i went to the dr. yesterday.
the bad news: they had me start another 24 hr. urine collection
the good news: they cancelled it after only one collection---phew!
the bad news: my blood pressure was back up when i was in the office
the good news: once i went to the hospital for a non-stress test and blood pressure monitoring while laying down for an hr, my blood pressure was perfect!
the bad news: they are starting to want to induce me (i'm trying to avoid pitocin if i can)
the good news: the non-stress test said that the lil' guy is happy and healthy, one nurse guessed he was under 7lbs. (i don't know that i believe her, but i'm glad she didn't guess 10 1/2 lbs)
the bad news: i've been having constant cramping, but not real consistent 'contractions' per say
the good news: i'm 3cm dilated and 75% effaced
the other good news: it's snowing here (snow storms often lead to babies being born b/c of pressure changes)
...maybe tonite will be the night....
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
enjoying the last few days
what an amazing feeling it is to grow a baby. i get to feel all of his movements...his startles and stretches, and hiccups. some days it feels like he's running in a race in there. i can feel where his little limbs are, and his back and his head. he goes absolutely everywhere with me. we share meals, we share emotions, we even share breaths. when i'm really busy he's relaxed, and when i relax, he becomes really busy. i keep saying that i can't wait to meet the little guy, but in fact, i actually already know him quite well.
Monday, January 28, 2008
bedrest is driving me to new extremes...
...so i wasn't going to do a post on this subject, mostly b/c it's pretty darn gross. but against my better judgement, i sit here and write. so as that is said, read at your own caution.
we (well mostly my husband) he's been reading quite a bit of shel silverstein to the baby to be. so i do owe some inspiration to him (shel that is); certainly not for the content, but for the inspiration to write poetry about a topic a bit absurd (sorry shel).
they say pregnant ladies "loose" their mucous plug within a few days of giving birth. in my case, i laughed so hard, it shot right out. and so the poem goes...
we (well mostly my husband) he's been reading quite a bit of shel silverstein to the baby to be. so i do owe some inspiration to him (shel that is); certainly not for the content, but for the inspiration to write poetry about a topic a bit absurd (sorry shel).
they say pregnant ladies "loose" their mucous plug within a few days of giving birth. in my case, i laughed so hard, it shot right out. and so the poem goes...
Ode to a Mucous Plug
O mucous plug, o mucous plug,
You shiny slippery strange looking slug
When will I loose you, and where will you be
We are just here a waiting, as soon we'll be three
To pee in a bottle, was quite an event
Hovering in the bathtub, right there I went
When my husband walked in, on a sight not quite right
The laughter erupted, and You made Your flight
You shot to the tub, and down to the drain,
Our sanity again, will we ever regain?
O mucous plug, o mucous plug,
You shiny, slippery strange looking slug
"Oh honey...right here, right here don't you see,
This here, it's the proof that soon we'll be three"
My poor husband, my friend, shook his head in disgust,
"Honey I love you, but this here exam, is just NOT a must
O mucous plug, o mucous plug,
You shiny, slippery strange looking slug.
I turned on the shower, and You slid down the spout,
Now here we sit waiting, for this baby to come out.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
evening primrose oil
i had never really heard of the stuff before a few weeks ago. thanks to jeannie for discovering it & giving me hers after she had her baby last month. it's supposed to be taken a few times a day to help gradually thin the cervix, to help induce labor and make the process a bit easier. i started taking it a few weeks ago, after reading up on it a bit more. some of my pregnancy books talk about "taking it" and some talk about "inserting it to the cervix"---i haven't been able to deal with the latter as it comes in a gel cap and i just can't figure out how you'd get the gel cap to the right place, and then make sure it dissolves onto the cervix. if i had tried this method, i'm sure there's be plenty more blog material on it. low and behold, there's just this one lone entry.
so as i've been reading about it in my non-pregnancy alternative medicine books, it mentions it's used to treat sexual dysfunction in males. i hadn't thought much about that until, after i asked chad to pick me up a bottle at the store when he was out. after i said it, i chuckled a little bit, and he wanted to know why. i thought a bit about my 'honesty is the best policy' theory and whether or not this applied. i thought i could hold out, but the more i thought of setting chad up to go to the herbal pharmacy (where they usually know what things are for when you are checking out) to buy a bottle of this stuff that he knew he was getting for his pregnant wife, and the check-out clerk knew was for sexual dysfunction....i couldn't stop giggling.
yes i told him...and yes begrudgingly he still picked it up (though likely blushed a little)...though he thought maybe this was yet another case i could have held back on too much information.
