One More Thing..

...and on a more positive note, though I'm not dilating yet, I'm 80% effaced. Whatever. I'll take anything and cling to it as a sign Baby B is getting my "get out!" vibes!

37-Week Appt.

First off, this day started off as hell on Earth, due to the FOUR straight hours I was awake last night. And as we all know, I tend to cry a lot when I'm overtired...so keep that in mind as you read on. Also, just to warn you, I'm too tired and fed up to even try to be positive right now, so this is going to be one long, massive rant, and I'm not even going to apologize for it. Consider yourself forewarned...

I woke up not feeling so hot, having slept a total of 3.5 hours, and was in no mood to go to the doc. As I mentioned in my previous post, I was nervous about my doctor not taking my gallstones seriously and so I may have gone in with a bit of a defeated attitude, just feeling like I wasn't getting the help/care I need. Besides being tired and upset, I was also quite hungry, seeing as how I'm terrified to eat anything for fear of another gallbladder 'attack', so that wasn't helping anything, since hunger + overtired + anxious = one bitchy, weepy B.

Anyhow, I get to the office, and am informed that they have made a mistake, and I should've been paying copayments this entire time, despite them telling me otherwise at 28 weeks, and so I may be getting a bill for $30/visit, and have to pay it starting today from here on out. While this isn't earth-shattering news, between my L&D visit Sunday and finding out last night I'll only be paid for ONE week of maternity leave, and that's Christmas leave I would've had off anyways, I'm feeling very stressed about finances and immediately freaked out. Super-effing-duper.

Next, I was weighed. And while this sounds absolutely impossible to EVERYONE, even my doctor who gave me a strange, disbelieving look when I brought it up to him while sobbing my eyes out (further proof that I doubt he looks at my chart at all before coming into the room), I GAINED SIX LBS IN SIX DAYS. Yep, you read that right. Which, as any pregnant woman should know, is a big red flag. But since my BP wasn't through the roof, he just said, "Well you do look puffier, and your weight gain has been so low so far that it's hardly problematic." I just sat there, wide-eyed, sobbing uncontrollably, and finally, after many visits of keeping my mouth shut as to be a good patient, let him have it. I told him how awful I've been feeling, how I never, ever sleep, how little I've been eating the past few days for fear of another gallstone attack and how I lie awake at night fairly certain I'm losing my mind as I plot ways to get the baby to come out for fear I'm going to lose it entirely and test my surgical skills myself. And finally, finally, I got a reaction. My normally laidback doctor finally abandoned his laissez faire attitude to realize that for whatever reason, I am not cut out for this experience, and said that if I am not making progress that would make for a favorable induction on the 28th, and I want an elective c-section, that he will not make me go past the 28th, if I can hang on that long. Frankly, I think he thinks I'm losing my mind. And because of my fear of postpartum depression and psychosis, and my family history of it, his fears are probably warranted. While I know that most women at the end of their pregnancy feel at the end of their rope, I think I may be feeling things that are a bit more serious and desolate than that. While I don't exactly want him to think I'm a nutcase, especially since he wasn't my doctor before I was pregnant and doesn't realize that I'm actually a pretty sane, reasonable, emotionally stable individual, I am happy to have him taking things seriously for a change.

His nurse also scheduled the abdominal ultrasound for me, though it did require me to say, "Even if you don't think it's critical right now, I do, so just do it." And so they did.

In other shitty news, I'm Group B Strep positive. While that means something as silly as just needing antibiotics, it was earth-shattering news to hear in the midst of my mental collapse at his office. Oh, and he forgot to tell me. I overheard the nurse telling the other nurse to notate it in my chart. Good thing I'm a good listener.

Abdominal ultrasound is scheduled for Thursday morning. Until then, I can't eat any meat, dairy, or fat. That's right. Fat free meals beforehand, and fasting after midnight tomorrow. As if I have any appetite at all after gaining a pound a day. He wanted to see me back on Friday, but seeing as how I now have to pay a $30 copay per visit, I just scheduled it for Monday to combine that follow-up with next week's visit.

I am so frustrated and overtired. I'm just praying that the next 20 days flies by, or that my body decides I've had enough beforehand.

Insomnia.

I cannot sleep. Mainly, I'm itching from head to toe, an affliction that I was trying to communicate with my doctor at the hospital on Sunday, but ended up just sounding like a jumbled mess of misinformation. The itching alone wouldn't be that bad, but as soon as it started, I started to think how it's probably not the best sign from what I've read, and how I hate that I feel my doctor's office doesn't take my seriously. If I were a massive hypochondriac, or was unjustly running to the doctor's office or ER every five seconds thinking I was in labor or something along those lines, their nonchalance would make more sense, but I really feel like my doctor doesn't take things all that seriously, and it's starting to drive my crazy. Well, that, or the fact that I've been awake for nearly three straight hours at this point.

