July 2008 - Posts
I had my pre-op appointment this morning. It was nice that they had set my expectations appropriately...that we were literally being squeezed into a completely full schedule. My appointment was for 11:15am, and it was nearly 45 minutes of sitting in the waiting room before they called me back to start the process. Good thing I told my husband he should bring his laptop and work on some of the things he needed to finish up! At least he made some progress during our quiet time.
The pre-op went smoothly - I LOVE my primary OB (the one who's delivering the baby tomorrow). Good news is I haven't gained any weight in the past week and a half. Yeah, cap my weight gain at an even 50lbs. My blood pressure was a little high - 130/80 when I'm usually 110/70. Nothing too concerning.
Now I'm just waiting for the call from the hospital to confirm my instructions for tonight and tomorrow (no eating, etc.)...and I'm sitting with my son enjoying some last time together as just the two of us. How bittersweet. I'm thrilled to welcome a new son, but at the same time very sad to say goodbye to the period in my life where it's just little buddy and myself. Bittersweet.
Yeah, well I tried to punk my husband, but it didn't work.
My first pregnancy was such a planned event (I never even had any contractions) that my husband felt that he missed out on the whole, "honey, my water broke," scenario. As such, this time around I thought it might be fun for him (he's a good sport) to pull a prank and pretend like my water had broken.
Thinking it through, I obviously needed to pull this off during the night...this way he'd be asleep (and he's a sound sleeper) and I could basically tell him it broke an hour or two earlier and that I'd been on the phone with my OB getting instructions and with my parents coordinating their arrival in time for us to leave. If I had pulled it while he was awake/aware HE would have been on the phone with the OB.
So, the next piece was to do it in the middle of the night on a night where he didn't have to get up for work. That basically left this weekend, as last weekend would have been a bit early. I worked up the courage and planned my course pretty carefully, thinking I had all of my bases covered. Not. Didn't plan on my husband seeing right through things.
Last night we had a terrible thunderstorm in the middle of the night - probably like 330-4am. Usually he'll sleep through anything...not last night. He was wide awake walking around the house checking on our son, went to the bathroom, and then crawled back into bed and couldn't fall back asleep. Neither could I. We finally (after an hour of The Brady Bunch) turned the tv off and fell asleep. I couldn't sleep in this morning, so I came downstairs and did a few things, before going back up around 830am to see if I could pull off this stunt.
He heard me come in the room, but as he wasn't fully awake, just laid there with his eyes closed and talked with me. Last night he had said he was, "ready at any time," so I asked him if he had meant what he said. He said yeah, why...to which I replied that it was time. He immediately said, "you're lying," and rolled over. I explained to him that my water had broken, that I'd called the OB and they wanted me to come in, and that my parents were on their way over (they live 15 minutes away). He again said, "you're lying," to which I tried to plead my fake case. Ultimately, he told me that I wasn't "freaking out" enough and that if my water had broken, I would have come running into the bedroom and told him first. True.
Guess I just can't lie to my husband. There's worse things in the world. Guess I also wouldn't make a good actress!
Had my third NST this morning...and they aren't getting any quicker, that's for sure. I had a 10am appointment and was there right on time...and of course, after an hour on the road had to use the bathroom. They brought me right back, let me leave my urine sample, took my blood pressure (140/60...not too bad for walking 4 flights of stairs just prior) and of course my weight. Still the same that I was on Tuesday. Phew. The number surprised the nurse - she said she would have sworn I was much lighter...compliment, I suppose.
I then was hooked up to the machine and left for about 15 minutes...during which time the baby moved twice. Not too bad, so when the nurse came back and checked on me she indicated that she'd give me another 10 minutes or so and then she'd be in to take the paper print out to the doctor. A little over 10 minutes later she came back in, saw the baby had moved once more, and said she'd let the doctor know. Five minutes after that, she stepped back in to say that the doctor would be in shortly.
Nearly 40 minutes after I was hooked up, the doctor came in apologizing as today was a big day for OB emergencies. No problem. I told her while I was waiting for her to come in the baby actually had moved quite a bit (8-9 times). She said that was great as if he hadn't moved more she would have left me on the machine for another 20 minute cycle. Yikes! She did do a quick ultrasound to check the fluid...and immediately noticed it's a little boy...shocker. The fluid looks great, and everything else is in line, so we talked about my next appointment.
