A Few Christmas Scenes

Myers Family Christmas day

The best Christmas mantel in the whole world

Grandpa H.P.

Scotcharoos, gingersnaps, Andes mint cookies

Sugar cookie decorating

Peppermint ice cream in hot cocoa

Our Christmas photo 2014

Ben & Jason

Timeline of Baby Craziness, Part 2

November 3rd:  A film crew comes to our apartment!  The main researcher of HG lives here in Los Angeles and she contacted me to be a part of a news story on HG and extreme morning sickness.  The news crew interviewed her and then I was their "real life story" example.  Haha!  I say that it only took me 2 months in LA before the film crews were flocking to me.

Also November 3rd, Ben and I meet with a prenatal geneticist.  It turns out that I am carrier of a rare mutation of Cystic Fibrosis and Ben needs to be tested as well.  If he is a carrier of any mutation (there are 1,000s) of CF, then our baby will have 1/4 chance of having Cystic Fibrosis.

November 6th: Ben flies to Minneapolis for a case competition where his team places 4th!  I fly to Merced for some more Mommy-lovin'.  Although one of Ben's flight's attendants lost his finger while trying to fix an A/C malfunction (you'll have to ask him), I think my flight was scarier.  Only 9 seats on that thing, but it put me right into Merced!

November 6th - 18th: Merced for me, where I thoroughly enjoyed the "winter" weather and started listening to Christmas music.  It was a shock to come back to LA where it's 75 and sunny the week before Thanksgiving.  Lucky for me, my family went to Cambria while I was with them.  I also attempted to sew my first baby things.

November 24th: We have our 16-week appointment with Dr. Murphy.  Everything is looking pretty good with baby!  I need to be sure to eat and stay hydrated.  His heart rate is a steady 160 bpm.  On the ultrasound we see head and brain, arms and legs, belly, and that baby is definitely a BOY!  We can also see his heart and all four chambers!  Baby has a bright spot on his heart that is called an EIF - Echogenic Intracardiac Focus.  It is a small calcification and seen in about 3-5% of babies.  The EIF itself causes no problems, but it often occurs in babies that have some sort of chromosomal abnormality, like Trisomy 21.  But, because so much of my blood work and other tests have come back so clean, we aren't too worried about it.  Hopefully it will disappear by the third trimester.

November 25th - 30th: We spend Thanksgiving in Merced and it is totally delightful!

December 1st: Ben thinks my belly is beginning to show . . and I certainly feel a lot more full and uncomfortable after eating large amounts.

December 4th & 5th: I feel . . 98% normal!  This is pretty fantastic.
I admit that I'm beginning to show, though it is a "barely show" in the mornings and a "much bigger show" in the evenings.  All that food's got to go somewhere!  Also I am maybe beginning to feel baby move?!

Oh yeah, I chopped my hair off this today, too!  That's what the picture was actually for.

December 5th & 6th: When I lay down at night the first thing I do is put my hand on my stomach where baby is and I definitely feel him kick two nights in a row!

December 1 - 8th: I am totally stressed out about insurance changes in the new year, finding a new doctor, and ensuring that I deliver at a hospital I feel comfortable with.  Lots of stress and lots of tears.  Lots of phone calls and visits and hours and hours of research and trying to figure things out.  In the end, I think I have it figured out.  We shall see come January.

December 8th: Because of insurance changes, I have to wean myself off the Zofran pump and onto the oral form.  This process begins today and I'm totally freaking out.  At least I won't have to be poked anymore.  I go from 0.660 ml/hr to 0.600 ml/hr.  That's 31.68 mg/day to 28.8 mg/day.

December 9th: I don't feel that great - achy, nauseous, headache.

December 10th: I feel better today.  We (Alere & I) decrease my dose from 0.600 ml/hr to 0.500 ml/hr.  That is 28.8 mg/day to 24 mg/day.  I go to the mall for 2 hours and to a ladies' night . . still feeling pretty okay.

December 11th: I start taking oral Zofran again to make up for the lesser dose in my pump.  With two oral doses of 4 mg/day plus the 24 mg/day in my pump, I am getting my original high dose of 32 mg/day.  Hoping it works!

Ben's blood work for Cystic Fibrosis comes back clean/negative.  Hooray!

December 12th: Decrease Zofran pump from 0.500 ml/day (24 mg/day) to 0.420 ml/day (20.16 mg/day).  Now take 3 4 mg tablets a day to make a total of 32 mg/day.  I don't feel so good.

December 15th: I turned off the Zofran pump and removed my last infusion site today.  This was a huge moment for me.  I have been attached to this thing for what feels like forever . . I'm so free without it!  I am so grateful for the Zofran pump - it has literally been a lifesaver for me and baby.  I am hoping and praying that the adjustment to strictly oral Zofran goes alright.

