I'm going to be locking the expectnet game soon-ish, so if you want to log a new guess or change yours, do it now. DO IT. Again, no real prizes, but it's fun anyway. No, wait. You win...a month of weekend babysitting priveleges! wooooh!
Despite my best hopes, last night's full moon did nothing to induce this little guy to come out. I think I'll go for a jog on Wednesday. Maybe not a jog, but I'm definitely going out and about to pick up all the last minute things that we need, including (but not limited to) thank-you cards for baby gifts. It's the waiting that's killing me. There's not much else I can do to prepare, and not much I can do period, so I just sit around and wait. You know how the saying goes though...a watched uterus never...boils? Or something. Never does what you want it to do. Has real contractions, I guess.
ah yes, also, don't assume that if I don't post for a day it's because I'm having the baby, or that if you call and I don't answer, the same. It's far more likely in the first case that I just have nothing to say, as evidenced by these lame posts of late. In the second case it's likely that I'm ignoring the phone, or can't find it, or am in the shower, or peeing. Or maybe I'm ignoring the phone because I'm peeing in the shower. Either way, I promise I'll let everyone know when this whole baby thing gets going, so don't get your panties all in a knot about it! I say this because somebody called me the other day, and it took me 2 (!) rings to answer. She was like, "I was all worried! I'm thinking...where is she??" I was like, looking for the phone? Don't stress, people.
Saturday, February 26
Thursday, February 24
simple things
how does one go about making up the crib? I've googled til I can't google no more, and all I can find is what I already know, and contradicting information about things like bumper pads. Do I put the absorbent sheet under the fitted sheet? How does that save me having to change the whole shebang if the baby leaks? Do I use the top sheet of the sheet set? Do I use the quilt? It's not fluffy or anything, but I'm all paranoid. I have lots of fleece blankets, but I think they fit in the 'fluffy blanket' category, so I won't use those. I know no pillows, fluffy blankets, or toys, or anything for a while. Some places say go for bumper pads as long as they're secured along the sides of the crib, but not once the baby can pull himself up, others say not while the baby is tiny, but ok later. I feel like a tool, but the really basic stuff isn't covered anywhere, just the stuff that should be common sense like, 'your baby can't control any of its muscles, so don't give it things it can roll into and suffocate itself with', and 'don't leave cords for the baby to strangle on dangling about'. Thanks.
woohoo!
6 more days of bedrest baby. Everything is fine, as expected, or so says my new doctor. Longest quick appointment ever though, holy canolli. The actual appointment was, of course, 5 minutes. Pee in cup, weighed, measured, listen to baby's heartbeat. Schedule next appt. I did have the added bonus this week of swabbing myself to check for type B Strep, and I'll not give you any further details there. The brochure was very reassuring about it *not* being an STD though, so that's ... good I guess. I was at the office for 1.5 hours though, waiting and waiting. They're also sending me for another ultrasound next week, just for fun I guess. I have my pre-registration forms for the hospital, and from what I've read so far about the Chalmers Hospital, it's just not as cool as the Moncton one, but I'll only be there for 2 days, so I'll manage, I'm sure. I have to call and see if they're doing a tour any time soon so I can at least know what to expect when I get there. You have to bring your own diapers and baby-washing stuff here, which is too bad; it's all supplied in Moncton. Ah well, we have lots for now!
So yes, as of next Wednesday I'll be 36 weeks, and as I had hoped most of my bedrest restrictions will be removed. I'll still be 36 weeks pregnant, which is somewhat limiting in itself. That is, as I was told, if I make it to next week. Reassuring, no? I love having no idea what's going on, it keeps my life interesting. My big plan is to have a night out with Grant on Wednesday, since we haven't done that for quite some time, and likely won't again for a while. Something really exciting like dinner and a movie. Wooh!
So yes, as of next Wednesday I'll be 36 weeks, and as I had hoped most of my bedrest restrictions will be removed. I'll still be 36 weeks pregnant, which is somewhat limiting in itself. That is, as I was told, if I make it to next week. Reassuring, no? I love having no idea what's going on, it keeps my life interesting. My big plan is to have a night out with Grant on Wednesday, since we haven't done that for quite some time, and likely won't again for a while. Something really exciting like dinner and a movie. Wooh!
Tuesday, February 22
done and done
well, not done *that*, clearly, or I wouldn't be posting just yet, but done one thing that makes me feel better. I got the baby's room all organised and put away, except for a couple of boxes of my clothes that we'll have to deal with at some point. Grant's dad is coming up to paint on either Thursday or Friday, which will be fantastic, and when my mom comes back up she's going to bring her toll paints and I'm going to make a chair-rail height border of blocks of different colours picked out of the quilt. I'll take pictures when it's done, but it looks pretty good already, just being all neat. Diapers in the closet, lotions and potions in a basket organiser, clothes and blankets washed and put away. The crib is currently filled with stuffed animals, which is sort of funny because there can't be any in there once the baby does arrive, but it just looked so empty before. We need to get a mattress protector apparently, although I've heard that a couple of blankets under the fitted sheet will do nicely. We also have a couple of washable changing pads that would work perfectly, we'd just have to get a couple more. Understandably, everything is slow going, since I'm not really supposed to be doing anything, I have to everything in very small doses at a very slow pace. I'm actually feeling though, other than the name thing (the fact that we don't have one for this poor little guy), that we're pretty ready for things to happen. It's strange, because I am very much aware that neither of us can really be anywhere near ready for the enormous changes that are going to happen, but I feel like I've done all I can, and we're basically as ready as we're going to be. The whole, labour thing is still freaking me out a bit, and I did end up missing my 'comfort measures' class, but Amy (my pregnant friend) told me it was basically a waste of time, and that the only useful info she really got was how many people you're allowed to have in the delivery room with you. 2 in Moncton, if anyone was wondering.
