I'm glad I'm taking four months off

Once I crossed the 8-week postpartum mark this week, I started walking and lifting.  I overdid it the first day as I ended up helping push someone in a wheelchair.  The next day, I worked on the baby's nursery, including some moving of objects.  The next day, I took the baby in the stroller for 1.5 miles.  And during all of this, I've been carrying the baby in his car seat.

Today, I am in abdominal agony.

So now I'm cleared only for gentle walking and non-abdominal exercising.  At 12 weeks, I can start easing (key word:  easing)  into abdominal exercising.

I think my first day back at work is about 16-17 weeks in.   I hope I'll be up to it.  If it wasn't for the fact that the c-section ended in a cute and healthy kid, I'd be mad that I had to have one.

*sigh*

So....

This is kind of TMI in parts, so you've been warned.

OK?

OK.

My fears over not knowing when I should go to the hospital turned out to be unfounded:  I woke up in the middle of the night and knew these contractions were different.  I called L&D after the 1st hour and the nurse said give it another hour before I came in to make sure I'm close to 4cm dilated.  Anyhow, two hours later, we go in...and I'm already at 7cm and nearly fully effaced.  Gee, I could have gone after hour 1 and had the epidural that much sooner.

By the way, the nurse I spoke to also told me to take some Tylenol to help with the pain, so we suspect she has never actually given birth.

Of course, finding the anesthesiologist always takes forever.  He finally arrived but my sister didn't realize it was him.  She thought it was a nurse and was about to give him grief for taking forever with the consent process.  I had to explain it to her when he left to get his supplies.

Epidural went in and my labor went fast except for the littler-one-to-be's heart rate dropping to danger levels during contractions, as well as his failure to turn to LOA (the desired position) and descend.  So it ended in an emergency c-section after only 8.5 hours--the time I woke up to the point he emerged.

My sister photographed it all.  I have pictures of the baby, the c-section, the littler-one's emerging, the uterus, the placenta, the fibroids that they suspect were not helping things, the blood on the floor...yeah, my family is warped like that.  

Meanwhile, my better half had gone home to get the little one to school, and when he returned to the hospital he had no idea what was going on--they just brought him to the OR.  We had no time to text him and let him know.  He handled the blood and guts fairly well considering his squeamishness.  He didn't pass out upon seeing a real placenta.  Though he did ask, upon seeing the blood on the floor, "Is that normal?"  Sister and OR staff were all made aware of his squeamishness, so they kept telling him, "Don't look at it, keep moving, keep walking."  

Only two complications during the whole hospital stay.  The first was the fibroids:  apparently they got stuck to something and had to be cut free.  They weren't removed, so I'll have to address then down the road.  The other one was that they gave me Demerol.  I was shaking pretty bad from the epidural, to the point that I couldn't even hold the littler one.  Demerol apparently fixes this problem and in this case it was the lesser of the two evils, so...I said Yes.  I know, but you have no idea how violent the shakes were.  I was scaring everyone, especially myself.

So I got two syringes of Demerol, stopped shaking within 15 minutes, then spent the next 18 hours vomiting bile.

I was fine the next day, discharged the day after.  And yes, I had nursing students...I swear I was a magnet for them.  One of them was really nice though, so I consented to letting him call to follow-up on me for his class.

Went through the baby blues early in the week but I'm over them now.  

Littler one passed his first checkup with no problem.  Me, on the other hand...

I had to go to the OB because my headache was going on two days with no relief.  My blood pressure was up and my feet were very swollen, so labwork and another 24 hour urine test was ordered.  I'm a pro at these now, so I did that with ease and dropped that off on Friday.  The headache finally broke on Friday (thank God), the feet shrunk, and I felt fine all weekend.  At my follow-up today, my pressure was down to nearly normal levels and the bloodwork was normal.  The 24 hour urine came back over 300, but the doctor isn't concerned.  He said that if he had seen these results on Friday and I still had the headache, he would have talked about admitting me to the hospital.  But he feels that as it's been a couple of days since the test, the pain has stopped and my pressure is now normal, it has likely resolved itself.  So as long as I don't have a reemergence of any signs/symptoms of trouble, I can follow-up at my 6 week checkup.

Then there's the tea incident.

