Hyperemesis Gravidarum: My HG Journal

It’s been a busy summer around here! In June we published Watching Over Angels, and in July, we published Hyperemesis Gravidarum: My HG Journal.

My HG Journal was created to serve as a safe space for expectant and delivered mamas to record and release all things HG related.

I know firsthand how difficult it is to talk to people about what it’s like to go through hyperemesis gravidarum. It is such a unique experience that most people simply have no frame of reference to try to understand. This can be incredibly frustrating, especially when you get comments like, “Oh yeah, I was so sick during my pregnancy too. I mean, I never threw up, but I was nauseas for like 3 months straight.”

I think we can all agree that being nauseas for 3 months straight is a miserable experience, but IYKYK, right?

My HG Journal serves as a place to vent out frustrations, fears, and difficulties through writing. It is divided out into sections such as Medical Care, Input, Expectations, Connecting with Baby, and more. Each section has questions to use as writing prompts that will help guide as you try to process this life changing experience.

I wanted to create something that would be beautiful, as well as meaningful. All throughout the journal are illustrations of succulents. Succulents are a special type of plant that represent enduring love - the type of love that continues to grow, even in the harshest of circumstances. To me, that really spoke to the type of love you develop for your child during an HG pregnancy. Yes, the conditions are extreme and harsh as you suffer every waking (and frankly, sleeping as well) moment, as you starve, as you become dehydrated, as you can’t function, etc. And yet, your body finds a way to help that sweet child grow and develop. It is truly a miracle!

Also found within the pages of My HG Journal are HG specific affirmations. These affirmations came not only from my own HG pregnancies, but also from other HG mamas. I reached out to the women in my HG support group and asked what affirmations they have used to help them get through their own pregnancies. These are found at the bottom of each writing page to help cheer you and your child from the sidelines and to whisper from the pages that you are not alone in this.

While writing certainly does not replace professional mental health care, studies show that writing does clearly help ease anxiety, calm the mind, increase self awareness, decrease post-traumatic stress, and so much more.

Write hard and clear about what hurts
-Ernest Hemingway

My hope in publishing My HG Journal is that someone, somewhere, suffering through HG can find a friend and a listening ear within the pages of this journal. My hope is that by so doing, she will have a safe space to tell her story. I truly believe that by finding ways to tell our stories, we find meaning in seasons of suffering. When we find meaning in our seasons of suffering, we find resilience.

If you would like to order a copy of Hyperemesis Gravidarum: My HG Journal, you can find it on Amazon by clicking the link below.

Link to Hyperemesis Gravidarum: My HG Journal

If you like the journal, please be sure to share it with another HG mom and rate and review it on Amazon. Doing so will help other suffering mamas find it in their time of need.