Since it is so close to delivery, she suggested that it was more important for me to see the OB that was delivering the baby on Wednesday rather than get in for another NST. If I could do both, that would be ideal, but definitely not necessary. I went out to talk with the scheduling nurse, and after some debate (as the OB is only in on Tuesday...and her schedule is PACKED), we arrived at a time where I could be "squeezed in" and then canceled my NST for Monday. The negative is that I have to once again drive into the city for this appointment, but as the OB is in the hospital tomorrow and off on Monday, Tuesday is the ONLY day I can be seen.
On a separate note, the non-sleeping is really starting to deplete me. I'm just so uncomfortable at night between my aching hips, knees, and shoulders, then only being able to sleep on my sides or sitting upright. I roll every 45 minutes, get up for the bathroom every 2 hours, and just manage to get in mini-naps throughout the night. I tried to sleep in the baby's recliner (we opted for an oversized plush recliner instead of a wooden rocking chair - good move), but even that didn't seem to help things. Instead of pain in my hips and knees, I had a shooting pain down my side. Just impossible to get comfortable. At least my husband is sleeping soundly - doesn't even realize I'm up and about. Good in the sense that I'm not disturbing him, but he's SUCH a sound sleeper I'd have to wonder if something did happen, would I spend my entire night yelling for him.
Here's hoping that I get a solid few hours back to back in the next few nights or the sleep post delivery is going to start to look REALLY great :-)
I had my second NST this morning. Again, not an in-and-out procedure. I waited about 20 minutes in the waiting room...during which time I totally forgot they gave me paperwork I was supposed to give to the nurse who called me in. Duh. Mommy brain. Left it on the chair next to me in the waiting room.
I, of course, immediately asked to use the bathroom first. Afterall, I go every hour now...if not more often. Then the weigh in (woo-hoo, can we say 50 lbs!), blood pressure reading (a little high for me at 132/68), then into the room. She hooked me up and things were going very well (or so I thought) when the baby moved 3 times before she came in the first time to check on me. That was 10 or 15 minutes in, and I would have thought she said I was done. Nope. She gave me 10 or so more minutes, during which time my husband arrived for the appointment.
The nurse had mentioned that the doctor had asked I have a biweekly NST AND biweekly fluid check. The second meant an ultrasound...and a potentially unnecessary cost (not to mention MORE time in their office). She was checking on that during her second absence, and when she came back 15 or more minutes later (so much for this being quick), the baby had moved a total of about 8 times. She left me still hooked up and took the print out to the doctor.
Ten minutes later she came back...at which point I let her know that he had moved 4 more times, and it was on the increase. She said that the doctor would be in shortly for my internal exam and to let me know what else we were going to do today. So, I sat there for another 10 or so minutes...by the time I saw the doctor I had been hooked up to the NST machine (and pushing my little Jeopardy button) for over 45 minutes.
The doctor said that the movement looked great, there really wasn't any concern over the fluids (so no need for an ultrasound), then he did the quick internal. No change. No dilation. Things are still sealed tight.
Once he left the room I hopped (well, made my way) off the exam table...only to realize that I had taken a large butt shaped piece of the paper tablecloth with me. My husband got a kick out of the fact that after an hour sitting on that it had adhered to my rear. He was not as happy to help me get it off. Hah.
So, another lengthy and unproductive (which I'm very happy with) visit. Next NST is on Thursday, then I have one more on Monday. Looking forward to seeing whether I have to fit in another internal before Wednesday's delivery. The good news today - they are not going to starve me after delivery this time around. Was nearly 72 hours the first time around before they let me eat. This time it should only be 24 hours. We'll see, I'm not getting my hopes up, but at least now I have ammunition! The hospital nurses wouldn't take, "but I'm STARVING, how can I feed a newborn with nothing in my stomach?" as a real plea for food.
Since there's been really not much action with the baby (other than constant motion), we decided to take advantage of the extra time as a family of three and take my 27 month old to his first movie! SO exciting for us, and I think he had a good time. We went to see Thomas the Tank Engine (of course) - The Great Discovery. My husband and I were both amazed that there was 30 minutes of cartoons before the movie...we remember from when we were a child that it was part of the experience, but the cartoons they showed were definitely not age appropriate. Bummer.
The movie was also a bit dark - the bridge fell down, then Thomas got stuck in an underground mine in the dark, and of course everyone theorized that he "ran away." Excellent message for young children. My son (luckily) had to use the potty during these dark parts, so I don't think much of it go in.