I don't know how to deal with this. I'm very concerned that at my 37-week appointment in...five hours...he's not going to bother following up with the gallbladder ultrasound he suggested Sunday, and that he'll dismiss my further concerns about the possibility of another attack. I hate to sound like a major wimp, but NO WAY can I experience that ever, ever again. Give me natural childbirth, but DO NOT let me have another gallstone attack PLEASE GOD. Everytime my stomach so much as rumbles I whimper in fear that the pain is going to return, and I think I'm justified in wanting him to take proactive steps to prevent this, am I not?!

What's really pathetic is for all I know I'm going to go in tomorrow and he'll 100% take me seriously and I would've been up all night stressed out and worried for no reason, but I just don't see it happening that way. I love that he's laidback, since I'm fairly laidback when it comes to medical stuff, but it's definitely gotten to a point where it's more of a problem than anything else. He gave me no instructions about changing my diet, even playing down that it may help when I asked him about it in my drug-induced haze, and while I don't like a doc that breathes unwarranted advice down my neck, a little medical guidance to prevent a recurrence of severe abdominal pain would be welcome. I also thought that knowing this was going on would be great motivation to confirm my induction and potentially move it up, but he's just in no hurry, which bugs the CRAP out of me for obvious reasons. Ugh. Ok, rant over. Off to *try* to sleep :(

A Trial Run to L&D.

First things first, I'm hoping to go private by this evening. Just an FYI. Anyone wanting to be added to the reading list that hasn't yet let me know, send me your email to unexpectedlyexpectingbaby@gmail.com, or just leave me a comment :)

Ok, now that that's out of the way, I can tell you about how I got to spend most of yesterday late afternoon/early evening in L&D. Did I think I was in labor? Absolutely not. I wasn't having any strong, regular contractions or leaking of fluid or bleeding. Instead, the culprit was severe, intense, paralyzing stabbing pains above my belly button and radiating around to my back and up between my shoulder blades. While I really want to avoid all dramatics with regards to my doctor and the hospital I'll be delivering at, since I was so badly to ensure they'll take me seriously when the time comes, I was in so much pain I couldn't even take a deep breath, let alone move from the seated, leaning forward position I was stuck in, so off we went after calling L&D to ask what we should do.

D and I were both VERY alarmed when instead of taking us into the triage room we were told about during our hospital tour, they skipped a step and threw me into a real L&D room, complete with hospital gown, non-stress test and contraction monitoring. Apparently when you go into L&D completely unable to walk (yes, I had to be wheeled - how mortifying) and fighting back both tears and yelps, they don't believe you're not in labor. After taking my vitals and finding my blood pressure had shot from it's normal 100/65 to 130/90 and my pulse was up over 120, they took a urine sample and a couple vials of blood, and were off to confer with my doc via telephone. Nothing quite like medical care through a conference call...

While I was hooked up to the monitor I started to contract a bit, though not regularly, which almost gave D a heart attack.

"Um, are you going into labor?!?! Cause we could still call this whole thing off.." he assured me, as I alternated between tears and damn near screaming. Even he was starting to not believe me at this point. And for good reason. You know what is as painful, if not moreso, than labor?! GALLSTONES. Yep. I was having an acute gallbladder attack..super fun. Equally fun is the fact that because of the size of my uterus and the risks of surgery, there is absolutely nothing they can do until the baby is born, and if they continue to get worse, she may need to be delivered via c-section so they can remove the stones at the same time. Fan-freaking-tastic. In the meantime, I've been prescribed the strongest pain pills I've ever taken, though I'm only planning to use them in case I have another attack, not for pain management. I'm not sensitive to pain meds at all, but by the time my doctor got to the hospital last night, I was completely incoherent. I accidentally told him I had a fever of 102 that morning rather than 100.2. Oops.

The upside (You know how I prefer happy news...)? I am more effaced than I was Wednesday, though still haven't reclaimed my centimeter. Oh, and I have absolutely no fears about labor anymore. Every nurse I talked to said that the pain of gallstones can be significantly worse than labor, and I totally believe it. Wishful thinking? Maybe. But considering I practically slept through my exam by the doc yesterday, I'm pretty sure my pain tolerance has just greatly increased. On top of that, I now know which nurses I prefer (not the one that asked me when I last made pee-pee. No joke!), and can tell you firsthand that those hospital rooms are AMAZING! A-MAY-ZING! I have never felt so calm and relaxed, though that could have something to do with the pill they slipped me :)

The downside is that I can no longer eat dairy or fried foods according to most things I've read, though my doc took his usual, "Eh, whatever," stance when I asked him about it. That means I can't eat fried or greasy foods, red meat from before, much sugar or dairy. What the hell does that leave? Luckily apples are my absolute favorite food, so I'm going to try to exist solely on fruit and grilled chicken. Maybe I won't be gaining anymore pregnancy weight after all...

