"When he lay on my chest for the first time, part of me felt as if someone had given me a Martian baby.… Part of me felt like I was holding my own soul." - Anne Lamott
Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts
C-sections are not exactly something that you think, “Gee, I hope my pregnancy ends in a c-section.” You certainly don’t wake up in the morning WANTING a c-section.
But they aren’t bad things.
I didn’t know that I’d have a c-section with my first pregnancy – it just turned out that way because of a variety of reasons including: 1) baby was ginormous 2) I wasn’t dilated AT ALL 3) I was in severe pain from sciatica – so I had a c-section with Phoebe and it all worked out ok.
This time, I knew from the beginning that I’d have one because my practice doesn’t do VBACs (Vaginal births after c-sections) and I was ok with that. I could have found another practice that would give me a chance to do one (a VBAC) but I felt comfortable with the idea and decided to stick with them.
For the most part, I am pleased with that decision. However, that doesn’t mean that the c-section itself was in anyway pleasant.
Thursday morning, we left the house at 8:30 and headed to the hospital. Because of the gestational diabetes, they wanted me there a full hour before other folks usually have to be there so we wandered in about 9AM, got checked in, changed into our surgical gear and plugged into an IV.
Then, we waited. And waited. And waited.
The primary OB showed up about 11 and said we’d go at noon as planned. We were just waiting for the second OB. Turns out when you have a repeat c-section, they need two OBs to do the surgery. I’ve yet to really find out why, but Moo has an idea it has to do with the procedure that I’ll tell you about in a minute…
So they walk me into the surgical theater at HIGH NOON and I sit on the table, get into position for my spinal block and then wait. After about 10 minutes, the anesthesiologist is FINALLY ready to put in my block and then things started moving.
Again, how can I explain how a block feels? I can only describe it as the feeling of when your hand or foot goes to sleep. You are aware of pressure but there’s no pain and you can’t really tell whether someone’s poking you with a scalpel or tickling you.
I describe the c-section in two parts: before they get the baby out and after they get the baby out. Last time, the first part was almost pleasant. This time? Not so much. I immediately got nauseous from whatever they gave me and I felt like I was suffocating for most of the surgery. I still smelled the odor of cooking bacon – which just happened to be my flesh burning.
I still felt intense pressure when they were getting him out. But things seem to be MORE this time, more intense, more pressure. Moo says that when they were getting the baby out, that both doctors were standing on little footstools pressing on my stomach with both hands. This probably explains why I felt like I’d been in a car wreck the next day.
But there’s also the sweetness of the day. The feeling of Moo’s hand in mine as they brought my child into this world. The sound of his cries as he emerged. The excited exclamations of the team at how beautiful this boy was. The tears coursing down my face when they told me he was a boy. The softness of his skin when they let me kiss his sweet little cheek before whisking him off to recovery.
So while I didn’t enjoy the process, I certainly appreciate the outcome.
With just a couple of days before this kid makes his debut, I’m trying to be appreciative of things.
This was a completely unplanned pregnancy – Moo says it wasn’t since we weren’t doing anything to prevent it – but as you know, I didn’t think I could get pregnant again without drugs and crazy calendars and doctors involved. But this is definitely the last pregnancy for me.
I will be getting my tubes tied during Thursday’s surgery. Mainly because of one of my mother’s friends. She didn’t think she could get pregnant – she was 50. In fact, when she missed a couple of periods she just thought she was entering menopause.
What took her to the doctor was the overwhelming tiredness she felt. At that time, hormone replacement therapy was in full swing and all the menopausal women in my acquaintance were taking hormones to help deal with the symptoms.
She went to her doctor in hopes of getting something to help with the fatigue and they ran a pregnancy test “just in case” and found out she was pregnant. That child, a daughter, was a blessing to them, but I do not want to be walking around, 50 years old, being surprised by a pregnancy.
So this is my last pregnancy and I am trying to enjoy these last few days. There’s much to be done: cleaning, preparing the nursery, getting ready for a visit from Grandma, last minute packing and a million little tasks that “just have to be done”. But there’s also the moments of laying in bed with Moo as he rubs my belly and we talk. There’s the moments of having Phoebe pat my belly and ask about the baby. There’s feeling this baby move around and remind me of his presence almost constantly.
There’s the tiredness I feel after walking through Target. The heaviness of my belly, my hand supporting my back, the glances I get from people.
I’m still fighting a cold and my throat hurts and I can’t take a damn thing for it except plain Sudafed and Tylenol, but I’m appreciative of that. Not being able to take something and just crash because of this life I’m cultivating.
The Braxton-Hicks contractions remind me that my body is preparing for his arrival. I’ve been dilated at about 3 cm for about 2 weeks now. My body knows he’s almost ready and I am appreciative of that.
