Before I got pregnant (with our first child) I thought it was okay to give into those urges. Mainly cause I was the type of person who never put on weight. I think I weighed less than a 100lbs. at the start of my pregnancy (only 5′ tall).

I guess I just figured my body would keep it’s metobolism and burn off what I ate. But nope - I found that by the third trimester, the weight started to pile on. I was quite surprised to learn that I had developed toxemia in the last few weeks of my pregnancy. The news came as I checked myself into hospital with a sharp pain in the lower left side of my belly.

My weight had reached 139lbs - that was about 40 lbs on my small frame and I still had 4 weeks left to go. I was quite swollen and puffy - couldn’t even wear my shoes. I had started to wear birkenstocks even though it was December.

My doctor said he had been monitoring my sugar levels (those fun ‘pee’ tests on every doctor’s visit) which had begun to show signs of risk for toxemia. Pre-Eclampsia is another term for this condition.

I was told that I was in the hospital, on bed rest, for the duration of my pregnancy. Four, long weeks. And this was the first week of December. So can you imagine being told you have to sit in a hospital room for 4 weeks during the holidays? Arg!

Honestly, I still didn’t “get it” that I had to slow down, sit, and not get out of bed. The nurses would send me back to my room even if I tried to sneak out for ice. I was bored out of my brains sitting in that room all day. I’m not good at just sitting around at the best of times. But I wasn’t even ready with the baby’s room yet - so this was torture.

My husband finished painting the baby’s nursery with the help of my sister. The nurses brought me “crafts”: needlepoint, cross stitch, knitting projects. Anything to keep me busy while sitting. By week two, I knew I wasn’t going to last and begged my Doctor for some options. He arranged an ultrasound to see if we could induce labour early - depending on the baby’s weight and size of course. The ultrasound came back with measurements and results which indicated that our baby was about 6 pounds - a healthy wait for a pre-term baby. My doctor said that the inducement should be fine - so we proceeded. It was a quick delivery (only 4 hours from beginning to end) and our little guy arrived at a whopping 4 lbs 11 ounces. Way to small but he was healthy and no signs of problems re: lung developement or anything that can be expected with a preterm baby.

We brought him home a few days later - some obervation time to be careful. But he was a healthy little guy. I still remember how tiny he was - so cute.

Later, I had time to read my “what to expect when you’re expecting book” and read-up on Toxemia and Preclampsia - and all the risks associated with it. There can be kidney damage and other life long effects if not treated. So I wish I had known that when I was rushing around, not eating as well as I could have and even in the hospital… not taking enough care to rest. I just figured, women have babies every day and I’ll be fine. But my best advice is to always slow down during your pregnancy and enjoy the time to “nest” and prepare for your new arrival. It pays to take care of yourself. A newborn is a ton of work - and a premmie is even more. They eat more frequently which means you get less rest. So overall, I learned a lot from that first pregnancy and the second two were much more intelligent :)