Autumn is my favorite.
Scarves.
Apple cider.
My dad's old flannel red and black jacket.
Snuggling.
Gusty, invigorating breezes.
Crunchy leaves.
Pumpkins.
Pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin rolls.
Pumpkin lattes.
Pumpkin bread.
Dark hot chocolate.
Red, orange, and brown.
Sweaters (albeit, I wear sweaters all year long).
Festivals.
Beautiful foliage.
Spicy smells.
Chili and cornbread.
Crisp, clear air.
The whispered thought of Christmas.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
An Exceptionally Good Day
Satisfied.
That is what I feel right now.
Today we had our external version- the procedure where the OB doctor and midwife try to push a baby into the head down position when he or she is breech. It is such a weird feeling to be walking into the hospital to be admitted as a patient; suddenly my adrenaline is pumping and holding Josh's hand is a necessity. We start with a quick stop at Radiology for an ultrasound to make sure Baby P. is still breech. And yes, he is. We also ask for a quick check to make sure his male genitalia is still present. Thankfully, it is. I would've been a nervous nelly to find out he'd lost them somewhere in my uterus. :)
Next we ride the elevator up to my home base- the birthing center. But, like I said, it's not quite as relaxing when you are the patient. After a quick check in, I get to change into a hospital gown- wow those things are breezy on the backside- and hop into the hospital bed to watch some cable while they start an IV. (They set everything up as if we will need to do a c-section, as this is one of the possible negative outcomes of a version.) After my IV is in, they hook me up to the baby's heart monitor- his heart rate is running in the very decent 140s and my uterus is irritable. After around 30 minutes of monitoring, the nurse gave me an injection of terbutaline to relax my uterus and the ladies with the baby turning hands show up. Another quick ultrasound, baby powder dusted all over my belly, and it's time to convince this little man that he wants to go head down.
I have heard versions described in completely different ways. Everything from 'slight discomfort' to 'I would've never had one if I knew it was going to hurt like that. Just give me a c-section.' I found it to be the combination of someone giving you a deep tissue massage and an Indian burn at the same time. With Josh holding my right hand, my nurse holding my left, and the doctor and midwife shoving on the baby, all I could really think about was my breathing and trying to relax. I do remember hearing Josh telling me what a good job I was doing. And I remember when the doctor couldn't find the baby's head again halfway through the turn. I remember saying, "Oh dear, we've lost his head." And hearing everyone laugh. I remember my left leg flexing as the midwife's hands pushed across my tight left round ligament. I remember thinking they must almost be done and then them questioning if he had moved at all. A quick ultrasound showing that not only was he heading down, they were about to start pushing his head back up to the top! So they stopped that idea really quickly. We were done! He was head down and we simply needed to be monitored for the next hour to make sure everything still looked wonderful. What a feeling.
After arriving at home, I got to climb back into bed and sleep for the next 5 hours. Which was kind of fantastic, as the terb injection made me jittery and exhausted. And I'm probably going to go climb back into our king bed of comfort as soon as I finish writing this.
So, besides a successful version, what else could make this day better? We found out the new Chipotle is open- OH YEAH. We have been waiting oh so (im)patiently. So that was the second part of the day to celebrate. But wait, it gets better.
We went to the mall after Chipotle and found our third thing to celebrate. We finally found a back massager!!! So, this may come as a surprise, but these suckers are difficult to find. Target doesn't carry them until Christmas (come on! Tell me who only wants back massages near the holidays!?). Walmart doesn't carry them. No one carries them. Enter stage right: Bath and Body Works. Highly overpriced, but there they were in a little basket in the very back of the store. SOLD! Our hospital bags are now complete. Whew.
Today was: an exceptionally good day.
That is what I feel right now.
