Poor, poor pitiful me

It started a week ago today. After a great OB check-up (baby girl is doing perfect), doodle and I had lunch at Alamo Cafe and then went for a little shopping. It hit like a ton of bricks. Doubled over in pain and making a mad dash for the restroom, I barely made it home. For the next few days I alternated between stomach cramps and a bad case of "must get to the toilet and fast" episodes. No fever, baby kicking like crazy, I chalked it up to bad food. By the weekend it was much of the same pattern with little relief in between- so I began to think I just had a touch of something. It would get a little better and then come back with a vengeance. I have spent the majority of the last few days laying down wondering why I have no energy and don't feel right. After being up the whole night for the third night in a row, I finally called the doctor (I know stupid that I waited so long but I always have this "it will be better tomorrow attitude." I spoke with my OB's nurse who really sounded unconcerned as far as my pregnancy was concerned but was concerned that I have had symptoms for so long and demanded that I see my general practitioner. I called immediately and could not get an appointment until this morning with Dr. Hallmark (love her!) Things began to drastically improve yesterday afternoon and I actually slept last night...like the whole night. MSW woke up this morning and was amazed that I had slept that is how "normal" it has become for me to spend half the night sitting up on the couch or in the bathroom. So, a crazy morning of MSW adjusting his schedule so he could be there with me (he is the greatest I tell you) and realizing 10 minutes before my appointment that the Dr. has moved locations, I made it there. I went over my symptoms and she checked everything....and I mean everything. The conclusion is that I have a gastrointestinal viral infection. Fun, right? On top of that as caused by being sick with it for a week, I am dehydrated, anemic and have a bladder infection. So maybe that explains my discomfort, low-energy and fatigue for the past week. Because I feel remarkably better today, she did not make me go to the hospital for an IV as she threatened and I promised her that I would call immediately if my symptoms returned. And honestly other than a little mild cramping, I have felt amazing today! It always amazes me how once you come through an illness and feel good how awesome it feels to be alive. I feel 100% improved over 24 hours ago. Since I can hold fluids I have no worries that I will rehydrate myself now and clear up everything else. I lost 4 pounds in last few days...mostly fluid I am sure so I need to get that back up. Per Dr.'s orders I am staying out of this 105 heat and drinking as much water as possible and I am on the BRAT diet but I may cheat because I am really hungry for some real food and I feel like my stomach can handle it as this point. I realize now how hard it is to figure out what is going on with pregnancy masking so many symptoms. Fatigue...sure that could be pregnancy, headaches?...hormones....stomach issues- don't all pregnant women have them?, etc.... So moral of the story is that should I feel yuck again (and I am knocking on some really solid wood that this will not happen) that I will call the Dr. right away rather than waiting for it to pass or assuming it is the normal course of pregnancy symptoms. Except of course for those nights when I experience heartburn, gas and hunger pangs simultaneously because seriously, that could only be pregnancy..but really pregnancy is a beautiful thing!