Well
where do I begin...
This has been one crazy year. One year ago today I found out that
I was pregnant after having some tests done a few days earlier as things just
didn't seem right and the results were pregnancy and PCOS.
I announced the news to BJ while he was at work and that night we
celebrated we brought in the new year, smiling about our little secret.
I then had two lovely weeks before the morning sickness started...
and didn't stop for 8 whole months. My hyperemesis included the struggle to get
out of bed or eat food, inability to stand in the shower, an overnight stay in
the emergency room, Zofran wafers twice a day at $100 for 12 days worth and
several trips to the doctors for Maxalon injections and repeat scripts.
By the end of my first trimester i had lost 10kg and got into a
routine with my medication so that I was semi functional. I could get myself to
work most days by 10.30am and could only stay on my feet for short periods of
time. I could handle small meals and the only way to stomach water was for it
to be ice cold and flavoured with cola cordial. Enormous amounts of ice was
consumed throughout my pregnancy.
The announcement of our pregnancy happened at the end of February
and Facebook went mental.
Before I had fallen pregnant (and knew I was going to be sick as
anything for the entire thing) we bought tickets to go see Conor Oberst play a
twilight show at the Melbourne Zoo and it took everything I had to get myself
there only to have them cancel it 3 songs in due to a storm that was about to
hit.
My year continued with lot's of medication, very little sleep,
constant hips/back pain and then we found out the sex. A girl! A reminder about
why i'm going through all this. Once again Facebook goes mental after a subtle
gender reveal.
Amongst all this we sold our house and
spent every free moment going to open homes to get a new place to live. Our
sale was fantastic, finding a new place to live however was very time consuming
and we had a lot of disappointment. Missing out on 3 properties and getting to
the point that we almost had to rent as we were running out of time to find a
place. Luckily we secured our new home and then the packing began.
Appointment after appointment. Doctors,
midwives, ultrasounds, osteo's... And then it was time to have my glucose
tolerance test... and *Dramatic pause* I had gestational diabetes... Of course!
4 times a day I was having to test my blood sugar levels by pricking my finger
and keep track of it all.
A couple of weeks after trying to manage
my GD and being unsuccessful had me started on insulin. So on top of my 4
finger pricks a day I now had 3 needles in my tummy and EVEN more appointments.
More doctors, more ultrasounds, more scripts and regular endo visits.
Our houses settle and we move into our new
home while I was 8 months pregnant. Once we move in we find out that the
previous owners didn't clean at all, the heater and evaporative cooling were
not connected properly, no safety switch and there was a gas leak. So now I add
even more appointments. Electrician, plumber, handyman.
The last month of my pregnancy was weekly
ultrasounds, monitoring and doctors/endo appointments and I get booked in to be
induced.
After a long and frustrating 24 hours in
the hospital I was induced and Audrey J was brought into the world on the 5th
September.. Within 4 hours! Crazy!! BJ and I were officially parents!
The moment Audrey was born I stopped
feeling sick. It has been almost 4 months now and I am the lightest I've
weighed in the last 8 years. It has been one hell of a roller coaster trying to
find a balance between looking after Audrey and work. I barely took 6 days off
when Audrey was born (still taking calls and answering emails in hospital)
before I started working again (from home mostly). There have been a lot
moments where I've just wanted to scream and cry when it comes to work let me
tell you.
From 4 weeks Audrey was sleeping through
the night. We had some hiccups with feeding and her first cold. She is now over
6kgs of pure cheekiness, giggling, grasping, rolling onto her back and the
smile she gives me every time she see's me after her nap is just the best thing
ever.
I also celebrated my 29th birthday and we had Audrey's first Christmas. It was soo fun to include her in our family christmas photo. I don't know how we are going to top it next year.
So although most of my year was a struggle
to get through it is definitely ending on a high note. This year has taught me
that I can do ANYTHING. That I am strong and determined and that nothing can
stop me.
And even though I will be reminding Audrey
throughout her entire life about all the pain and suffering she put me through
in those 9 months, I am so thankful for her and all that she has taught me
already.
Here's to a happy and healthy 2016.
xx
Smorgy