We left the movie and were just going to run a few errands when on the way to Babies R Us (as I needed one last thing...) I popped my only crown. Total shock on my part. I've had it about 5 years, and I was eating one of those fruit snacks that kids eat...nothing overly sticky. We pulled into the parking lot, my husband looked up the number for our dentist, and I gave her a ring. As it was a Saturday around lunchtime, I didn't expect someone to pick up...but was looking for what to do in case of emergency. Her voice message provided two numbers to call in case of an emergency, so I called the numbers while my husband ran into the store.
After relaying to my dentist what happened she asked if I could meet her at the office in about 30 minutes...as she was leaving for vacation on Sunday. You bet. Hardest part...getting my husband to answer his phone. I called 5 times in the 5 minutes he was in the store...turns out his phone was off from the movie. When he emerged from the store, I got his attention and motioned for him to get to the car quickly. What was his thought? Labor? Contractions? Anything pregnancy related? No, he thought our son had pooped his pants.
I was very fortunate about the timing of everything - met up with the dentist about 40 minutes later and within 30 minutes I was walking out of her office with my crown reattached. Let the "if onlys" begin.
Meanwhile, I managed to get a lot of my long-standing to-do list tackled this weekend, including purging several closets. Nothing feels better than getting organized...to me, at least. I have five bags and boxes worth of recycling and garbage sitting waiting to be taken to our transfer station tomorrow morning. Now at least my son has his very own closet (not full of Mommy's projects) and all of my projects fit into the closet in the spare bedroom...and aren't spilling out of every nook and cranny. Not sure what I'll do when the baby's ready to switch rooms with the guest room. Think I need to sell some furniture. Or hope I can get a craft room set up in the basement :-)
At 37w2d I went in for my first non-stress test (NST). Of course, they couldn't do the testing in the office I usually visit, so I had to drive nearly an hour to their main office near the hospital for the appointment. On the way in, I dropped off my son at my Mother-in-law's house...and it's a good thing, because this wasn't a quick in and out type of appointment.
The OB I saw on Monday had prepared me by letting me know that depending on how active the baby was would determine how quick the appointment would be for me. Of course, on the way to the appointment, the baby was moving around quite a bit, so I thought I would be in the clear. I made it to the office and had to use the bathroom, and in my hurry to get into the bathroom, forgot they probably wanted a urine sample...which is exactly the first thing the nurse who brought me in asked - did I leave her a sample. Nope, but I told her that by the time I left I should be able to.
She brought me into the back of the office where I was weighed (a pound lighter than Monday) and she took my blood pressure. Then she settled me into a room where the NST would take place. I crawled up on the table and she strapped the large bands around my tummy and then started the machine. She mentioned that they were looking for three good movements over the course of a 20 minute period of time. No problem I thought. However, just a few minutes in, he hadn't moved so she encouraged me to drink some water and brought me a small cup of Mike & Ike's (sugar stimulates the baby). After 10 minutes, the baby had moved just once and by the end of the 20 minutes there was still that single movement. She tore off the paper from the machine that noted the movement and took it to the doctor. On her way out of the door she mentioned that babies have 20 minute sleep cycles so chances are that we just caught this little guy in that sleep cycle.
As luck would have it, as soon as she disappeared the little guy literally "kicked it" into first gear. Think he moved 3 times just in the few minutes she was gone. The nurse came back in and said that I wasn't going to like the news - that the doctor wanted me to go another 10 minutes and then have an ultrasound to check the fluid. I let her know that he had started moving...as was actually moving while she was in there so she saw first hand...but she said that I still needed to wait out the 10 minutes.
After the 10 minutes passed, she came in, unhooked me and had me leave my urine sample before heading down the hall for the ultrasound. That took forever. Never knew they had so much paperwork. I think I sat and waited about 5 minutes before the technician even turned around to start the exam. She asked how often I was having my NSTs - once or twice a week (I said twice) - she asked why (I explained), and then started the ultrasound. She immediately noticed that there was plenty of fluid (phew) and then began to look around at his heart and other organs. I asked her if we were going to get a measurement on his weight, and she said she'd do a quick one. She asked how big my first son was, and when I said 10lbs 7oz she immediately asked how my sugar levels were. I replied they were fine during the first pregnancy and now, and she seemed surprised. Her reply was, "I guess you just pop out toddlers." Yup, that's me. Toddler maker.
