24 down, 16 to go

Of course, now that Talea has joined a preschool group, we are exposed to more illness. While at the preschool group, Kiersa caught a bug from a little girl, gave it to Hyatt, who gave it to me. Talea got it a little bit, but Hyrum managed to bypass it altogether. Two weeks later, we're finally recovered, but we missed our ward Halloween party and went through several boxes of Puffs Plus tissues.

Now that we're back on track healthwise, so is my pregnant appetite. I had my doctor appointment today, and gained 8 pounds! That's 2 pounds a week! Wow. I'm supposed to be gaining 1 pound a week, according to the doctor, so he recommended that I get my heart rate up by briskly walking for 40 minutes a day. I have 2 sister-in-laws who have been in trouble with their doctors for losing weight while pregnant (they're due shortly after me), and here I am gaining enough for all of us and being told to exercise it off. Such is life. That's what I get for assuming I wouldn't be able to get pregnant for at least 15 months after Kiersa. Try 3 months. I need at least 9 to drop baby weight, so here I am stacking this baby's weight on top of Kiersa's.

But...here's the good news. I'm 24 weeks and 3 days, which means if I went into labor today, the baby would survive, though it would probably have health problems. And, I'm down to my last 4 week appointment. I go back on December 4th, take the glucose test (which I'm sure I'll fail since I failed it the first time with Hyatt and Kiersa), then I'll be down to 3, 2 and 1 week appointments the rest of the time. I CAN'T believe I'm to that point already. I swear I've never had a pregnancy that seemed to drag on and on. They fly by, and each one gets faster, so it seems. Maybe it helps that Talea was 2 weeks early, Hyatt was 1 week early, and Kiersa was 2 days early.

Back to the glucose test. For those of you who don't know, I wasn't always naturally this fertile. In fact, once I was married, I figured I'd get pregnant pretty quick, but 2 1/2 years later of never trying to prevent a baby, we were still childless. We bought dogs for kids, since Hy and I drove semi together, and they did okay to fill the void, but we still wished we could have kids. I went to see a fertility specialist and was told that I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which causes lots of symptoms (including weight gain, embarrassing hair growth, infertility, difficulty losing weight, pain,...) and my blood sugar was unusually high. I was roughly 125 pounds at this time (I was working hard on dropping the weight I'd gained from driving semi), and I was told that I needed to be careful about my weight with the blood sugar I have because if I gained 50 pounds (putting me at 175), I'd have Type II diabetes. I've seen through my dad how destructive that is, so I was determined to keep it at bay.

I was given a magic pill (clomiphene, the generic of clomid) to help me to conceive, and sure enough, after one round, Talea was on her way.



Wonderful! I'd found the perfect birth control! Take a pill every couple of years to GET pregnant, rather than take a daily pill to NOT get pregnant. I gained a hefty 37 pounds with Tilly, ending at 163 (I guess the post-appointment Dairy Queen ice cream cones weren't a wise choice), and after a long 14 month weight loss struggle, I got down to 135, then found myself pregnant with Hyatt.



Surprisingly, Hyatt was conceived without any assistance. So much for my perfect birth control! He was a complete shock since we didn't think we could get pregnant without help from a pill. I was scared about starting 10 pounds heavier with Hyatt, and when I failed the first glucose test, I determined to eat especially healthy to control my weight gain and steer clear of the diabetes. My second test came back okay, and I ended up at 160 at delivery, which was a modest 25 pound weight gain. Since I was on a healthy eating kick, I dropped Hyatt's weight much quicker, but after enjoying the high 120's for a few weeks, I let down my guard and by the time Hyatt was 13 months old, I had gained weight back up to 145. Then guess what. I got pregnant again!



Now, none of my kids have been accidents, but they've all been surprises. Talea was a surprise because I didn't think the clomid would work on the first try since I knew people who'd been on it for a year unsuccessfully. Hyatt was my biggest surprise since he came along unassisted, and then Kiersa was yet another surprise since she too was an unassisted conception. At least nature was spacing them 2 years apart for me (well, 23 and 22 months apart). That was a relief. I grimaced when the scale told me I'd once again started another pregnancy 10 pounds heavier than the last. I started at 145, kept myself in check, and gained 28 pounds to end up at 173. Just under the diabetes radar! Not too shabby, I thought. Then I found I wasn't dropping much weight at all. It just wouldn't budge!!! My belly just hung out there for the world to see! When Kiersa was 2 months old, random people at WalMart and church were asking me if I was pregnant again already. Come on! Don't you even get a 4 or 5 month grace period to lose the baby flab? I had an infant in my arms for heaven's sake! I couldn't even suck it in. I then resorted to the form of exercise I hated the most, but heard gave the quickest results. I started running. I was NOT going to be asked if I was pregnant again! I had been running for just over a month when I recognized the ever-familiar signs of pregnancy. Impossible!! But no, my carpal tunnel is so much worse when pregnant, and there was no mistaking the "your-hands-hurt-so-bad-they-wake-you-from-a-deep-sleep" pain. When Kiersa was only 3 months old, I found myself pregnant again.

Not only had my "birth control" of infertility failed me, but my natural 2-year spacing had failed me also! That's what I get for letting nature takes its course, right? I didn't want to jinx anything! What if I prevented a baby from coming, and then found myself unable to conceive again and longing for that last baby that couldn't come. I left it to chance, and now here I am, starting my fourth pregnancy 10 pounds heavier than the last...again. 155. Let's see. That means I can safely gain...20 pounds. Not gonna happen. I just had my appointment today and I'm 173. 2 pounds away from the danger zone!!! What to do?!! Next appointment is my glucose test. I'm sure I'll fail the first one, but will this be the pregnancy to give me gestational diabetes? That's what failing the second round of the glucose test will mean. Only time will tell. That's why my doctor told me to start walking briskly for 40 minutes a day. Granted, this isn't the same doctor who warned me of my diabetes danger, but the danger is still pretty real. I don't know if I'll survive getting daily shots. That will be the end of kids for me if that's the case. Snip, snip, Hyrum!