A day in the life

When I think about my pregnancy lasting only 16 weeks I am shocked.  I think about 4 months ago, in February, and that doesn't seem like it was that long ago. That is how it feels now, but those weeks were the longest of my life.  I just thought I'd go through some of the day to day things that we dealt with.
sleep-
In the beginning I was able to sleep a lot.  This was comforting because I could at least feel relief when I was asleep.  I would sleep through the night and usually take a nap in the afternoon, as it wore on I started becoming an insomniac, which was awful.  The night where there was no one to talk to and nothing good to watch just made me watch the clock until morning so that someone would get up and keep me company.  I think the entire time there was only 1 night that Tad was able to sleep through the night (because I slept in the other room)  he was so wonderful throughout.  He woke up in the night to change my medication on my first pump.  he woke up to vomit in bed, or on the floor :(  he woke up to get me water or take me to the bathroom umpteen times, and I appreciated it so much.
bathing -
I was not able to bathe myself throughout my pregnancy, so that was quite the ordeal.  Tad would bathe me twice a week, once on the day that I had to go to the hospital and once on my doctor's appointment day.  It took a lot out of me each time, so I hated it.  Tad would wrap my arm over and over with press and seal so that we could keep my PICC dry, and then I'd still have to stand with my arm out of the shower.  I was so weak that it was a huge struggle to stand long enough for him to get me clean.  During the shower, I would not be able to keep from throwing up for that long, so he would have to help me so that I could be sick down the drain.  This was one of the most humbling parts of being sick - I appreciated him being able and willing to care for me, but being able to wash my hair and myself is something I take for granted.  Each time I was in the shower, my mom would take the opportunity that I was out of bed and put on clean sheets, so I at least had a little reward when I got out. 
spitting -
This was a really strange part of being sick.  At it progressed I got more and more obsessed with spitting.  I was not able to keep my saliva down, so all day (and night) I would rinse my mouth with water and spit it out.  This was my vice, and the only thing that felt good to me.  As we went on, my mom would think of better ways to handle it.  At first I was spitting into my vomit bucket.  We had a few mishaps with this method - I dumped it in the bed while Tad was sleeping - I dumped it in our chair - and a few times I set it on the floor and the dogs would start to drink it... so my mom came up with the idea to spit into empty bottles. They would line up full bottles and spit bottles for me all the time.  A couple of different nurses asked me why I did it, and I really had no answer, but after being healthy I've found that some women with HG do that.  I had no idea - and it made me feel a little more sane. 
eating -
every day I would try to eat little bits of things.  My most popular item was freeze pops.  They were so cold and felt so good on my throat.  I also liked fruit and other sweet things, but I could not keep anything down. On my last doctor's visit we were discussing trying baby food, but I was able to eat solid foods after the baby was born, so it was no longer something we had to worry about.
peeing my pants :( -
when I found out I was pregnant, I packed all my feminine products into the back of the closet thinking I wouldn't need them for a long time.  I was wrong.  When I was throwing up, most times I would also pee my pants from the pressure, so we found that if I wore pads they would absorb most of the pee, so I wore pads almost all the time. It was frustrating and gross, but Tad and my mom would probably both agree that it was better than washing the rugs and floor in the bathroom, or my sheets all the time. 
TV -
  I was able to watch TV while I was sick, which I am SO grateful for.  Some women can't handle the noise and movement on the screen, but I was able to.  I watched a lot of marathons.  Roseanne, Top Chef and The Nanny were always my favorite ones to find.  I wasn't able to read, it made me nauseous, but Tad read to me a little bit.  There were a few days that we played games.  We had gotten loaded questions not long before, and that was an easy one to play.  Over Thanksgiving, my parents, Chris and Maria and Tad and I would play it.  They would all bring chairs in and sit around the bed. 
going out -
twice a week we had to go out.  On Mondays we went to the hospital to have my dressing changed.  My mom would usually take me to this appt and we would make it in the afternoon, and then on Wednesday or Thursday morning we'd go to the doctor.  We made that a morning appt so that Tad could come along as well.  Through most of my pregnancy there was only one real thing that I craved, which was iccees.  So sometimes after the doctor or hospital my mom would stop and get me an iccee to take home. 

sorry, this is sort of a boring post.  I just feel like I've only talked about the major days and not the every day ones. 

this is how you would typically find me.  clean water in my right hand, spit bottle in my left.  hooked up to both of my pumps. it surprises me sometimes to look back at the pictures and see myself smiling.  the only reason I wanted any taken was to someday show the baby what I went through for them.  now I'm glad to have them, but they make me seem much happier than I actually was.