I think I'll give the Fredericton hospital a call and see if they have any classes coming up later, but then I suppose there's no real point until I know if / when I'm going to be no longer on bedrest. I would like to know about the people in the delivery room thing though, I would assume 2 here as well..and about there pain relief options. The main ones in Moncton are demerol, the gas (I have no idea what it's called, similar to laughing gas but with pain relief as well) and the epidural. I've never had demerol, but a lot of people have a bad (barfing) reaction to it, and they said that people who have reactions to other pain medications often react negatively to the gas as well. Which leaves...the epidural. I'm not really pleased with those options, I have to say. Good thing Mom is taking those classes on how to get through labour, at least one of us will know what the hell is going on. I'm just not crazy about a needle in my spine which paralyzes me from my waist down. Silly, perhaps. It has nothing to do with wanting to be tough or a 'real woman' or any such foolishness, I just would rather try other things. I say this now, I may be in there for like an hour and and be like, "GIVE ME THE DRUGS YOU MOTHER F*&#@!^$!", and I'm ok with that. My official 'birth plan', thus, is to take it as it comes, and make sure somebody tells me when I'm nearing the point of no return as far as the big gun drugs go. Sketchy plan, perhaps, but it sounds good to me.
The bed / couch rest hasn't killed me yet, I now have tv and internet, and kitties to keep me company. I've started reading the DaVinci Code, and it's pretty interesting, so I'm looking forward to finishing it. My mom loaned me the deluxe illustrated edition, it's pretty swanky. I have lots of books and movies, but mostly I just laze around and watch tv. Grant is renting us a movie for tonight, but it's a surprise; I'm not allowed to look up what came out. So exciting! I was telling Erin, the first things I'm going to do when I get off this resting thing are to go to Tingley's for ice cream, and Superstore for a bit of a wander. We need a shower caddy, and they have really nice stainless steel ones for like $10 there, and also a soap pump. Mine had an accident on a particularly hormonal day in Moncton. It was ceramic, and never really pumped all that well, and did not survive its crash landing into the sink after my refilling it and it refusing to pump soap out after about 3 minutes of my trying. What can you do? Buy a plastic one next time!
Ok, this is really long. 35 weeks tomorrow! wooh! Would it be really wrong of me to just decide that 36 weeks is enough, and take myself off bedrest next Wednesday? I have a really strong feeling that nothing is going to happen anyway, just becuase that's the way things work out.
random updates: I haven't heard from my new doctor yet, so we'll see how that goes.
My tattoos are fine, basically. The one on my back has no idea that anything's even going on, nor would you if you caught a quick glimpse of me walking away from you. Except for the slight duck-walk. The one on my hip has moved over, and, I'll be honest with you, I can't really see it all that well, but seems to be faring pretty well. I hate it anyway, it was poorly done even after I made them re-do it. Then it seemed silly to keep going back to the same place (they guarantee their work, and thus would have kept 'fixing' it) when they clearly do shitty work. Someday I'll have it removed or gone over or something.
I think I'll give the Fredericton hospital a call and see if they have any classes coming up later, but then I suppose there's no real point until I know if / when I'm going to be no longer on bedrest. I would like to know about the people in the delivery room thing though, I would assume 2 here as well..and about there pain relief options. The main ones in Moncton are demerol, the gas (I have no idea what it's called, similar to laughing gas but with pain relief as well) and the epidural. I've never had demerol, but a lot of people have a bad (barfing) reaction to it, and they said that people who have reactions to other pain medications often react negatively to the gas as well. Which leaves...the epidural. I'm not really pleased with those options, I have to say. Good thing Mom is taking those classes on how to get through labour, at least one of us will know what the hell is going on. I'm just not crazy about a needle in my spine which paralyzes me from my waist down. Silly, perhaps. It has nothing to do with wanting to be tough or a 'real woman' or any such foolishness, I just would rather try other things. I say this now, I may be in there for like an hour and and be like, "GIVE ME THE DRUGS YOU MOTHER F*&#@!^$!", and I'm ok with that. My official 'birth plan', thus, is to take it as it comes, and make sure somebody tells me when I'm nearing the point of no return as far as the big gun drugs go. Sketchy plan, perhaps, but it sounds good to me.
The bed / couch rest hasn't killed me yet, I now have tv and internet, and kitties to keep me company. I've started reading the DaVinci Code, and it's pretty interesting, so I'm looking forward to finishing it. My mom loaned me the deluxe illustrated edition, it's pretty swanky. I have lots of books and movies, but mostly I just laze around and watch tv. Grant is renting us a movie for tonight, but it's a surprise; I'm not allowed to look up what came out. So exciting! I was telling Erin, the first things I'm going to do when I get off this resting thing are to go to Tingley's for ice cream, and Superstore for a bit of a wander. We need a shower caddy, and they have really nice stainless steel ones for like $10 there, and also a soap pump. Mine had an accident on a particularly hormonal day in Moncton. It was ceramic, and never really pumped all that well, and did not survive its crash landing into the sink after my refilling it and it refusing to pump soap out after about 3 minutes of my trying. What can you do? Buy a plastic one next time!
Ok, this is really long. 35 weeks tomorrow! wooh! Would it be really wrong of me to just decide that 36 weeks is enough, and take myself off bedrest next Wednesday? I have a really strong feeling that nothing is going to happen anyway, just becuase that's the way things work out.
random updates: I haven't heard from my new doctor yet, so we'll see how that goes.
My tattoos are fine, basically. The one on my back has no idea that anything's even going on, nor would you if you caught a quick glimpse of me walking away from you. Except for the slight duck-walk. The one on my hip has moved over, and, I'll be honest with you, I can't really see it all that well, but seems to be faring pretty well. I hate it anyway, it was poorly done even after I made them re-do it. Then it seemed silly to keep going back to the same place (they guarantee their work, and thus would have kept 'fixing' it) when they clearly do shitty work. Someday I'll have it removed or gone over or something.
Thursday, February 17
what, are you pregnant or something?
ah yes, words of true wisdom, spoken by the secretary of my supposed new doctor.
I call, as instructed by my doctor in Moncton, to set up an appointment for next week with my new doctor here in Fredericton. Sounds easy enough. I call, and am on hold for about 10 minutes. Not a good start. I finally get a person, and I tell her who I am, that I've been referred and am meant to set up an appointment. She asks my name, of course, which I give her. She asks me who I was referred by, which I also tell her (both of my doctors, just to be extra clear). She says to me, 'who were you referred to?' I say, 'Dr. Mills'. She says, 'well you know Dr. Mills has a waiting list.' I say, 'no, actually, I was not aware of that. I did not choose a doctor here, I was simply referred upon being released from hospital bedrest for 2.5 weeks to home bedrest.' She says, 'what, are you pregnant or something?' I manage not to laugh right out loud, because I'm actually pretty annoyed at this point. I tell her yes, of course (why the fuck else would I be on bedrest and then referred to an ob/gyn??), I'm 34 weeks along, and really do need to have a doctor. She says they'll call me when they get my file. Very handy.