I burned myself with boiling water while making tea.  The glass shattered, water splashed my leg, I stumbled backwards and fell on my rear.  No cuts from the glass.  No injury from the fall.  A hand-sized burn on my front thigh which I thought was first degree, but it formed scattered blisters overnight.   Whee.

When I went for the follow-up today, the doctor checked out the burn and gave me some supplies to dress it.  I also dredged up everything I remembered about burns so I know what to do and not do when caring for it.  It's in a bad spot...that's the most annoying thing about it.  I can't quite tape the gauze on comfortably.

Anyhow, here I am.  I've lost about 25 lb of the pregnancy weight gain.  I no longer look 6 months pregnant--I'm down to about 3 months.  Pain from the C-section is manageable with Motrin/APAP.  I'm getting decent sleep considering I wake up three times a night for the littler one.   Overall, I can't complain.  Life is good.

My sudden absence from here can only mean one thing...

Boy (no surprise there), 7 lbs, born via emergency c-section last week.  I went into labor the night of my last post and he was born the following day.  Labor itself was easy, but he was in fetal distress so he needed to get out ASAP.

We are both doing very well.  More when I can tolerate sitting at a computer for more than a few minutes at a time.

Good news:  no cholestasis.  Bad news:  still itching horribly.

The jury is still out on the preeclampsia...not all of the test results are in yet (and my OB was also out of the office so they had to find a substitute to interpret them) but so far there's nothing alarming in what results are in.

I have now officially gone longer than I did during my last pregnancy.  I feel all right.  Some cramping but nothing horrible.  No gushing leaks of fluid, no bleeding, no headache, no abdominal pain (outside of the cramping) and no swelling of extremities...actually, if anything, the edema in my feet has improved considerably.   Little one-to-be is moving great...he's really at it right now, which is different since mornings are not his usual active time.  In fact, during fetal assessment the nurses had to do several things to wake him up and get some accelerations going.  It was a little concerning at first but when he finally woke up he performed beautifully.

Kick counts are done between 1900 and 2100 since that's when he likes to throw his dance parties.  Surprisingly, he sleeps through the night now--whenever I wake up during the middle of the night, I'll rarely feel him move.  Unfortunately, we know that won't last after he's born.

Everyone has explained the contractions that I will feel when true labor begins and have been reassuring me that I will know.  I've only had those "stop everything I'm doing and breathe" type of contractions intermittently.  Nothing consistent.

I'm half-hoping it'll be this weekend, since everyone is off from work/school.  The better half is starting to get more and more nervous...it's cute.  In so many ways this really is his first pregnancy (he missed most of the last one).  He was up at 0500 fretting over how we'll coordinate going to the hospital and getting my sister there.  I told him not to worry, that I'll get him to the hospital safely :)

In the course of my OB care, I've been running into a lot of nursing students as of late.  It seems like every nursing school in town is sending their students to my OB for clinicals.  So I chat with said students...I tell some that I'm a nurse, while with others I say nothing about my profession.  Though it usually becomes obvious in my interactions with them that I must know a little something about healthcare.  I don't really mind students caring for me as I was once one myself, though if one is about to give me medication they better be able to pass my questioning without flaw.  Especially since I have medication allergies.

With the exception of the hyperactive puppy and the less-than-professional midwife-in-training, both of which I encountered in December, the student experiences have been pretty positive.  In fact, the last student I had--nurse midwife student--was probably one of the best I ever encountered.  I never would have guessed she was a student had she not told me.

Anyhow, it's obvious what specialty the nurse midwife students want to go into.

For the other students...I can tell which ones are really interested in their OB clinical rotation--or at least open to the experience--and which ones are just there because they have to be.   But I ask all what they're interested in doing when they graduate nursing school.  To date, the response of all I asked has been the same:  ER/trauma.   Everyone wants to do ER/trauma.   Of course, I'll probe a bit and see if there's other areas they are interested in, such as med-surg, L&D, OB, etc. (I never push psych unless I feel the psych vibe coming from them).

Again, it's all the same.  ER/trauma or bust--nothing else exists, nothing else is a possibility.  I say that's great and wish them well on the job hunt.  Inside, I feel a touch of pity.  With the way this job market is, few if any of them are going to end up right in the ER after graduation.  Definitely not the ADN students I've encountered, not when every facility in town prefers BSNs.  And those BSNs have a lot of competition for those few spots.