I am appreciative of the friends and family who have rallied around me. One friend has kept Phoebe for me on Thursdays while I was at the perinatologist’s office. My aunt and her sister have kept Phoebe while I went to the doctor on some of the Mondays and another friend has kept her on another Monday. My husband has used his days off to watch her other days. Another friend sent me 4 giant boxes of little boy clothing. Another friend gave us her gently used but still serviceable infant car seat while another has given us a high chair that’s barely been used. My mom’s club has already arranged the delivery of several meals after the birth of this kid.
How thankful I am for all of them!
How thankful I am for experiencing all this!
So I’ve not felt real good since Saturday. Oh I wasn’t sick or anything over the weekend. That was later.
I’ve had what I call “Kitty Litter Nose” since the snow back in January. You know, you feel like your nose is full of tiny rocks or glass or something? And you blow it and it looks like a bloody mosaic? (Sorry I can get a bit gross sometimes)
I get this off and on and it’s mostly that my nose gets so DRY and if I’d just use the saline spray it would be better? I even asked my ENT Chester about it and he told me to use the saline spray too.
Oh well.
Over the weekend, the kitty litter nose just felt a little dryer, a little more stuffy but nothing too terrible and I felt ok.
Monday, I went for an OB appointment and I felt ok then, but by the time I got back home, I felt vaguely like dog crap. Nugget is right under my boobs and I feel a little breathless most of the time anyway but I felt a little more breathless Monday afternoon.
I chalked everything up to just being hugely and gigantically pregnant and went on with my business.
Tuesday, I didn’t feel very well but I had a plumber coming out to replace ALL OF OUR TOILETS so I had to keep it together…
Now I am pretty damn handy with a toilet, if I say so myself. I am an expert plunger and will confidently open up that tank and replace all of it’s innards if it gives me any trouble.
Our potties are all original to our 20+ year old house and I’ve completely rebuilt one, partially rebuilt another and the third one did that “tinkle tinkle” sound all the time which means it needs to be tightened but I’d tightened it so much that I was afraid if I tightened it anymore, I’d crack the porcelain.
Additionally, our water bill was getting ridiculous.
So the plumber finally gets to the house about noon just as I’m sitting Phoebe down to lunch. I get him started and finish lunch with the kiddo.
As the plumber works, I feel worse and worse. Not about his work, that was great. He was quiet, not too chatty, which I appreciated since my throat was beginning to really hurt. I kept the kiddo out of his way and busy until he was done with the upstairs bathrooms and then I put her down for a nap.
He finished up with the guest bath downstairs right at 4PM and I was about dead. I mean, I was REALLY sick. I managed to keep it together long enough to get him paid and out of my house but then I crashed on the couch until 5:30 when Phoebe woke up from her nap.
After cooking a more complex dinner than I should have (Coca Cola chicken, mac and cheese and green beans) and watching a few minutes of TV, we put Phoebe to bed and I got in the tub.
I rarely go to bed before 11 or so, but Tuesday, I was so sick I just wanted to go myself. But my head was so stuffy that I decided that a warm bath might help. I also used the Neti pot about 4 times that day and I did it once before I went to bed.
IF you’ve never used a Neti pot before, you are missing an interesting experience. It’s not unpleasant but I wouldn’t say it’s the best thing in the world I’ve done either. However, the results are worth a few minutes of discomfort.
As a kid, I never liked diving because the water went straight up my nose and gagged me. Using the neti pot is basically forcing that water up my nose on purpose. Not exactly something I’m going to enjoy under any circumstance.
I use the Neilmed neti pot not because I like the pot itself but because the saline mixture that comes with it is AWESOME!
It doesn’t burn my nose like other mixes. I’ve tried a couple of different ones and they all say that you may need to work up to full strength mix but the one doesn’t burn at all and it’s easy to mix.
So Tuesday night I feel like absolutely dog crap. Wednesday morning, I actually felt a lot better.
By today, Thursday, I feel human again and gladly went to my LAST PERINATOLOGIST appointment. I got to see THE PERINATOLOGIST again and he said that I had done wonderfully and I should be proud of myself for the control I had. I haven’t felt like I’ve had the GD under control very well but he says I have and since he’s been birthing babies since I was BORN, I’m gonna trust him.
The last ultrasound was a full scan so we got to look at all the organs again and did measurements of the little guy. Right now, he’s an estimated 8 pounds 15 ounces – which is what Phoebe weighed when she was born at 38 weeks, 2 days.
With another week, he should gain somewhere around another 1/2 pound or so which will bring him in around 9-1/2 pounds.
So that’s where we are. Waiting.
If baby boy decides to come now, they will pause labor long enough to do a c-section. Otherwise, we wait.
So here we are. Less than two weeks before my scheduled C-section.
YES! LESS THAN TWO WEEKS!!
I’m pooping my pants. Hang on while I change them.
Ok.. that’s better.