So, I'm torn between tears and rage, can't get a hold of my original doctor, am now going to try to get a hold of the guy who took over my care when my original doctor went on leave. Not happy though. I don't know if I'm on bedrest for eternity, until 40 weeks, until 36 weeks, until the baby decides to come on out. I don't know if I start having masses of contractions again, if I should worry or just let nature take its course, as the nurse told me to do when I called L&D and she didn't know how far along I was. I think not worry though, because when I told my Dr that I was having masses of them the other day, he said that yes, I'd probably notice that more as I got closer to the end.
All in all, folks, this has been a really frustrating experience. I really don't feel that the bedrest is doing me any good. It's not like I'm actually resting; I'm just lying/sitting around all day feeling useless and bored. The doctors even say that there's no real proof that it helps, but it makes them feel like they're doing something. Fantastic. Glad we can keep the doctors happy. Bedrest makes me kind of depressed and overly emotional, and my muscles, such as they are, are atrophying as I sit here.
update...even though I haven't posted this yet. I got a hold of my doctor in moncton, or her office, and told the secretary there what had happened. She's like, why don't we just call them and tell them you don't *want* to deal with mean people, and we'll refer you to somebody else. I said, ok! So she's doing that now, calling another doctor (a man, because I really don't care), and seeing if she can get me an appointment. Wonderful. I love friendly and helpful people even more than I hate stupid and mean people.
I call, as instructed by my doctor in Moncton, to set up an appointment for next week with my new doctor here in Fredericton. Sounds easy enough. I call, and am on hold for about 10 minutes. Not a good start. I finally get a person, and I tell her who I am, that I've been referred and am meant to set up an appointment. She asks my name, of course, which I give her. She asks me who I was referred by, which I also tell her (both of my doctors, just to be extra clear). She says to me, 'who were you referred to?' I say, 'Dr. Mills'. She says, 'well you know Dr. Mills has a waiting list.' I say, 'no, actually, I was not aware of that. I did not choose a doctor here, I was simply referred upon being released from hospital bedrest for 2.5 weeks to home bedrest.' She says, 'what, are you pregnant or something?' I manage not to laugh right out loud, because I'm actually pretty annoyed at this point. I tell her yes, of course (why the fuck else would I be on bedrest and then referred to an ob/gyn??), I'm 34 weeks along, and really do need to have a doctor. She says they'll call me when they get my file. Very handy.
So, I'm torn between tears and rage, can't get a hold of my original doctor, am now going to try to get a hold of the guy who took over my care when my original doctor went on leave. Not happy though. I don't know if I'm on bedrest for eternity, until 40 weeks, until 36 weeks, until the baby decides to come on out. I don't know if I start having masses of contractions again, if I should worry or just let nature take its course, as the nurse told me to do when I called L&D and she didn't know how far along I was. I think not worry though, because when I told my Dr that I was having masses of them the other day, he said that yes, I'd probably notice that more as I got closer to the end.
All in all, folks, this has been a really frustrating experience. I really don't feel that the bedrest is doing me any good. It's not like I'm actually resting; I'm just lying/sitting around all day feeling useless and bored. The doctors even say that there's no real proof that it helps, but it makes them feel like they're doing something. Fantastic. Glad we can keep the doctors happy. Bedrest makes me kind of depressed and overly emotional, and my muscles, such as they are, are atrophying as I sit here.
update...even though I haven't posted this yet. I got a hold of my doctor in moncton, or her office, and told the secretary there what had happened. She's like, why don't we just call them and tell them you don't *want* to deal with mean people, and we'll refer you to somebody else. I said, ok! So she's doing that now, calling another doctor (a man, because I really don't care), and seeing if she can get me an appointment. Wonderful. I love friendly and helpful people even more than I hate stupid and mean people.
free! but not really
so, I'm in Fredericton, and we've got internet and cable, which is a good thing. We also have a really nice apartment, which is not a surprise, but a relief none the less, since this is my first time seeing it. Mom drove me up from Moncton, and stayed the night and today until about half an hour ago to get me all settled and putter at putting things away. It should be kind of fun to see all the stuff that needs doing, and know I'm not responsible to do any of it, but it's really not.
I'll be sending out a mass email with my new contact info shortly, because everyone loves mass emails.
I have a little bit more to say, but it really deserves its own post.
I'll be sending out a mass email with my new contact info shortly, because everyone loves mass emails.
I have a little bit more to say, but it really deserves its own post.
Tuesday, February 15
bustin' out!
I hope. I had my scan today with the antenatal specialist lady, and she said everything looks good, so that's good news. I wasn't really worried, but it's nice to have the assurance. The baby is still measuring a bit big, and weighs approximately 5lbs 4oz, but those estimates are not really all that accurate, apparently. So, we'll wait for tomorrow's 'assessment' and see what's up. I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to go home though; everything is good with the baby and nothing new / complicated has happened with me. We shall see!
I'll have to find out what I'm supposed to do when I get to Fredericton. Apparently I've been referred to a doctor up there, but I don't know who it is or if I'll actually have any appointments before the baby comes, since I don't know if I'll be on full bedrest still. I also have to find a doctor for the baby, which I don't really know how to do. I had asked my ob/gyn here about it, but she's off work now so that never got followed up.
alright, enough computer time. This is why I haven't read any of the books people brought me either...I can't sit up long, and I can't lie on my back, and it's hard to read books lying on your side.
I'll have to find out what I'm supposed to do when I get to Fredericton. Apparently I've been referred to a doctor up there, but I don't know who it is or if I'll actually have any appointments before the baby comes, since I don't know if I'll be on full bedrest still. I also have to find a doctor for the baby, which I don't really know how to do. I had asked my ob/gyn here about it, but she's off work now so that never got followed up.
alright, enough computer time. This is why I haven't read any of the books people brought me either...I can't sit up long, and I can't lie on my back, and it's hard to read books lying on your side.
