Pity Party, Party of One

I wish I could say I am up at 5 am because I want to be extra productive today (though I did just start a load of laundry), and get to work at 6:30 am or something. Not so. I am up because I can't breathe. And I can't breathe because I am pregnant and basically have a cold for 9 months every time I have a baby. But the real kicker this time is that for the next two weeks, I am not allowed to blow my nose. This is akin to insomnia for me. I hate breathing out of my mouth!

The reason for my two week ban is that yesterday I went into an ear, nose and throat doctor because I have been having a lot of bloody noses for the past 4 weeks. Having a bloody nose is not uncommon while pregnant - all that extra blood going around in your body and all. But I was having some really bad bloody noses at least 2-3 times a day. I was joking with Matt that I could see a piece of brain tissue in there that must have gotten loose, hence all my dumb pregnant moments and the bloody noses.

But no, it wasn't my brain but it was an irritated piece of tissue around a ruptured blood vessel that had to be cauterized. So, the doc cut it out and put silver nitrate on the blood vessel (I now have dark silver stain all inside my nose). It felt like he was literally going up to my brain with the stuff, and all I could taste was metal for a few hours. So now, to protect this sensitive patch of skin I am not to blow my nose for 2 weeks. I said to the doctor, you're joking - that's impossible. I literally can't breathe already, I will never sleep again! He said, "Well, just sniff." SNIFF, sniff? I felt tears coming to my eyes. Oh boy...

I know this probably sounds silly to those who don't get this pregnancy cold but it is real, and it is miserable. I may have shared this before, but here is what BabyCenter.com had to say about it:

Believe it or not, it's pretty common to have a runny or stuffed-up nose during pregnancy. Up to 30 percent of pregnant women have congestion without having allergies or a viral infection like the common cold. This condition even has a name: rhinitis of pregnancy.

It can start as early as your second month and tends to worsen later in pregnancy. The congestion should ease up soon after you give birth and be gone completely within two weeks after delivery.

Higher amounts of estrogen during pregnancy can contribute to swelling in the mucous membranes lining the nose and even cause you to make more mucus. What's more, the amount of blood in your body increases during pregnancy, which may cause swelling in the tiny blood vessels in the lining of your nose and congestion in the surrounding tissue. Other hormones may also play a role.

So if you are around me during the next few weeks, I apologize in advance for my tired, listless, sniffly appearance. This is gonna be rough.