Our New Life

We are now parents :D It has been a long while since I have posted. Mostly because it has been a really tough time for me. Pregnancy was not easy. Morning sickness stuck with me for more than half the pregnancy. I also had a major Crohn's flair. Such a bummer. I felt so sick all the time and ended up giving in to things I shouldn't have eaten. Because of that, my pregnancy magnified my Crohns. When I am in a flair, it attacks my joints and skin really bad, not just my digestion. So I started getting a lot of pain in my legs, my ankles would swell up, and I got a really bad case of erythema nodosum. I was on crutches in December because it was too painful to walk, all while dealing with pregnancy. It was so hard and I was so hard on myself. Why couldn't I have been stronger and not given in to bread and pasta??? My biggest mistake was not preparing meals and snacks ahead of time. I didn't have the energy to make myself meals and with my diet, everything has to be hand made. So I know for next time that I need to prepare better. haha Because I was in such a bad flare, I had no choice but to get on antibiotics. Once again, I felt like such a failure. I wanted so badly to be med free but it wasn't an option for me. So I was put on Cimzia. Cimzia is a self injection. I had to inject twice, one in each thigh. It definitely is painful and I would have way rather been on Remicade instead. Cimzia helped with all my arthritis pain and erythema nodosum but it didn't help with the rest of my symptoms. I was devastated thinking about having to go on prednisone. I was in the last trimester of pregnancy and wondered if I should hold out. I didn't trust my gastro doctor. He was so hard on me in our appointment. He doesn't believe in diet of course so I spent the whole appointment being ridiculed for my decisions to be med free. I am telling you, I hate doctors!! haha I really miss my old doctor who always encouraged diet and has healed me time and time again. SO I decided to give her a call and get her advice. It was the only way I would be able to find peace and make a decision for my treatment. She called me back and I was in tears. I needed guidance and I was so relieved that she would be able to give it to me. She told me that I was doing great, gave me so much support, but told me also that at this point in my pregnancy, the prednisone would be better for me. It was too much of a risk for me to not take it. So I followed her advice.

I labored at home for three days and on that third day, it was time to go to the hospital. I had wanted zero medical intervention, hired a doula and everything, but my plans changed and surprisingly I am totally happy and okay that it did. By that third day, I was so exhausted and in so much pain, I just knew that I wasn;t going to be able to deliver this baby without some rest and without an epidural. When we got to the hospital, I was dilated to a 4. They were able to admit me and gave me an epidural about 30 minutes later. Man, even after being given the epidural, I was anticipating the pain to come back. I was so tense haha It was definitely wonderful to have some relief. Within a couple hours, I was dilated at a 9 and I was feeling that pressure. It was about time to push. What a crazy feeling that was, knowing that pretty soon, our lives were going to change. Ready or not, here she comes. haha I pushed for and hour and a half. Probably the hardest thing I have ever done. I pushed with all my being and was surprised that I didn't pass out. After screaming from feeling that ring of fire I had heard so much about, my baby girl was finally placed on my chest; May 17th  at 4:23 pm. 7 lbs 8 oz and 20 inches long, Scarlett was born. I was in tears. What an incredible experience.

 

 

After staying in the hospital for 2 nights, we brought our baby home. Post partum was rough. I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Every part of my body hurt. It took a while to recover and the lack of sleep was really hard on me. Nursing was hard and painful for quite a while. I got mastitis which was hard. Luckily, we had so many meals brought to us and help from friends. The months felt slow but we are now at almost 3 months, and things are so much easier. Nursing is a breeze, I am getting more sleep since Scarlett sleeps so well at night and goes longer between nursing during the day. Finally feel like I am getting my life back which means it is time for me to focus on getting my health back. I went off of prednisone quite a while back because I hated being on meds while nursing, plus I hate how prednisone makes me feel. I came across a doctor on Facebook. His name is Dr. Josh Axe and he teaches all about a condition called Leaky Gut and how it is a root cause for all of our health problems. I was very intrigued and wanted to learn more. Luckily my mom had ordered his book a while back and I asked to borrow it. It is called EAT DIRT.

I have learned so much more from reading this book. I knew a lot about what he taught but he definitely broadened my knowledge and helped fill in some gaps. I am understanding more clearly why I have Crohns disease and how to heal myself without meds. Meds make every condition worse. They are just a Band-Aid covering up your problems, depleting you of nutrients your body needs, and killing all the good bacteria in our body. When we have health problems, it is important to feed our bodies healthy bacteria to heal our intestinal tract. So I have been drinking bone broth, taking probiotics, and prebiotics, and about to take collagen supplements and a leaky gut support supplement that I ordered through Dr. Axes website. I am already seeing improvement with my energy levels and anticipating the day where my digestion is back on track. I am back on my diet. No grains, dairy, or processed sugar/food. Anxious to be healthy like I was before I got pregnant. I felt so amazing at that time. Diet heals and it works. I have a testimony of it, no matter what people say or how many people doubt me. I am continuing to stay strong and do what I feel is right for myself. I recommend everyone read Dr. Axe's book, Eat Dirt. It will really open your eyes. I will update this blog when I start to make more progress :D I feel so blessed and I am so lucky to have a husband who supports me through all of this! I love my little family.