my regular doctor, she recommended taking a B6 vitamin in the morning and a Unisom sleep tablet at night. I've been taking those regularly for the past two weeks. I haven't noticed a huge improvement, but I'm afraid to stop taking them because I don't want it to get worse. I'm going to mention some of my symptoms to my OB doctor this week and see what she says.
I usually cook every night, so I know it has been challenging for Elliott to go without meals some nights. We also eat dinner together at the kitchen table and there have been several nights where I have sat down to eat with him and had to leave the table because the food becomes repulsive. It makes me sad to miss out on this little routine with him, but I am hopeful that it won't be for long.
Besides the food aversions, I have been pretty tired. I am usually a go-go-go person, so it's hard for me to sit around and do nothing....especially when there's lots to be done. I've had to leave some of the chores up to Elliott and let some go completely (like laundry...uggh!). I take a lot more naps on the weekends and my evenings have been cut down by several hours. My normal bedtime is around 9pm...sometimes even earlier. Elliott doesn't mind the early bedtime on the weeknights, since he has to get up really early for work anyways. However, last Saturday night we were in bed by 8:45pm and I know he was pretty disappointed. I told him to go do something fun, so he went to the driving range for a while and then came back to find a half-asleep, grumpy wife...which leads me to my next symptom...
Grumpiness. The food issues, mixed with the nausea, combined with the tiredness and frustration of not being able to get everything done has left me pretty grumpy most days. I'm not comfortable, I feel fat (and my clothes are tight), and most of all, I can't do what I want to do. The weather is so nice and I want to go to the gym, take walks with my dog, enjoy our patio, drink beer with our friends, go to the driving range, etc....and I just don't have the energy. I know it will all be worth it in the end, but right now it just feels uncomfortable and frustrating. That's where the grumpiness is coming from...
I'm hoping in the next month or so, these discomforts will be a distant memory. I'm ready to get to the fun stuff! I know there will be other discomforts to look forward to, but at least I will be able to eat pickles and ice cream until my heart's content. :-)
Love always,
Erin
After seeing my regular doctor, she recommended taking a B6 vitamin in the morning and a Unisom sleep tablet at night. I've been taking those regularly for the past two weeks. I haven't noticed a huge improvement, but I'm afraid to stop taking them because I don't want it to get worse. I'm going to mention some of my symptoms to my OB doctor this week and see what she says.
I usually cook every night, so I know it has been challenging for Elliott to go without meals some nights. We also eat dinner together at the kitchen table and there have been several nights where I have sat down to eat with him and had to leave the table because the food becomes repulsive. It makes me sad to miss out on this little routine with him, but I am hopeful that it won't be for long.
Besides the food aversions, I have been pretty tired. I am usually a go-go-go person, so it's hard for me to sit around and do nothing....especially when there's lots to be done. I've had to leave some of the chores up to Elliott and let some go completely (like laundry...uggh!). I take a lot more naps on the weekends and my evenings have been cut down by several hours. My normal bedtime is around 9pm...sometimes even earlier. Elliott doesn't mind the early bedtime on the weeknights, since he has to get up really early for work anyways. However, last Saturday night we were in bed by 8:45pm and I know he was pretty disappointed. I told him to go do something fun, so he went to the driving range for a while and then came back to find a half-asleep, grumpy wife...which leads me to my next symptom...
Grumpiness. The food issues, mixed with the nausea, combined with the tiredness and frustration of not being able to get everything done has left me pretty grumpy most days. I'm not comfortable, I feel fat (and my clothes are tight), and most of all, I can't do what I want to do. The weather is so nice and I want to go to the gym, take walks with my dog, enjoy our patio, drink beer with our friends, go to the driving range, etc....and I just don't have the energy. I know it will all be worth it in the end, but right now it just feels uncomfortable and frustrating. That's where the grumpiness is coming from...
