How Becoming a Mom has Helped my Emet

[leftoftwilight]

I remember feeling scared before my son was born. I hadn't gotten sick in 8 years and my emet was at an all time high. I had made it through the pregnancy without getting sick (phew), I made it through labor and delivery without getting sick (phew). My postpartum journey was really hard. I had full blown postpartum anxiety, I was supposed to go back to work full time, and suddenly I had this precious little baby who needed his mama. I started to surrender. I started to fully realize that I can't control things. I had to give up my job because he wasn't gaining enough weight and I needed to just focus on feeding him and caring for him.

Before having my son I had been in therapy for 2 years finally addressing my anxiety. I did EDMR therapy (which I highly recommend). My therapist was awesome and I made huge strides in my OCD and anxiety (I consider myself cured). After having my son the postpartum hormones brought some of it back, but that was temporary. The last piece to my anxiety puzzle was my emet. This was something that I *did* work on in therapy, but I was still fully terrified of. When my son was 10 months old I got Noro. I v* a lot. And I was okay. Two months later we got another SV. In the course of his first 2 years we went through 6 SV's!!! And we are all okay! Now these weren't pleasant. But the fact of the matter is that they were not as bad as I expected.
I figured out how to make myself comfortable. One of my personal fears is making it to the bathroom in time, so, I just stay in bed with a disposable Tupperware container. I put on a show for us to enjoy. I have everything we might need close by (phone, water, dropper for measuring how much water to give per hour, clean up supplies) and once the v* is over I add in a few more things (electrolyte drink, applesauce, crackers, ginger tea). I figured out how to make myself comfortable through what was my worst case scenario. Now that I have a plan on what to do, I no longer fear the dreaded SV.

I now have a 2.5 year old boy and a 6 month old girl. They are always licking everything, so I consider it inevitable. Additionally they are both young enough to need my help, so if they get sick first, I'll probably get sick too. And if I get sick, they will likely lick me and get sick too. So. If anyone gets sick, we hunker down in bed for a few days, with the supplies needed, and we will all be okay.

I'm actually not afraid of this coming flu season. I have surrendered and I have found peace.