Well, folks, only 10 weeks to go. It’s happening so fast, but I’m pretty sure that these last couple of months are going to drag on and on.
We went to the doctor last Friday. Everything checked out fine. Tater’s little heart was just beating away. I mentioned that I was having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions and expressed some concern over my bladder “issues”. I can be sitting there, minding my own business, everything just fine, and in an instant, I have to go. . . and I have to go NOW. And it really hurts to stand up. It makes me very happy that I have a way to the bathroom at work that doesn’t pass by any offices. I can walk, bent over, holding my bulging belly. What a sight. But I digress. . .
The nurse decided that we should do an exam just to make sure that everything was fine. Apparently, the baby is very, very low. As a matter of fact, “his” hip is resting on my bladder (well, at least we know our baby has a hip. . . that’s good, right?). But I have the problem of feeling like I need to use the bathroom constantly (no, I’m not exaggerating). My mind knows that there is absolutely nothing there, but my body just doesn’t get it. So now I have to ask, what happens when I go through “lightening”? (For those of you that don’t know, that is the point where the baby drops into the pelvis and really flattens your bladder.) I guess I could just work from the toilet. . . or maybe a catheter. . . hmmm. Of course, since I know that is a minor thing, and I need something “real” to worry about, I have chosen to worry about whether the baby will be able to turn or not. Right now, “he” is frank breech (which is how I was born. . . that explains why I’m an only child). I guess we’ll see.
Speaking of worrying, I took my glucose screening this week. That was fun. It’s like a pre-screening for gestational diabetes. After one hour of registration and waiting for a lab tech, I was finally called back. They made me drink this really sweet orange drink (I had heard horror stories but I love sugar so I actually kind of liked it). The problem was it was 50 grams (I was expecting a small shot glass or something), and it was really, really cold. I had heard that drinking it quickly was best (the lab tech confirmed that). So I started guzzling. I had to stop a couple of times to keep from getting a brain freeze. Then, the wait began. I had to sit there for an hour before the lab tech drew some blood. The good news is that I finally finished one of my pregnancy books. ;) The bad news is that I failed the test. Next week, I have to go for a glucose tolerance test. This one is more intense. I have to fast after midnight. They will take my blood when I first get there. Then, I will drink more of that stuff, except it will be more concentrated with sugar or a larger volume of the same. This time the wait will be 3 hours, with a needle stick at every 1 hour mark. Lindsey has offered to come keep me company. Or I could just finish more of my reading (I’m way behind).
I’m beating myself up over this one though. I knew that the test was supposed to happen between 24 and 28 weeks, but I didn’t “force” the issue. I thought I should call but decided not to. Now, we’re at 30 weeks and just finding out that there may be a problem (trying not to panic, only about 1/3 of women that fail the screening actually have gestational diabetes, so the probability is low). I’m just aggravated that I didn’t say something. I’m mad at myself because I should have been more responsible. Hopefully, we will hear something by the end of next week. I’ll keep you posted.
One positive thing that came out of the trip to the hospital this week was that I was able to pre-register. I paid and everything. Now, all we have to do on delivery day is show up and spit the baby out (it’s just that easy, right?). They gave me a code that functions as an approval. While we are in the hospital, if you can’t reach us (which is very likely while I’m screaming and writhing in pain), you can call the hospital and get an update. But you have to have the code. Of course, I’m not going to post that here. If you want it, just call us or email us, and we’ll give it you (provided that we know you and you’re not some random person that is reading our blog just for kicks).
One last thing and I’ll let you go (I need do this more often). . . I can really see my belly move now. It’s like my belly is on hydraulics. One side will bulge, while the other side will go flat. Then, this little knot will move across a couple of times. Very active baby. It’s extremely entertaining. I find myself sitting at my desk or in meetings just waiting for it to move (no, it’s not very productive, but it is a whole lot of fun).