So Tuesday morning, I wake up and my left wrist is killing me. I mean really really hurting. When I was pregnant with Phoebe, I had the same thing for the last month or so before she was born, except it was the right wrist.
My hands and feet have been swelling a good bit and like a lot of preggos, the swelling is affecting the carpal tunnel in my left wrist.
So I wrapped it up and went on with my business. The wrap reminded me to take it easy with that wrist and I did pretty well.
Well, Wednesday night/Thursday morning, I had a really bad night. BOTH wrists hurt all night. My fingers were swollen and hurting. I even took off my wedding band because my hands were so swollen.
By the time it was time to get up Thursday morning, I was in tears because I couldn’t figure out how to get dressed, much less drive myself to the doctor.
Moo was really concerned about me because I don’t usually do that. I’m one of those stoic types when it comes to pain. I will lie and say that I’m ok and just stay quiet while I’m in pain. When I finally start talking about the pain, I’m generally beyond that. If I start crying, well, then, I’m in a LOT of pain.
He was so concerned that he took me to my doctor’s appointment just to be certain that they weren’t going to keep me. He also put the suitcase in the car – yeah, he was THAT concerned.
So blood pressure was good. I gained another two pounds. Baby looked good. And the swelling? Well that’s just part of being 9 months pregnant. Once I knew I was ok and the baby was ok, I calmed down and I could better deal with the pain in my wrists, which in turn, made Moo feel better about me.
I am pretty much an emotional mess right now. I’m crying during commercials again which is pretty irritating.
Also: effin’ Braxton Hicks contractions. Anyone who calls them painless can kiss my ass. They are highly uncomfortable and, of course, are annoying because if you stop doing the thing that is bringing them on, say, sitting in your favorite chair playing a computer game, then the bastards stop.
Nugget’s room is 95% complete. We still need to move some furniture around and we plan to do that sometime this weekend. I have laundered all the gender neutral stuff I had for Phoebe and the stuff I got at a yard sale but still need to launder the new clothes I bought last weekend to fill in the gaps.
So all you mamas out there.. what irritated you the most in the last trimester?
So yesterday was the beginning of week 35 and I spent it running to my perinatologist.
My fasting blood sugar is still not up to par or rather down to par or .. WHATEVER. So we went up on my insulin again. GAH!
It feels like a personal failure. I know that I’m watching what I eat. I write down what I eat, so I KNOW what’s going in my mouth. And I am CONSISTENTLY under the number of recommended carbs but my fasting blood sugar is CONSISTENTLY above what we want.
So I added the additional insulin last night and this morning! 95! Under 100! YAY!! Still not under 90 but closer.
After a day of appointments, I tend to have leg cramps so it was into the tub with me last night for a nice warm bath and then off to bed at 10. So nice.. except I was hot. And I had leg cramps anyway… And I had this creepy crawly feeling.
I get this way right before my period most months – it feels like I have bugs on my skin or something. It was bad enough last winter that I was afraid we had bed bugs and I inspected the mattress with a magnifying glass and flashlight.
Since I’ve been pregnant, the creepy crawly feeling comes about once every couple of weeks so it’s got to be hormonal some how.
Today, I’m working on putting together my hospital bag and of course, since I’m a list maker, that means putting together a list and checking it about 4,736 times.
Here’s the list so far:
- Toiletries like shower gel and shampoo (SCORE! I found some shampoo I acquired from our hotel room at DisneyWorld last year. It SMELLS SO GOOD… ) and toothbrush and toothpaste and hairbrush and hairbands and other stuff like that…
- Carmex – in case my lips are dry
- Pajamas – cuz those gowns are sooooo sexy… Besides last time after the first day or so, it was nice to get up and have a shower and “get dressed”. PJ’s reminded me that I’d just had major surgery but I felt more presentable to company and while walking the halls. AND THEY MAKE YOU WALK as soon as you can.
- Ginormous granny panties – cuz of the “Grossness” that follows childbirth
- Also, Maxi Pads – in case I hate what the hospital has…
- Socks
- comfy bras
- Nugget’s going home outfit and booties – the hospital we use provides t-shirts and blankets while you’re there but you want something cute for pictures and for coming home.
- Pen and paper – cuz I will be given a million instructions and I will NOT remember half of it unless I write it down.
- Some kind of file folder thingie – they give you about a million pieces of paper that YOU. JUST. HAVE. TO. KEEP. Like the birth certificate verification and photo order forms and stuff…
- Phone charger – cuz my phone is also my entertainment…
- Nail file – cuz Phoebe came out of the womb with a set of sharp talons and I was afraid to cut her nails.
- Also, mittens – for the same reason…
- Carseat – cuz they won’t let me take Nugget home without it…
I’m considering taking:
- Laptop – Moo brought his last time and I surfed some and figure I could watch Netflix on it with the AWESOME free WIFI at the hospital.
- Camera – amazingly this is not hot mainly because my phone is also a pretty good camera.
