I woke up on a day like most days--ready and eager to get my homeschooling and homemaking on. There was only one problem--my body suddenly felt like it'd been hit by a ton of bricks.
I wondered if there was something wrong with me pregnancy-related. My husband had already left for work and these random, new symptoms had my anxious needless to say.
I decided to try to rest it off. I went back to bed, and took a nap.
Sweat dripping from my head like crazy, I woke up an hour later suddenly and ran to the bathroom losing what breakfast I tried to hold down earlier.
I felt as though I was going to faint so I had my oldest son call my husband...
He had a nurse come to our home to check on me. She took my temp, my blood pressure, and gave me a COVID test all while I laid in bed, unable to move. A doctor on a zoom call confirmed I was tested positive for covid a few minutes later.
I burst into a puddle of hormonal tears.
As much as this was not fun to hear, I was relieved to know what was wrong with me. I mean--my body ached bad. From head to toe, I felt incredibly strong pains in my muscles, specifically in my hip area. I had never felt anything like those body aches in my life.
The doctor instructed me to quarantine for 5 days, to keep on my mask around the family, stay hydrated, and rest as much as possible.
For pain management, she recommended Tylenol, and Mucinex for the sore throat and coughing she was sure was to come (she was right--major coughing came the next few days).
Lastly, she told me that seeing as how I hadn't caught covid until now, it was most likely because my immune system is not as strong with my being pregnant--I'm literally sharing my immune system now with the baby growing inside me. Apparently, pregnant women are more susceptible to covid according to the CDC.
She advised me to rest, rest, rest. "You're growing a baby and your body is fighting off this illness. That's a massive amount of work."
You guys, I kid you not--I've never slept so much in all...my...life. My bed was my bff. I was too tired to hold up a book, so I watched movies in between naps to stay sane. I also perused YouTube to learn what other pregnant moms' covid experiences were like. The stories that popped up on my algorithm did not help easy my anxiety though. The worst case scenarios had the most hits (duh). "I had a horrible headache for 4 weeks", one pregnant mom said. "I had to be hospitalized and gave birth prematurely", another lamented. I decided to limit my perusing, and just learn the facts to stay safe. This eased my anxiety tremendously.
After 5 days of severe body aches, coughing, a migraine, eye pain, fever, and loss of appetite, I was finally feeling like myself. I went in on day 6 post positive covid test and saw my OB who is set to deliver my baby boy soon via c section. He urged me to try to eat more now that I was feeling better as he wasn't pleased with my lack of weight gain. I left that appointment and stopped at the store, grabbing treats I hadn't indulged in a while: glazed donuts, buttery pasta, and Honey Combs. #myrandompregnancycravings
The hardest part of all of this was not being able to cuddle, hug, and kiss my babies and hubby. I didn't realize how close we are as a family until I had to be quarantined in a room alone. Ugh how my heart ached!
Here's the good news. This mama is now covid free. My pregnancy is going well (due next month!). I was able to avoid being hospitalized and got better all at home. Praise God!
I am incredibly grateful to have my health back, guys. I can't even articulate how grateful I am to be able to go on family walks again, be active, and be back on mom mode.
Next, I want to share with you all my immune boosting breakfast I've been having to stay healthy, energized and strong. I can honestly say that this mama NEVER gets sick--and as humbling as this experience has been, I'm confident that it would have been loads worse if I hadn't been leading a healthy, active lifestyle prior.
As cliché as it sounds, health is wealth. Take care of yourself, friends. Wash those hands. Follow the CDC recommendations and stay well!
I hope that my sharing my experience helps. While we all have been affected by covid differently, I believe there's power in sharing our own unique experiences.
Sending you all love. More content to come. Make sure you're subscribed here and following on the 'gram. Baby boy will be here soon!
Muuuuah!
Monica