Better for these students and their fledgling careers if they are willing to be open to various opportunities early on and transferring to critical care later, instead of immediately taking the "ER/trauma or bust!" mentality after graduation and setting themselves up for a world of disappointment.  By all means, they should pursue ER/trauma...but they also need to be realistic and remember they will be job hunting in a state where nearly 50% of new graduate nurses can't find any nursing job, let alone one in their dream specialty.

Oh well.  They will figure it out on their own soon enough.

In other news, at this point in my first pregnancy, my water broke.  So I go through today with somewhat baited breath and avoiding the television, lest the same movie I was watching during this point in my first pregnancy ("A View From The Top") be on.  It has been playing a lot on Encore as of late.  Given the plumbing issues we have to fix over the next week, it would be better if little one-to-be stayed on the inside for a bit longer.

You can't make a day like this up

First of all:  the little one-to be is fine, and things at the house could have been far worse.

So I went for my routine 38 week appointment which, thanks to both a sudden increase in itching and an elevated blood pressure, was no longer routine.  Thank goodness it was my actual midwife and not one of her students...I guess she felt it was better to see me herself, given my complaint about itching.

First I had my assessment:  2 cm dilated, not effaced.  No PUPPP rash was found and all of my pressures were elevated.  Midwife was concerned an made some calls.  So off I was sent to the hospital for stat blood work, a little fetal monitoring in L&D, a referral for fetal assessment, a ramped-up appointment schedule, plans to induce should the little one-to-be not come out by 40 weeks and...yes, another red biohazard jug.  Guess what I'm doing over the next 24 hours.  Yup: my midwife also wants to rule out a late-developing preeclampsia.

So off I go to the hospital lab to get the bloodwork drawn and the whole process started.

Now, before I went for my no-longer routine appointment, we had a plumbing issue in the house.  Sewer backup.  Usually the problem resolves itself in an hour or so, but yesterday it didn't, so I called the insurance company for a plumbing appointment.  Then I let the better half know that he needs to try to be home early in case the plumber arrives while I'm at my appointment.  Then I drop the little one off at my sister's and head to my appointment.

Better half is able to be home because, of course, that's when the plumbers show.  Apparently things were not pretty at Casa de Meriwhen.  The better half was instructed to flush one of the toilets.  He did.  Our bathroom flooded and my poor better half was up to his ankles in sewage.   So he spent all afternoon and evening cleaning it up.  The plumber did his thing, checked almost everything (it was getting late and he couldn't reach the insurance company for further instructions).  He said he couldn't find the issue with what he did and that it was likely a city issue.

Meanwhile, I'm in L&D, strapped to a baby monitor.  Thank God something told me to bring my Kindle with me to this appointment.  I finished half of a history book while waiting.  Little one-to-be is fine, my pressures started elevated but eventually went down.  I even got a little peek at him via quick ultrasound.  After an hour, I'm unhooked and told that the doctor is reviewing my bloodwork and monitoring results.  Twenty minutes later, I'm restrapped to the monitor.  Apparently the doctor wanted to see more of the little one-to-be on paper.  So here we go again.

Another hour later, I'm free to go.  They're pleased with the little one-to-be's performance.  No word on my stat bloodwork but I'm guessing that if things were truly horrible they would not have let me leave.  I was told that I definitely earned the 24 hour urine collection so that needed to be completed.  However, I forgot to get that lovely red biohazard jug when I went to the lab and they're now closed, so I have to track down the main lab office and get it from there.  

I got the jug.  THANK GOD she also gave me a hat this time around.  It'll make things much easier.

I'm on my way to get the little one when I hear from the better half.  We have NO plumbing whatsoever.  Zero.  Horrible things are going on at home with our drains.  He tells he he'll tough it out with the pets at the house but that little one and I should stay with my sister if possible.

Of course it's possible:  she's my sister and she better not turn me out...not when I have a set of her house keys and can let myself in at any time.

So I drive up to her place, explain what's up, drive back to my place, pack an overnight bag and get my laptop and the little one's school things, and check in with the better half to make sure he's taken care of.  His mood is understandably black but fine.  Casualties of the bathroom flood:  one bath carpet, one scale, one cloth hamper, two brassieres, and my Clarisonic face brush.  Not sure how it became a casualty but it did and my better half erred on the side of caution and tossed it.   Which makes sense because to be honest, I wouldn't have wanted to use it on my face after that.

