A lot has happened in a year!
I stopped posting to this blog. For two reasons. The first is I GOT PREGNANT! And the second is that my dad died 8 weeks into my pregnancy and my quest to cure my arthritis just didn't seem important anymore.
My Dad dying was a huge shock and something I'll never completely recover from. He was a wonderful man whose unwavering self-confidence instilled the same in me. I miss him more than I can say. Sadly he died quite unexpectedly of a subarachnoid haemmorhage - a brain haemmorhage. Over a year later, I still can't believe he's gone. He had more energy than anyone I've ever known and it seems impossible that he doesn't exist any more. But there it is.
My pregnancy was also a huge surprise, given that I was figuring myself to be infertile. I was so pleased that Dad knew of my pregnancy, his first grandchild. And I was and still am gutted that he will never meet James, the most beautiful boy in the world. He would have been an incredible grandad.
My pregnancy was a tough one, but seemed all the more precious because of dad's untimely death. James's entrance into the world is burned into my memory as a moment of unutterable joy! I am a lucky lady indeed.
He has proven himself to be an incredibly easy-going baby, who sleeps through the night and only cries when something is wrong. I feel that I have got off very lightly. My extensive reading of baby books helped a lot, however, as some of the advice is excellent and not to be missed. I especially made use of advice from 'The Happiest Baby on the Block', 'The New Contented Baby Book' and 'The Baby Whisperer'. They were all wonderful and kept the first 3 months as stress free as it is possible to be.
Now James is 10 months old and crawling and a little charmer. I am starting to think about trying for another baby, but in truth the thought terrifies me. Mind you, the thought of having one child terrified me before James came along, and here I am, coping!
I am now taking Humira, which is working wonderfully, and am steadily losing the pregnancy weight doing a diet called the Shangri-la diet - which I will write about another time. I have resumed my quest to CURE my arthritis ;-) , and am enjoying a little success in this area. Right now, I'd be happy with just 'making it less bad'.
I dread coming off the Humira to try and get pregnant, but hope that all my knowledge of ovulation and fertility herbs will help once again. It is useful to have this diary to refer back to.
One final thought before I go up to bed for the night... I also joined a study in London which is looking at the link between pregnancy and rheumatoid arthritis remission (I did indeed enjoy an almost total remission during pregnancy). I just managed to give them a blood sample before getting pregnant, whilst being pregnant, and six months after giving birth. I was the first on the study to do so. I am hopeful they'll discover something useful for future treatments. In the meantime, I'm back on the job myself!
My Dad dying was a huge shock and something I'll never completely recover from. He was a wonderful man whose unwavering self-confidence instilled the same in me. I miss him more than I can say. Sadly he died quite unexpectedly of a subarachnoid haemmorhage - a brain haemmorhage. Over a year later, I still can't believe he's gone. He had more energy than anyone I've ever known and it seems impossible that he doesn't exist any more. But there it is.
My pregnancy was also a huge surprise, given that I was figuring myself to be infertile. I was so pleased that Dad knew of my pregnancy, his first grandchild. And I was and still am gutted that he will never meet James, the most beautiful boy in the world. He would have been an incredible grandad.
My pregnancy was a tough one, but seemed all the more precious because of dad's untimely death. James's entrance into the world is burned into my memory as a moment of unutterable joy! I am a lucky lady indeed.
He has proven himself to be an incredibly easy-going baby, who sleeps through the night and only cries when something is wrong. I feel that I have got off very lightly. My extensive reading of baby books helped a lot, however, as some of the advice is excellent and not to be missed. I especially made use of advice from 'The Happiest Baby on the Block', 'The New Contented Baby Book' and 'The Baby Whisperer'. They were all wonderful and kept the first 3 months as stress free as it is possible to be.
Now James is 10 months old and crawling and a little charmer. I am starting to think about trying for another baby, but in truth the thought terrifies me. Mind you, the thought of having one child terrified me before James came along, and here I am, coping!
I am now taking Humira, which is working wonderfully, and am steadily losing the pregnancy weight doing a diet called the Shangri-la diet - which I will write about another time. I have resumed my quest to CURE my arthritis ;-) , and am enjoying a little success in this area. Right now, I'd be happy with just 'making it less bad'.
I dread coming off the Humira to try and get pregnant, but hope that all my knowledge of ovulation and fertility herbs will help once again. It is useful to have this diary to refer back to.
One final thought before I go up to bed for the night... I also joined a study in London which is looking at the link between pregnancy and rheumatoid arthritis remission (I did indeed enjoy an almost total remission during pregnancy). I just managed to give them a blood sample before getting pregnant, whilst being pregnant, and six months after giving birth. I was the first on the study to do so. I am hopeful they'll discover something useful for future treatments. In the meantime, I'm back on the job myself!
posted by spacehoppa at
8:11 pm
|
0 comments