This guy weighed in at 6lbs 12oz +/-7oz...so 6lbs 5oz to 7lbs 3oz. Right now, he should be just shy of 6lbz 8oz...so we're on track if not a little on the heavy side. Assuming he packs on 1/2 lb each week, we'll be around 8lbs at delivery. At least I now know that we're looking at the 3 month clothing to pack in his bag...but definitely not another 10 pounder. He'll be delivered nearly 2 1/2 weeks before his brother was...and at 1/2 lb a week, that's another 2 1/2 lbs to add to the 6lbs 12oz...which would make this guy well over 9lbs if he went as long as his big brother.
After taking some cute pictures of his face straight on (too cool to see what he looks like!), they escorted me down to an exam room where I sat patiently for about 20 minutes waiting for the doctor to come in and debrief with me. She was busy, so they had another OB step in...which was great as it was the OB I saw on Monday. He said everything looked great, I looked great, and that they'd see me next week to have another NST. My cervix is still closed, so there's also been no progression since Monday's appointment. Good news for me...although most of the nurses/technicians I saw kept asking me if I was ready to have this over with...especially given the humidity. Are you kidding me? Would I rather be pregnant and hot or just out of surgery, home with a toddler and newborn, and hot? Hmm. I'll take pregnant.
Today I had my next appointment with my primary OB - just a little over 2 weeks left, so they did the Group B Strep culture, listened to the baby's heart, checked my cervix (nothing to report), and then we talked a little about the non-stress test. The OB had asked if I had discussed this earlier, and I let him know that another OB in the practice had called my high risk group to see if it was necessary to be doing weekly NSTs as part of the monitoring for Sjogren's. The high risk group said it wasn't necessary (it is if you have Lupus), but couldn't hurt if the primary practice felt more comfortable doing the testing.
The OB I saw today let me know that since I'm good to go (lungs are developed, etc.) from here on out it was worth doing a biweekly NST to check and make sure that the baby was doing okay. This will monitor the stress on the baby when it moves, and can let the OBs know if there's any concern with the amount of amniotic fluid, the heart rate, etc. I'm not going to question their experience, but I learned upon making the next 4 appointments (every Monday/Thursday from here on out) that they can't do this testing at the office closest to my home, so I have to drive into the city to visit their office just down the street from the hospital. This not only means I need to rely on a family member to watch my son (luckily both of our families are close by), but I need to drive an hour each way for a test that could take as little as 10-15 minutes, or as long as over an hour...in addition to my weekly appointments. Wow.
Good to hear that everything is going well with the baby though, and nice that my OBs haven't said boo about the weight I've gained (48lbs at this point, so cutting it close to the 60 I gained with the first pregnancy). There's no major swelling, although my rings don't fit again. Went for about a week where it was dry enough outside that the swelling wasn't bad and I could comfortably wear my wedding rings...now I'm back to keeping them off as after about 30 minutes my finger starts hurting from the pressure.
We'll see how the first NST goes on Thursday - hopefully this little guy will stay put until the 30th...but I'm not counting on that!
Nearly two days ago I started to feel some pressure (almost like a bruise), so I gave it a day thinking it might just pass. However, yesterday morning while I was trying to pick up the house I still could feel it, so I called and left a message for the nurse at my OB's office. She promptly called me back and we discussed what I was feeling - that it was almost like I had ridden a bicycle for a very LONG time, but that there was no cramping, bleeding, or leakage (my water didn't break).
As I suspected, this is fairly common. Just not something I experienced with my first child...given he never got into position, dropped, or even started any contractions before his overdue arrival via c-section. She instructed me to drink plenty of water, lay low, and let them know if I developed any other symptoms (like contractions, bleeding, breaking my water). I can also take a Tylenol or two if I feel very uncomfortable.
I took the Tylenol later last night not due to the discomfort...but because I have another lovely sore throat...which usually develops into a cold if the pattern pans out. Just what I need :-) Didn't help that I was up at 430 this morning changing my son and his bedding...we've been pretty good about the accidents, and I should have known when I put him down last night and he said he didn't need to go that this would be the result. You'd think I would have learned by now. So, I've been up since 430am, and I'm looking forward to a potential morning nap...so here's hoping my son decides he needs one!
On top of it all, I went and had a maternity massage on Wednesday afternoon thinking that it would help with the back pain I've been experiencing. Nothing too horrid, but definitely another symptom that I didn't have the first time around. Well, I think I got THE masseuse and he decided I needed a deep tissue massage vs. a maternity massage as I AM SORE. Not just in my lower back, but my upper shoulders as well. Nothing like getting a massage and walking out more sore than you walked in. Let's just say this masseuse is off my list.
