Right now I have been feeling very out of place because I haven't been able help others. I mean this 4 month break has been very good for me to take care of myself and the baby, but now that my health is getting back in check, I feel I need to do more. It is not like me to sit around and not help others. I mean right now is "the season for giving," even though I believe it's always the time to give. People's hearts are more willing to give and receive right now so what better to start/get involved with some sort of organization of giving but now.
I have an idea in my head that I am very passionate about but do not really know how to get started or involved with. Basically, I would like to have kind of like a "food drive" but it would be donating specific food items to help make dinners for families in need. I am very passionate about helping single mom families and families who donate much of their time and energy for others and do not get anything in return but may be in need. I want to put together food baskets that are Christmas Season themed and are fun. I know it wouldn't be much but something to just let that family know that they are loved and are worth it.
The only problem is that I do not really know how to get this started or how to find the families. I was thinking of maybe trying to get people to suggest families that they think could use it. I would like to know about the family, so maybe if their story about why they could use it were emailed to me along with their information about the size of the family, I could get something arranged for them. Then I would ask for specific food items that people to donate to put the baskets together.
Even if I am unable to get this started before Christmas, I would like to start something like this going into the New Year. I know I will find something to get involved with this Christmas season whether it be this idea or not, but I would like this idea to flourish somehow. Any suggestions on how to start something like this started would be much appreciated!!! For now I would just like to encourage everyone to get involved with something coming into this new year. What better way to start the year but to do something selfless and help someone else.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
15 weeks
Well, I definitely can tell I am entering my 2nd trimester. It's funny because I am still in disbelief that there is a little baby growing inside me! That is just so crazy to me. Anyway, I wanted to post an update on how pregnancy has been treating me the past few days or so.
I know I am entering the 2nd trimester because I have more energy. Also, I am not as sick as I was. It seems like I only have 1 bad day a week, which is a huge improvement from what it was. The doctor has explained to me that he does think I will still have nausea and dizziness at times, but "at times" I can deal with.
Last night I went to Walmart with AJ and it felt great! Well, if you saw me I am sure you would think I looked anything but great, but it just felt so nice being out of the house and not at the hospital! I am thankful it is cold outside, yes I said that. If it were cold I would not be able to leave my home because anything warm sets off my pregnancy sickness.
I am just SO thankful to finally be able to do some things by myself. For example; I used to not even be able to stand long enough to wash a bowl to make cereal, where now I have no problem washing it AND making a bowl of cereal. These all seem like small things but they are huge for me and AJ. Oh, and January 5th is when we find out the sex of our baby! I can't wait!
I know I am entering the 2nd trimester because I have more energy. Also, I am not as sick as I was. It seems like I only have 1 bad day a week, which is a huge improvement from what it was. The doctor has explained to me that he does think I will still have nausea and dizziness at times, but "at times" I can deal with.
Last night I went to Walmart with AJ and it felt great! Well, if you saw me I am sure you would think I looked anything but great, but it just felt so nice being out of the house and not at the hospital! I am thankful it is cold outside, yes I said that. If it were cold I would not be able to leave my home because anything warm sets off my pregnancy sickness.
I am just SO thankful to finally be able to do some things by myself. For example; I used to not even be able to stand long enough to wash a bowl to make cereal, where now I have no problem washing it AND making a bowl of cereal. These all seem like small things but they are huge for me and AJ. Oh, and January 5th is when we find out the sex of our baby! I can't wait!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
My Pregnancy Thus Far
Well, I have decided to share a bit of what's been going on in my life as of right now and a BIG thing that is going on is being pregnant. I am 14 weeks right now. When we found out we were super excited and pretty surprised. We were only 3 months into our marriage when I took the test. I knew I was pregnant the week before I took it because usually I would have had awful cramps and would have been really moody, but I felt great which was really weird. So I ended up taking a test and there it was; a positive sign. We then went and got another test and again another positive sign. We were crazy excited. I couldn't wait to tell everyone. We ended up telling family and close friends that week. We didn't want it to become public until our appointment at 8 weeks just to be safe, which was one of the hardest things for me to do is wait. Anyway, I had found out I was pregnant at about 5 weeks. It seemed like the symptoms hit right away. My job at the time was working with food in the morning, which was really hard because I was starting to get sick and smells of food set it off.