December 18th: We have our 20 week anatomy scan!  Everything with baby is looking great.  He is measuring about a week ahead and his heartbeat is a great 156 BPM.  He still has the echogenic intracardiac focus (EIF) on his heart, but hopefully it will disappear next trimester.  We also see that baby has Pyelectasis, a dilation in the kidneys.  It is a very common finding in ultrasounds and is very common in male fetuses; usually it resolves itself normally.  Both of these are soft markers for Trisomy 21, but my blood work has come back looking fine.  Even if things are not "fine," we love this little boy with all of our hearts!!  The anatomy scan was really fun because we got to see and measure every part of baby - legs/feet/toes, abdomen/kidneys/heart, arms/hands/fingers, and face/skull/brain.  We could even see different parts of the brain, like the Cerebellum.  The best part of the ultrasound was getting some great 3D and 4D views!  They are just the sweetest thing and I am obsessed with looking at them!  Baby even waved at us.  :)  I have loved our OB (we won't be seeing her with our new insurance in the new year) for many reasons, but one in particular is that she gives us a DVD of each ultrasound - it is so fun to come home and re-watch what we have seen and just admire our cute thing!  Also, according to the doctor's scale, I have gained 5 pounds, so now I'm only at 10 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight!  Woo!

After our doctor's appointment Ben and I went to the temple.  I'm starting to be a normal person again!  We had to capture my first official picture of my baby bump outside.  It just sort of popped out all of a sudden!

We went to Target after the temple and this lady stopped me . . she said "Hi Karin . . you don't know me, but I'm Marlena and I just got the video of the news piece about HG this week and I recognize you from it!"  It was Marlena Fejzo!  The main researcher of HG!  For me, a total celebrity.  It was awesome.  We talked about her work and our experiences with HG and the news piece that we were a part of.  I hadn't seen it yet so she sent it to my email and it's awesome.  I can't put it on the internet, but I can show you privately if you'd like to see it.  I just had to take a picture with her.  There are not a lot of women who suffer from HG and not only is she one of them, but she is the main researcher, in the whole world, of HG, its causes, and hopefully someday, a cure!  It just totally made my day.

December 19th: Ben & I fly to Indiana.

December 21st: I am officially 20 weeks pregnant!  I can't believe it.  My heart is so full.

:)

The Zofran Pump

 I'm not sure how long I will be on the Zofran pump . . I tried to start decreasing the dose and get off the pump last week, but it didn't go so well . . so I'm going to take this opportunity to document what the Zofran pump and working with Alere Women's & Children's Health is like day-to-day.  Hashtag: journal moment.

At the beginning of October, when I was 8 weeks pregnant, my doctor and I decided to pursue using a Zofran pump and IV fluid hydration to help with the Hyperemesis.  This would all happen through a company called Alere Women's & Children's Health.  

First our insurance had to approve of me using Alere, and then I went to the hospital to have an IV put in my arm.  

{{At first we thought we would do everything - fluids and Zofran - through a PICC line, but the hospital strongly recommended against that because of the risks of PICC lines, which increase during pregnancy.}}

Then, an Alere nurse came to our apartment and introduced us to the company and walked us through what we would need to do . . . 

Every day when I wake up, the first thing I do is test my ketones to see how hydrated/dehydrated I am and then weigh myself.  Throughout each day I keep track of how many ounces of fluids I drink and what percentage of a "normal, pre-pregnancy" diet I eat.  I also keep track of how many hours I'm nauseous and how many times I vomit and dry heave, as well as any environmental triggers for those things (typically noise, smells, and anxiety).  I fill all this information in on a chart and I talk with an Alere nurse on the phone each day to give my daily report.  After several weeks, they transitioned me to only having to call on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and that has been nice.

I only needed to do IV fluid hydration for the first week.  Every day I flushed my IV and connected myself to a bag of fluids.  Then I hung the fluids on my IV pole and watched TV/slept for about 7 hours.  When the fluids were finished, I would flush my IV, clamp the tubing, and wait to do it again the next day.  It was really scary for me working with an IV and doing it all myself - it's just something I'm not comfortable with.  Luckily, by the end of one week I started to be able to hydrate myself a little bit.  It sure was inconvenient to sleep/shower/other activities of daily living with the IV and the Zofran pump, especially since they were both so new.  Alere told me how to remove the IV from my arm and then . . I had to do it myself!  It's really easy, but again, something I am just not comfortable with at all.  Could have been 5 minutes - took me 30!  Haha.

My IV the first or second day I had it.  Notice the barf/trash can . . it came/comes with me everywhere.

A repeat picture . . but me right after being hooked up to the IV fluids and Zofran pump for the first time.

I just took an IV out of my own arm!

Now I am only using the Zofran pump and I've been using it for 7 weeks so for the most part, I know the routine.