I'm hoping in the next month or so, these discomforts will be a distant memory. I'm ready to get to the fun stuff! I know there will be other discomforts to look forward to, but at least I will be able to eat pickles and ice cream until my heart's content. :-)
Love always,
Erin
An EXTRA Happy Mother's Day!
We found out we were expecting just 4 days before Mother's Day. We decided to let our families in on our secret and we thought Mother's Day was the perfect day to celebrate the pending addition to our family!
While Elliott was busy with bachelor party activities, I bought some frames and started scrap booking some special messages for our moms. We thought that giving our moms picture frames with messages hinting at our surprise would be a fun way to tell them. We were right! It was so neat to see their reactions as they opened their gifts.
We told Elliott's mom when we went to Courtney & Todd's house for lunch. Elliott's mom teared up and said "Oh my gosh." She got the whole room a little teary-eyed. It was fun to spend the rest of the afternoon talking about baby stuff with Courtney and Matilda.
After lunch at the Stuart's house, we headed over to my parent's house for dinner. We played a few games of croquet with my parents and then grilled some steaks. After dinner, my mom opened her gift. It took a few seconds for the news to sink in and my dad didn't get the news right away (I'm not sure he was paying attention to the present opening). My parents were just as excited and my dad immediately started thinking about how he was going to take him/her fishing some day.
All in all, it was an exciting and exhausting day. All of the emotions of the day totally wiped me out. That's one of the main differences I've noticed with my body lately...I'm so tired! I'm quite the insomniac most days, so this is a complete change for me. I guess I should enjoy the sleep while I can!
Love always,
Erin
While Elliott was busy with bachelor party activities, I bought some frames and started scrap booking some special messages for our moms. We thought that giving our moms picture frames with messages hinting at our surprise would be a fun way to tell them. We were right! It was so neat to see their reactions as they opened their gifts.
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| Here are the frames for our moms. |
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| This one we gave to Elliott's mom. |
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| This one is for my mom. |
We told Elliott's mom when we went to Courtney & Todd's house for lunch. Elliott's mom teared up and said "Oh my gosh." She got the whole room a little teary-eyed. It was fun to spend the rest of the afternoon talking about baby stuff with Courtney and Matilda.
After lunch at the Stuart's house, we headed over to my parent's house for dinner. We played a few games of croquet with my parents and then grilled some steaks. After dinner, my mom opened her gift. It took a few seconds for the news to sink in and my dad didn't get the news right away (I'm not sure he was paying attention to the present opening). My parents were just as excited and my dad immediately started thinking about how he was going to take him/her fishing some day.
All in all, it was an exciting and exhausting day. All of the emotions of the day totally wiped me out. That's one of the main differences I've noticed with my body lately...I'm so tired! I'm quite the insomniac most days, so this is a complete change for me. I guess I should enjoy the sleep while I can!
Love always,
Erin
Saturday, May 7, 2011
It's positive!
Thursday, May 5th, 2011 was a very exciting day for the Ybarra family. I took a pregnancy test that morning before work and was pretty surprised to see that after 3 minutes of patiently waiting, it looked like this...
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| My first words when I saw this were, "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god." |
Since Elliott had already gone to work, I had him meet me for lunch at school, so that I could tell him the exciting news. When I told him he was pretty excited and smiling from ear to ear and he even said he wanted to cry. If you know Elliott at all, you know he is not a crier. His reaction definitely calmed my nerves and anxiety.
That evening we celebrated the news at our favorite restaurant, Adrian's. Elliott drank a few glasses of celebratory wine and I drank water. I'm going to have to get used to this!
The following day I set up an appointment to confirm the pregnancy with my doctor and to schedule an appointment with the OB doctor that is in her office.
These last few days have been filled with excitement, nervousness, and surrealism. We've started thinking about the baby's room, about the next few months ahead, and about how to share our exciting news with our family and friends. Stay tuned to hear about how we shared the news with our family...
With Love,
Erin
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