What a waste of time

This morning I had an appointment at my OB. Just a regular check up but not with my doctor as I’m starting to rotate.

I’ve had one dealing with this particular OB before – the night I came home from hospital following the cerclage. I was having contractions and had to call the doctor on call. Well after an hour he didn’t call me back – they are meant to call back within 20 mins.  I put in another call and was connected directly to him at home. I am convinced he was drunk (it was about 10pm on a friday) and all he did was grunt at me.

So today I was less than enthusiastic about seeing him but determined to have an open mind – perhaps I was totally wrong. Well, he did nothing to change my opinion of him. I waited for 45 minutes to see him and all he did was measure me and say ‘oh, it looks as if you’re breezing through this pregnancy’.  Doc – read the notes please. I’d hardly say a rescue cerclage, 7 weeks of bed rest and 3 emergency trips to labor and delivery counts as ‘breezing through’.  I sincerely hope that he is not the doctor that will delivery Noddy.

On another note, all I’m seeing in my house at the moment is cobwebs and dust.  Either they have all magically appeared in the last 3 days, or there really is such a thing as nesting.  Off to blitz those webs in our bedroom and bathroom!

33 weeks!

Now at 33 weeks and with the cerclage being removed 4 weeks today exactly, it’s just dawning on me that the arrival of this baby is potentially not very far away. 

Am I bored and fed up of this pregnancy?  Yes

Do I feel ready and prepared to be brining a new baby home?  No

Practically, we’re pretty much ready.  His room is all set up (with the exclusion of the cot!) and we have all essential supplies.

Emotionally – I don’t think you ever are ready. Even so, it all suddenly feels alarming close and real.

So I’ve started thinking about what I’ll miss/not miss once Noddy is here and what I’m most looking forward to/dreading. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but my starter for 1o.

What I’ll miss:

1. Calling him Noddy – I’ve become rather fond of his belly name

2. Having time to do the things that seem to always need doing but never get done

3. The bump itself and the feeling of him squirming around inside of me

4. The peace and quite in the house during the day

5. The ongoing excuse to eat what I want when I want

What I won’t miss:

1. The uncomfortableness (yes I think I’ve made up a new word) that comes with being pregnant

2. The 2 pillows that are needed to make sleep a pleasurable experience – particularly as it’s been nearly 80 degrees in our bedroom for the past 3 nights

3. The time I have on my hands – contradiction with point 2. above I realize

4. The heartburn

5. The feeling that I’m starving one minute, but full to bursting after just 4 bites of a meal

6. The contractions

7. The doctors

8. The drugs

9. The isolation and boredom that I’ve been feeling for the past 2 months

What I’m most looking forward to:

1. Having a new baby in the house and all that comes with it

2. Seeing how Jemima reacts

3. Exercise – I’m committed to a personal trainer and 20 hot yoga classes as soon as I get the all clear from the doc

4. Adorable little baby clothes

5. Some unmentionables

6. Introducing Noddy to the world

7. Having a more promising conversation with my managers about coming back to work and what they can offer me (fingers crossed, still a job!)

What  I am dreading the most:

1.The sleeplessness that comes with a new baby

2. Breastfeeding – although I’m determined to give it a go this time round having failed so miserably with Jemima

3. Jemima’s jealousy – she’s excited but I’m sure the tide will change at some point

4. The birth – seem to be dreading it more 2nd time round. I guess because I know what’s involved – and trust me you never do forget the pain!

5. Going back to work after 3 – 4 months.  At the moment I can only imagine how hectic life is going to become and how organized we’ll have to be (actually I’m quite looking forward to that bit!).

No Change!

So today I had my last internal ultrasound – and all is good. Yippee!

Noddy is growing extremely well – already an estimated 4lbs 15 oz – less than one pound shy of Jemima’s final birth weight. With somewhere between 5 and 7 weeks to go ‘ouch’ is the word that springs to mind.

On the downside, still no change on the size of the cyst but I reviewed my genetic results with the doctors and they remain very unconcerned.  My risk of Downs Syndrome is 1 in 1,663 and the risk of Trisomy 18/13 is 1 in 9,161 – the two chromosomal disorders normally associated with choriod plexus cysts. I’m feeling somewhat relieved for the time being.

Next stop as far as trips to the specialist is concerned is on 8/24 for growth scan and cerclage removal!

So, upon hearing all is fine, and being told not to worry about pressure, or even contractions so much anymore, I took myself off to Babies R Us – something I’ve been longing to do for months.  The good news is that I was remarkably restrained and other than boring necessities came away with nothing.   Knowing Noddy already has a well stocked wardrobe, albeit it mainly white and 2nd hand at best, I left all the adorable little outfits in the store.

Tomorrow I’m going to hit the grocery store – I’m fed up with online shopping. And next week I may even brave Costco.

In the meantime, a busy morning has left me exhausted so I’m settling on to the sofa to watch Nights in Rodante. 