I didn't have the heart to tell him what the Clarisonic brush cost...yes, three digits.  It was a nursing school graduation gift to myself a few years ago and when it comes to beating my rosacea down, it's been worth every single penny.  Thank goodness one of my birthday gifts was a gift card from Sephora that I haven't used yet.  

I drive back to my sister's.  We live about 20-25 minutes away from each other.  Fortunately, there is a lovely state highway through the mountains that makes going between the two easy, as well as keeps me off of the interstates for most of the trip.  So while all the driving isn't exactly my idea of fun, it is manageable.

I had In-and-Out Burger for dinner.  Yes, my pressure was up, but damn it, I wanted something decadent after everything so far.

Get little one settled and get on the computer to find out who I have to call in the morning to have the city come check the sewer.  And lo and behold...apparently for sewer backup, there is a 24-hour hotline because they want to know ASAP.  So I called.  I was told a technician would be out that night to assess the sewer line.  I let the better half know so he could be prepared.  This is around 2000.

Meanwhile, my sister and I are looking at the brighter side of things:  should I go into labor that night, not only is she right there to take me to the hospital and her husband there to watch the little one while we go, the hospital is a straight shot from her house.

Meanwhile, my bank keeps calling me.  My credit card info was stolen a couple of weeks ago.  We caught it immediately and closed the account so there was minimal damage...however, now the bank keeps making automated calls to ask me to verify activity on the closed account.  I'm told I can just ignore the calls since the account has been closed and no further damage is being done...however, me being of the paranoid type, I return each call.  I'd rather do that and be told it's on the closed account, than miss returning a call and learn that somehow my new credit card info has been stolen as well.

2300:  The better half calls me.  The city came out at 2100, did a thorough assessment, and declared that the issue is not with the city's line but the house.  In the morning I have to call the insurance company/plumbers back to get them to come back out.  I call it a night and go to bed.  At least I don't have to do a kick-count tonight, not when I spent most of my afternoon tethered to a baby monitor.  

Besides the stress of the day, two old cats and a two year old (all of which are not mine) keep me up all night, but that's OK.  

As soon as the insurance company's office opens at 0530, I call.  A different plumbing company is scheduled to come today, sometime before 1500.   So I drove back to my city, dropped the little one off at school and headed to the house to assess damages and the better half's condition.  His mood is much better.  The bathtubs have drained but nothing works still.  The bathroom floor is clean...well, except for under the washer/dryer.  I'm going to attempt to squirt some Lysol under there today.

I brought the red jug with me.  With everything that has been happening, I figured I'd wait until the plumbing issues were settled before I did the 24 hour collection...but since I can't use the plumbing anyway, having to pee into a collection jar makes perfect sense.  My sister isn't bothered by the thought of my having to do this in her home:  she is a PhD who does cancer research, so having to deal with a jug of urine on ice doesn't faze her, not when she chops ears off of mice on a regular basis.  She even volunteered the services of her icemaker.

At my local 7-11, I bought ice, Lysol and coffee.  The cashier remarked that I must have an interesting day planned.  I agreed.

So here I am hanging out at the house for a while.  I'll just bounce between here and my sister's as I need to.  The plumbers will call before they head out to the house, so wherever I am, I will have time to return home if necessary.  The better half is going to try to get out early today.  The little one is covered until the evening in his after school program so I don't have to worry about him.

Meanwhile, one utility company called...apparently they had the stolen credit card info down for the autopay so my payment was rejected.  However, based on my household notes, I had thought I had my bank info listed as the payment method so I didn't think I had to call them to update my info.  I was wrong.  But that was an easy fix and update, and my credit rating will remain flawless.

And the last meanwhile for a while...

Meanwhile, fetal assessment called.  They want me to come in tomorrow morning, which will work out well as I finish the 24-hour collection at 0630 and have a fasting lab test (bile salts, I believe) scheduled when I drop the urine off.  So I'll go straight from the lab to the fetal assessment unit.  

