and it begins
From what I can tell, motherhood comes with a plethora of opportunity for guilt. Everything from ‘Am I a good mother?’ to ‘Should I go back to work?’ to ‘Did I provide enough breastmilk for my baby?’
Apparently, at 5 months pregnant, it’s not too early for the guilt to start.
I broke down and took a Sudafed last night. And then… another one just about 20 minutes ago.
I just couldn’t take it anymore. I slept for about 3 hours last night (or tonight, really- since it’s only 5am and still the Middle of the Night in my mind) and my sinuses are COMPLETELY blocked. I’m not talking just a little stuffy. It’s the kind of blockage that makes swallowing painful, because absolutely zero air is able to escape my nasal passages. That, combined with an incredibly dry and sore throat (thanks to all of the mouthbreathing), dry, chapped lips, and my teeth hurting from all of the sinus pressure… equals misery.
I tried everything: sitting up, lying down, walking around, ignoring the problem (yeah, because THAT works), humidifier, drinking hot tea, etc. NOTHING HELPS.
So I Googled ‘Sudafed while pregnant’. And, like everything else dealing with pregnancy, there are about 1,000,000 different opinions on the matter. The FDA classifies Sudafed as a Category C drug, meaning that while there’s nothing actually proven that can go wrong with a pregnancy because of taking it, there’s not enough actually known to give a definitive ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. So Category C drugs are given the label: If the benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risks to the fetus, then go ahead.
Then there are articles that say, sure, as long as you’re past the 3 month mark of your pregnancy, taking a Sudafed is fine. There are others who say NO WAY ARE YOU SATAN DO YOU WANT TO KILL YOUR BABY? Comforting to read, especially after you’ve already taken 2 of them in the past 8 hours.
Here’s my thinking, and it’s actually something one of my doctors told me once, last year before I was pregnant: (or at least what I keep telling myself when that guilt creeps in) Crack addicts have healthy babies every day.
So really, taking a little red pill to help me breathe so that maybe I can get some much needed rest seems okay to me. Right? My pregnancy has been completely normal so far- I don’t have high blood pressure, I haven’t had ANY caffeine or anything remotely bad the entire time, and I am 99% sure that my doctor would be like, ‘um, why on EARTH are you calling me at 3am to ask me about taking a Sudafed? Just do it!’
Still.. a bit of guilt.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find another box of Kleenex. I just now officially finished off an entire box in less than 24 hours. Is there some sort of medal for that?
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I have terrible, terrible allergies and I am almost always stuffed up. I have taken Sudafed and Afrin and as far as I can tell, my kids?
They are normal. Well, you know. Normal enough.
My OB also told me the whole crackhead story too, when I was pregnant with Joey and had horrible hives all over my body and I refused to take any kind of drug.
Just so you know, I can go through a three pack box of Puff’s Plus in about two weeks!
Twitter: jayesel
haha yeah, normal enough ;)
Thank you though, that makes me feel better! It’s tough to keep things in perspective when you read horror stories and scare articles and all you want is to FEEL BETTER! I also try to remember that years ago, women did all kind of stuff that was dangerous while they were pregnant and lots of babies turned out just fine.
Interesting note about my allergies: I used to have them pretty bad, I took Allegra for them. I didn’t take it this spring because I knew we were going to try to get pregnant, and I was sooo scared about how bad my symptoms were going to be- I was dreading it. You know what? I had NO PROBLEMS, all spring and summer I was totally fine, even before I was pregnant! It was very strange.. so I’m wondering if I’ve grown out of them or something? Hurray if so :)
I rarely ever get sick. But last year, when I was about 5 months pregnant, I got the flu. I took some kind of Tylenol for flu because I decided the fever, vomiting, and stress on my body would probably be worse for the baby than the medication. I also lifted heavy things, used cleaning products, helped paint our deck, and got my hair highlighted (although I waited until I was 8 months for that). Yet Oliver is totally healthy.
A former coworker of mine even had red wine pretty often during the 2nd & 3rd trimesters of her pregnancy because her doctor said it was ok, and her baby was just fine. (Personally, though, I avoided all alcohol.)