I'm quickly approaching the finish line, but have NO ambitions of having things happen prior to July 30th. I am getting to the point where I am seriously wondering how, with so little energy and such an active 26 month old, I am going to be able to productively (or even non-productively) care for 2 children at the same time. I know every Mom does it...but right now my energy level is non-existent...especially after lunchtime. I just don't want to move. I'd prefer to sleep, but then I'd be "sleeping on the job."
We started off the long weekend with my husband's company's annual party at a resort-type place about an hour from our home. This is the third year that we've gone to the same place, and we usually have a pretty good time. As usual, my husband immediately signed himself and a co-worker up for the bocce tournament. Not that we play...ever...just that it's a tournament. Oh, and he beat the managing partner of the firm the first year to win the title.
They usually play about 14 to 16 pairs of people, but this year for whatever reason there might have only been about 10 or 12 interested teams. I was thinking it would make it go quicker...nope. While my husband played bocce, I toured the bounce houses with my son...who didn't want to bounce in them. Then we spent about an hour in the kid's pool checking out the filter intakes and every leaf and piece of debris in the pool. That is, until he realized that there was a big pool right next door and then he wanted to go in the big pool. As I'm so big and this was my husband's office, I didn't even bring the suit from the car. So I spent about 20 minutes negotiating (and sweating) with my son until I talked him into going to find Daddy.
Daddy, believe it or not, was still playing bocce. My son wanted to play too. Yeah, that was fun, trying to keep him out of the dirty pits. Eventually there was a little lull in the games, so my husband played with him for a few minutes, then the finally tournament started pitting my husband and his co-worker against another team. For a few minutes my son occupied himself with his trucks and cars...in one of the adjoining pits. Then he wanted "in" on the game, and promptly walked onto their court and picked up the little white ball (yes, I'm not a bocce enthusiast, so I have no idea what it is called). Thankfully one of the players was able to get it back quickly and replace it...however, my son just wanted to pick up all of their balls and roll them around.
Well the tournament ended around 1:15pm (after starting around 11am), so by that time I was purely exhausted from trying to stay one step ahead (or at least even) with him. My husband led him down to get a pony ride before changing out of his swim attire and getting some lunch. The pony was a hit in line, but a no-go once it was his turn. My husband wrestled with him in the bathroom to change out of his swim suit outfit and into street clothes before having a quick bite to eat and hitting the road for the drive to NH.
Although we left just after 2pm, we didn't get into my parent's cottage in NH until around 630pm...long drive, some traffic, and a few stops. An entire week's worth of packing, planning, organizing, etc. was moved from our car into the small cottage and thus began our weekend. The cottage has no AC and just three rooms...so it heats pretty quickly and with the humidity I think I didn't stop sweating until I climbed back into the car to drive home on Sunday night. My son loved being near the water, being on the dock, in the boat, etc., and thus each time we were outside I spent a great deal of time trying to ensure that he was safe.
My family is great at helping me with my son - taking him to the potty, watching him while he was outside running around, etc. However, my husband, Father, and brother-in-law love to fish, so each morning they left just around 7 for about 2 hours of fishing before breakfast, and each night they left around 7 for an hour and a half or so of fishing until dark. That's a long time to be without your main partner...and an active toddler. Oh, did I mention that the fireworks on the 4th and 5th scared the crap out of my son...and he had a tough time going to sleep, and staying asleep. The other thing is two of the three nights he wet the bed (one through a disposable)...something he hasn't done in LONG time. Needlesstosay, it was a good, but long weekend. I was thoroughly exhausted, but thrilled to watch my son and husband have such a great time.
Yesterday was my appointment with my rheumatologist...and besides being exhausted and melting in her office from the humidity, everything looks good. I've got just a little swelling, but no other major symptoms. She cautioned me that during the final weeks of pregnancy and first week or so after birth would be the time I would be most likely to flare up...so I need to get my rest, drink my fluids, and get the feet up as much as humanly possible. I could notice a change in my dryness (eyes, mouth, etc.), fatigue, swelling (which could signal kidney problems), as well as some other things. Something to keep in the back of my mind...but not something to focus on. Also, our pediatrician is going to need to monitor the baby's heart for the first few appointments to ensure that everything is still okay (even though the fetal heart block wasn't detected during the pregnancy, problems could surface in the weeks after). All-in-all it has been a good pregnancy (despite the heartburn I'm experiencing now!), and I really don't have much to complain about...thankfully.
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