Once I was about 6 weeks pregnant things started to go south. I wasn't about to go into work because I was getting so sick and dizzy. At about 6 1/2 weeks I ended up having to go to the ER because I wasn't able to hold down anything, including fluids. AJ came home from work and took me there. We spent the whole day in the ER so I could get pumped with fluids and some medication. The medication was supposed to help with nausea, but for some reason it did nothing for me. The next 2 weeks I had dropped weight like crazy from not being able to eat anything and still being sick. The doctors put me on a new medication to see if maybe it would help.
We got to see our little baby in our 8 week exam, which was SO exciting! It gave me the strength to hang in there. Later that week I went in for another exam but when I had gotten there the Nurse took one look at me and sent me to the ER again. I looked really bad. This whole time since I had stopped working I was basically on bed rest. I couldn't move otherwise I would faint. I was took weak to move anyway because I wasn't able to eat really anything. I tried all those food tricks that are supposed to help pregnant women plus having the medication but nothing helped. I was very sick. Again, at the ER they pumped me with fluids and were talking about keeping me over night. They kept me longer than the first visit and put me on a new medication. This medication seemed to be working so they sent me home with the prescription. I was still sick when getting home. Not able to eat anything and barely able to keep down water.
As 2 more weeks past and still losing weight, we all became really nervous. The nurses kept telling me its normal to lose weight and feel sick so I tried to stay positive and think that it was normal. Well, it isn''t normal to be this bad come to find out from my doctor. At 10 weeks I had an appointment with my doctor, this would be the first time we had actually met with my doctor. I had been doing a little better that week, meaning I was able to hold down water most of the time and about to eat a little bit of Chex cereal. When meeting with the doctor, he then learned that I had lost 20 pounds and was probably getting about 400 calories a day. He was very concerned, especially when I told him that I was doing better than I had been. He was trying to decide whether to send me straight to the hospital or do blood work and then send me to the hospital when the results came in. I begged for the second option, I am not a big fan of hospitals. He agreed but when I was making my future appointments at the front desk I passed out. I was then sent straight to the hospital and held over night. That hospital visit was really rough and could fill up a blog post by itself so I won't go into detail, but it was not the best visit and I now hate IV's.
I was held overnight at the hospital to be pumped with fluids, vitamins, and medicine. They also wanted to monitor me. The doctor ended up letting me go home later that next day but only one condition, I had to get my calorie count up and fast. When I was in the hospital I met with a nutritionist who told me I should at least be getting 1800 calories a day. I was really overwhelmed by this. I was barely able to get 400, how in the world would I get 1800?! The doctor gave me one week. I now, and will for the rest of my pregnancy, have to keep a calorie intake journal explaining in detail everything I eat, drink, and what stayed or not for every day. That week my friends and family came over and would help force feed myself. I mean it when I say force feed. It was such a painful week. I ended up getting my calorie count up to 1200 which was great. I needed to get my calories up by my doctors appointment otherwise I would have had to be put on a home IV food pump, which I REALLY did not want. When going to the doctor he was surprised how much I got my calories up so he decided to give me another 2 weeks to keep getting my calories up and my weight up.
Well, those 2 weeks are about up. I have a doctor appointment this friday. I have on average been able to get about 1500 calories a day and am just now starting to gain a little bit. Before I started gaining again I had lost 22 pounds. Since then I have gained 3 pounds back and hope to keep gaining. I don't share these things to have anyone feel bad for me, I share to inform people and also ask for prayer. I am entering my 2nd trimester and am starting to be able to eat a little more and am now able to do some things by myself. The doctor thinks I will be one who is sick the whole pregnancy so that is one of the reasons I am sharing. Please pray for strength. This pregnancy has been really hard so far but looks like I will get a little ease for the next few weeks. The doctor does think that I am going to get very sick again during my 3rd trimester, which I am really hoping we can prevent some how. This pregnancy has given me lost of free time because I wasn't able to work or leave home because how weak I was/am. I have lots of time to think. Anyway, that is my pregnancy so far. Please email me or message me if you have any questions. That is the basics of what has happened so far.