Today we had our external version- the procedure where the OB doctor and midwife try to push a baby into the head down position when he or she is breech. It is such a weird feeling to be walking into the hospital to be admitted as a patient; suddenly my adrenaline is pumping and holding Josh's hand is a necessity. We start with a quick stop at Radiology for an ultrasound to make sure Baby P. is still breech. And yes, he is. We also ask for a quick check to make sure his male genitalia is still present. Thankfully, it is. I would've been a nervous nelly to find out he'd lost them somewhere in my uterus. :)
Next we ride the elevator up to my home base- the birthing center. But, like I said, it's not quite as relaxing when you are the patient. After a quick check in, I get to change into a hospital gown- wow those things are breezy on the backside- and hop into the hospital bed to watch some cable while they start an IV. (They set everything up as if we will need to do a c-section, as this is one of the possible negative outcomes of a version.) After my IV is in, they hook me up to the baby's heart monitor- his heart rate is running in the very decent 140s and my uterus is irritable. After around 30 minutes of monitoring, the nurse gave me an injection of terbutaline to relax my uterus and the ladies with the baby turning hands show up. Another quick ultrasound, baby powder dusted all over my belly, and it's time to convince this little man that he wants to go head down.
I have heard versions described in completely different ways. Everything from 'slight discomfort' to 'I would've never had one if I knew it was going to hurt like that. Just give me a c-section.' I found it to be the combination of someone giving you a deep tissue massage and an Indian burn at the same time. With Josh holding my right hand, my nurse holding my left, and the doctor and midwife shoving on the baby, all I could really think about was my breathing and trying to relax. I do remember hearing Josh telling me what a good job I was doing. And I remember when the doctor couldn't find the baby's head again halfway through the turn. I remember saying, "Oh dear, we've lost his head." And hearing everyone laugh. I remember my left leg flexing as the midwife's hands pushed across my tight left round ligament. I remember thinking they must almost be done and then them questioning if he had moved at all. A quick ultrasound showing that not only was he heading down, they were about to start pushing his head back up to the top! So they stopped that idea really quickly. We were done! He was head down and we simply needed to be monitored for the next hour to make sure everything still looked wonderful. What a feeling.
After arriving at home, I got to climb back into bed and sleep for the next 5 hours. Which was kind of fantastic, as the terb injection made me jittery and exhausted. And I'm probably going to go climb back into our king bed of comfort as soon as I finish writing this.
So, besides a successful version, what else could make this day better? We found out the new Chipotle is open- OH YEAH. We have been waiting oh so (im)patiently. So that was the second part of the day to celebrate. But wait, it gets better.
We went to the mall after Chipotle and found our third thing to celebrate. We finally found a back massager!!! So, this may come as a surprise, but these suckers are difficult to find. Target doesn't carry them until Christmas (come on! Tell me who only wants back massages near the holidays!?). Walmart doesn't carry them. No one carries them. Enter stage right: Bath and Body Works. Highly overpriced, but there they were in a little basket in the very back of the store. SOLD! Our hospital bags are now complete. Whew.
Today was: an exceptionally good day.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Happy Full Term, Baby.
So, it's been forever since I've blogged. But, in reality, I haven't felt I had that much to write about anyways. Life is moving forward at a pace that feels like a snail's slow, steady movement. And at the same time, I am shocked that it's already October and Baby P. is now considered full term. 37 weeks. It blows my mind.
Life changes? My belly is bigger. The nursery is ready and waiting. Braxton Hicks contractions now require I stop walking and wait it out. (Yes, they're still Braxton hicks, but they also happen to cause my right thigh to cramp up.) Josh now understands that every stop at every store requires a stroll through baby section to see if there are any other last minute items I need (want). Random strangers ask me when I'm due (and I love this... I've been waiting for this for quite some time!). They also feel compelled to tell me the worst labor stories they have heard (this I don't enjoy quite as much.) I grunt when I try to lean down, sit on the floor, get up, roll over, etc etc etc. I've finally gained the 25 pound minimum my midwives set for me. I have pitting edema when my shifts at work are over- which is actually quite entertaining on slow nights- how many fingerprints can I make in my leg before the first ones start disappearing???
I'm feeling quiet about life right now. Which is most likely God's faithful intervention to keep me from exploding with all the emotional ups and downs that come with the ending of pregnancy. See, Baby P. has been breech the entire pregnancy. Which is fine- common even. At 34 weeks, the midwives reported he was likely head down. Finally! He's in position and we're getting ready. But at our 36 week appointment, we discovered he is once again breech. At this point, it's getting kind of crowded in there and the odds of him flipping into position are starting to decrease. We started seeing the chiropractor every day and doing all the tricks- laying upside down, music and flashlight down on the lower part of my abdomen, a piece of ice near his feet- all the fun stuff. Apparently, he rather enjoys not hanging around upside down, as he's having none of it. So the next step is an external version- this basically involves being monitored at the hospital as they try to manually push the baby into place by pushing on my belly. They say it feels like a truck running over you. Which really made me feel confident as I signed the consent form. :) This is the last effort- if the version doesn't work, it appears we'll be having a c-section.