I know how paranoia hits hard during pregnancy but I’m sure your baby girl is perfectly ok. When you take care of yourself, you’re taking care of her, too. You need to be healthy for her. So don’t let the Sudafed worry you. It’s better for you to be able to breathe and get her some oxygen, right? :)
P.S. Believe it or not, the paranoia only gets worse when they’re out of your belly!
Twitter: jayesel
Melissa- I’m glad to hear all of that! I’m also stressing a bit about the baby’s room- I’m such a control freak that I know I won’t be able to let someone else paint the whole thing :) Plus, I like to paint. I will definitely have my mom help (get the high places that need ladders, etc) but I can’t just not participate. And the painting is another thing with a million opinions, heh. But I figure I’ll open the windows and maybe even wear a mask if I think it’s too much- but really, it’s not like we’re using paint sprayers or lead paint, or even really fume-y paint (I’ve never noticed a smell at all with the paints I’ve used other places in the house)
I was pretty much thinking what you said last night- I figured it was more important for me to get oxygen to the baby than it was to avoid taking a pretty safe medicine!
And I can only imagine the paranoia that will hit in a few months :) aaah!
Oh, and no Sweet’N'Low (saccharin). Equal (aspartame) and Splenda are safe though. Just FYI. :) It wasn’t too long ago that I researched all this stuff, and I remember how much I worried.
Indoor paints are now pretty much all water-based and as long as the room is well-ventilated you’ll be fine. Of course, I used this argument on my husband and he still refused to let me help with the baby’s room… the only reason he allowed me to help paint the deck was because we were outside, and then he worried that I was going to get heat stroke instead. But remember, this is the guy who wasn’t going to let me watch ’24′ because it might stress out the baby! ;) I think my husband worried more than I did while I was pregnant—but now I’m making up for it!
Hey there…
It’s been a long time. I used to blog regularly on kelshouse.com Anyway, I was going through bookmarks tonight and found your new site through muted. I was excited to see your big news. I, too, am pregnant with a baby girl… she is due next week! I’ll be sure to check back for your progress. It really is an amazing journey… congratulations!
Hehe. I enjoy your comment conversations. (Although the nutritionist in me has to jump in – sucralose and aspartame are absolutely not safe, but that has nothing to do with pregnancy, and chances are they won’t kill you). But I did want to say that I hope you are feeling better soon, and that you’re on to something new to worry about. ;)
I can definitely understand the guilt issue. When I was pregnant with Jada but didn’t know it, I was drinking and smoking (cigarettes only, of course). I had to live with that fact and feel like the worst person ever. But as with the whole crackhead thing, I felt better knowing that I quit smoking the minute I found out I was pregnant and of course didn’t touch alcohol. Others don’t.
Jada turned out fine, thank God!
The wonderful thing about issues with pregnancy…everyone has been through it and you are never alone in the feelings that you are having. :)
hi.. i haven’t been pregnant myself but i enjoy reading your experience. good luck with the pregnancy. i’m so excited for you, dan and the family. :)
Hi, I’ve been reading for a while, and love to. And just wanted to throw my two cents in- I’ve never been pregnant, but I know that my mom (who obviously was, hahaha) laughs about all of the stuff that people now say you’re not supposed to do or have when you’re pregnant. Her big thing is caffeine, especially coffee. She had two cups of coffee a day, and gave birth to two very healthy girls, so it must have worked out okay. Because seriously, think of the hundreds upon hundreds of years where people didn’t think about this stuff and took medicine way more out there than Sudafed and gave birth to perfectly healthy babies. So relax, and feel better!
AHHH! Aspartame?? I drank about 2 or three diet pepsi during my two first pregnancies and so far Im 6 months pregnant with my third!!! I never thaught about the aspartame I was always concerned about the caffeine. My boys are healthy but whats wrong with Aspartame???? I googled sudafed and got this site…I think Im gonna go ahead and take one! Thanx
Just had to tell you that you are a rock star…. I took sudafed a few hours ago (with the direction from my doctor) then I went online to look at symptoms because I am now unbelievably thirsty and saw the level C thing and started freaking out. So I searched further online and found your blog. Thanks for easing my mind, whether you meant to or not. Hope all is well with your little one. (I’m 21 weeks, due mid July) And I told my fiance the whole crackhead thing when he was griping at me for having a half decaf coffees…. geezzz
:) thanks again.
Tessa