Monday, February 14
dying
I ranted on the other blog, but I'll rant here too. Why not?
I have a cold. It's a bad cold, it has every cold symptom possible and a fever that just makes me feel like crap, all achey and whatnot. All I can take, due to the whole pregnant thing, is halls and cough syrup. Brutal. They don't work. I'm going to request some Tylenol in a bit and see if that'll help any. Every time I sneeze or cough for more than a couple of seconds I have a contraction. And every time I roll over. So, clearly, things are not getting any better, despite my not going further than the bathroom, 3 feet from my bed. I'm still very excited for my 'reassessment' on Wednesday. HA. I thought pap tests were unpleasant, I'd dare say having your cervix checked is worse. Just so you know.
I go for another profile either today or tomorrow with some specialist peri-natal doctor lady. They're going to check to make sure the baby is breathing and swallowing and stuff, which is good. I have no idea how they can see that, but good luck to them. Also, although the level of fluid did go up from last time I got checked, my doctor said that it's not that precise a means of measuring that they can get all in a huff over a small change, which apparently mine was, so I'm still fine. Good good.
Anyway, that's about it I guess. I'm enjoying my lunch of tuna salad sandwich and potato salad, and very much looking forward to my ice cream dessert. Mmmm. Also, we get red napkins today. Pretty exciting!
I have a cold. It's a bad cold, it has every cold symptom possible and a fever that just makes me feel like crap, all achey and whatnot. All I can take, due to the whole pregnant thing, is halls and cough syrup. Brutal. They don't work. I'm going to request some Tylenol in a bit and see if that'll help any. Every time I sneeze or cough for more than a couple of seconds I have a contraction. And every time I roll over. So, clearly, things are not getting any better, despite my not going further than the bathroom, 3 feet from my bed. I'm still very excited for my 'reassessment' on Wednesday. HA. I thought pap tests were unpleasant, I'd dare say having your cervix checked is worse. Just so you know.
I go for another profile either today or tomorrow with some specialist peri-natal doctor lady. They're going to check to make sure the baby is breathing and swallowing and stuff, which is good. I have no idea how they can see that, but good luck to them. Also, although the level of fluid did go up from last time I got checked, my doctor said that it's not that precise a means of measuring that they can get all in a huff over a small change, which apparently mine was, so I'm still fine. Good good.
Anyway, that's about it I guess. I'm enjoying my lunch of tuna salad sandwich and potato salad, and very much looking forward to my ice cream dessert. Mmmm. Also, we get red napkins today. Pretty exciting!
Friday, February 11
testing, testing
so I had my 2nd profile scan today. Turns out I have more fluid than last week! That's fantastic. Not really. Where before the level wasn't enough to worry about, it may be now, especially if it's going to keep going up. My doctor hasn't been in to talk to me yet, he'll be around in the morning. Possibilities remain either nothing, if the level still acceptable, removal of some of the fluid via an amniocentisis needle and IV, or rupturing of the membranes whenever I get far enough along that they feel I can have the baby. Woohoo! I'm not crazy about options B and C, I'll be honest, so hopefully it won't come to that.
My family doctor was in to visit today, she does rounds on Fridays. She told me that her sister was on bedrest from 23 to 34 weeks, when she was pregnant with twins. At 34 weeks they sent her home on bedrest, and at 36 weeks they told her to do whatever the hell she wanted (daily activities, sex etc.). I said wow, sex at 36 weeks pregnant with twins, that's a GREAT suggestion. lol.
The other night I had a dream that my water broke but I didn't go into labour. This afternoon I had a dream that my cats had somehow escaped from Grant's parents' house and come to find us in Fredericton. They're very clever, especially since they've never been to our place in Fredericton. Anyway, the moral of the story is that I thought perhaps that first one was a premonition type dream, but clearly I'm just having strange dreams due to being cooped up in here too long.
I officially gave notice to school that I'm not coming back. I told the vp that in the first place, but she wanted to wait and make sure. Some more of my coworkers stopped in today at lunch and filled me in on all the me-related gossip. There wasn't much, but it was kind of funny. Apparently the word was that I was totally intent on coming back for the 2 weeks between getting out of here and going on mat. leave. Clearly that one was started by someone who doesn't know me very well, since anyone who does would understand that I just wouldn't want to do that. The other rumour was that I wasn't able to get incoming calls because it was too hard on my high blood pressure. I guess somebody must have called during the half hour that my phone wasn't working a few days back, and it was saying that my phone wasn't set up to accept incoming calls. How that got turned into me needing a reprieve from harassing phone calls on account of my high bp...I'm not sure. As one woman said, who are these people calling you and getting your pressure up?! I said that no, I'm fully NOT intending on going anywhere but home or to labour&delivery when I get out of here, and that I have never in my life had high bp. It's generally low, and has been quite low a few times since I've been pregnant. So I got that all straightened out and told the secretary that people can call me anytime.
Now, I must whine. Why not make this the longest post ever? I had really hoped to have the time before the baby came to get things ready. We were going to get all moved up to Fredericton, and I was going to have time to putter around, get things organised, paint the baby's room and get all that stuff settled. Most of that is being taken care of by Grant and his parents and friends, which is fantastic. His parents actually went and spent a day in Fredericton to get things organised and put away, put together the crib and dresser, that kind of thing. While that's absolutely great, I really wanted to have some part in it too. I'm a pretty creative cat and had fully planned to do up the baby's room, but I've never even seen our new apartment, let alone the nursery. I can't very well be out looking at paint chips and fabrics for curtains from here. I feel like I'll be moving into somebody else's apartment, and I don't even know that I'll get to do that on my own, before the baby arrives. It's just little things, but when you have nothing else to do but sit around and think about stuff, the little things really start to get to you. I don't want to be trying to find cups and which drawer the sleepers are in while trying to figure out how exactly to go about this whole, raising a baby thing. Mostly I'm feeling sorry for myself, and then I start to feel bad because this is the best thing for the baby, and I'm a total bitch for wishing I could just be done with the whole bedrest thing.
That'll do for now.
My family doctor was in to visit today, she does rounds on Fridays. She told me that her sister was on bedrest from 23 to 34 weeks, when she was pregnant with twins. At 34 weeks they sent her home on bedrest, and at 36 weeks they told her to do whatever the hell she wanted (daily activities, sex etc.). I said wow, sex at 36 weeks pregnant with twins, that's a GREAT suggestion. lol.
