Pregnancy is a beautiful journey!

Pregnancy is a beautiful journey, but it also comes with it's struggles!

I am currently 24 weeks pregnant as of this Sunday and let me tell you, this pregnancy has been a bit rough. This is my third child, but it's been a minute since I have been pregnant and had a baby! I have a 16 and 12 year old. My daughter just turned 12 in July, so it's been 12 years since I have had a baby. The struggle this time around has been real!

I found out I was pregnant when I was 4 weeks along. Everything was great until I hit 6 weeks. From week 6 to week 12, I was soooo sick! I don't understand why they call it morning sickness, because I was sick ALL day, pretty much EVERYDAY for 6 weeks!! It was exhausting. Going to work everyday was really tough most days. I somehow made it through, but it was a struggle 98% of the time. I'd go to work and get through it as best as I could. When I would come home, I would either nap or just rest because I felt so nauseated. I ended up on the highest dose of Diclectin as well as taking Gravol to help take the edge off.. Once the Diclectin was in my system, I started to feel better, but still had mild nausea. So that was one of the struggles I experienced.

When I was 10 weeks pregnant, I has a rough day. I was not feeling well, feeling exhausted, nauseated and spent the afternoon napping. I woke up and had barely any fluids that day and made a terrible choice to eat some rockets and Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. I was feeling really low and somewhat depressed and didn't think to make better food choices. About 30 minutes after eating, I got up to go to the bathroom. I was having cramps. As I was walking to the washroom, I felt off, but proceeded to continue to go into the washroom. I sat down on the toilet and immediately started to feel dizzy. I remember calling my husbands name and the next thing I knew he was calling my name telling me to wake up! I had fainted and fell off the toilet and onto the floor. I hit my head and lost consciousness and when I regained consciousness, I was tired. I was not only scared for myself, but for my baby as well. I went out of consciousness again, but I knew it was about to happen. It was scary.

My husband called the ambulance because I had lost consciousness twice. Shortly after, 3 cops showed up at our door. We waited for the ambulance to come. We waited... and waited.. 45 minutes had gone by and NO ambulance! So instead of waiting longer, my husband decided to just drive me himself. We only live like 5 minutes from the closest hospital.

We arrived at the hospital and luckily he was able to come inside with me. Thank goodness, because I was still not feeling right. When we got to the triage desk, I started to feel lightheaded and dizzy again and I remember saying, "IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!" I lost consciousness for the third time!! A few seconds later I remember saying, "it happened again!" That's when the triage nurse quickly finished my triage and immediately took me into the emergency department and into a bed. Unfortunately, due to COVID, my husband was not allowed to come into the room with me! I was scared and upset because what if I lost consciousness AGAIN!

They got me into a bed and I had my blood taken right away!! I asked for a drink so they gave me water and orange juice and I slowly started to feel a little bit better. I was in emerge from about 8pm to about 3am. After the first round of blood tests, the discovered that I was very, very dehydrated. So they hooked me up to an IV to get more fluids in me. After a few hours, they did another blood test. The results came back normal and I was no longer dehydrated. The lesson I learned here is that I made a mistake by eating too much sugary food and to make sure I drink more water!! Especially being pregnant, it's so important to make sure you are drinking enough. Since then, I make sure to drink as much as I can throughout the day to avoid become dehydrated again.

A few weeks later, when I was about 13 weeks pregnant, I found out I had Gestational Diabetes! HURRAY! I was so nervous about having to poke myself with needles everyday. However, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I started off poking my finger 6 times a day and now I only have to do it 4 times a day. Gestational Diabetes is definitely a learning curve, because you have to change your diet by limiting sugars and carbs. It's gotten easier as the weeks have gone by, but it's still a royal pain in the butt to have to remember to poke your fingers after EVERY meal.

I was doing well in the first few weeks, but with the progression of pregnancy and the increase of hormones, my fasting numbers just weren't staying within range. So inevitably, I was put on nighttime insulin. Another needle! UGH! I hate needles. Luckily, the insulin needle actually hurts less than the finger pokes. I was upset and angry at first, but have learned that it's not my fault and that it's just the hormones and the placenta causing the issues. I've learned that it's temporary (in most cases) and I just have to do what is best for the health of myself and my baby. So I do my best to keep my numbers in check and eat a healthier balanced diet. I have cut out A LOT of the sugar I was eating! I still treat myself, but of course in moderation.

So here I am now at 24 weeks. I have been so much more emotional than normal! I just want to cry all the time. I feel like I am failing as a mother to my other two kids. I feel like I can't keep up with bills. I just wish I could do more. Life is so expensive and it's seriously causing me to feel super depressed and defeated. Being pregnant doesn't help because my emotions are ALL over the place.

My son just got his learners license and we really wanted to put him into a Young Driver's course, but we can't afford the $328 it costs a month. I understand it's kind of a luxury, but I just feel bad for not being able to provide this for him.

We are having a boy and plan to get his circumcised and that's a $500 fee that we may not have when he's born. Sure it's an elective thing, but it's what we want for our child.

It's been tough because we are trying to cut things out and try to save, but with gas prices being so high and groceries costing more, it's such a struggle. I usually believe that things with work out somehow, but right now with all these hormones rushing though my body, I just don't know or see how things will get any better. I am honestly feeling so depressed.

I know there are hundreds and thousands of others struggling financially and I feel so all of them, because I am feeling the same fate. We shouldn't have to struggle so much. Life shouldn't be this hard. The sad thing is, is that it is!

So when I say that pregnancy has it's struggles, these are some of the things that I am talking about. You are more tired, stressed, depressed, anxious and struggling to keep your emotions in check.

If you have or are experiencing these same feelings and struggles, know that you are not alone.

I just hope to have a healthy baby and I can't wait to meet him. Only 16 weeks to go!! I know in the end it will all be worth it, but that doesn't mean it was always easy.

Thanks you for reading about my pregnancy journey! It's nice to have a platform where you can express yourself and vent about the struggles of life. I honestly find it easier to type my thoughts than to talk about them.