- Pop-up laundry basket – Moo says I don’t need it but I’m still torn. I mean, I can just unpack the suitcase and use it for dirty laundry.
Note, I’m not taking a few things on other lists because I am having a c-section so I have no need of things for labor like tennis balls or massagers for my back or watch for timing contractions.
What else?
5 weeks from today, I will be having a scheduled c-section.
5 weeks from today, I will be giving birth to a behemoth.
Well, maybe not.
I am now visiting the doctor’s twice weekly – my OB/GYN on Mondays and my beloved perinatologist’s office on Thursdays.
The Monday visit consists of a consult with whomever I am seeing that week – remember, this is the practice with a dozen midwives and doctors – and a Non-Stress test. The non-stress test consists of sitting in a recliner with two sensors on my belly, one measuring baby’s heart beat and one presumably measuring any contractions, while I push a button every time that Nugget moves.
This past Monday, they took me back, got my vitals and then took me straight to the Non-stress test room as I was the first one booked. The nurse did a great job finding Nugget – something others have had trouble with – and was able to get me situated comfortably. After 20 minutes, nurse practitioner Gina came to the NST room instead of taking me to an exam room to do the consult while I lounged.
They had me go ahead and sign the consent paperwork for my c-section on February 24th. I basically agreed that I was ok with a blood transfusion and that I was aware that c-sections were a surgical procedure that could result in different problems including disfiguring scars and death.
I was in and out of the office on Monday in an hour.
Today was the perinatologist’s office. There, I get vitals taken (blood pressure was 110/72 – yes, perfect. Weight is up 1 pound from my last visit but still down 9 pounds from my first visit in August). Then it’s back out into the waiting room to wait for a technician to come get me. After the ultrasound, it’s back out to the waiting room to wait for a consultation either with the perinatologist or one of his nurse practitioners.
Today, I went back for vitals and then straight into an ultrasound room – good timing I guess. This baby hasn’t been very photogenic. He has let us see everything we’ve needed to see when we needed to see it, but he likes to hide his face so we’ve only been able to get shots of his face in quadrants and only one good view of his profile early on. So I have no pictures for you unless you’d like to see his kidneys.
He’s head down and has his face towards my spine so we get marvelous views of his spine and of his vital organs. But again, it makes for crappy views of anything interesting.
Again, I am making a GINORMOUS baby. Nugget is measuring at 6 pounds. Phoebe AKA Spider Monkey was measuring at 7 pounds at 34 weeks as you will remember from THIS post. And again, part of the weight is because of his LONG legs. His legs are measuring at 37 weeks, 6 days – so again, like Phoebe, he’s LONG LONG LONG.
The tech said I was probably gonna deliver a 10 pound baby. I just smiled and nodded because they said the same thing about Spider Monkey and she was just 8 lb 15 oz. But then I again, I am reminded that I delivered her at 38 weeks, 2 days, so she might have made it to 10 pounds if she’d baked until 40 weeks.
Afterwards, I consulted with nurse Susan today. Despite my own efforts, my blood sugar sucks rocks and that was the bulk of our conversation. My fasting sugars just do not want to get into the range desired. They want me under 90 fasting and I’ve been averaging 110 over the last week.
Nothing I do seems to help – having a snack or not having a snack. Eating late or eating early. Doesn’t make any difference. My diet is quite good. I eat between 2000 and 2400 calories a day and it’s mostly low carb.
I am craving fajitas, sweet and sour chicken, meatballs and soft serve ice cream. So some of my cravings are even low carb. And I’ve only indulged in the sweet and sour chicken once this pregnancy and the ice cream 3 times. YES, IT IS TORTURE. I could literally wallow in a big tub of sweet and sour chicken while scantily clad cabana boys feed me soft serve ice cream. But I have been good and have abstained… Le sigh…
I take two shots a day – before breakfast and before dinner. And I take 2 different kinds of insulin – regular and a slower acting insulin called NPH. They keep cranking up my insulin and it IS helping but I’m still not within the range.
The internet has been most discouraging, telling me basically that it will get worse before I deliver. Nurse Susan basically agreed today and added a third type of insulin and a third shot daily. This one taken right before bed time. This insulin is even more slow acting than the NPH and costs a fortune even with the co-pay.
Do not get me started about insurance. I am incredibly thankful that I have insurance. I am incredibly happy that I have pharmacy coverage, but quite frankly the hoops you have to jump through are ridiculous.
A vial of NPH only lasts about 14 days and the regular lasts about 25 days. Because of this, I’ve needed refills pretty regularly and had 3 refills on each prescription. However, my insurance coverage states that if I need maintenance medication - meaning anything with more than 2 refills, then I must buy 3 MONTHS of meds at one time. My argument that I will not be pregnant for 3 more months is irrelevant.