Time for a movie-fest

So I’m now 32 weeks which at one point is a milestone that many of us, myself and my OB included, doubted I’d ever reach.

I’m no longer on bed rest and we no longer have family staying with us. While I miss the help and support, I’m loving having the house to ourselves again and beginning to resume a relatively normal life. 

This weekend I managed a short walk in the park and a playdate making both me and Jemima very happy. Admittedly I had to come home and lie down after both adventures but that’s way better than being glued to the sofa.

I’m still definitely limited in what I can do and how far I can walk and I don’t want to take any chances so I’m still taking it easy.

Hence, my mission over the next two weeks is to watch movies. There’s loads of chick flicks on ‘On Demand’ that I really want to see but can’t persuade Ben to watch for love nor money (despite him subjecting me to Funny People on Saturday night which incidently is not at all funny).  And it’s dawned on me that if I don’t watch these movies over the next few weeks, heaven only knows when I’ll get the chance.  So if anyone wants to join me for some serious chick flick viewing, you know where I am – and I have popcorn and Oreos to boot!

Flicks on the list include:

Leap Year, The Time Traveler's Wife, Young Victoria, Remember Me to name but a few.

31 weeks - and T minus ?

Well, a week ago I was feeling confident that I’d go nearly all the way to 38 weeks, or at least make it to 8/24 when the cerclage is due to be removed.

Today, I’m not so sure.  Over the past couple of days, while cutting down the Ibruprofen I’ve been getting more contractions. Still not enough to warrant any trips to labor and delivery but what is concerning me is they are getting longer (about 40 seconds instead of 10), and perhaps more importantly they are beginning to hurt.

I now have a definite waddle, the belly button is very close to being an ‘outy’ and doing anything is becoming quite exhausting – and for the past two days I’ve done very little. 

I woke last night with quite fierce contractions which were coming very 7-8 minutes and I really was beginning to think ‘oh-oh, here he comes’.  I popped an Ibruprofen and all calmed down but that’s the first time in a long time that I’ve had night-time contractions, least of all ones that actually hurt.  So today, my thoughts are that this little guy is in a bit of a hurry.  Perhaps Jemima’s game of talking to Noddy and saying ‘come out soon’, despite being swiftly followed by me saying ‘No, stay in’ (which she finds hilarious) is not so funny after all.

Good thing we more or less sorted the nursery over the weekend – guess I better get on with hanging those curtains just in case!.

The blog will go on

Goodbye sofa, hello world!

I’ve officially taken myself off bed rest – 10 days earlier than perhaps my OB would like.

Day by day week by week I’ve been slowly increasing activity and yesterday’s appointment with the specialist revealed not only that everything is stable but in fact showing a slight improvement. My take from that is that getting up and about a bit more doesn’t seem to be doing any harm. 

And between my doctor and myself we have a plan.  I’m to cut back on the Ibruprofen over the next week, coming to a complete stop by next Friday as I’ll then be 32 weeks and it’s not longer safe. I have a back up prescription for an alternative drug should I continue to get contractions which can be taken on an as needed basis or 4 times a day if required. I’m hoping they won’t be needed.

I have an appointment scheduled for 2 weeks time which all being well will be my last internal ultrasound. Yippee!  I have an additional appointment scheduled for 8/24 to remove the cerclage, sooner if it becomes too painful as I begin to feel the stitches pulling under the weight of the baby.  I expressed concerns that if I go all the way to 40 weeks I’ll be delivering a monster 9lb baby – and whilst a quick labor doesn’t concern with a 5-6lb baby, a 9-pounder fills me with fear.  However, the doctor is fairly confident that I will go into to labor within a week of the cerclage being removed.  Therefore the chances of me having a 9lb baby are slim – Phew!

And another reason for doing more – physically I need to. Having spent the best part of 8 weeks walking only from bed-bathroom-sofa, peppered with an occasional stroll to the car, my fitness levels have plummeted. Or rather, I have no fitness. Yesterday a gentle potter round the house left me exhausted and breathless.  If I am to stand of having any chance of a) being in a physical shape to go through labor and b) coping with a new baby and an active almost 4 year old, I need to start doing more.

Since announcing yesterday on Facebook that bed rest was officially over, many people have asked if this means the end of the blog. In short, no.

I’m no longer on bed rest but I can hardly go crazy. I will still need to spend some time each day resting and being slightly cautious. I’m hardly running marathon’s just yet – in fact even a walk to the local park is probably out of the question. 

The blog will continue for the remainder of my pregnancy – my last post will be to complete the chapter by announcing the birth day, time and weight of my son.  So I have a few more weeks to bore you all with my random thoughts.

A bite-sized taste of freedom

Yesterday we had two tasks to complete:-

1) Spreading 10 cubic yards of mulch in the garden

2) Taking my car to the garage for a service

I obviously wasn’t able to contribute to the former, but as the latter involved driving to the garage and sitting and waiting, now at 30 weeks, it was felt I was up to the job.

