Migraines and the Changing Seasons

March kicked my butt. Seriously.

Austin is infamous for its extreme weather changes and its year-round allergies. Time between seasons is the worst, and this March was particularly painful.

At 8 a.m. on a Monday, for example, it would be 34 degrees and overcast. By 5 p.m. the same day, it would be 84 and sunny. Tuesday would be the opposite. The morning would be hot and clear, but the evening would be cold and grey. Wednesday would be hot and overcast all day. Thursday would be sunny and cold. By Friday, it could be either almost snowing or 95 degrees.

Basically, it was a weather-trigger nightmare.

I spent four straight weeks with a level 4 or higher migraine. Most days, the pain reached a 7 by nighttime. There were a few particularly bad days when the pain was a constant 8 all day long. Thankfully, my husband (a private school teacher) was on vacation for half of the month and was able to help me with the baby. The days he wasn’t there – and there were many – were nearly unbearable.

One of the things being a new mom and a migraineur has taught me, however, is that what I used to consider unbearable is now something closer to unpleasant. I may wish to stay curled up in bed all day (and doing so would certainly curtail the migraine more effectively), but I don’t have that option. No matter how badly it hurts, I have to get out of bed. No matter how badly I feel, I have to smile at the baby. (After all, if I don’t, who will? And, the baby needs smiles!) While this helps ensure my son isn’t left to cry alone in his crib all day, it – like all true tradeoffs – has its downsides, the largest of which is my neglect of my husband.

On a bad day (and in March, they were all bad days), I simply don’t have any energy left over to take interest in or spend time with my husband. Caring for the baby, working, homeschooling my daughter, and trying to fight off the pain until he gets home is really all I can handle. The moment he gets in the door, all I want to do is curl up in bed, in the dark, and cry from the pain. This is not the way to sustain a marriage.

Thankfully, spring has finally sprung (well, almost; today is wet and cold, and yesterday was hot enough for my daughter to go swimming), and the endless migraines have ebbed. Here’s hoping they stay at bay long enough for me to get some quality time with my guy.

How is everyone else holding up? Have you noticed a change in your migraines (either pain or frequency) since the weather changed?

 

Emerging from New Motherhood

As a reader kindly pointed out to me yesterday, my writing has fallen to the wayside in recent months. Between the multiple middle-of-the-night and early-morning feedings and the long hours of existing as a nap-time pillow, I simply haven’t had the time or the energy to focus on my personal projects (including this blog). Thankfully, I can feel myself emerging from the state of new motherhood and sliding gratefully into something much more sustainable.

Yes, I’m still exhausted. Yes, I’m still waking up at least one or two times a night to nurse. Yes, I’m still aching for time to myself, and a few hours to focus on the various projects swirling about in my head. BUT, I’m starting to feel a little freer, a little more at ease, with each passing day.

My son turned five months old yesterday. He also took two naps – one of which was 1.5 hours long – in his swing, instead of on me. This was a first (and a much needed one at that). I was able to get lunch, a shower, and even a little work done. (Life’s little luxuries …) Today, he’s been asleep for a little over an hour, and I’ve had enough time to write two client articles and this blog. Hopefully, tomorrow will be the same, because I have so, so many migraine-related things to say.

I hope you all are doing as well as possible, and I look forward to reconnecting with you in the coming weeks and months.

 

Two Month Update

Well … it looks like “Monday” turned into two months; time does indeed fly by, and I apologize to all of you for not updating this blog sooner. Life, however, hasn’t given me much of a breather since mid-October.

I’m happy to say that my son was born on Oct. 12 at 1:13 p.m. His stats were perfect, and the delivery was routine. His adjustment to life outside the womb has been mostly peaceful, though we’re still struggling to get him to fall asleep somewhere other than on Mommy.

My daughter’s homeschooling adventure is well under way, and though we still have some behavioral and motivational bumps to iron out, it is going pretty well. She’s learned how to type and her math skills have drastically improved in just nine weeks. She’s also learning how to do the dishes.

As for how my new life is affecting my migraines … the jury’s still out.

I’ve had a low-grade migraine most days for about the past two weeks, but the pain is easily bearable and my other migraine symptoms (blurred vision, light sensitivity, nausea) have been incredibly light. We’ll have to see how things progress now that breastfeeding is well established, pregnancy hormones are gone, and I’m back on birth control. As I am now heading out of the most sleep-deprived stage of new parenthood, I hope the migraines will ebb.

All in all, I’d say the first two months postpartum have gone well. Now, if only I could get some sleep …

 

Times They Are A Changing

This week, my life changes. Forever.

Seems dramatic, I know, but the truth remains: This week marks the arrival of two major changes that will drastically affect my life every day for the next 10 to 20 years. The first is that my husband and I – for a variety of very good reasons – have decided to homeschool our almost 10-year-old daughter. I’m withdrawing her from public school today, and she will begin homeschooling tomorrow. The second is the arrival of our son.

