I love seeing the beautiful woman who have amazing bodies and look so adorable pregnant. They just look so cute! There are days in which I marvel at my growing belly and think that I look Oh So Cute, but then there are days like today.
Days that make pregnancy seem so un-sexy.It all started Tuesday when I was training a new hire at work, when I get up and it feels like I wet myself. I know exactly what it is and I am in disbelief because I am already wearing a panty liner. How can I have so much discharge that it leaks thru my liner onto my pants and in so much abundance that my pants are wet. I waddled myself into the bathroom to check out the situation, it looked like I took a cup of water and poured it on the inside of my pants. No one would notice but still, for real!
I got home from work late, Mr. Jerseysaur started dinner as I asked and I did a few chores. We ate, I finished the chores and sat down for the evening. Heading to bed my nose is stuffy and I keep trying to blow it, but no relief. I slather on the vicks and start snoring away. Until the baby started kicking and waking me up, I have to sit up turn myself over readjust the body pillow and blankets and try to nod back off.
Then I get up this morning and have a full blown Freddy Kruger nose bleed. It just would not stop. It was a pleasant sight, let me tell you.
Well I cleaned myself up and threw on a comfy maternity dress, walk into work and I get the "You look so cute Momma" comment a hundred times.
Thanks, because if you saw me two hours ago you would run for the hills! Haha.
As we all know when creating life your body does the strangest things, I actually had a scary symptom while driving home from work this week. I lost vision in my left eye. I held it closed and continued driving home. It lasted a short while and when I told the Mr. he was quite concerned. Luckily I had another 4 week checkup the next morning and told the doctor what happened. She told me to see a specialist sooner than later as this can be something more serious, i.e. signs of stroke, preeclampsia etc. I called the eye specialist and they saw me this morning bright and early, they ran a few tests, dialiated my eye and saw nothing wrong. The diagnosis for now, an optical migraine. If it happens again we will look further into it but for now I am ok.
I read the book by Jenny McCarthy "Belly Laughs" a few weeks ago on a plane ride home and it was so down to earth, so honest about the un-pleasantries of pregnancy. Its true, it is beyond wonderful and amazing but when you can't get to that one point to shave for weeks and you finally get a glimpse of the braid-able patch on the back of your leg, you can't help but laugh.
Showing posts with label preeclampsia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preeclampsia. Show all posts
Friday, September 2, 2011
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Bed Rest Is For the Birds
The one thing I have been trying to avoid more than anything else this entire pregnancy has been the dreaded... BED REST! Who has time for laying in bed all day?! Not this Mama... especially not this week! During my pregnancy with DS I would have loved to have been told to go home and go to bed. Work was making me crazy and all I wanted was an excuse to get away a little early, but that never happened! This time around I have (an almost) four year old to keep up with... that doesn't leave much time for just laying around! And... it's the week of his birthday!
My appointments have been all over the place the past couple of weeks. There have been so many changes I have had to call before going in to make sure I have the right date and time. After a small get together with DS's school friends yesterday I had an appointment. Now, I will admit that I may have overdone it a touch on Tuesday. I mowed the lawn, made and decorated cupcakes for PreSchool and kind of cleaned the house (from top to bottom)! Nesting never felt so good, that is until it was time for bed! I vowed to never do that again and went on with my day yesterday.
I have been feeling a little nauseous, a lot tired, kinda sore and really weepy the last couple weeks. My hand, (you know, the one infested with carpal tunnel syndrome), has been really giving me fits lately and my back has never felt so sore. But other than that, I have felt great! When I got to my appointment yesterday the first thing I noticed that seemed a little off was my weight. I had gained 5 pounds in a week... WHAT?! How is that even possible, I've barely been able to eat anything because I've been so nauseous!
Moving on... my blood pressure was a little higher than normal. I thought nothing of this because I had just finished entertaining 7 four year olds before I got there. I even joked with the nurse about it, who said they'd just go ahead and check it again before I left. When the Dr. came in she asked how I'd been feeling, I told her and mentioned that peeing was becoming a real pain in the you-know-what. I went on to explain that it's not painful but uncomfortable because of the intense amount of pressure I feel every time I try and go.
She measured me and began trying to find "Baby's" heartbeat. Normally "Baby" has a very loud, very distinct heartbeat, but yesterday the Dr. was having a heard time even finding it! When she finally did it wasn't real loud. I got real nervous at that point and asked if everything was OK. She went on to explain that because of his position it was hard for her to get a very good listen, he had his back to my stomach. She then asked when I had had my last sonogram, I told her it was done at 21 weeks. She handed me my paper towel skirt and said she'd be back to check me to see if I had dilated.