This is NOT cheap. Not remotely. I am also aware that I will have a number of unused bottles of insulin that I will HOPEFULLY not need after delivery. I am hoping to find a charity that I can give unopened, sealed medications to when this is all over. This stuff is too expensive to throw away and some poor person who can’t afford their meds could sure use it.
Other than being peeved with this, I am quite well. I am tired. I am having leg cramps. I feel a little breathless because he’s right under my boobs. I feel heavy and slow and I waddle. He moves a LOT and usually when I’m trying to sleep like at 5AM or at 11:30 PM – especially when I need to get up at 6AM.
Moo puts his hand on my belly and feels Nugget’s movements. I don’t know what he expects – a flutter or a slight shift? Instead, he gets a roundhouse kick that shocks him and he mumbles something about not knowing how I can stand it. I think it freaks him out just a little.
Also, the constipation is back – I know: TMI. But you know you want to know this stuff. I mean, have you ever taken a dump so big you thought you should name it?
Pregnancy ain’t for wussies, y’all.
Trimester that is…
I should have posted this yesterday, but I was having a meltdown.
Since August, I’ve been working a job with a contractor for a MAJOR website.
For the most part, it has been an ok job. I can’t share most of what I did because of a non-disclosure agreement, but I can say that I’ve looked at the internet way more than I should have.
The job is mentally very challenging. There are complex rules and quotas for the amount of work that need to be followed. Training is provided and is pretty good. However, training is UNPAID. Only time you are actively working is paid. So if you take a break and get a glass of water and a pee break, then you don’t get paid.
It has been a blessing to have this position. The car payment we took on in June stretched our budget to the limit and this has made up for that payment and allowed us a little leeway in our budget and has allowed us to do stuff like purchase a new chest freezer. I had also planned to use this cash to help pay for things the baby will need as well as some child care in January and February for Phoebe.
With the gestational diabetes, I’m taking two shots a day with two different kinds of insulin. This has also meant more doctor’s appointments which has meant more co-pays and more parking fees and more gas for the car.
So we’ve had a lot of extra medical bills and the cash has been really helpful there too.
Starting at about 32 weeks, I’ll have to go to the perinatologist twice a week and CHILDREN ARE NOT ALLOWED!! They banned kids last year during the H1N1 stuff and just decided to keep it to protect their patients from germy kids.
I decided the best way to deal with this was to find a mama with a kid about Phoebe’s age to play with. I also decided I’d pay a set amount a week – basically the going rate for baby sitters around here for 6 hours of babysitting each week.
I could have worked something out with several mom’s I know and the few relatives who are fairly close geographically that I have around here. But I was trying to make things easy on myself and just get it all set-up in advance and not have to worry about it.
So that was the plan until yesterday. But then I, along with a goodly number of people were released. So there goes my plans. There goes the feeling of security I had about dealing with the upcoming wave of doctors. There goes the extra cash I was planning to use to pay for stuff like… oh I don’t know.. like a crib for the baby boy to sleep in or bottles to feed him?
I have been putting off all kinds of prep for this kid because we just haven’t had the cash to do it. I have a few gender neutral onesies and t-shirts that I got at a friend’s yard sale. I also have a few things from when Phoebe was born that are still serviceable – you know, all those little things like nail clippers and first aid kits and all the other almost useless things that everyone says you’ll need. I’m also happy that I kept the majority of Phoebe’s swaddling blankets (I’m hoping that Nugget will let us swaddle him – Phoebe loved being swaddled).
So here I am, at the beginning of the third trimester, feeling bad that I am WOEFULLY unprepared for my baby boy and now the financial rug has been pulled out from under me. Don’t get me wrong – there are a lot of people who have things a LOT worse off than we do.
We are up to date on all our bills. Our mortgage is paid to date and we’re in no danger of losing our home.
Moo’s job is busy and his company is actually making money right now. Hell, they are hiring like crazy right now.
Our car is still so new that we are covered by the warranty for almost everything and we even have free maintenance.
So we are better off than just about everyone we know.
But we have a very tight budget and EVERY penny is accounted for.
I have enough faith to know that everything WILL come. I have enough faith to know that we will have a crib in time for Nugget to make his appearance the end of February.
With the exception of the nightly leg cramps and the gestational diabetes and the occasional heartburn, I’m doing pretty well. I went to the doctor day before yesterday and the doctor was very happy with me.
I just have to concentrate on everything good and have faith that God will bring us through this little tight patch.
So yesterday, at 22 weeks, 6 days pregnant, I found out the gender of my unborn child.
The afternoon started with a trip to my OBGYN and a meeting with midwife April. She’s a sweet thing. She was very informative, immediately found the baby’s heart beat and noted that I have consistently been losing weight since starting my care with this pregnancy. This led to a discussion of diet and gestational diabetes.
Friends, my glucose readings suck. HARD. Fasting goal is 70-95. I haven’t been below 112 since I started taking readings a few weeks ago.