Once I was about 6 weeks pregnant things started to go south. I wasn't about to go into work because I was getting so sick and dizzy. At about 6 1/2 weeks I ended up having to go to the ER because I wasn't able to hold down anything, including fluids. AJ came home from work and took me there. We spent the whole day in the ER so I could get pumped with fluids and some medication. The medication was supposed to help with nausea, but for some reason it did nothing for me. The next 2 weeks I had dropped weight like crazy from not being able to eat anything and still being sick. The doctors put me on a new medication to see if maybe it would help.
We got to see our little baby in our 8 week exam, which was SO exciting! It gave me the strength to hang in there. Later that week I went in for another exam but when I had gotten there the Nurse took one look at me and sent me to the ER again. I looked really bad. This whole time since I had stopped working I was basically on bed rest. I couldn't move otherwise I would faint. I was took weak to move anyway because I wasn't able to eat really anything. I tried all those food tricks that are supposed to help pregnant women plus having the medication but nothing helped. I was very sick. Again, at the ER they pumped me with fluids and were talking about keeping me over night. They kept me longer than the first visit and put me on a new medication. This medication seemed to be working so they sent me home with the prescription. I was still sick when getting home. Not able to eat anything and barely able to keep down water.
As 2 more weeks past and still losing weight, we all became really nervous. The nurses kept telling me its normal to lose weight and feel sick so I tried to stay positive and think that it was normal. Well, it isn''t normal to be this bad come to find out from my doctor. At 10 weeks I had an appointment with my doctor, this would be the first time we had actually met with my doctor. I had been doing a little better that week, meaning I was able to hold down water most of the time and about to eat a little bit of Chex cereal. When meeting with the doctor, he then learned that I had lost 20 pounds and was probably getting about 400 calories a day. He was very concerned, especially when I told him that I was doing better than I had been. He was trying to decide whether to send me straight to the hospital or do blood work and then send me to the hospital when the results came in. I begged for the second option, I am not a big fan of hospitals. He agreed but when I was making my future appointments at the front desk I passed out. I was then sent straight to the hospital and held over night. That hospital visit was really rough and could fill up a blog post by itself so I won't go into detail, but it was not the best visit and I now hate IV's.
I was held overnight at the hospital to be pumped with fluids, vitamins, and medicine. They also wanted to monitor me. The doctor ended up letting me go home later that next day but only one condition, I had to get my calorie count up and fast. When I was in the hospital I met with a nutritionist who told me I should at least be getting 1800 calories a day. I was really overwhelmed by this. I was barely able to get 400, how in the world would I get 1800?! The doctor gave me one week. I now, and will for the rest of my pregnancy, have to keep a calorie intake journal explaining in detail everything I eat, drink, and what stayed or not for every day. That week my friends and family came over and would help force feed myself. I mean it when I say force feed. It was such a painful week. I ended up getting my calorie count up to 1200 which was great. I needed to get my calories up by my doctors appointment otherwise I would have had to be put on a home IV food pump, which I REALLY did not want. When going to the doctor he was surprised how much I got my calories up so he decided to give me another 2 weeks to keep getting my calories up and my weight up.
Well, those 2 weeks are about up. I have a doctor appointment this friday. I have on average been able to get about 1500 calories a day and am just now starting to gain a little bit. Before I started gaining again I had lost 22 pounds. Since then I have gained 3 pounds back and hope to keep gaining. I don't share these things to have anyone feel bad for me, I share to inform people and also ask for prayer. I am entering my 2nd trimester and am starting to be able to eat a little more and am now able to do some things by myself. The doctor thinks I will be one who is sick the whole pregnancy so that is one of the reasons I am sharing. Please pray for strength. This pregnancy has been really hard so far but looks like I will get a little ease for the next few weeks. The doctor does think that I am going to get very sick again during my 3rd trimester, which I am really hoping we can prevent some how. This pregnancy has given me lost of free time because I wasn't able to work or leave home because how weak I was/am. I have lots of time to think. Anyway, that is my pregnancy so far. Please email me or message me if you have any questions. That is the basics of what has happened so far.
My First Blog
This is my first blog. This blog is going to be one of my ways of reaching out for prayer, rejoicing with friends, and just sharing my thoughts. I'm sure that is what everyone's blogs are about but seeing this is my first time having one I think it's good for me to explain. I also think right now is the perfect time to start a blog. It will be an easier way to keep my friends and family informed on new things happening. I also have a lot of free time on my hands right now which I will go on to explain in a different blog. Well I think this is a good start to my first blog :)
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