The other night I had a dream that my water broke but I didn't go into labour. This afternoon I had a dream that my cats had somehow escaped from Grant's parents' house and come to find us in Fredericton. They're very clever, especially since they've never been to our place in Fredericton. Anyway, the moral of the story is that I thought perhaps that first one was a premonition type dream, but clearly I'm just having strange dreams due to being cooped up in here too long.
I officially gave notice to school that I'm not coming back. I told the vp that in the first place, but she wanted to wait and make sure. Some more of my coworkers stopped in today at lunch and filled me in on all the me-related gossip. There wasn't much, but it was kind of funny. Apparently the word was that I was totally intent on coming back for the 2 weeks between getting out of here and going on mat. leave. Clearly that one was started by someone who doesn't know me very well, since anyone who does would understand that I just wouldn't want to do that. The other rumour was that I wasn't able to get incoming calls because it was too hard on my high blood pressure. I guess somebody must have called during the half hour that my phone wasn't working a few days back, and it was saying that my phone wasn't set up to accept incoming calls. How that got turned into me needing a reprieve from harassing phone calls on account of my high bp...I'm not sure. As one woman said, who are these people calling you and getting your pressure up?! I said that no, I'm fully NOT intending on going anywhere but home or to labour&delivery when I get out of here, and that I have never in my life had high bp. It's generally low, and has been quite low a few times since I've been pregnant. So I got that all straightened out and told the secretary that people can call me anytime.
Now, I must whine. Why not make this the longest post ever? I had really hoped to have the time before the baby came to get things ready. We were going to get all moved up to Fredericton, and I was going to have time to putter around, get things organised, paint the baby's room and get all that stuff settled. Most of that is being taken care of by Grant and his parents and friends, which is fantastic. His parents actually went and spent a day in Fredericton to get things organised and put away, put together the crib and dresser, that kind of thing. While that's absolutely great, I really wanted to have some part in it too. I'm a pretty creative cat and had fully planned to do up the baby's room, but I've never even seen our new apartment, let alone the nursery. I can't very well be out looking at paint chips and fabrics for curtains from here. I feel like I'll be moving into somebody else's apartment, and I don't even know that I'll get to do that on my own, before the baby arrives. It's just little things, but when you have nothing else to do but sit around and think about stuff, the little things really start to get to you. I don't want to be trying to find cups and which drawer the sleepers are in while trying to figure out how exactly to go about this whole, raising a baby thing. Mostly I'm feeling sorry for myself, and then I start to feel bad because this is the best thing for the baby, and I'm a total bitch for wishing I could just be done with the whole bedrest thing.
That'll do for now.
Thursday, February 10
oh, yeah
also, my sister is going away on Sunday for 2 weeks, and Grant's mom is going away in a week, for a week. They've both told me that I'm not allowed to have the baby while they're away. Thanks, ladies, I don't have enough to worry about. I'm going to have the baby during the week you're both away, just because.
oh, right, as IF I have any say in this! the way I figure, the baby is either coming really soon, or, just to be a jerk, is going to hold out until March 30th, as originally planned. I will, of course, keep you posted.
oh, right, as IF I have any say in this! the way I figure, the baby is either coming really soon, or, just to be a jerk, is going to hold out until March 30th, as originally planned. I will, of course, keep you posted.
frustrating
alright. Day 11 of a theoretical 17. I know almost nothing more than I did when I got in here. I ask questions, but they can't tell me anything until after my scans tomorrow and Wednesday, and until they 'reassess' me (and my parts) sometime next week. From what I've gathered from the doctors, nurses, and internet, babies born at 34 weeks are a-ok; doctors won't try to stop labour that starts after 34 weeks, whereas they would any time before that. I've also gathered that since I do have this excess of amniotic fluid, if my water were to break on its own, and I were like, at home, there's a danger of the baby's umbilical cord or something else being pulled down first, instead of the head.
edit: apparently, as of Friday, I had not tooo alarming an amount, just more than normal, so they're not worried about the whole cord prolapse thing. good news.
That said, I'm none too confident that I'll be sent anywhere other than the Fredericton hospital on my supposed release day of next Wednesday. Apparently what's sometimes done is that they will go ahead and break your water so that it's controlled and nothing bad happens. I don't know *when* they would do that though, or if my situation warrants that. Hopefully after tomorrow I'll be able to find out a bit more at least about that. They're also going to scan the baby next week to make sure he's swallowing ok; apparently that's a rare but possible cause of too much fluid, and if there is a problem (again, not likely) it's fixable. I do know that he's making good 'breathing movements', because he gets the hiccups all the time, and I actually got to see him hiccupping on last week's scan. Pretty cool.
The heartbeat is good, and he makes way more than the minimum amount of movements. FYI, it's 10 in 4 hours at this stage, and I get 10 in about 10 minutes a lot of the time. Except at (the baby's) naptime, when I can wake him up either by poking or drinking something cold and / or sweet. I asked about how that works exactly, and it's because the baby's bum or feet are always up against the mother's stomach, so the cold hits them. Kind of neat.
Anyway, I'm off to watch the rest of CSI. Good times. I can watch tv AND surf the net in bed. You're all jealous.
edit: apparently, as of Friday, I had not tooo alarming an amount, just more than normal, so they're not worried about the whole cord prolapse thing. good news.
That said, I'm none too confident that I'll be sent anywhere other than the Fredericton hospital on my supposed release day of next Wednesday. Apparently what's sometimes done is that they will go ahead and break your water so that it's controlled and nothing bad happens. I don't know *when* they would do that though, or if my situation warrants that. Hopefully after tomorrow I'll be able to find out a bit more at least about that. They're also going to scan the baby next week to make sure he's swallowing ok; apparently that's a rare but possible cause of too much fluid, and if there is a problem (again, not likely) it's fixable. I do know that he's making good 'breathing movements', because he gets the hiccups all the time, and I actually got to see him hiccupping on last week's scan. Pretty cool.
The heartbeat is good, and he makes way more than the minimum amount of movements. FYI, it's 10 in 4 hours at this stage, and I get 10 in about 10 minutes a lot of the time. Except at (the baby's) naptime, when I can wake him up either by poking or drinking something cold and / or sweet. I asked about how that works exactly, and it's because the baby's bum or feet are always up against the mother's stomach, so the cold hits them. Kind of neat.