If anyone had told me two or three years ago that I would be a homeschooling mother of two at 29, I would have told them they were crazy. If they had insisted that, further, I would be making two such drastic changes – birthing a new baby and beginning to homeschool -  in the same week, I’m fairly certain I would have written them off as certifiable.

It’s funny what a year can do.

As a wife and mother, I am excited about these changes, and yet, as a woman who values her time alone, a full-time professional writer, and a migraineur, I’m concerned. I’m worried I won’t have enough time to sit, think, and read. I’m worried I won’t be able to begin (never mind, complete) my 2013 writing goals. And, I’m especially concerned that the added responsibilities, stresses, and disruptions inherent in having two children at home 24-hours per day, every day will wreak havoc on the careful truce I have managed to negotiate with my migraines.

For the past month of my pregnancy, my migraines have laid relatively dormant. I have a mild attack about once per week, but it’s always tolerable and it rarely lasts longer than 12 hours. For me, this is a dramatic reprieve – one I am hoping might continue past my delivery date on Friday. Knowing my triggers (namely: sleep changes, eating changes, lack of sleep, loud noises, and stress), though, it seems unlikely. And, so, the question remains: Am I completely nuts for attempting any of this, let alone all of this, right now?

I guess I’ll just have to tell you Monday.

It Can’t Hurt to be Prepared

My son will be born sometime in the next seven weeks, and I’m anxiously attempting to get everything ready. My husband, bless him, has dealt well with a wife whose ideas of preparation include making and freezing soups (two months in advance); stocking up on toilet paper, Ziploc bags, shampoo, laundry detergent, and stamps (two months in advance); and purchasing Vaseline and infant Tylenol (also two months in advance). I’ve seen a few eye rolls, and I did have to explain why I felt it was necessary to purchase the infant car seat/stroller system and the wearable infant carrier at 32 weeks, but overall I think he sees my preoccupation with preparation as a benign symptom of the eighth month of pregnancy. For me, however, it is something much more.

Based on my pregnancy, labor, and delivery 10 years ago, I already know that I have to have a c-section this time around. As a second timer, I’m not too worried about the surgery itself. However, I am very aware of the limitations it will place on me afterward: I cannot climb up or down stairs for two to three weeks (which will be difficult seeing as we live on the third floor); I am not supposed to do housework for at least four weeks; I cannot drive for six weeks; and I’m not supposed to lift anything heavier than my baby or begin exercising for up to eight weeks after delivery. For me, this basically means I’ll be living on my couch for the first four to six weeks with an infant attached to my breast.

I also have migraines, and those migraines often affect my energy levels, my speech patterns, my vision, my concentration levels, and my ability to handle light and noise. They often come on quickly, ramping up to excruciating and debilitating within as little as 20 minutes, and they’re most frequently triggered by lack of sleep, changes in eating schedule, lack of exercise, stress,  dehydration, and hormonal changes – all commonly experienced by the mothers of newborns.

Taken together, these two things (the impending c-section and the ever-present threat of migraine) mean I absolutely must be prepared for my return home before we’ve ever even left for the hospital. The more plans and preparations I can make now, the less I’ll have to worry about or tend to when we get home. Granted, if everything goes according to plan, I still have seven more weeks to wrap up any last minute food prep and laundry tasks, but – as many of us know – things rarely go according to plan, especially when infants or migraines are involved. Adding them together seems to ensure a chaotic start.

I can only hope my relentless drive to prepare helps in the months ahead. I’d hate to spend the first couple of months of my son’s life curled up in pain, unable to soothe his cries because they hurt my head too much. Just in case, though, I’ve decided I’m going to start experimenting to figure out which earplugs block the most noise. We’ll call it one final pre-baby preparation.

With the Dawn of the Third Trimester, Migraines Return

I entered my third trimester of pregnancy last Friday, and within days my migraines returned. Those of you who have been following this blog may remember that I spent my first trimester primarily in bed, watching TV shows on Netflix and trying to distract myself from the relentless pain. Then, about mid-way into my second trimester, the migraines eased up and my energy returned. Now, it seems my reprieve has come to an end.

Once again, I find myself suffering with a migraine almost every day. Thankfully, though, they’re not as painful or as symptomatic as my first trimester migraines. Unfortunately, with the lack of sleep, the extra weight, and the dehydration that so characterizes the third trimester, it’s unlikely that I can do much to reduce their frequency. So, with only 11 weeks left to go, I’m crossing my fingers that my relative good fortune continues.

How about the rest of you pregnant ladies? Where are you in your journey, and how are you feeling?

 

Some Relief in the Second Half of the Second Trimester

I’ve been pretty silent over the last six weeks or so, and I apologize for that. At first, I was still reeling from high-intensity migraines almost every day of the week. I also was completely overwhelmed with school. Now, at 22w6d pregnant, I’m thankful to say that I’m feeling significantly better. I’m 100% done with school (for forever, not just for the year!), and my migraines are down to about 1 or 2 a week. This is good news, and I wanted to make sure to share it with y’all in order to offer hope to the others of you out there who may still be struggling through the first half of your pregnancies. May relief and joy come your way soon!