It feels amazing. All of it. The not-so-little head rubbing on my pelvic nerves, feet poking out my love handles, hiccups . . . all of it.
Staying active and good chiropractic care has also kept me mobile so I don't usually have back pain until very late in the day, if at all.
The lovenox shots are still no fun, but I am starting to see the "end of the tunnel" as far as they're concerned. Just a little over 9 weeks of stabbing myself left!!
I've been taking these darn things since November 2013, with only a 3 week break between when I finished up my postpartum shots after Jackson's stillbirth and starting them back up again the day after meeting with Dr. H back in May.
It's a long time to be doing daily, then twice daily, injections of a medicine that burns so badly, but I also know it isn't for the rest of my life, which is what many Type I diabetics deal with if they can't get an insulin pump.
Some women in the lovenox support group I'm in have been starting new pregnancies and for many, it is their first time on lovenox. A few have been asking about various injection sites and how to rotate sites, which sites cause more pain than others, etc.
For those women, I created this diagram. It doubles as my belly shot for the week, too, since this was taken Tuesday morning.
Based on comments to my photo in the group, each woman's experience with the shots is a little different and what doctors recommend varies, too. Some doctors allow the buttocks and thighs as injection sites, others say to avoid above the belly button, and even more say to do them in an old scar if you've had a c-section in the past.
I've never had a c-section so I don't have any numb spots! And my doctor says all shots need to go in my belly, using all 4 quadrants. So that is what I do.
The area marked "avoid at all costs" still gets avoided. So for the lower quadrants, I tend to work a little closer to my belly button or further off to the sides, away from my pre-existing stretch marks.
On a different note . . . I had a short discussion with a fellow pregnant-at-the-time LDS acquaintance a few months ago and she was talking about just how awful the cut of LDS garments are for pregnant women. I agree wholeheartedly, but because of experiences my parents had shared with me, I knew that I could special order something that I knew would provide a great fit for me.
If you are unfamiliar with LDS garments, also know as Garments of the Priesthood, please watch the video in the link here.
And last year, that is exactly what I had done. The waistband on the bottoms was causing issues with my injection sites so I'd talked to one of the Distribution Center seamstresses and a template was made, two samples were sent, and I loved them so much I ordered a bunch more.
For those that are curious, the waist of my bottoms matches the cut at the top of my jeans, below the stretchy belly band. Meaning, I didn't have to pull anything down or tuck anything in to take the picture above. The waistband stays entirely off my growing belly, both keeping me pain-free from the injections and allowing for continued growth while still getting a comfy fit.
I take the covenants I made as far as wearing my garments quite seriously (again, please watch the little video if you would like to know more). These promises mean so much to me and I love that I am able to wear my garments comfortably, even so far along in my pregnancy. With both of my other full-term pregnancies, finding garments that fit was very hard the last 6-8 weeks or so because they were all cut so poorly, so I had to go up a size for the waist to sort of fit but then they were super huge in the legs . . .but this time I have something that I adore, even in the last couple weeks of pregnancy. They are a delight to put on each morning as I remember the promises I've made to my Heavenly Father.
**And for those that are interested, in the biophysical profile run on Dash today, she scored a perfect 8/8!! The doctor commented that it was the first perfect score of the day and was very pleased. I have one last anti-Xa test tomorrow.**
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