so as i've been reading about it in my non-pregnancy alternative medicine books, it mentions it's used to treat sexual dysfunction in males. i hadn't thought much about that until, after i asked chad to pick me up a bottle at the store when he was out. after i said it, i chuckled a little bit, and he wanted to know why. i thought a bit about my 'honesty is the best policy' theory and whether or not this applied. i thought i could hold out, but the more i thought of setting chad up to go to the herbal pharmacy (where they usually know what things are for when you are checking out) to buy a bottle of this stuff that he knew he was getting for his pregnant wife, and the check-out clerk knew was for sexual dysfunction....i couldn't stop giggling.
yes i told him...and yes begrudgingly he still picked it up (though likely blushed a little)...though he thought maybe this was yet another case i could have held back on too much information.
honesty is the best policy?
ever since i was a kid, i can remember my mom saying "honesty is the best policy"...it's a lesson i hope to teach as a soon-to-be mom as well. but then again, there are exceptions to the rule--i learn more exceptions every day.
yesterday one of those exceptions came up...chad knew, my dr. knew, but i just went along with my theory on honesty, and jeez did it bite me in the butt (or somewhere nearby).
we went to drop off my 24 hr. urine sample. i must say, i had a little pride in dropping it off. it was quite an adventure figuring it all out, and i felt like, all in all, i had done a good job. a job well done. i had missed only 3 'catches' (out of 20, that's about 80% accuracy) all of which for very valid reasons:
-one of which, mentioned in a previous blog (there are some things i just won't do in the shower), -one of which, i was at the acupuncturist (away from home for an hr, of course i had to pee---the lab didn't want me to use a separate jar b/c of contamination, so i just left the jug at home--i was not toting that big jug with me, let alone answering questions about it)
...one (and may i say final) of which...well lets just say was due to strict dr.s orders., to induce labor, regardless of how awkward and somewhat commical it is at 40 wks pregnant. they say chad's body contents contain prostaglandins which are very good at helping thin the cervix. the same substance that contains prosaglandins also contains protein which is what we want to avoid in the urine in the first place. so i figure, i need to avoid the immediate sample that is likely tainted with this foreign protein (i thought the lab would this have thought this was with good forthought on my part, if they had known).
anyway...i felt the need to be honest with the lab tech as we dropped off the sample, so i told her (somewhat proudly) "i only missed 3 catches"...she wasn't quite as impressed as i expected. she looked a bit concerned, and said that she'd let them know and see if it was a problem. i figured, certainly it would not be a problem, & if it were, i would certainly be able to pead my case and win their approval. after all there were about 15 other catches that i had gotten.
chad couldn't believe i actually told them i missed some, & couldn't understand why i needed to be so honest with them, when it didn't matter and could actually screw it up. i said that honesty was the best policy, and it wouldn't screw it up. he then reminded me of other cases (which i won't get into here) about my honesty being a little too much.
anyway...i received a phone call yesterday from my dr.s office saying 'bad news, they wouldn't run the urine sample b/c they allegedly didn't receive 100% of the urine, and that they really need 100% of the urine...rules were rules, and i'd need to repeat the 24hr. sample. i felt like i was being disciplined
'you're in trouble/ urine trouble' they both sound suspiciously the same.
i called my dr. to plead my case---"i really did my very best" and went on to explain the 3 missed catches.. she chuckled a little with me, and said she unfortunately had no bargaining room with the lab & that the lab protocol really doesn't understand 'life' and it's best that they just not know about the 'missed catches'...she they disregarded my sample and didn't run it b/c i had told them it wasn't complete. my only choice is to repeat the 24 hrs, and this time not tell them about any 'missed' catches. all that hard work, right down the toilet.
i just wonder if any of those lab techs has toted their 24 hr urine sample jug to an appointment with them or tried to make a catch when they are relieving both bowel and bladder at the same time. and would they try to make sure their urine is free of any foreign protein. jeeze.
i complained to chad about yet another 24 hrs of this, and especially the middle of the night shanagins. he did feel the need to tell me again about the whole, 'honesty may not always be the best policy' thing, but he redeemed his slight 'i told you so' theory, with his ingeniousness. (have i said how great he is lately). he found a cooler just the right size for the pee jug, and filled it with just enough snow to keep the sample cold enough, though allowing the top of the plastic rim to not get cold, all while having the convenience of having the jug next to the shower and out of the fridge. he is putting that phd to good use in more than one part of his life.
now i've just got to figure out what to do about my 3pm acupuncture appt. i'm certainly not good at 'holding it' if i've really got to go (see previous blog), but really don't want to tote the cooler with me either.
yesterday one of those exceptions came up...chad knew, my dr. knew, but i just went along with my theory on honesty, and jeez did it bite me in the butt (or somewhere nearby).
