The Sea Monkey Chronicles

I’m not feeling like reposting the whole spiel here so if you’re interested in my take on the commercials flipping out about Paxil side effects and birth defects, it’s here.

It’s been a week of ups and downs.

[+] Up: I felt the baby move for the first time a week ago.  We think it’s going to be a kickboxer like its mommy.

[+] Down: This kid requires more calories than I normally intake during the day and I can’t actually *eat* that much without serious indigestion.

[+] Up: My pregnancy pants fit and will hopefully last me throughout the pregnancy.  They also look better than my normal work clothes.

[+] Down: I’m getting fat.  (Yes, I have a complex about my weight.)

[+] Up/Down: I got my pregnancy tops in the mail from Old Navy.  The only problem: I overestimated my size and am having to exchange a few because they’re WAAAAAAY bigger on top than I am.

[+] Down: Got hit with really severe stress on Tuesday night that kept me home Wednesday with panic attacks and Thursday with the mother of all migraines.  I had to actually take narcotics for it because the pain was so severe and I can’t have any of the normal NSAID’s or triptans because of teh baby.

[+] Up: I’m almost to the halfway point of this pregnancy.

The stretch marks on THE TUMMY look like a little kid ran their fingernails down each quadrant of it.  I’d post a picture but I don’t think people want to be grossed out that much!

The next pre-natal appointment is Tuesday and we’ll talk about scheduling the next ultrasound at that point.  My guess: probably late February/early March to check for the pulmonary artery atresia.  We’ll also find out at that point if the baby will be Katie or Daniel.

As the withdrawal symptoms from the Effexor XR landed me in the ER last night, Dr. Awesome and I have decided that I need to get back on it.  It’s kind of risky because it is a Class C medication (meaning that it *might* cause birth defects, more specifically a congenital heart defect) but for me, the benefits of staying on it while pregnant outweigh the risks to me and thus to the sea monkey.  I have to go see her later this week to figure out how to reconcile my need to be on it with the pregnancy.

On the other hand, my sugars are absolutely beautiful and Dr. Awesome is happy with those.

This is my second day at home for “mental health” reasons (well… that and I’m still really dizzy) and I have spent it doing some crocheting (hence the title of this post), working on a design (or at least finding a theme I liked) for this site, and just resting.

I’m on my second skein of yarn for the sea monkey’s blanket.  I’m making it using Bernat Baby Coordinates Sweet Stripes yarn in Sprite Stripes (a green and white striping colorway) and crocheting it with a K hook.  I’m on my second skein of yarn already and I have found it to be very relaxing when I’m waiting for iTunes to cooperate or just listening to Catholic in a Small Town. I’ve also been working on the scarf for my secret pal at church which is made from novelty yarn and is a whole lot like crocheting a Muppet!

If I’m feeling up to it, I might take my crocheting to town tomorrow and sit in the window of the Prairie Peddler and just people-watch for awhile.

I now sooooo understand why they are really wary of bi-polar women getting pregnant — most of the SSRI’s and medications for it are class C or D which means they can harm the fetus and the women need to be taken off of them.  I’m just dealing with the withdrawal from my Effexor XR (for dysthymia) and I’m having WICKED side effects.  The dizziness is obnoxious and kind of scary.  The panic attacks are debilitating.  I had to leave work early yesterday because I couldn’t stop crying.

I went to see Dr. Awesome today and she told me to get on the Wellbutrin immediately.  I’ve also apparently gained 10 lbs in the 10 days since my last visit (thank you bronchial crud, asthmatic response to bronchial crud, and sea monkey sucking all the energy out of me) so… I have orders to walk/taebo/whatever as soon as I can keep myself upright.  As if I wasn’t already feeling like a beached whale…

Oh yeah… apparently, my beta blocker is also not great for the sea monkey so I’m on a new one.  *crosses fingers that it works on migraines*