The Zofran pump connects into my body and delivers a constant stream of anti-nausea medication.  {{After trying to lower the dose last week and that not going so well, I'm back up to my previous dose.}}  So I'm on the highest dose available - 0.660 ml/hr.  Each milliliter has 2 milligrams of Zofran, so I am getting 31.68 milligrams of Zofran every 24 hours.  Where the pump connects to my body is called the infusion site and the infusion site has to be changed every 24-28 hours.  So, every other day or so, I get everything ready: pump, new syringe, infusion kit, alcohol swab, and prep swab (which is supposed to help my skin not react so badly . . so far, it has failed).

I clean the site and brush it with the prep swab, gather up some fat, and then Mom, if I'm in Merced, or Ben, if I'm in LA, jabs that little needle into me.  I still can't do it - I'm such a wuss!  And it hurts a lot less if it goes in quickly.  I told Ben he has to do it like Mom - ya gotta just stab me with that thing!

The circular tape sticks to me and then I pull the needle out, but it leaves a tiny little tube (you can kind of see it on the needle) inside of me, which delivers the medicine.  A cap snaps onto the top of the tape, which is connected to a tube, which connects to the syringe in the pump.

Then I press "resume" on the pump and I'm back in business; I put in a new syringe every time it runs out.

A great thing about the pump is "demand doses" - if I am really nauseous, I call Alere, and they authorize my pump to give me a full milliliter in 12 minutes!  I can have 2 of those each day as long as they are 4 hours apart.  Sometimes I go days without one, but sometimes I use both demand doses in a day.

I get to wear this stylishly huge pump with me EVERYWHERE, even in the shower - it has a special bag it goes in to protect it from the water, and even while I sleep.

Even though having the Zofran pump with me all of the time and having to poke and change syringes at random hours of the day/night is inconvenient, I am really grateful for it.  I think it has made a really big difference.  Before I was on the pump, I couldn't even drink water without vomiting, and that made it impossible to take Zofran pills.  So really, this has been a life-saver.

Okay, STOP READING HERE if you don't want to see my nasty stomach.  YOU'RE FAULT if you think it's too much!  ;)

The only downside of the Zofran pump is what it does to my body.  Zofran can be really irritating to the skin and I seem to react very strongly to it!  After maybe 12-20 hours at a new infusion site, I start to get these large, red rashes around the site, and it gets really tender and sore.  When I take out the tubing, etc., the Zofran has left really large lumps under my skin and they last for days . . meaning I can't poke there!  Also, it feels like a really bad bruise for 3-4 days!  I am literally running out of real estate to poke. 

 I can poke my abdomen and my thighs.  So far, the thigh has not sounded appealing, so I've only been using my stomach.  When there was literally no room there, one Alere nurse told me I could try the back of my hips/top of my bum, so I did that on each side, and then I had to go back to the stomach.  Today I ventured to the thigh for the first time - there is just no where else to go!  Maybe it will give me several more days of places to poke so my stomach can heal.  One thing that's really hard is that I've lost 15 pounds and my fat stores have diminished significantly, leaving me with less skin to poke. 

It is hard to shower, get dressed, move around in bed, etc. because I have these tender, bruised spots on my thigh, hips, and stomach.  It just hurts to move!  I am so tender and sore all over.  Alere suggests icing and using warmth on the sites to help them heal.  I could be better at that . . but I'm not convinced it works all that well.

Red rash forming around infusion site.

 You can see multiple past infusion sites in differing degrees of healing.  The one that is most red - this is about 8 hours after changing the infusion site, yikes.

I'm not sure how long I will be using the Zofran pump . . it could be for many more weeks to come, but my experience with Alere has been and is really great - I'm so grateful for this resource!  I still talk to my Alere nurse every Monday, Wednesday, & Friday to report my weight, ketones, ounces of fluid, percentage of normal diet, and episodes of nausea or dry heaving.

I will be 16 weeks pregnant on Sunday and so far I am not showing whatsoever.  I am highly motivated to gain weight, but it is hard.  I bought a fetal doppler a couple of days ago and it's been really fun to listen to the baby's heartbeat.  We have our 16 week appointment on Monday!

Timeline of Baby Craziness

August 7th: Decide at the last moment not to skip our last fertility treatment cycle with Reproductive Science Center in San Ramon, CA.  We thought we'd take a break as we moved and got settled in Los Angeles . . but, no.

August 29th/30th: Two POSITIVE home pregnancy tests!

August 31st: I have my first blood draw to test for hCG.  The doctor calls with the results during Sacrament meeting, during our talks!  Run out and listen to voicemail right away.  HCG level is 226, a great-looking start.

September 2nd: I have my second blood draw.  My hCG has more than doubled to 592 and my Progesterone is at 25, looking great.

September 3rd: We leave Walnut Creek.

September 5th: We arrive in Los Angeles.

