A pregnancy I truly wanted. But morning sickness was tough after all.
It has been quite a while since my last post!
In my previous article, I wrote about the possibility that I might be pregnant, and I have since safely given birth to my third child.
The reason for the long break in updates is, as the title suggests, "morning sickness."
This time, the morning sickness started around the 6th week.
I had hyperemesis gravidarum with all three pregnancies
I have given birth to three children, and in fact, I experienced hyperemesis gravidarum all three times.
I feel like this third time was the mildest, but even so, my weight dropped from 52kg to 44kg.
That is an 8kg loss.
My ketone levels also showed 3+, and the hospital recommended I be hospitalized.
However, I felt that if I were hospitalized, I would mentally fall apart...
Since the hospital was close to my home, I consulted with my doctor and was able to go in for IV drips as an outpatient.
Morning sickness that was a full combo again this time
Even though we call it morning sickness, the symptoms vary.
* Eating sickness
* Vomiting sickness
* Smell sickness
* Saliva sickness
* Sleep sickness
In my case, I experienced every single one of them. (All three times...)
It is a full combo. Haha
I became unable to do housework, childcare, or work
Once the morning sickness started, I could no longer do housework, childcare, or work.
I asked my husband to take care of all the housework and childcare, and I decided to take a break from work.
Whenever I tried to speak, nausea would well up, so I couldn't even participate in meetings.
Just looking at my phone or computer screen made me feel sick, so naturally, I couldn't work.
Even if I wanted to kill time, I couldn't look at my smartphone or the TV.
I just spent my time trying to keep my eyes closed and sleep, or listening to the voices of my children playing downstairs.
Things I could relatively keep down
What I could eat changed from day to day, and there were days when I couldn't eat anything at all.
Among those, here are the things I was relatively able to eat or drink.
* Cherry tomatoes (peeled)
* Muscat grapes (peeled)
* OS-1 (Apple flavor)
* Ice Box
For some reason, they were easier to eat when peeled.
What was different between the first, second, and third pregnancies
With my first, I just couldn't see the end of it.
I had no choice but to endure it every day, and the days felt truly long.
I think I was mentally pushed to the limit.
With my second, I knew it would "definitely end" because I had experienced it once before.
Even so, the guilt of not being able to take care of my older child was immense, and the symptoms felt even heavier due to the mental stress.
In reality, it might have been about the same as the first, but in my memory, the second one was the hardest.
And then the third.
This time, I became pregnant with some understanding of the flow of morning sickness.
I was also prepared for the fact that I wouldn't be able to pay enough attention to my older children.
Perhaps because of that, I think the mental stress was less than it was with the second.
My physical condition might have been the worst this time.
Even so, strangely, the third morning sickness felt the lightest.
The end was not sudden, but gradual
The morning sickness that started around the 6th week continued until about the 24th week.
Rather than ending "suddenly one day," it felt like it faded away little by little.
Even for about two weeks after I stopped vomiting,
I remember spending my days feeling nervous, thinking,
"What if I start feeling sick again?"
Just when I thought the morning sickness was over...
Just when I thought the morning sickness was finally over, I was diagnosed with a risk of threatened premature labor.
I was ordered to stay on absolute bed rest, and my pregnancy life became far from a happy maternity life.
And then came the birth.
I chose a planned painless delivery, but then a complication occurred where the anesthesia only worked on one side of my body.
I will write about this in detail in another article.
To all the morning sickness researchers
I think about it again.
Morning sickness is truly tough, isn't it?
"If only there were no morning sickness, I would want to have another child."
I suspect there are quite a few people who feel that way.
The cause of morning sickness has still not been fully elucidated.
If the cause were understood and effective measures were found, I think many people would be saved.
Wouldn't it also have a significant impact on the birth rate?
I am truly grateful to everyone involved in morning sickness research.
I apologize for relying on others, but I hope that by the time my children are adults, a way to make morning sickness much milder will have been found.
Lastly...
To those who are currently suffering from morning sickness, thank you for your hard work every single day.
It is painful even when you know for sure that an end will come, isn't it?
I think the feeling of loneliness might be eased a little if you know there are others suffering just like you.
I would be happy if my experience could be of even a little help.