32 weeks and counting ... contractions

I spent the better part of Monday afternoon/evening in L&D after spending the better part of Monday afternoon contracting while at work. And crying. Yeah, I knew that at nearly 32 weeks we are probably in the relative clear, but still ...

All is well with the baby, thank the heavens - no one is sure what happened and by the time I got to the hospital and got on the monitors, most of the contractions had stopped. The only thing I can correlate is that in the hospital, I was lying and resting, something I can't really do at work. We don't want me to go on bedrest as that will precipitate (greater) financial crisis, so ... we'll see what happens.

I can't say enough about the great nursing care I got at the hospital - it's the same hospital where Imri was born and I thought the care then was great too. It's nice to see and to be able to say.

The Braxton-Hicks I'm having are nearly constant and they are driving me up the wall. It's truly uncomfortable although much better than the real thing. It's just difficult to relax when your belly is always tight and hard. Ick.

Anyway, I have an OB appointment today, so I will be asking them a lot of questions as to what I can and can't physically do, as well as my platelet level (which as far as I know, is still hovering around 100,000), possible induction and if so, dates ... and what to do about my adorable daughter, who at last count is still breech.

Yeah.

Imri continues to thrive and grow. He really is a sweet boy and his imagination is showing beautifully ... he asked me this morning for a waffle and for me to slice it into "sailboats". Took me a moment to realize he meant for me to cut it into triangles. He is talking in full sentences and while some of it is toddlerese, most of it is completely understandable.

We are working on his penchant for hitting his mother. While I do realize (because I've read the same research you have)that this is most likely because I am the person he is connected to the most, it still annoys the heck out of me, not to mention that it hurts. And I'm hormonal enough to take it personally.
What I've done is start cheering whenever he touches "gently" or "makes shane" (Yiddish). It seems to be working right now, as he loves to hear "hurray".

He remains fascinated by all things mechanized, including Thomas the Tank Engine, tractors, trucks (particularly garbage trucks) of all kinds, cars, bicycles, motorcycles ... you get the drift. Our collection of trains, planes and automobiles continues to grow hugely.

We have started talking to him about the baby and he sort of gets that there's a baby in mommy's tummy. He insists that it will go live with Tim and Patty who live across the street - hey, maybe he gets it more than I think he does ...

That's it in a nutshell. I will try and keep the Internets posted as to further developments.


Imri, showing off his "sailboat".

Under the T for TMI

We've been sick. Well, actually, it started with Imri - we took him to the town fair last Tuesday. That night he started vomiting. And vomiting. And vomiting. It was awful, especially since he cried and cried when vomiting ... it's so hard on little ones who just don't understand. He kept crying and looking at me with that "why, mommy??" look. Needless to say by the time morning came round, we were all exhausted and I was out of clean nightgowns to wear.
The scariest part of illness is holding your baby in your arms and he just lies there, listless and lethargic. I took him to the doctor who was pretty concerned about his weight loss as he hadn't been able to hold down anything, including water - he had lost 5% of his body weight. The doctor basically said - fluids, one tsp at a time or he'll end up in the ER. Fortunately for us, Imri decided that popsicles were a good thing just at the right time.Whew.

He's just starting to get back his complete appetite now although he's been fine since Friday or so. We were concerned that he had gotten food poisoning from the fair, but it didn't act like classic food poisoning ... something that was confirmed when at work on Monday, I became quite sick. By the time I got home Monday, I felt like death warmed over and later that night I vomited too. I don't think I've thrown up in over 15 years, seriously.

So it seems to be a virus and a nasty one, too. Nothing else, just nausea and vomiting and feeling awful but at nearly 30 weeks preggers? It's not fun. I can't even imagine how awful my sweet boy must have felt.

Missing all this work has put a serious damper on our already strained finances and I'm not sure what we're going to do. We're looking at our options and may need to speak with a lawyer.It's pretty bad. I'd just rather do it now than have to deal with the phone calls when I have a newborn to care for. John doesn't seem to get this but then, he is a procrastinator.

I just hope I feel a lot better tomorrow because I have to go back in to work. No real other choices there.

In the good news department - I passed my 3 hour glucose tolerance test! Holy smokes! I never would have believed it. Platelets are holding steady around 100,000 so no worries yet. Onward and upward.



At the fair - a very happy boy.

Nearly 29 weeks gone

I failed my repeat one hour glucose tolerance test. By one point. One measly point.

More importantly, they tested my red blood count because of my feeling of exhaustion and guess what? My platelets are hovering around 95,000. Normal is usually somewhere around 200,000. So, this could explain my exhaustion ... and is probably due to the Lovenox (blood thinner) that I'm on.

Off I trotted today to have my 3 hour glucose tolerance test. As before, it was just loads of fun - fasting overnight, and 3.5 hours stuck in a cramped waiting room, with four blood draws. They also drew my platelet repeat. Thank goodness the phlebotomist was excellent.

Then I had to boogie to my perinatologist's office a mere 25 miles away - in 30 minutes. After a stop at the nearby fast food joint, I was starving! Fortunately, 270 was clear and I drove like a maniac pregnant hormonal woman the whole way there, so I got there on time and as a bonus, got my favourite sonographer too.

Baby girl is measuring on target, which is great - it means that even if I do have GD, it hasn't affected her yet. She weighs about 2lbs 13 ounces and is perfect! The sonographer measured my amniotic fluid which was 13.4, also excellent. As of my next visit at the end of July, I will start weekly biophysical exams which is like a non-stress test. The baby has to score at least 8 to pass, from what I understand.

I spoke with Dr High Risk who was pleased with the baby's progress. He is a touch concerned about the platelets but says he isn't going to worry unless they drop below 90,000 at which point I will probably go on steroids. Won't that make me a joy to be around? I've been on prednisone before and promptly became the Wicked Bitch of the East. But I'm not worrying about that, there's no point.
His biggest concern was for me because low platelets *could* mean no epidural ... but again, I'm not going to stress over it right now. So much can happen between now and then.
He also reassured me dryly that while I may have only failed my OB's GD markers by 1 point (I scored 136, cutoff was 135), I would have failed his by 6 points as his cutoff is 130. I think he was trying to make me feel better ...

Oh, and the baby, who was nicely turned head down last time, is now breech. The sonographer reassured me that there's nothing to worry about and that there's plenty of time but ... ack.

But, amidst all that ... came this ...


Isn't she beautiful?? Just for orientation sake, she is looking to your visual right, her lips and chin are middle-bottom slightly to the right.

I think she's gorgeous. And that she looks like her brother ...