We also discussed c-sections again and she said that a GD (gestational diabetes) diagnosis makes it more likely that we’ll schedule at 38 weeks instead of 39. Basically, as soon as we get a good amniocentesis, the OB’s are gonna wanna get Nugget out of there.
It was a good visit with great blood pressure readings (118/60) and I came away feeling pretty good.
Then I had an hour before my next appointment. Since both offices are in the same building and are, in fact, on the same floor, I went to the car and lay down for 45 minutes. It was quite refreshing.
10 minutes before my next appointment time, I go to the perinatologist’s office and plunk down cash for my co-pay. They do not have change, so I have to go down to the first floor pharmacy to break a $20. They will not make change unless you buy something, so I buy a bottle of water. A $2.00 bottle of water. This is not making me happy.
So I go back up, settle my account and wait. 10 minutes later, a very sweet young lady comes to get me. She gets my weight and sits me down for a blood pressure reading. This time, it’s 122/72 – still perfect.
She asks me about my foot. I explained that I had surgery and give them a list of the pain medication that I’m still taking and the cream I’m putting on it nightly. No comments about the pain pill, but they want to look up the cream.
Then it’s off to the ultrasound room for the BIG SCAN. The SCAN that tells you everything from if the heart looks good to if your baby has kidneys.
The tech has some trouble with baby. Baby is butt down but facing my back and not interested in turning around. It emphatically waves it’s arms and kicks when she uses a giant vibrator to see if we can get it to move. I get up, sit back down, turn onto both sides trying to get the little booger to move a little bit so we can see it’s face.
Nugget is not having any of it.
It’s noted that my amniotic fluid is low. Not dangerously low, but low enough that they want me to be sure that I DRINK A GALLON OF WATER EVERY DAY. Yes, I said gallon. I’m also supposed to rest, but not bedrest. Just rest. I’m also supposed to lay on my left side as much as possible instead of my right to give the Nugget as much flow as possible.
And then, they showed me the goodies. My child’s goodies that is. Nugget was in just the right position after I turned over 23 times that we could clearly see the gender.
Y’all, I am having a BOY. A boy! Me! Soon to be mother to a BOY!
What in the world am I going to do with a boy? Besides the fact that everything I have is pink or a pretty shade of purple, I’ve only got about 4 things that would be suitable.
Luckily, I hit a yard sale that one of my friends in my Mom’s Club a couple weeks ago and got a good number of gender neutral things. So the kid won’t be completely naked.
BUT IT’S GOT A WOO WOO! NOT A HOO-HA. I know how hoo-ha’s work. I don’t know how woo-woo’s work.
Oh, and did you know that little boys regularly get erections while in utero? And that their little penises (penii?) float?
Floating weiners maybe something you know about, but it was completely new information to me.
Today, I am 20 weeks pregnant.
WOO HOO!!!
I am feeling a lot better. Still having trouble with eating breakfast. All my normal breakfasts (cereal, fruit, oatmeal) makes me sick, so I’m eating boiled eggs and crackers for the most part.
I FAILED my Glucose Tolerance Test. BIG TIME. As in, I got 189 on it. At a range of 140 to 180, they make you do the 3 hour Tolerance test. At 189, they just call you a diabetic and forget the 3 hour test.
So if there’s an upside to getting the GD diagnosis this early, it’s that I don’t have to drink any more Glucola EVER AGAIN.
The downside? Since I still have my blood monitor, I’m already testing my blood 4 times a day. Which means that I’m sticking myself, saying bad words and then adjusting my diet. Which just seems to lead to more boiled eggs as they don’t run my sugar up.
If eating boiled eggs 3 meals a day will postpone taking insulin shots like I did in the last pregnancy, I will eat them with a smile for the remainder of the pregnancy.
Next week, I’m finally having my foot surgery. THANK GOODNESS!! My foot hurts and I am tired of feeling like I have gum stuck to my foot.
And just to gross y’all out, I’ve posted a picture so you can see what I’m walking around on. If you are squeamish, don’t look. If you like looking at weird stuff, here you go…
Last week was… interesting.
On Tuesday, I went to the perinatologist’s office for the 16 week ultrasound and the second blood draw for genetic testing.
I have decided not to post the ultrasound photo, because frankly, unless you are a trained professional, there’s no way that you’re gonna see anything. I had to ask the technician to tell me what the picture showed and I still don’t see it… Anyways, the Nugget measured in at 16 weeks 3 days and looked really good. Placenta looked good; fluid was perfect.
Preliminary results from the first blood draw were back with my risks of Down’s Syndrome being 1 in 2000 and Trisomy 18 is 1 in 10,000 so again, I’ve got the risk of a 20 year old of having a child with these issues. However, since I’m an asshole, my child has a 50% chance of that so you know.. whatever…
Wednesday, I spent the morning at the OB/Gyn’s office. I had to do a 1 hour glucose tolerance test and they had to re-do my Pap smear from the 12 week visit. They didn’t get enough cells the first time to get a reading.