I had started to dilate and was already at a two. This really came as no surprise to me because I knew he had dropped at least 2 weeks ago and when I had DS, I was at a 2-3 for 2-3 weeks before he was born. The nurse took my blood pressure again and asked if I could stick around awhile, I said that'd be fine and she asked me to lie down on my left side for 20 minutes. This happened two more times before the Dr. came in again.
When she came back in I could tell she didn't want to tell me whatever it was she had to say. She looked at me and said, "I don't know how to tell you this, but I have to put you on BED REST!" After a few tears I was released and asked to come back on Tuesday. They had found protein in my urine, my blood pressure was elevated and I had some pretty significant swelling ... all signs of preeclampsia!
I am on strict BED REST until Tuesday when I go back. If everything is back to normal I should be able to stay pregnant a few weeks longer, if not, they will then decide whether or not to induce labor. I have to check my blood pressure twice a day, stay off my feet unless it's to get up and go to the bathroom or get something to eat or drink and collect my urine for 24 hours on Monday. I have already had to miss DS's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip and am not going to be able to help my Mom and sister decorate and make ready for his party this weekend. BED REST IS FOR THE BIRDS!!!
I know I need to do whatever I can to stay pregnant for at least another week, but this SUCKS! Not only am I not ready, but now I can't even get ready without the help of my family and friends and I feel really bad about that! I would love to hear from anyone who has had to go through this... what did you do to keep from going insane?!
My appointments have been all over the place the past couple of weeks. There have been so many changes I have had to call before going in to make sure I have the right date and time. After a small get together with DS's school friends yesterday I had an appointment. Now, I will admit that I may have overdone it a touch on Tuesday. I mowed the lawn, made and decorated cupcakes for PreSchool and kind of cleaned the house (from top to bottom)! Nesting never felt so good, that is until it was time for bed! I vowed to never do that again and went on with my day yesterday.
I have been feeling a little nauseous, a lot tired, kinda sore and really weepy the last couple weeks. My hand, (you know, the one infested with carpal tunnel syndrome), has been really giving me fits lately and my back has never felt so sore. But other than that, I have felt great! When I got to my appointment yesterday the first thing I noticed that seemed a little off was my weight. I had gained 5 pounds in a week... WHAT?! How is that even possible, I've barely been able to eat anything because I've been so nauseous!
Moving on... my blood pressure was a little higher than normal. I thought nothing of this because I had just finished entertaining 7 four year olds before I got there. I even joked with the nurse about it, who said they'd just go ahead and check it again before I left. When the Dr. came in she asked how I'd been feeling, I told her and mentioned that peeing was becoming a real pain in the you-know-what. I went on to explain that it's not painful but uncomfortable because of the intense amount of pressure I feel every time I try and go.
She measured me and began trying to find "Baby's" heartbeat. Normally "Baby" has a very loud, very distinct heartbeat, but yesterday the Dr. was having a heard time even finding it! When she finally did it wasn't real loud. I got real nervous at that point and asked if everything was OK. She went on to explain that because of his position it was hard for her to get a very good listen, he had his back to my stomach. She then asked when I had had my last sonogram, I told her it was done at 21 weeks. She handed me my paper towel skirt and said she'd be back to check me to see if I had dilated.
I had started to dilate and was already at a two. This really came as no surprise to me because I knew he had dropped at least 2 weeks ago and when I had DS, I was at a 2-3 for 2-3 weeks before he was born. The nurse took my blood pressure again and asked if I could stick around awhile, I said that'd be fine and she asked me to lie down on my left side for 20 minutes. This happened two more times before the Dr. came in again.
When she came back in I could tell she didn't want to tell me whatever it was she had to say. She looked at me and said, "I don't know how to tell you this, but I have to put you on BED REST!" After a few tears I was released and asked to come back on Tuesday. They had found protein in my urine, my blood pressure was elevated and I had some pretty significant swelling ... all signs of preeclampsia!
I am on strict BED REST until Tuesday when I go back. If everything is back to normal I should be able to stay pregnant a few weeks longer, if not, they will then decide whether or not to induce labor. I have to check my blood pressure twice a day, stay off my feet unless it's to get up and go to the bathroom or get something to eat or drink and collect my urine for 24 hours on Monday. I have already had to miss DS's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip and am not going to be able to help my Mom and sister decorate and make ready for his party this weekend. BED REST IS FOR THE BIRDS!!!
I know I need to do whatever I can to stay pregnant for at least another week, but this SUCKS! Not only am I not ready, but now I can't even get ready without the help of my family and friends and I feel really bad about that! I would love to hear from anyone who has had to go through this... what did you do to keep from going insane?!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Moving right along
...in the pregnancy, that is.