Anyway, I'm off to watch the rest of CSI. Good times. I can watch tv AND surf the net in bed. You're all jealous.
Tuesday, February 8
due date guesses?
anybody care to change their guesses? The actual due date (according to the doctors here) is March 30th. I have serious doubts that I'll make it that far, but you just never know. Head on over to expectnet (game name is 'guesseverything') and add or change your guesses as you see fit.
I finally have internet, and frigging messenger keeps conking out on me! It's just not fair. Also, the touchpad mouse is evil, I've decided. It keeps doing random things like changing pages and moving the cursor around.
I finally have internet, and frigging messenger keeps conking out on me! It's just not fair. Also, the touchpad mouse is evil, I've decided. It keeps doing random things like changing pages and moving the cursor around.
Monday, February 7
I have an irritable uterus
holy effwprd. I just had this whole freaking thing typed, up, and my browser decided to go back a page. Why? I have no idea. It saved the title, very helpful, but not the post.
anger. anger is not good for my irritable uterus, I'm sure.
ok, so I'll try this again. Monday night I started having a lot of b-h contractions. Like, every 2-3 minutes. So I called labour and delivery, and they advised me to relax, have a nice warm bath or shower, and see if that helps. Ok, so I had like an hour long shower, wonderful (as we discovered, the bath thing is not relaxing), had some supper (Deluxe white cheddar mac and cheese), and filled in my mark sheets for school. start counting contractions again (clearly these are not the real deal, as I'm able to basically ignore them) and see that I'm still going at about every 4 minutes. I call l&d again, and the nurse tells me to stay home as long as possible, and to come in when I find I'm too uncomfortable and / or in pain. Ok...I say to her, so wait, I'm in labour?? She sort of laughed, and said yes, sounds like it. I am very near tears. I tell her I can't be in labour, I'm not even 32 weeks pregnant. She's like, oh! come in please!
So I did. They admitted me, put me in a bed, hooked me up to a monitor, checked my cervix (I was 2cm and 30% effaced), so here I stay. It's been a full week now, and I haven't gone crazy. Yet. They sent me for a profile on Friday to see if they could see anything, and the baby is measuring about 2 weeks bigger than my dates say, and I have too much amniotic fluid. This makes me be so ginormous, and makes my body think that I must be just about done being pregnant. So now I have to just stay in bed to keep things calm, because every time I get out of bed, I have a contraction. I have bathroom and shower priveleges, thank god. I range now anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or so. still too much. But, I'll keep you posted. I probably won't hear anything until Friday, when they're going to do another profile to check the fluid levels again and see if there's anything else to see. Leave me some comments! it's SUPER BORING here.
anger. anger is not good for my irritable uterus, I'm sure.
ok, so I'll try this again. Monday night I started having a lot of b-h contractions. Like, every 2-3 minutes. So I called labour and delivery, and they advised me to relax, have a nice warm bath or shower, and see if that helps. Ok, so I had like an hour long shower, wonderful (as we discovered, the bath thing is not relaxing), had some supper (Deluxe white cheddar mac and cheese), and filled in my mark sheets for school. start counting contractions again (clearly these are not the real deal, as I'm able to basically ignore them) and see that I'm still going at about every 4 minutes. I call l&d again, and the nurse tells me to stay home as long as possible, and to come in when I find I'm too uncomfortable and / or in pain. Ok...I say to her, so wait, I'm in labour?? She sort of laughed, and said yes, sounds like it. I am very near tears. I tell her I can't be in labour, I'm not even 32 weeks pregnant. She's like, oh! come in please!
So I did. They admitted me, put me in a bed, hooked me up to a monitor, checked my cervix (I was 2cm and 30% effaced), so here I stay. It's been a full week now, and I haven't gone crazy. Yet. They sent me for a profile on Friday to see if they could see anything, and the baby is measuring about 2 weeks bigger than my dates say, and I have too much amniotic fluid. This makes me be so ginormous, and makes my body think that I must be just about done being pregnant. So now I have to just stay in bed to keep things calm, because every time I get out of bed, I have a contraction. I have bathroom and shower priveleges, thank god. I range now anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or so. still too much. But, I'll keep you posted. I probably won't hear anything until Friday, when they're going to do another profile to check the fluid levels again and see if there's anything else to see. Leave me some comments! it's SUPER BORING here.
Monday, January 31
scanner guns are super fun
I made a registry! It's #355611819, in case that link stops working later. I'll put it over on the sidebar too. It was pretty fun, I just wandered around and scanned about everything I could think that the little one would need. I do apologize for the crib bedding set, it's mighty pricey, but it's the only one I've seen that I really like - it's not too busy or too obviously gender-neutral or too cheesey cartoonish. We also need some crib sheets, but I don't really care what those look like, so I didn't bother to scan any specific ones. Same for the washcloths and receiving blankets, they don't have to be any specific kind. I'm also not expecting to get most of the stuff, but I thought I'd make it easy for anyone who feels the need to buy the baby something.
I really don't have any other news. I'm going to go through all the stuff from the shower and make a list of everything so I can do up thank you cards. I've never done them before, so that should be fun. I'm pretty sure Grant should have to help. Is it ok to wait and send them out after the baby comes, so I can say how much s/he is enjoying the gift? Probably not ok.
I really don't have any other news. I'm going to go through all the stuff from the shower and make a list of everything so I can do up thank you cards. I've never done them before, so that should be fun. I'm pretty sure Grant should have to help. Is it ok to wait and send them out after the baby comes, so I can say how much s/he is enjoying the gift? Probably not ok.
Sunday, January 30
good times a-comin'!
What will you be doing in your spare time? Looks like I'm going to be pretty busy!
