coping with hypermesis and toddler!?

Hi guys

DD is almost 20months and we are looking at trying for a Sibling in Sept once she's two.

My question is: I lost 13kg in 8 weeks with hyperemesis up till about 20weeks with DD and I'm scared as hell I'll have it again next time as I could barey look after myself, I couldnt eat anything in those weeks and needed forced fluids as they'd come back too, as well as the the antinausea meds....sooo how did you cope? Did you get it second time round?

Tia

I had hyperemesis with #1, lost lots of weight, hospital trips for fluids, vomited right the way through the pregnancy and wondered whether I could ever face doing it all again.... I was doing the same sort of stressing planning for #2 - I'm now in my 3 tri.

I did heaps of planning for this pregnancy. I found the helpher.org website   here really useful in coming up with a management plan. I took my ideas to my GP, who read the papers that I found and we made the decision to treat the potential hyperemesis preemptively with ondansetron (here's a paper on it. Of the many antiemetics I'd been prescribed in preg #1 ondansetron had been the most effective...only, back then it was difficult to get because of its cost.
So...I got pregnant...I was so scared I'd get sick as a dog. And, I have been sick, but our preemptive treatment has worked and I have not had hyperemesis. I have had morning sickness (really good morning sickness vomiting a few times each day) until until about 16 weeks and then once a day until 25 weeks...and it's now stopped! I did use the antiemetics, but did not lose any weight and kept fluids down so did not need to be admitted to hospital.   I don't need to use the antiemetics now at all.

My mindset is quite different this preg - I planned to be really sick, and anything less is a bonus. I planned to be sick the whole time...and now that I'm not, well that's been a bonus too...whereas pregnancy #1, I kept wondering when my morning sickness was going to stop and was so down heartened when it didn't. Also, knowing that it is time limited and that the pay off at the end is well worth the sickness has helped too...

Toddlerwise....DVDs have helped entertain, telling my friends early on in my preg has helped (they helped lots with my little person in first trimester when I felt the lousiest), not working full time has helped (it was ok if we were still in our PJs at lunchtime on the yuk days), family/partner/social support all very important. My LMC has also been very supportive of the management plan.

There are some good forums/discussions on that helpher.org website, so you will likely get some good ideas too.

Hope that helps...
Plan for the worst...anything less is a bonus...and regardless of the journey, the reward at the end is well worth the road travelled!