IC doing well... until lately

I haven't said much on the blog about IC, because it has been quite normal.  I've had flairs, caused by God only knows what, sometimes lasting up to a week.  I had those random flairs before becoming pregnant.  As our baby grows, the only abnormal IC related discomfort I've experienced is when she kicks or moves near my bladder.  It's an alarming, stabbing feeling that only lasts a second.
As I write this, I am 35 weeks pregnant and aware of my IC every day.  Before, I only experienced urgency during flairs.  Now, the urgency is consistent.  With this 5+ pound baby sitting on my bladder, I always feel like I have to go to the restroom.  I could go every 5 minutes and spend the whole day in the restroom.  That's no way to live.  So, I try to ignore the urge the best I can until I can't stand it anymore.  I go about every hour during the day and every 2 hours at night.  Car rides have been the most painful.  A road that seemed smooth before all of the sudden is like a mountain range.

Baby’s First Vacation

We’ve been planning to travel to Norway for quite some time, but getting pregnant put a little kink in the plans.  Our baby is due in July, so we definitely had to make our plans early.  The summer would be too difficult.  We decided that it would be okay to plan the vacation for my second trimester, and the doctor approved.

Being pregnant actually didn’t change things that much.  I still had travel anxiety and complained about packing… nothing unusual for me.  During the flight, I wore loose fitting clothing, drank plenty of water, got up often, and sat close to the restroom… again, nothing unusual for me. 

When our flight arrived in Norway, our friends, Britt Eva, Kjartan, and their baby, Ingval picked us up at the airport.  It was about 25 degrees.  Brr!  We all took a stroll in the park that had about 200 naked statues.  That was strange to me, and our friends laughed at my discomfort.

The next few days, we did a lot of walking in Oslo.  We went to the local grocery store, toured all over down town, and saw several museums.  I became tired a lot more quickly than the rest of the gang.  I tried not to complain.  Each night I’d realize how much walking we’d done, because I woke up with “charlie-horses” and back pain.  Fortunately, I was able to fit in little naps here-and-there, and whenever I saw a bench I sat down.

Half way through the trip, we took an eight-hour train ride to Stavanger.  This is the way to travel!  The seats and aisles were much roomier than those on an airplane.  Plus, we traveled with baby Ingvill, and she had room to crawl and play. 

This baby mama was well taken care of during the trip, but the worst part was the 10 hour flight home.  I know, I’m such a brat, but never again will I sit in economy for a flight over 5 hours long.  Unfortunately, the airline screwed up on giving me the aisle seat that Michael had reserved.  The guy sitting next to me slept most of the flight, and I felt rude bothering him.  I really should have gotten up every hour, but I was only able to get up 3 times.  It was awful!  Plus, the seats were uncomfortable, and my lower back was killing me.  By the end of the flight, I was sitting on a blanket, pillow, and two coats. 

Lesson learned… I shouldn’t go on trips this lengthy while pregnant.  Also, I don’t recommend it to others with interstitial cystitis.  Enough complaining…. I do not regret the trip.  It was wonderful catching up with my dear friend Britt Eva, who I have not seen in years. 

Breasts

That title got your attention, didn’t it!?  Yeah, getting attention… my breasts know the feeling, and I don’t like it!

Last week I had lunch with some friends.  One friend, who I had not seen in a while said, “April! You have breasts!”  I was shocked by her comment, and so embarrassed when the whole group turned to look.  I had to go to the bathroom to regain my composure. 

People have told me that I’m going to have to ignore all the crazy comments during pregnancy.  Looking back on this situation, it is quite comical.  I’m glad this friend was at least a little creative.  It’s better than saying, “April! You’re huge!”

I little while later, someone at the lunch table asked if I was planning to nurse.  Once I told her yes, everyone began giving me advice (which I love and need).  However, at one point, I wanted to scream, “Can we please stop talking about my nipples!”  Why does this continue to be the topic of conversation?

First Trimester

The first 6 weeks of pregnancy ignorance was great!  The doctor confirmed my pregnancy at 8 weeks.  I went 10 weeks without any symptoms, and just as I thought, “This is too good to be true,” the morning sickness began. 

I felt nauseous pretty much every day, and I threw up about 2 mornings per week.  It was hard to drag myself to work!  I did have to call in sick twice.  I hated doing that.  The best relief for my morning nausea was saltines.  My mom suggested keeping saltines on my night stand.  Every morning, I’d eat a few crackers and sit in bed for about 5 minutes before rushing out of bed.  Tums were great too!  During this time, I had zero appetite, and I lost 6 pounds (that took a long time to regain).   At week 14, I felt like this would never end.  Was I going to be unlucky and have morning sickness throughout my pregnancy?  I was encouraged by a friend who said her morning sickness lasted until week 16, and luckily my story was the same.

In addition to nausea, my Interstitial Cystitis flared up a little bit during the first trimester, sometimes for a week or two without ceasing.  I didn’t feel pressure on my bladder, because the baby was still tiny.  The urgency, burning, and frequency increased.  I believe this was due to hormonal changes, because I did not change my meds or eating habits.

The last significant pregnancy symptom during my first trimester was tender breasts.  Tender may not be the right word.  They HURT LIKE CRAZY!  At first, I thought, “This is no big deal.  It feels like the usual soreness I get at the beginning of my cycle.”  But it just kept getting worse, and worse, and worse.  I used ice packs or cold bottles of water for relief.  The reward for the pain was extra attention from my husband due to my changing body.  See, it’s not so bad. *wink*

Trying to Conceive (TTC)

WARNING!!! This post may be TMI, but keep in mind, the purpose is to inform IC patients about my personal experiences with pregnancy.  STOP reading if you’d rather not know my personal details.