Approaching 30 weeks now, and I've been using my time to make a baby to-do list, and then start to get things checked off of it.
Like...choosing a daycare! Unfortunately, there's just no way around it - Mr. Citysaur and I will have to send our son to daycare full time, from the time he's about 8 weeks old. Such is the nature of our lives, where we can't afford to live off only one salary, and I'm only able to cobble together 8 weeks of maternity leave.
Yes, as a counterpoint to Bibliosaur's post about maternity leave, I am on the other end of the spectrum. My company, a mid-size nonprofit in the US, has virtually no maternity leave to speak of. I guess I'm lucky that we're at least large enough that I'm covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but all that really does is protect my job for up to 12 weeks of maternity leave - without pay. I'm required by my employer to use all available sick and vacation leave, then I get one week of paid leave per year of service on top of that, per my company's short term disability policy. Since I haven't yet hit my 2-year anniversary with the company, and won't until July, that means 1 week. I have purchased an additional short term disability policy, and I'll get a tad more than two weeks worth of pay from that. With all of this, I'll have about 7 weeks of paid time, and I'm saving up money now so that I can afford that eighth week.
Anyway, back to daycare...
We toured a facility just a few blocks from our apartment, the only one in our downtown area that's not church-affiliated, back in November. We both loved it but it was just a tad on the expensive side. It took a while, but we figured out the finances, and at the end of the year, we put down our deposit! I'm excited to have a place I feel comfortable with to send my son to when the time comes.
What else have we done? Well, we chose a pediatrician!
This decision was actually even easier. After reading in several different places about how we should interview pediatricians, and ask all these questions, and see if our philosophies matched up, I was getting really stressed out about the decision. We already had a frontrunner - the consulting physician for our birth center. A co-worker also chose her for their son. I got myself so worked up over the decision that I called my mom a bit frantic the other day, wondering what I should do. She calmed me down and told me not to worry about all that consultation stuff. She said that it sounded like my decision was already made anyway, and that we should just go with the doctor we had the recommendations for, and if we really didn't like her after a visit or two, we could worry about finding someone else then. It made sense, and took all the stress out of the decision. So, we have a pediatrician!
Approaching 30 weeks now, and I've been using my time to make a baby to-do list, and then start to get things checked off of it.
Like...choosing a daycare! Unfortunately, there's just no way around it - Mr. Citysaur and I will have to send our son to daycare full time, from the time he's about 8 weeks old. Such is the nature of our lives, where we can't afford to live off only one salary, and I'm only able to cobble together 8 weeks of maternity leave.
Yes, as a counterpoint to Bibliosaur's post about maternity leave, I am on the other end of the spectrum. My company, a mid-size nonprofit in the US, has virtually no maternity leave to speak of. I guess I'm lucky that we're at least large enough that I'm covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but all that really does is protect my job for up to 12 weeks of maternity leave - without pay. I'm required by my employer to use all available sick and vacation leave, then I get one week of paid leave per year of service on top of that, per my company's short term disability policy. Since I haven't yet hit my 2-year anniversary with the company, and won't until July, that means 1 week. I have purchased an additional short term disability policy, and I'll get a tad more than two weeks worth of pay from that. With all of this, I'll have about 7 weeks of paid time, and I'm saving up money now so that I can afford that eighth week.
Anyway, back to daycare...
We toured a facility just a few blocks from our apartment, the only one in our downtown area that's not church-affiliated, back in November. We both loved it but it was just a tad on the expensive side. It took a while, but we figured out the finances, and at the end of the year, we put down our deposit! I'm excited to have a place I feel comfortable with to send my son to when the time comes.What else have we done? Well, we chose a pediatrician!
This decision was actually even easier. After reading in several different places about how we should interview pediatricians, and ask all these questions, and see if our philosophies matched up, I was getting really stressed out about the decision. We already had a frontrunner - the consulting physician for our birth center. A co-worker also chose her for their son. I got myself so worked up over the decision that I called my mom a bit frantic the other day, wondering what I should do. She calmed me down and told me not to worry about all that consultation stuff. She said that it sounded like my decision was already made anyway, and that we should just go with the doctor we had the recommendations for, and if we really didn't like her after a visit or two, we could worry about finding someone else then. It made sense, and took all the stress out of the decision. So, we have a pediatrician!In other pregnancy news, my weight seems to be holding steady, and my second one-hour glucose test came back in the clear, so that was good news! I'm continuing on my diet plan and exercising - doing all I can to hopefully steer clear of preeclampsia, which runs in my family. I have another check-up on Wednesday - every two weeks now!