we went to drop off my 24 hr. urine sample. i must say, i had a little pride in dropping it off. it was quite an adventure figuring it all out, and i felt like, all in all, i had done a good job. a job well done. i had missed only 3 'catches' (out of 20, that's about 80% accuracy) all of which for very valid reasons:
-one of which, mentioned in a previous blog (there are some things i just won't do in the shower), -one of which, i was at the acupuncturist (away from home for an hr, of course i had to pee---the lab didn't want me to use a separate jar b/c of contamination, so i just left the jug at home--i was not toting that big jug with me, let alone answering questions about it)
...one (and may i say final) of which...well lets just say was due to strict dr.s orders., to induce labor, regardless of how awkward and somewhat commical it is at 40 wks pregnant. they say chad's body contents contain prostaglandins which are very good at helping thin the cervix. the same substance that contains prosaglandins also contains protein which is what we want to avoid in the urine in the first place. so i figure, i need to avoid the immediate sample that is likely tainted with this foreign protein (i thought the lab would this have thought this was with good forthought on my part, if they had known).
anyway...i felt the need to be honest with the lab tech as we dropped off the sample, so i told her (somewhat proudly) "i only missed 3 catches"...she wasn't quite as impressed as i expected. she looked a bit concerned, and said that she'd let them know and see if it was a problem. i figured, certainly it would not be a problem, & if it were, i would certainly be able to pead my case and win their approval. after all there were about 15 other catches that i had gotten.
chad couldn't believe i actually told them i missed some, & couldn't understand why i needed to be so honest with them, when it didn't matter and could actually screw it up. i said that honesty was the best policy, and it wouldn't screw it up. he then reminded me of other cases (which i won't get into here) about my honesty being a little too much.
anyway...i received a phone call yesterday from my dr.s office saying 'bad news, they wouldn't run the urine sample b/c they allegedly didn't receive 100% of the urine, and that they really need 100% of the urine...rules were rules, and i'd need to repeat the 24hr. sample. i felt like i was being disciplined
'you're in trouble/ urine trouble' they both sound suspiciously the same.
i called my dr. to plead my case---"i really did my very best" and went on to explain the 3 missed catches.. she chuckled a little with me, and said she unfortunately had no bargaining room with the lab & that the lab protocol really doesn't understand 'life' and it's best that they just not know about the 'missed catches'...she they disregarded my sample and didn't run it b/c i had told them it wasn't complete. my only choice is to repeat the 24 hrs, and this time not tell them about any 'missed' catches. all that hard work, right down the toilet.
i just wonder if any of those lab techs has toted their 24 hr urine sample jug to an appointment with them or tried to make a catch when they are relieving both bowel and bladder at the same time. and would they try to make sure their urine is free of any foreign protein. jeeze.
i complained to chad about yet another 24 hrs of this, and especially the middle of the night shanagins. he did feel the need to tell me again about the whole, 'honesty may not always be the best policy' thing, but he redeemed his slight 'i told you so' theory, with his ingeniousness. (have i said how great he is lately). he found a cooler just the right size for the pee jug, and filled it with just enough snow to keep the sample cold enough, though allowing the top of the plastic rim to not get cold, all while having the convenience of having the jug next to the shower and out of the fridge. he is putting that phd to good use in more than one part of his life.
now i've just got to figure out what to do about my 3pm acupuncture appt. i'm certainly not good at 'holding it' if i've really got to go (see previous blog), but really don't want to tote the cooler with me either.
did my water break?!?
i keep hearing and reading about women who have said that when their water broke it felt like they peed their pants. it make sense, after all, what other experience do you have when water is running down your legs. not that many of us have had this experience in many many years, but it's still a familiar correlation.
so we went to the dr. yesterday, and then went to the hospital for a "non" stress test (monitoring the baby for 30 min or so to make sure the heart rate is good). i wasn't feeling great in the morning, and thus was eating bread as we walked into the labor and delivery deck. they walked us into an actual birthing room for the test and as we walked in, i was overcome with emotion. something about seeing the bassinet holder for the baby, the birthing bed, and hearing the little lullaby over the loudspeaker (indicating another mom was literally having her baby at that moment). i got choked up (literally and figuratively)...tears came out, and at the same time bread got lodged in my throat. as i was tearing up and choking on the bread, i felt the well described "water is running down my legs"....i quickly gained some composure thinking "is this really it?!?!"....and ran (aka wobbled) for the rest room. chad was a bit stunned, trying to figure out his crying, choking, wobbling wife, speaking to him through a mouthful of bread in slight hysterics.