*shudder*
Had the baby shower last night, got an absolutely embarrassing pile of stuff. First off, enough diapers to last a while, really and truly. Also, we have over a full big blue Rubbermaid bin full of baby clothes, hand me downs. So, on top of that, we got a vibrating bouncy chair, a giant plush Eeyore, an Ocean Wonders aquarium thing for the crib, and a Leap Frog phonics bus that plays songs and stuff about letter sounds. Along with 2 blue garbage bags full of sleepers, undershirts, blankets, a fleece outfit for the spring and a bigger fleece snowsuit type thing for the fall, bottles, nail clippers, spoons and bowls, car window shades, a mirror so you can see the baby even though it's facing away from you in the car, a gift card, and enough baby bathing products to make any germ-o-phobe proud. I'm sure I'm forgetting things, but it was really sort of overwhelming.
Anyway, I'm planing to go to Toys R Us and see what else I can find. I know there are a few things that I'd like so I'll go a little scanner gun happy, since we have basically everything we *need* now, we can get the extra stuff I guess. I don't want to get too much more in the way of clothes, because I'd like to be able to dress the baby like a boy or girl at some point, rather than the albeit adorable, but very gender neutral things that we have so far. I felt sort of gluttonous with all the presents, but then I felt ok, because it's not even for me, it's for this little one who is, really, not so little, and will be making the grand entrance in about 9 weeks. Everyone I meet says I'm not going to make it that long. I say, thanks! I know that it's different being pregnant than just fat, but you can only be told you're enormous so many times, before you start to get a little self conscious. I know I'm big! And yes, I have 2 WHOLE months left! lol. Get over it!
*shudder*
Had the baby shower last night, got an absolutely embarrassing pile of stuff. First off, enough diapers to last a while, really and truly. Also, we have over a full big blue Rubbermaid bin full of baby clothes, hand me downs. So, on top of that, we got a vibrating bouncy chair, a giant plush Eeyore, an Ocean Wonders aquarium thing for the crib, and a Leap Frog phonics bus that plays songs and stuff about letter sounds. Along with 2 blue garbage bags full of sleepers, undershirts, blankets, a fleece outfit for the spring and a bigger fleece snowsuit type thing for the fall, bottles, nail clippers, spoons and bowls, car window shades, a mirror so you can see the baby even though it's facing away from you in the car, a gift card, and enough baby bathing products to make any germ-o-phobe proud. I'm sure I'm forgetting things, but it was really sort of overwhelming.
Anyway, I'm planing to go to Toys R Us and see what else I can find. I know there are a few things that I'd like so I'll go a little scanner gun happy, since we have basically everything we *need* now, we can get the extra stuff I guess. I don't want to get too much more in the way of clothes, because I'd like to be able to dress the baby like a boy or girl at some point, rather than the albeit adorable, but very gender neutral things that we have so far. I felt sort of gluttonous with all the presents, but then I felt ok, because it's not even for me, it's for this little one who is, really, not so little, and will be making the grand entrance in about 9 weeks. Everyone I meet says I'm not going to make it that long. I say, thanks! I know that it's different being pregnant than just fat, but you can only be told you're enormous so many times, before you start to get a little self conscious. I know I'm big! And yes, I have 2 WHOLE months left! lol. Get over it!
Thursday, January 27
some advice
just so you know, a bath is not nearly as relaxing as baths are meant to be, when your tub is roughly big enough to comfortably seat a toddler, and not nearly big enough to allow enough water to cover all the bits that need warming and relaxing in the first place.
my back still hurts.
sigh.
my back still hurts.
sigh.
ch-ch-changes
The baby is slowing down a bit, I guess it's getting a bit cramped in its current living conditions. Still plenty of movements, especially when I sit and count, but not as much as a few weeks ago. 31 weeks tomorrow! I have this feeling that I'm going to go early. I don't know how early, or why I think that, but I just do. I'm worried that it'll be really soon, or that something will happen (ie, the giant baby is so big that I'll have to go on bedrest to keep it from coming really early) and that because I don't plan ahead, and they haven't hired a replacement for me at school yet, that my classes will be totally screwed. Whenever I mention this worry to anyone, they invariably reply 'that's not really your problem!'. True, but I still worry. Also, this is still pretty early, it's got a good 6 more weeks to go before it's considered term. I'm into my 8th month though, which is kind of fun. I'm also realizing that 9 months is not actually how long you're pregnant for, since they start counting from your last period. I was 7 months...2 days ago, if we're using that math, and that doesn't compute with my due date. Slightly over 9 months, I guess.
Anyway, my back is ridiculously sore from being hunched over my desk, marking all day. Since I don't have a personal masseuse / live-in significant other at this point, I think I'll take a bath. I'm doing a lot of work at school this week so that I can come home and relax in the evenings. I have a bit of cleaning up to do here, it's part of the fun packing process, but nothing to strenuous. I have to tally the marks on my grade 9 exams, but I'm not marking anything else until tomorrow. And, I have to decide what to eat, because last night I had a DQ burger, so I feel like I should have something real tonight.
I have some very small stretch marks, and I have to say I'm a little annoyed. I grew really quickly up to this point, and was doing fine! I'm happy I don't have enormous ones, but I know that not *everyone* gets them (like my mom, she didn't...no fair), so I was hoping I'd be one of the lucky ones. They are small, and on the underside of my giant belly, so I don't even see them unless I look in the mirror. I also have some, for some reason, where my bellybutton ring was. I took it out as soon as I started to show, because it was looking really odd. Just recently, I've noticed that there are stretch marks there, between the 2 holes. Odd. Confined for now, so I'm relatively happy.
The bath beckons, I'll talk to you fools later.
Anyway, my back is ridiculously sore from being hunched over my desk, marking all day. Since I don't have a personal masseuse / live-in significant other at this point, I think I'll take a bath. I'm doing a lot of work at school this week so that I can come home and relax in the evenings. I have a bit of cleaning up to do here, it's part of the fun packing process, but nothing to strenuous. I have to tally the marks on my grade 9 exams, but I'm not marking anything else until tomorrow. And, I have to decide what to eat, because last night I had a DQ burger, so I feel like I should have something real tonight.
I have some very small stretch marks, and I have to say I'm a little annoyed. I grew really quickly up to this point, and was doing fine! I'm happy I don't have enormous ones, but I know that not *everyone* gets them (like my mom, she didn't...no fair), so I was hoping I'd be one of the lucky ones. They are small, and on the underside of my giant belly, so I don't even see them unless I look in the mirror. I also have some, for some reason, where my bellybutton ring was. I took it out as soon as I started to show, because it was looking really odd. Just recently, I've noticed that there are stretch marks there, between the 2 holes. Odd. Confined for now, so I'm relatively happy.