At my preconception checkup, I asked my OB lots of questions, including, “What if this takes a while?  When can we find out if my husband or I have fertility problems?”  She told me to try for a year and come back if we are unsuccessful.  A year?!  I’m way too impatient for that.

I immediately began researching conception.  I also printed a wonderful chart from thebump.com.  This helped me keep track of every little detail about my cycle including: start, finish, ovulation days, temperature, soreness, cramping, love-making days, etc.  I bought an inexpensive “basal body temperature” thermometer from the grocery store.  In addition to the chart, I kept track of all of these using 2 different apps on my phone.  (I know… a little obsessive)  The apps told me my fertile days and the best days to try to conceive.

Well, obviously books, charts, and apps won’t get a person pregnant!  It was time for Hubby’s favorite part, getting busy.  I read that when trying to conceive, after a session of love-making you should try to just lie down for 10-15 minutes (please don’t make me explain why).  That was difficult!  IC patients are prone to infection.  To prevent infections, cleanliness is key.  After trying to conceive, I wanted to jump up, go the bathroom, and take a bath to relieve that usual pain.  There were many times that I think we may have missed out on fertilization because I could not lie there.  I’d just say, “Oh well; next month.”  However, some people don’t think it matters whether or not you lie down for a while or get up right away.

A person with IC has to take advantage of the good days and rest on the bad days, but that was difficult when a chart was telling me exactly which days I must make-love.  I found myself, once again saying, “Oh well; next month” when I was experiencing too much discomfort to try to conceive.  I hate to tell you this, but by the fourth month, I was just desperate to get pregnant already; so, I had to fight through the pain on those bad IC days.

Yikes! I really hate to end a post in this discouraging way, but I’m being honest.  Trying to conceive was not simple, and it took time.  Both partners have to be understanding, and sacrifices have to be made.  Keep reading to learn about the rewards Michael and I are already experiencing…    

Leap of Faith

For about 10 or 15 years, I’ve felt a strong calling and desire to adopt children.  This is mostly because I’m deeply burdened by the overwhelming number of children in orphanages and foster care.  The thought of any child growing up without a loving mommy and daddy brings tears to my eyes.  Another reason I’ve wanted to adopt is because, since I was diagnosed with IC, I’ve learned that pregnancy and labor can be a painful mystery.  Lastly, as an adult I’ve realized that I’ve never had a desire to bear children.  I’ve never once thought, “It’ll be so neat to feel a baby in my belly and try on maternity clothes.”  (Of course, I played house and carried a baby doll around when I was little, but I never wanted to pop one out!) That realization made me wonder if God’s plan for me is to adopt one or several children.

I would have been perfectly fine with adopting all of our children and having none naturally.  However, my husband, Michael has always dreamt of having offspring with his wife.  We both spent several years discussing/researching the options and praying for God’s will.  Michael still didn’t feel that same tug on his heart.  That’s perfectly understandable!  I think adoption is wonderful, but I know that God does not call everyone to do it. 

Finally, we decided that we would try to have our first baby and see where God leads us after that.  This was a terrifying decision, because like I said earlier, I have NEVER wanted to be pregnant, and I never thought I would be.  Of course, we put it off, because the other terrifying part is the knowledge that our lives (finances, time, etc.) will drastically change when there is a baby to raise.

In May 2010 we said, “Ok, we can’t put this off anymore.  God wants us to “be fruitful and multiply,” and we want to be obedient to his calling.”  So, even though we were still scared, we leapt into the unknown.  Now that we are expecting, I have spent a lot of time worrying and even crying in fear that I cannot take good care of this baby.  My Sunday school and small group friends have been wonderful prayer warriors.  Lately, I’ve felt an unimaginable peace in knowing that our baby girl is safe in God’s magnificent hands.

Registering

Just a few days after finding out that we were having a girl, our friends, Troy and Kristin went to Babies-R-Us with us to help us register.  I had no idea what I would need, and I desperately needed the help of an experienced mommy.  When we arrived at the store, there was paper work to fill out.  I was excited to get to shopping.  So, Kristin and I went with her son Turner to preview the world of strange baby items: Boppies, Wub-a-nubs, Bumbos, Snoogles, etc.  Michael and Troy sat down at the registry table to fill out paperwork.  The lady looked at them, a bit puzzled, as she walked them through the questions.  She asked, “Will you be adopting?”  Woah! Wrong idea.  The lady thought Michael and Troy were registering for a kid together.  Ugh.  I will never forget this. 

After Karis’s arrival, I pretty much had everything I needed.  Here are some of the essentials: 

For the Hospital:

- Nursing Bra or Cami

- Boppy Pillow

- Baby wipes (the hospital didn’t have any!)

- Baby socks and mittens

- travel system (car seat/stroller)

At Home:

- At least one package of new born diapers (better to be prepared before and return them later if you don’t need them)

- LOTS of burp rags

- Medela bump

- a few baby bottles

- micro steam cleaning bags (Don’t stay up all night boiling bottles… learn from my mistake.)

- diaper gene

- bouncer or swing

- NEWBORN pacifiers (I didn’t realize they come in different sizes. Poor K sucked on a 3-6 month paci for about a week.)

- white noise machine (or radio turned to a static station)