Thriving in Survival Mode – Tales from the First Trimester

So, I’ve been sick for a few months.  Not, like, sickness sick.  I’m going to be fine.  I mean “morning sickness,” but the kind that is with me every second of the day.  Most days (now that I’m 20 weeks) I only throw up once, but for several weeks I was throwing up five to six times a day.  Regular life stalled out.  Survival Mode swooped in.

I stay home with my son.  I teach online.  I run a business.

How did we keep going?  Here are my best tips:

1. I set my business up to run without me.

My husband knows how to do much of the work needed.  I pushed off launches I was excited about.  I kept to the bare minimum.

2. I loved my son while also explaining that I couldn’t dance, run, or play with him.

I needed to rest and I would happily read him a book, or color with him, or play Go Fish from my permanent spot on the couch.

3. I asked for help.

This does not come naturally to me at all! I asked my mom to play with my son at the library while I sat in a quiet corner and tried to catch up.  Instead of attending my women’s group, I asked the host if I could drop my son off and desperately try to finish overdue work.  And, even though these people did not know how sick I was, they happily helped!  Honestly, more than those precious hours of work, knowing that people around me cared enough to help was a huge boost to my sanity.

4. I tried my best to offer up my suffering for women with hyperemesis gravidarum and for women struggling to conceive.

I am not good at this, but I did my best.  And redemptive suffering is much easier to handle than…regular suffering.

What are your best tips for survival mode?