I met with a new doc this time: Dr Francis – a sweet lady about my age with 7 year old twins. She was incredibly gentle during the pap smear procedure, but still there was a spot on my cervix that bled like crazy. She said it wasn’t a polyp but rather just a really sensitive spot that bled the moment she touched it with the collection q-tip. It bled enough that she used a little silver nitrate to make it stop. I started cramping while she worked on me and the cramping and some light spotting continued for the rest of the day.
I drank the lovely orange Glucola before the examination so about the time we were done with the exam, it was time for my blood draw. I wonder now if I was dehydrated because it was really difficult for the tech to get blood.. she ended up hitting my good donation spot and it fizzled out before she got enough so she ended up hitting the top of my hand.
I must digress here.. I do not have good veins and as this story continues you’ll hear about the adventures that causes. The veins in my arms are small and roll like crazy. I have one good spot on my right arm that once you hit it, will give whatever you need but you’ve gotta work for it a bit. It’s for this reason that I don’t give blood.. it’s just too hard to stick me…
So I go home, feed the kiddo lunch and then lay on the couch the rest of the day. The cramps were pretty bad and I will admit here and now that I was worried. I even started timing them like contractions for a little while. They kept coming in waves and I was concerned.
Thursday morning, I wake up with just a slight twinge of cramps and during the day, the spotting stopped. I didn’t think anything else about it until about 6PM as I took a quick pit stop before I started dinner.
Y’all, I was bleeding like I had started my period and there were clots.. not big ones but clots nevertheless.
I freaked out.
I knew I needed to go to the hospital but I didn’t know whether I should go to Labor and Delivery or to the Emergency Room. I called my OB’s office. My hands were shaking so bad when they called back that I hit the wrong button on the phone and sent the call to voicemail.
Thank goodness, the nurse on call left a message telling me to go to the emergency room.
Moo would be home any moment so I moved fast. I packed Phoebe’s diaper bag with extra diapers and snacks, filled her water cup up, and packed a few toys. And then I found and put on my shoes, located my wallet and keys and sat down with my feet up to wait on Moo.
By 6:25, we were in the car headed for the hospital.
I freely admit that I was scared to death. I freely admit that I cried all the way.
I was so upset that by the time I got there, my blood pressure was sky high: 180 over 101…
Now, I’ve had a problem with hypertension in the past. I also know that I’m one of those delightful people that on the outside looks calm and peaceful but on the inside is seething. I could go into a whole diatribe about how our blood pressure goes up to help us deal with stress at hand, getting us ready to flee if necessary. Medical personnel see blood pressure like mine on Thursday evening and freak out. They see me as a stroke waiting to happen. I know that I am simply reacting to the problem at hand and given the opportunity to calm down, my blood pressure is perfect.
I sent Moo to the cafeteria with Phoebe for dinner. Meanwhile, I’m sitting there scared. Right before I get called back, Moo and Phoebe return from dinner.
I get back to the examination room and I’m greeted by the most wonderful young doctor, a Dr Zirkin. I explain the pap smear fiasco and tell him about my tendency towards hypertension when stressed and he says “Of course your blood pressure is up. You’re upset. That’s what it’s supposed to do.”
At last! A doctor with common sense!!
He orders an ultrasound and blood work.
The ultrasound reveals that Nugget is fine. It reveals that I do not have placenta previa which was one of the potentially bad things causing the bleeding. The ultrasound also reveals that my cervix is long and tightly closed, so the pregnancy isn’t in danger right now.
Having seen my little one waving at me on the screen and greeted with good news, my blood pressure drops like crazy.
It takes 3 people and SIX needle sticks before blood work is finally together. Two nurses can’t get me, the experts in the lab are behind at least 3 hours so the nurse brings in the delightful Dr Zirkin. He goes for the radial artery in my right wrist. This is painful but not as bad as getting an IV in your foot – don’t ask. Again, I’m stingy with my blood.
Blood work reveals that I’m clotting normally and blood counts are good. The OB on call wants me admitted for observation and to see me the next morning.
So we got to the ER at about 7, got called back about 8, and I got put into the “Short Stay” unit at about 2.
Dr Zirkin told us about 11:30 they were keeping me and I sent Moo and the baby home. She was starting to get a little wiggy and there was no way she was going to sleep in the stroller.
The room I was in was nice, but very small. Just big enough for the bed, a chair, a hospital tray on wheels and a door to a tiny bathroom with only a toilet and a sink. No shower as people weren’t supposed to be in this unit for more than 24 hours.
The nurses finally left me alone about 3 and I used Airplane! to help me go to sleep. Well except for the hospital bed that seemed to be possessed. Every once and a while, it would suddenly start “roaring” and the mattress would inflate and then deflate. Weird.