September 8th: I call UCLA Health and make first appointment with a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor for 6 weeks.  That's when our fertility clinic would have seen us.  Also begin having major fatigue.

September 9th: I am having cramps and panic because of previous ectopic pregnancy.  Call the doctor and she has us come in right away - the pregnancy is in the uterus!  We go to the beach.

September 11th: I begin vomiting . . bad.  Only 5 weeks 4 days pregnant.  Doctor thinks I might have a bug because it's so bad, so early.  It's not a bug.  First trip to Urgent Care for IV fluid hydration and Zofran.  Zofran is prescribed.  I begin feeling miserable.

September 13th: Ben's triathlon where he wins and I am not present.  Totally, totally sad.

September 15th: First "official" OB appointment.  I am 6 weeks.  I see the baby and hear the baby's heart beat!  Everything looks fine.  I still feel miserable.

Also Ben's first day of orientation.

September 19th: I barf in the sink and then go to a job interview.  I get the job and am supposed to start the following Tuesday.

September 22nd: I can't keep down water.  I vomit bile and blood.  Call the doctor, she has me come in.  Ketones are off the chart and she sends me to the hospital to be admitted through the ER because they don't have a bed for me on the OB floor.  Doctor says its Hyperemesis Gravidarum.  (See helpher.org)  Only 0.5-2.0% of women get it.  It's what Princess Kate has.

September 23rd: I don't start job.  I am released from the hospital that night.  Current medication list: Zofran, Vitamin B6, Reglan, Benadryl, Prenatals, Fish Oil.

September 25th, 1:30 am: We are back in the ER.  One of the medicines I am on, Reglan, can have crrrazy side effects.  They give me a Benadryll shot and take me off Reglan.

September 27th (?): Urgent care for IV fluid hydration.  Things are not going super great.  Add Phenergan to medication list.

October 1st: Urgent care for IV fluid hydration.  I eat 2 scrambled eggs and 2 pieces of bacon and keep them down!!!  Doctor and I arrange for home health care through Alere.  Old insurance expires, new insurance begins.  Total hassle. Insurance has to pre-approve Alere.

October 2nd: I go to hospital to have IV placed in my arm.  Ben is in school, so a girl I don't know from the ward takes me and holds my hand.

October 4th: Alere nurse comes to get me set up.  For the next week I give myself a liter of IV fluids each day through my IV.  I am also connected to a Zofran pump.

Me, my IV fluids, and my Zofran pump.

My handy-dandy Zofran pump.

Zofran infusion site.  I change it (well, Ben or Mom pokes me) every other day.

October 6th: Bad day.  Call Mom crying.  Decide to go home to Merced for a while.

October 9th: 9 week appointment, baby and heart beat look great.

Picture actually from 8 week ultrasound.

October 10th - October 25th: Merced and Mom taking care of me - what a blessing!!

October 26th: I attend church for the first time in 2 months!  I get to meet all the ward members who have been bringing us meals, care packages, baked goods, etc.  Wonderful ward.

October 27th: Twelve week appointment.  Nuchal Translucency scan = awesome ultrasound.  Ben is there.  Baby jumps!  Baby looks like a human!  We see arms, legs, brain, stomach, heart, head, nose, . . and what is most likely a PENIS!  Our eyes are teary and we are elated!  Baby looks great and is measuring 12 weeks 4 days at only 12 weeks 1 day!  Cloud 9!  So humbled, so grateful.  Can't believe it.  PURE. HAPPINESS.

October 30th: I've had a rough couple of days and have lost 3 more pounds, making my percentage of body weight lost now 11%.  :(  Just taking it one day at a time, trying to stay hydrated and trying to eat.

October 31st: We announce we're pregnant!  I just want to shout it to the world!

Notice the bow tie!

Malibu Triathlon . . . 1st Place!

This blog is way, way, wayyy behind and there is MUCH for ya'll to be updated on, but let's start here.  This happened a week after we moved to Los Angeles . . a month and a half ago!

The weekend before UCLA Anderson orientation began, Ben competed in the Malibu Nautica Triathlon, Olympic distance. . . and he WON his division!!  That's a 0.93 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6.2 mile run.

Typically Ben races against those in his age group, but let's be honest, most triathletes are smaller skinny mini's . . and Ben is my tall, burly man! So it's not always the most fair fight.  This race had a division called "Thunder Thighs" and while I am against those words almost completely, this time it meant male racers between 185 and 199 pounds.  So, he competed in the Thunder Thigh division and totally dominated with a total time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, 34 seconds.  Woo!  (The picture says 3 hours, but the Thunder Thigh division started an hour after the first wave.)

Unfortunately I was not able to be there to ring my cowbell and take one million pictures, but the triathlon took all of these pictures for free!  Thank you, thank you!

Now we just need to display that GOLD MEDAL!  :)