Midwifery care

Pregnancy Diary: Finding Out About Baby #3

Welcome to my first pregnancy diary post for baby #3! These are a series of posts written throughout my pregnancy that are just stream of consciousness-style writing about the emotional and physical journey through the blessing of carrying our child! This first post was written the day I found out I was expecting, so it’s truly all over the place! Thanks for joining me on this journey 🙂

Tuesday June 25th, 2024

So… I’m pregnant for the third time! Is this even real life? I was not expecting to be pregnant when I took a test today. I just didn’t really have any inkling that I was expecting except for the fact that I had a weird, bitter taste in my mouth yesterday and today.

This morning, the kids and I went to our favorite place: the creek. It’s a trail near our house with a beautiful creek. We had such a nice morning. Sadie got stung by a bee on her foot yesterday and didn’t want to walk, so she sat in the stroller and held Mordecai on her lap. The weather was perfect (70s and sunny) and the kids were happy just throwing rocks in the water. I felt so content! My heart was full just doing the mom thing with my precious children.

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IV Iron Infusions During Pregnancy: My Experience with Severe Anemia

In this post, I share my experience with IV iron infusions during pregnancy to treat severe anemia, including what to expect, side effects, and tips for moms-to-be.

Anemia in pregnancy

Anemia is not a fun experience! It’s doubly tough in pregnancy when you’re already tired from growing a baby. While mild anemia is fairly common, it can become severe if left untreated or if there’s an underlying condition. Severe untreated anemia can increase the risk of complications for mom and baby. Preterm delivery, low birth weight, and postpartum depression are unfortunately all associated with anemia.

If your care provider diagnoses you with anemia, be sure to follow their guidance so you can get back to feeling normal as soon as possible!

My experience with anemia

When I was pregnant for the first time in 2018, a routine blood test around 28 weeks found me to be anemic. I was tired, out of breath, and my limbs felt like they weighed 100 pounds. I thought it was just how pregnancy was, but I was actually very anemic.

The midwives in charge of my care helped me find a great iron supplement (I took this liquid one). By the time my iron levels were retested a few weeks later, they were still low. Sometimes iron supplements take several weeks to months to improve iron levels and I was running out of time in the pregnancy to get them up. The midwives recommended IV iron infusions to prevent complications during delivery and postpartum.

Hearing that I would be getting iron infused right into my veins totally freaked me out. Was it safe for my baby? What would the side effects be? Did I have to do this? I met with a hematologist and he told me that the liquid iron he prescribed for infusions was safe during pregnancy, I would have minimal side effects, and that I didn’t have to go through with the infusions but because my iron levels were so low I was putting myself and my baby in danger. With everything taken into consideration, I decided to go through with the iron infusions.

IV iron infusion while pregnant

Getting infused with some iron during my first pregnancy!

IV iron infusions during pregnancy

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