So I finally got to sleep and slept until about 7 when the nurse woke me up to take my vitals. Then Dr Schaeffer, the OB who wanted me admitted came in.
He asked me questions about my last pregnancy, talked to me about the exam on Wednesday and talked to me about what was happening in this pregnancy.
It’s been determined that I have cervicitis or inflamed cervix – I’m calling it an “angry cervix”. Basically during pregnancy, there’s tons of extra blood flow to that whole area. The cervix is already sensitive so if anything “disturbs the peace” like sneezing or coughing or sex or even going over a speed bump too hard, you can have a bleed. It’s not dangerous – just scary as all get out.
I’ve been ordered to take it easy for a few days – not exactly bed rest but just not doing a ton of running around.
And as a reward for all the aggravation, Nugget did major flip flops for me yesterday and today…
When I was pregnant with Phoebe, sometime around the 4-1/2 month mark, I started feeling better. I got some energy back. I wasn’t so nauseated.
I’m getting close to that same time now and I feel like dog crap. I ache all over. I’ve had a migraine off and on for 2 days now. I’m tired, tired, tired. I’m not able to eat more than a few bites before I feel like I’m gonna hurl. Oh the nausea has mostly passed, but it still rears it’s ugly head on occasion.
The truth of the matter is that I’ve got a lot on my plate right now.
Phoebe is in the middle of some kind of stage right now – she’s learning language really fast. We’re beginning to hear all kinds of words out of this kid, like “Mama, TREES!” while she points madly at the trees outside. Or “SHOES!” which usually means she’s either seen a pair of shoes in a book, on TV, or in the house or that she wants to put them on.
She’s fun to put to bed right now. She sings, talks or jumps in the crib for anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours every night. She’s also had a nightmare or something a couple of nights ago. When she finally woke up enough to start calming down, she did a lot of gesturing madly and telling me what had happened. I only wish I understood.
Add on that I’ve started a part time work at home job that keeps me busy during her naps and early mornings.
Still on the list are getting ready for an upcoming craft workshop and the PURGE.
THE PURGE is what Moo and I decided to do before we get the nursery ready for Nugget. Right now, Nugget’s room is a combo office/guest room. We’re gonna keep the bed in there, but Moo’s office has to come out and the closet emptied in preparation for Nugget’s things. We also need to paint that room.
Before we can really move the stuff out of Nugget’s room, I’ve got to move stuff around and declutter our bedroom to make way for one of the bookcases in the office. I still don’t know for sure where the other bookcase will go.. maybe the dining room?
Our bedroom is about 50% where it needs to be and I also want to tackle our kitchen which has already begun. We tackled the cupboard under the stairs a couple of weekends ago which is a closet in our kitchen – I don’t think you could classify it as a pantry… too strangely shaped.
Add on top of this that my foot – you know the one with the WART!!! – EWW EWWW EWWW EWWW EWWW – has been bothering me again. I went to the doctor last week, because I had a sort of.. swelling? on my foot and come to find out the swelling is the wart and it’s bigger and badder than before. So big and so bad that I’m putting acid – yes ACID – on it for the next 2 weeks and then I’m having laser surgery to take off the rest of it sometime next month.
So I’m kinda busy.
And tired.
And achy.
Pregnancy Countdown: read on for more info…
Had our first appointment with the perinatologist this morning. This visit was to do a look-see and perform the Nuchal Translucency test.
Here’s the first pic:
The baby’s head is on the right side looking up and it’s little hand is on it’s face. For those of you like me that have a hard time seeing these things, I’ve added an enhanced version that I think will help you see better…
See? Aren’t these ultrasounds incredible? LOL
This kid has a heartbeat of 167 and is measuring a full week ahead. And because of this, they are changing my due date from March 10 to March 3. So I’m officially, 12 weeks 5 days pregnant right now…
The measurement on the nuchal fold was excellent and I gave them the little dots of blood they needed to run the Ultrascreen…
While we were watching, Nugget turned over and turned it’s back on us like “Leave me alone” and put it’s fingers in it’s mouth.
An improvement this time is the placement of the placenta. Phoebe had an anterior placenta which made finding the heartbeat with a doppler difficult and made scans difficult too. This time we’ve got a posterior placenta so it should be easier to “hear” things on the scans and I will probably feel the baby a little earlier.
While I’m still mostly exhausted, I’m also feeling so much better. The nausea of a few weeks ago is largely gone – THANK GOODNESS!
Well, we did. Whether to have another child or not has often come up in conversation and we’ve mostly been on the path of whatever happens, happens.
Well Mother Nature is an interesting mistress and she and God got together and decided we weren’t done…
YES!! I AM PREGNANT!!!
WOO HOO!
I’m due March 10, 2011.
No drugs. No crazy charts. Just wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am.
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