The third trimester of my pregnancy didn’t have nearly as many sweet spots as the second trimester, unfortunately. It turned out to be quite difficult. Of course, lupus and pregnancy mixed together is never going to be easy. I was able to cope fairly well with most of the issues I encountered until the last two weeks – at that point I was just outright miserable. In this post I’ll be sharing about my medical care, lupus symptoms, and pregnancy symptoms. In […]
Author: Ava
Things to Do in New Bern, North Carolina.
A trip to New Bern is absolutely one of the best things to do in North Carolina. This beautiful and historic riverfront city, located in the coastal region of North Carolina, has plenty of fun activities to choose from. New Bern is the second oldest town in North Carolina and its European influence is obvious in the architecture and walkable downtown. It was settled by a group of German and Swiss immigrants, including some from Bern, Switzerland (hence the name). […]
Signs That You Need a New Rheumatologist.
Choosing a new rheumatologist was relatively easy, but getting a referral, finding an office that would accept my referral, and then actually getting in to see the doctor was quite difficult. I started trying to find a new rheumatologist after only three appointments with the one who diagnosed me with lupus. In fact, I almost walked out of my third appointment with him after waiting 2.5 hours to be seen – the only reason I didn’t walk out is because I […]
Walking Along the Rose Route in Hildesheim, Germany.
We were able to stop in Hildesheim for just a few hours on our way to Hamburg, Germany in August 2016, although the lovely city certainly deserved more of our time. I had developed a deep wanderlust for German cities that were full of half-timbered houses and so Hildesheim had quickly risen to the top of my must-see list. Walking along the rose route in Hildesheim was a bit inadvertent, however. I had planned a walking tour for our visit and it just […]
The Second Trimester of Being Pregnant with Lupus.
It turned out to be true for me that the second trimester was the sweet spot of pregnancy. A lot of my first trimester symptoms faded or disappeared entirely and I didn’t experience many new or intense pregnancy woes until the second trimester was nearing its end. Being pregnant with lupus meant that it wasn’t completely smooth sailing, of course. I had more doctor’s appointments, medications, and potential complications compared to the average pregnant woman, and I’ll share them all here along […]
Hiking Humpback Rocks in Virginia.
I discovered Humpback Rocks because it happened to be within walking distance from the luxury yurt we chose for our anniversary trip. I saw a few striking photos of it while browsing through the listing for the yurt and figured it would be the perfect local adventure to tackle during our vacation this past December. Humpback Rocks is a massive rock formation with an elevation of 3,080 feet. It’s near the peak of Humpback Mountain and its name reflects the bulge […]
The Importance of Recognizing and Treating Sleep Apnea.
This post on sleep apnea is sponsored by Aeroflow in collaboration with Chronic Illness Bloggers. As always, all opinions remain my own and were not influenced by the sponsor. Nearly five years ago I was sitting next to my soon-to-be husband, attempting to take on the role of gracious caregiver, as he fell asleep after his wisdom teeth removal surgery. I felt awkward and even a little bit creepy watching him sleep with a half-eaten bowl of jello in my […]
The ABC’s of Lupus. (Or, 26 Things About Lupus.)
A few months ago I stumbled across a post called “Fibromyalgia A to Z” and it struck me as a great way to quickly share lots of information about a chronic illness. There are many symptoms and aspects of my illness that don’t necessarily find their way into my blog posts about lupus and this was certainly one of the more creative ways to share 26 of them with you. I hope you learn something new about lupus from this […]
Our Anniyurtsary – Staying at a Luxury Yurt in Afton, Virginia.
In December we celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary in a luxury yurt in Afton, Virginia. Little did we know when we booked this “anniyurtsary” last August that it would also be serving as our babymoon! We found out we were expecting in late September and also realized that time and financial limitations would prevent us from taking a dedicated babymoon (something I’ve always wanted to do). Fortunately, this luxury yurt was so fantastic that it helped me forget my disappointment about […]
My Lupus Pregnancy: The First Trimester.
I’m so excited to share the news of my lupus pregnancy! I have to admit that I really didn’t expect the word ‘pregnancy’ to enter into my personal vocabulary in 2017. It has been a whirlwind of prenatal education, doctors’ appointments, and brand new experiences over the past few months. In this post, I’m going to share my first trimester lupus pregnancy journey with you partially because it’s a great way for me to document it but also because having lupus […]