Hi Bikebaby!
(*and big thanks to Kelda for letting me know there was a question on here!). I'm not on this forum these days, but boy, did I find a ton of support on here back in the days when I was! So I'm very grateful to the site for introducing me to some very cool ladies.
I think that was my very first post on here! I was terrified then, I've got to tell you. Since you have ME, you'll know just how sick it can make you, and how you really do worry that you won't actually be able to care for baby if it gets worse. It worked out really well for me (and I hear of others who've had similar experiences) - I was unwell through the whole pregnancy, but something about the birth triggered a big change. It makes me wonder how much of the illness is hormone-triggered. Not only did I get through a very long labour, but a few weeks after my daughter's arrival I noticed I was still tired (who isn't with a newborn?!), but had no leg pain, the permanently swollen glands in my neck were smaller, my throat didn't hurt, and I could go on a walk without that pounding-heart light-headed need to lie down afterwards. When my baby started sleeping through the night, the brain-fog that'd annoyed me for years lifted. I hope this encourages you, 'cause honestly, it can work out really well!
After my second baby a couple of years later, I caught virus after virus over the space of a year, and the ME relapsed. I remember lying on the bed quite literally unable to lift a limb at one stage - I'd been there before, but not with kids! Argh! My husband spent a week at home (which is a big deal when you're self-employed!) looking after the kids and I, and outside of that week he did everything he could to help out. I had friends who had my toddler to visit for afternoons here & there, and eventually I got well enough again to look after me and mine. I'm not 100% even now - you probably know what I mean about winter germs knocking you out of action for weeks, etc; and can't handle late nights, but I'm well enough that life is GREAT. I think that once you've lost your health, you learn just how grand life is when you had it, so you don't take it for granted if you're able to work, socialise, run your household, and all, even if you're not 100%. You kinda learn in a hurry that it's the things you CAN do that matter, not the things you can't, eh. Anyway, if you want to chat about where you're at and the grizzly business of being sick when you've got a baby on the way, feel free to PM me and I'll send you my e-mail address. I don't frequent this forum anymore, but I'm always happy to have a chat with someone in the same boat.
Edited by Andie
M.E. (CFS) and Pregnancy
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