Hope everyone else had a better weekend than that! Although ours was otherwise lovely, with us getting some errands done, finishing up my pre-baby car maintenance (inspection, registration, oil change and brake check), and putting up our Christmas decorations. Pics to come when I can take the stairs without shuddering!

Belly Shots: 36 Weeks! & Other News (SNOW!)

First things first, here's my belly as of five seconds ago :) It's all covered in burnt orange in anticipation of the Big 12 Championship game this evening vs. Nebraska. Hook 'em!





I'm seriously starting to wonder how much this kiddo weighs...

Now that we got that out of the way, here's some other big news...look what we woke up to:






Laugh all you want, Northerners, but I guarantee you there'll be an entire page in my scrapbook dedicated to us getting a bit of 'snow', and I'll be telling Baby B about it for years to come :P D, having a sense of humor that's similar to mine and being as shocked as I was that I had slept nearly eight straight hours only waking up once, took one look outside and said, "So I guess hell froze over?" I love that guy.

Now if I can just coax little (perhaps not so little?!) Baby B out, this day will be fantastic. Although if I had to choose between her coming this weekend, or Texas taking the Big 12 title and advancing to the National Championship, sorry Baby B but you're stuck in there until at least Monday! How fantastic would it be for Baby B to be born during a national championship year? What a great omen for our future longhorn, not to mention that she has longhorn EVERYTHING, so she'll be perfectly attired for the big game from her hat to her bib to her booties :)

36 Weeks!

How your baby's growing:
Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

How your life's changing:
Now that your baby is taking up so much room, you may have trouble eating a normal-size meal. Smaller, more frequent meals are often easier to handle at this point. On the other hand, you may have less heartburn and have an easier time breathing when your baby starts to "drop" down into your pelvis. This process — called lightening — often happens a few weeks before labor if this is your first baby. (If you've given birth before, it probably won't happen before labor starts.) If your baby drops, you may also feel increased pressure in your lower abdomen, which may make walking increasingly uncomfortable, and you'll probably find that you have to pee even more frequently. If your baby is very low, you may feel lots of vaginal pressure and discomfort as well. Some women say it feels as though they're carrying a bowling ball between their legs!

You might also notice that your Braxton Hicks contractions are more frequent now. Be sure to review the signs of labor with your practitioner and find out when she wants to hear from you. As a general rule, if you're full-term, your pregnancy is uncomplicated, and your water hasn't broken, she'll probably have you wait to come in until you've been having contractions that last for about a minute each, coming every five minutes for an hour. Of course, you'll want to call right away if you notice a decrease in your baby's activity or think you're leaking amniotic fluid, or if you have any vaginal bleeding, fever, a severe or persistent headache, constant abdominal pain, or vision changes.

Even if you're enjoying an uncomplicated pregnancy, it's best to avoid flying (or any travel far from home) during your final month because you can go into labor at any time. In fact, some airlines won't let women on board who are due to deliver within 30 days of the flight.

So. Tired.

I am so ridiculously tired, it's a miracle I can even type. I haven't been sleeping well, to say the least. In fact, I've been sleeping so poorly that I frequently wake up for an hour or two at a time, and have to cry myself back to sleep, because much like Baby B will when she emerges, I cry when I'm overtired. It's absolutely crazy-making.

The main reason is that I can't get comfortable. This will come as no shock, seeing as how I'm now 24 pounds fatter than I used to be, Baby B weighs in at at least six of those and moves like an acrobat ALL NIGHT LONG, and I'm a stomach sleeper by nature. Add to that what feels suspiciously like restless leg syndrome, the 100 times a night I have to pee now that Baby B is engaged, and the Braxton-Hicks I tend to experience all night long, and it's just a recipe for disaster. I've also been having awful stomach cramps five to six times a day since Wednesday night, which isn't making things any easier. I'm not sure what that's all about, but last night I actually was trying to time my stomach cramps to make sure that they weren't actually uterine contractions. It's surprisingly difficult to tell the difference, as stupid as that sounds.

Also nagging at me last night was my sore left arm, seeing as how I finally found a thimerosal-free seasonal flu shot! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got the second to last dose in the county. If you're a fellow Austinite and need one still, email me at unexpectedlyexpectingbaby@gmail.com, and I'll pass along the info on where to get it!

As for today, it's COLD outside. And not just Texas cold, but the general definition of cold, with a 60% chance of snow showers and temperatures falling into the teens tonight. WTF?! Here's hoping the weather change will kickstart me into labor, seeing as how Baby B is applying enough pressure that I couldn't possibly dream of walking more than a half mile at a time!