So, for the first time in nearly seven weeks I ventured out of the house – ALONE.  As you can imagine the sweet smell of freedom was too much to resist so I added a quick trip to the bakery AND the butcher. Wow, what a crazy lady I’m turning out to be!  OK, so all up, three pretty unexciting chores but for someone who has barely left the house, let alone without the company of at least one other person in almost two months, it was just lovely.

Ironically, today, the 4th July, when the rest of America is huddled up somewhere with their families I’m sitting here all alone as Ben, Jemima and Nana have headed out to the Issaquah Parade.  Jemima, quite rightly, took the biggest bag she could find to fill with candy, promising she’s save me some. Last year, she picked up the best part of a 1lb of candy so I’m sincerely hoping she comes back with more than piece for me!

Followers & comments

A huge thank you to all of you who have been reading my blog. Whilst I initially set out to do this purely as another way of keeping busy, it’s great to know that so many people are reading it.  Whilst I have four official ‘followers’ I’ve lost track of the number of people who I’ve been told have been reading it.

And thank you for the comments too – I’ve only just realized that some of you have been posting comments to some of my posts. Unfortunately I don’t get an automatic alert. Apologies for not replying to any of them. From now on I will check the comments on a regular basis and reply as appropriate – anything to keep the conversation going!

Happy 4th for those stateside – have a fun, flag filled weekend.  For those t’other side – enjoy the weekend and please share the sunshine!

The Maldives will just have to wait

To put a bit of context behind this somewhat random title, my husband and I have a bet that Andy Murray will one day win Wimbledon.  The prize for the winner: dinner at the restaurant of your choice – ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.  So far, Ben’s restaurant of choice: The French Laundry in Sonoma. My restaurant of choice: really not fussed as long as it’s in the Maldives.  I’m far more about the destination than the food, but I hear the food is pretty spectacular at those not-so- shabby beach villas!

Despite Andy’s defeat against Nadal today I am more convinced than ever that the Maldives will become a reality.  Murray will win Wimbledon. He played the match of his life today and the score did not justify the results. Against any other player I believe Murray would have won that match and with another year of two under his belt he’ll have the confidence to pull it off. Moreover, Ben, had he been watching that match would have been seriously worried, and so he should be.  I don’t like Nadal but have to admit that he’s a phenomenal player and when it comes to it seems to be able to pull rabbits out of hats.  Murray didn’t lose that match, he was within a whisper of a win, but sadly Nadal was able to inch that little bit closer.  But mark my words my darling husband -  be afraid, very afraid and start saving!

Frustration, pizza, cinema and wedding dresses

The only problem with writing a blog about your pregnancy / bed rest traumas is when you don’t write anything for a couple of days people either:-

a) think something’s happened and I’ve ended up in hospital again or

b) bug me to find out why I’ve not written anything recently

Well, as the author of a blog I consider myself a writer, and like all writers I reserve the right to write or not to write as the mood strikes me!

Actually, that’s not strictly true. More accurately Wimbledon and some slow pottering in Noddy’s room as we wash and put away gorgeous little baby clothes has been occupying my time.

So that means the good news is that it’s been a very uneventful week – in every sense of the word.

The boredom has well and truly reached a new level and with it is coming a whole new level of frustration. I’m fed up of being basically housebound with the exception of weekly trips to the doc and the occasional trip out. I’m fed up of company. Whilst I’m very grateful for all the help I’ve received I can’t tell you all how nice it will be to have our house back to ourselves.

I’m fed up of not being able to do the things that I should be and want to be doing – cooking dinner every night, going to the grocery store, not being the last person to get a kiss from Jemima as she walks into nursery, not being the first person to get the best hug as she’s picked up the end of the day. It’s all beginning to wear me down and I’m back on the emotional rollercoaster that I was when bed rest was first prescribed, even though I am at least able to do more now than I could six weeks ago.

The good news is that I’m now 29 weeks, 30 on Saturday, and all being well once I reach 32 weeks I can pretty much resume normal activity, within reason of course. And at that point we’ll have our house back for a few weeks before mayhem truly kicks in with the arrival of a new baby.

On a more positive note, I have had a few outings this past week, that have not involved my OB or hospital.

We all headed out for dinner on Sunday – just a local pizza place so nothing fancy but nice nonetheless. And on Tuesday Sue and I escaped to the cinema to see Sex and the City II.  I’ve always thought going to the cinema in the middle of the day is a little bit naughty, but going to the cinema when you should be on bed rest felt well and truly rebellious.  But I loved it – a great film if you’re expecting nothing other than mindless fashion, some harmless humor,  and plenty of amazing shoes. I have to say some of the outfits and the shoes were to die for.

Anyway, today I have some boring phone calls to make before I settle in for an afternoon at Wimbledon. But first an hour of ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ – I mean what’s not to love about watching brides choose a wedding dress and all the drama that goes with it?