I think the hard part for me is the not knowing. At first I was incredibly disappointed by the thought of a c-section. Josh and I had wanted to have as natural a birth as possible- he opposite side of the spectrum from a major abdominal surgery. Obviously, our first priority is having a safe delivery and healthy baby, but this pregnancy has been absolutely perfect thus far- we didn't expect a wrench in the works at this point in time. Josh is fantastic- supportive and encouraging and accepting of whatever comes. I struggle with this a little more. The emotional ups and downs of "he's head down, he's breech, he might be head down, oh wait, he's still breech," over even a week have exhausted me. Which has brought me to a point of peace. The Lord knows this baby- He holds this baby in His magnificent, almighty hand- He knows when and how this baby will enter the world and every tiny detail about the coming weeks. And I can leave it at that. At this point, all I feel is joy at the coming of my baby, peace at however he makes his appearance, and tired. Also, I feel sudden, incredibly strong urges to go to the bathroom as this little man kicks and stretches his legs straight down into my bladder. Thanks, bud. I love you.
Life changes? My belly is bigger. The nursery is ready and waiting. Braxton Hicks contractions now require I stop walking and wait it out. (Yes, they're still Braxton hicks, but they also happen to cause my right thigh to cramp up.) Josh now understands that every stop at every store requires a stroll through baby section to see if there are any other last minute items I need (want). Random strangers ask me when I'm due (and I love this... I've been waiting for this for quite some time!). They also feel compelled to tell me the worst labor stories they have heard (this I don't enjoy quite as much.) I grunt when I try to lean down, sit on the floor, get up, roll over, etc etc etc. I've finally gained the 25 pound minimum my midwives set for me. I have pitting edema when my shifts at work are over- which is actually quite entertaining on slow nights- how many fingerprints can I make in my leg before the first ones start disappearing???
I'm feeling quiet about life right now. Which is most likely God's faithful intervention to keep me from exploding with all the emotional ups and downs that come with the ending of pregnancy. See, Baby P. has been breech the entire pregnancy. Which is fine- common even. At 34 weeks, the midwives reported he was likely head down. Finally! He's in position and we're getting ready. But at our 36 week appointment, we discovered he is once again breech. At this point, it's getting kind of crowded in there and the odds of him flipping into position are starting to decrease. We started seeing the chiropractor every day and doing all the tricks- laying upside down, music and flashlight down on the lower part of my abdomen, a piece of ice near his feet- all the fun stuff. Apparently, he rather enjoys not hanging around upside down, as he's having none of it. So the next step is an external version- this basically involves being monitored at the hospital as they try to manually push the baby into place by pushing on my belly. They say it feels like a truck running over you. Which really made me feel confident as I signed the consent form. :) This is the last effort- if the version doesn't work, it appears we'll be having a c-section.
I think the hard part for me is the not knowing. At first I was incredibly disappointed by the thought of a c-section. Josh and I had wanted to have as natural a birth as possible- he opposite side of the spectrum from a major abdominal surgery. Obviously, our first priority is having a safe delivery and healthy baby, but this pregnancy has been absolutely perfect thus far- we didn't expect a wrench in the works at this point in time. Josh is fantastic- supportive and encouraging and accepting of whatever comes. I struggle with this a little more. The emotional ups and downs of "he's head down, he's breech, he might be head down, oh wait, he's still breech," over even a week have exhausted me. Which has brought me to a point of peace. The Lord knows this baby- He holds this baby in His magnificent, almighty hand- He knows when and how this baby will enter the world and every tiny detail about the coming weeks. And I can leave it at that. At this point, all I feel is joy at the coming of my baby, peace at however he makes his appearance, and tired. Also, I feel sudden, incredibly strong urges to go to the bathroom as this little man kicks and stretches his legs straight down into my bladder. Thanks, bud. I love you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)