by time i swallowed the bread, i called him in to check out my undies with me (we've really taken our marital vows to a new level) with the TACO test (Texture, Amount, Color and Odor) our doula taught us (i don't know if i'll ever think of tacos the same). once we were done smelling my undies (chad is really a good husband, have i mentioned that yet?), i redressed and came out to the nurse who was waiting, and told her i thought maybe my water broke, explaining the choking up episode followed by the stream of water. she then asked to examine my undies, and gave me some replacement disposable undies that were fishnet in design, but really the least attractive things i'd ever seen. she also gave me this super pad (that seemed as big as a neck pillow). she proceeded to examine my undies and then use the pH paper. it was negative, but she wanted the dr. on call to come check it out. after a full speculum exam by the dr. and nurse and more pH testing, and some other poking around down there it was confirmed...my water hadn't broke at all...i had just plain peed my pants. i wonder how my bill will read for that somewhat emergent exam? Dx: pants pee'er
to top matters off, i had to go to the bathroom one last time before we left. after i peed and went to flush, i noticed the super pad, the size of a neck pillow, had fallen into the toilet and was rapidly absorbing the toilet contents and gaining size (think back pillow). thank heavens chad came to the rescue (have i said what a great husband he is) and dug it out. i couldn't be known as the girl who got choked up (literally and figuratively), peed her pants, and then clogged the toiled with the super pad. enough is enough already.
so we went to the dr. yesterday, and then went to the hospital for a "non" stress test (monitoring the baby for 30 min or so to make sure the heart rate is good). i wasn't feeling great in the morning, and thus was eating bread as we walked into the labor and delivery deck. they walked us into an actual birthing room for the test and as we walked in, i was overcome with emotion. something about seeing the bassinet holder for the baby, the birthing bed, and hearing the little lullaby over the loudspeaker (indicating another mom was literally having her baby at that moment). i got choked up (literally and figuratively)...tears came out, and at the same time bread got lodged in my throat. as i was tearing up and choking on the bread, i felt the well described "water is running down my legs"....i quickly gained some composure thinking "is this really it?!?!"....and ran (aka wobbled) for the rest room. chad was a bit stunned, trying to figure out his crying, choking, wobbling wife, speaking to him through a mouthful of bread in slight hysterics.
by time i swallowed the bread, i called him in to check out my undies with me (we've really taken our marital vows to a new level) with the TACO test (Texture, Amount, Color and Odor) our doula taught us (i don't know if i'll ever think of tacos the same). once we were done smelling my undies (chad is really a good husband, have i mentioned that yet?), i redressed and came out to the nurse who was waiting, and told her i thought maybe my water broke, explaining the choking up episode followed by the stream of water. she then asked to examine my undies, and gave me some replacement disposable undies that were fishnet in design, but really the least attractive things i'd ever seen. she also gave me this super pad (that seemed as big as a neck pillow). she proceeded to examine my undies and then use the pH paper. it was negative, but she wanted the dr. on call to come check it out. after a full speculum exam by the dr. and nurse and more pH testing, and some other poking around down there it was confirmed...my water hadn't broke at all...i had just plain peed my pants. i wonder how my bill will read for that somewhat emergent exam? Dx: pants pee'er
to top matters off, i had to go to the bathroom one last time before we left. after i peed and went to flush, i noticed the super pad, the size of a neck pillow, had fallen into the toilet and was rapidly absorbing the toilet contents and gaining size (think back pillow). thank heavens chad came to the rescue (have i said what a great husband he is) and dug it out. i couldn't be known as the girl who got choked up (literally and figuratively), peed her pants, and then clogged the toiled with the super pad. enough is enough already.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
24 hr urine sampling...
at the dr. yesterday...i was given 2 jugs (one is pictured above) and told i needed to collect 24 hrs. of urine...100% of my urine...yes, even in the middle of the nite (which is about 4 samplings worth). i initially thought, "huh...this will be a little convenient"...now the reality set in.
so i realized soon after i got home that the toilet water is pretty high and the jug won't just hover in the toilet as i collect the sample. so i've had to de robe, and de sock and instead hover peeing in the shower. the first sample went okay, but then i remembered that i have to store the jug in the refrigerator after each sample. sick. it's not really what i want to see when i'm going for a snack. second sample came to be when i realized the urgency to pee didn't give me much prep time. i had to go get the jug, de-robe, de-sock, and then the worst part was the plastic jug (the rim in particular) had gotten cold from being in the fridge. i therefore didn't hold it quite as close and thus pee went everywhere. the clean up process was a bit more intensive, but at least i was in the shower. i broke open our pack of baby wipes for the clean up, used a couple and threw them in the toilet (are they allowed to be flushed?...something tells me maybe the answer is 'no'---dang it). trial 3...sometimes i don't have to pee, rather it's the other one (#2), but then the pee comes out anyway...i just skipped this sampling all together. there are some things i'm not willing to do in the shower.
trial #4 (it's not even noon yet)...i've finally got the process down...quick de-robe, de-sock, and press the cold plastic rim...firmly...for a good sampling. phew, done. thought we were out of toilet paper and i had put the baby wipes away. dang it. ...and to think i have to do this tonite...half asleep...multiple times. i may start boycotting water.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