The bath beckons, I'll talk to you fools later.
Thursday, January 20
why aren't you commenting!
I need rassurance!
Anyway. I put up a newer / more fun picture of myself on the sidebar there. It's even a link to the normal-sized picture, if you'd care to take a look. I'm going to need somebody to actually *take* pictures of me though, so I can get nice ones with a normal facial expression and stuff. I'm usually still trying to get myself into position when the picture takes, and thus look totally stunned. Hence the headless shots. Also good for anonymity.
Anyway, according to the babycounter thingie, tomorrow I will have exactly 10 weeks until the big day. I have a feeling (and it may be wishful thinking, true) that I may not make it all the way to the end. That I'll come close, but maybe go a week ahead of schedule. My dr. keeps telling me that it's just a big baby, and that it doesn't affect my dates or anything, but the look of surprise / confusion on her face every time she measures me leads me to believe that I could possibly be a little further along than I have figured out. Regardless, 10 weeks is kind of scary. The first line in my 'your baby this week' email this week was about how my baby's head is getting bigger. That's just a mean thing to start off with, don't you think?
At least I'm not this poor woman. Yet. She had a c-section, of course, but still.
I stopped in to Thyme to see if I could spend a gift certificate I had gotten before Christmas. I managed to get myself a pair of overalls. They are cute, but do definitely emphasize my giant-ness. I don't care though, because they're comfy. Another thing, to be categorized with the poncho, that I will probably only wear whlie pregnant.
Anyway. I put up a newer / more fun picture of myself on the sidebar there. It's even a link to the normal-sized picture, if you'd care to take a look. I'm going to need somebody to actually *take* pictures of me though, so I can get nice ones with a normal facial expression and stuff. I'm usually still trying to get myself into position when the picture takes, and thus look totally stunned. Hence the headless shots. Also good for anonymity.
Anyway, according to the babycounter thingie, tomorrow I will have exactly 10 weeks until the big day. I have a feeling (and it may be wishful thinking, true) that I may not make it all the way to the end. That I'll come close, but maybe go a week ahead of schedule. My dr. keeps telling me that it's just a big baby, and that it doesn't affect my dates or anything, but the look of surprise / confusion on her face every time she measures me leads me to believe that I could possibly be a little further along than I have figured out. Regardless, 10 weeks is kind of scary. The first line in my 'your baby this week' email this week was about how my baby's head is getting bigger. That's just a mean thing to start off with, don't you think?
At least I'm not this poor woman. Yet. She had a c-section, of course, but still.
I stopped in to Thyme to see if I could spend a gift certificate I had gotten before Christmas. I managed to get myself a pair of overalls. They are cute, but do definitely emphasize my giant-ness. I don't care though, because they're comfy. Another thing, to be categorized with the poncho, that I will probably only wear whlie pregnant.
Tuesday, January 11
I told you, giant baby
everything is going well, the glucose tolerance test was fine, so I can continue to eat whatever I want (in the words of my doctor). I've gained a total of 12.5lbs, which is good / normal, and I'll probably gain that much again before this trip is over. When she measured me, she was like, wait a minute, went and looked at my estimated due date, looked at me, looked at the date again, came back and measured me again before writing it down. Apparently, I'm still running noticeably bigger than my date indicates. She still refuses to change said date though, she said that it's just a big baby. Fun for me!
After my next appointment on Feb 15 (5 weeks from now rather than 4, the Dr. lady is away the 4th week) I'll start going every 2 weeks, but that will only be one more appointment here, then I'll be moving up to Fredericton. The original plan had been to stick it out here until the baby decided to make his/her appearance, but it seems silly to do that now that Grant and I have a nice place up in Fredericton that I can fuss over and get ready. So it's looking like I'll stick around here until after March break and then head up.
I start my pre-natal classes next month; I'm taking 4 I think, but I can't remember the 4th one. One is a full day on labour, pain management etc (or "comfort measures", as they say on the sheet), then one on breastfeeding and one on newborn care. Should be good! My mom is taking classes in Halifax so she can help out in a sort of doula-esque way.
I think that's it. I took the morning off, I think I'll start taking the day for the next...2 appointments I'll have during school. It's easier to find a supply teacher for a full day than just for the morning, and really, it's not like I can save my sick days anyway, so I might as well use them.
After my next appointment on Feb 15 (5 weeks from now rather than 4, the Dr. lady is away the 4th week) I'll start going every 2 weeks, but that will only be one more appointment here, then I'll be moving up to Fredericton. The original plan had been to stick it out here until the baby decided to make his/her appearance, but it seems silly to do that now that Grant and I have a nice place up in Fredericton that I can fuss over and get ready. So it's looking like I'll stick around here until after March break and then head up.
I start my pre-natal classes next month; I'm taking 4 I think, but I can't remember the 4th one. One is a full day on labour, pain management etc (or "comfort measures", as they say on the sheet), then one on breastfeeding and one on newborn care. Should be good! My mom is taking classes in Halifax so she can help out in a sort of doula-esque way.
I think that's it. I took the morning off, I think I'll start taking the day for the next...2 appointments I'll have during school. It's easier to find a supply teacher for a full day than just for the morning, and really, it's not like I can save my sick days anyway, so I might as well use them.
Monday, January 10
picture time!
now, I have to put up 4 pictures in order for you to fully appreciate the growth that has happened in the last month. The befores are from December 6, the afters are January 10 (today).
enjoy.
I'll admit, that front-on shot scared even me. Yipes. What's the counter at, 75 days to go? I'm interested to see what's going to happen. I'm very short waisted, and I'm blaming that for the fact that I'm only comfortable either standing up straight, or lying in bed on my side stretched out. When I'm sitting down for a long time, I get to feeling squished, like there's just not enough vertical room in there for what's going on. Again, should be intereting!
enjoy.
I'll admit, that front-on shot scared even me. Yipes. What's the counter at, 75 days to go? I'm interested to see what's going to happen. I'm very short waisted, and I'm blaming that for the fact that I'm only comfortable either standing up straight, or lying in bed on my side stretched out. When I'm sitting down for a long time, I get to feeling squished, like there's just not enough vertical room in there for what's going on. Again, should be intereting!