Despite everything, my mood is fairly good.  For all of the horrible timing and inconvenience, this could have really been worse..far worse.  At least I have my sister here so we have a place to stay.  Little one-to-be is fine.  I wasn't admitted to L&D yesterday.  Our insurance will cover a lot of the costs of the plumbing repairs, especially as it's not a city problem.   And having to tote my jug of urine around with me isn't the worst thing in the world.  If anything, it'll make for a great story when I tell the little one-to-be what happened in the weeks leading up to his birth.

I did tell the little one-to-be to scratch the "come out any time now" plan, and stay in until next week.  Of course, he may not listen.  But there's nothing I can do about that, right?  It's one of those things I can't change and I know the difference.

So I inadvertently scared my sister...

She texted me to see how I was feeling.  So I wrote back that I was OK, having some irregular contractions but nothing to worry about.

I've never seen the girl call me so fast.   Come to think of it...her calling me that fast scared me.

She thought it was showtime.  I told her that it was Braxton-Hicks.  I reassured her that if it was really showtime, the text would have included the instruction to start driving to my house now.

I guess she's just a little anxious to be there.  She also knows that I never went into labor on my own for the first little one (water broke) and I admitted to her that I'm nervous as to figuring out when I need to go into L&D.  Guess she is trying to help.

38 weeks tomorrow.  Feeling OK except for the itching and the irregular contractions.  I finished knitting a pair of socks that were a birthday gift to a friend.  I'm going to work on an abandoned sock from last year...it was a complicated pattern and my first foray into both cable knitting as well as pink socks.  I haven't decided if I'm going to make sock #2 of the pair, but at least I could finish the first one.

Heard back from the OB:  based on my description of symptoms, it's probably PUPPP.  I have a list of remedies to try over the weekend and she'll follow-up on Monday.

So it's off to CVS for hydrocortisone, diphenhydramine and oatmeal.  That's the nice thing about CVS:  I can buy all three of those things there and only need to make one stop.

New symptoms

So the intolerable thirst is gone...no, it wasn't gestational diabetes, but the side effects of the salt cravings.  As I ran out of salt and keep forgetting to get a refill at the store, the problem resolved itself.  It also resulted in the loss of 4 lbs...which I found surprising given that my appetite is still off the chain and my lower extremities are still edematous.  I'm trying to keep what I eat under control, but overall I'm still eating more in this last month.   The Dave's Killer Bread craving has left, to be replaced by the Jimmy Dean D-Lights Sausage, Egg White and Cheese craving.  With hot sauce.  Lots of hot sauce.

Hot sauce is the gift of the gods.  Ever try it on pizza?  Do.  You can thank me later.

Anyhow, the thirst has been replaced by widescale itching.  There are a few bumps on the stomach, so I'm led to believe that this may be a case of PUPPP (translation:  harmless annoying pregnancy rash).  Then again, it could also be cholelithiasis (translation:  gallstones, not as harmless to the little-one-to-be), as the itching is not confined to the abdomen but occurs all over.   I wake up at night to scratch.

So I'll check with my OB to be sure.  I have an appointment on Monday anyway if I forget to call.  Being a nurse while pregnant has made me aware of more of the problems out there, yet I am calmer about them.  I know that based on odds as well as my symptoms, it's more likely that it's PUPPP than gallstones, so I'm not freaking out.  That being said, it never hurts to double-check.

In other news...I made a library run and took out a large stack of books to keep me occupied during baby watch month.  Including one on addictions...between that the copy of the Journal of Addictions Nursing that has finally arrived in my mailbox, I'm going to get started on these addictions CEUs.  I also knit a pair of socks.

Everyone needs to have at least one baby shower at a psychiatric hospital.  I'm just saying.

The better half and little one think it's cute when I get stuck in various positions, such as on the couch, in bed, trying to get out of the car, trying to get off of the floor...I tell the little one that he better help his mommy up, and I tell the better half that it's his fault that I'm like this.

I've told the little-one-to-be that he's staying in tomorrow whether he wants to or not, and that he can come out anytime after Monday.  Hopefully he'll listen.

Baby watch officially begins

Low census + no admissions = called off of work today.  I'm not complaining:  at least I found out early, before I dug out my scrubs and started the warpaint.  Fortunately, we planned financially for my not working during the next few months, so while making some money today would have been nice, it wasn't critical.

Come hell or high water, this would have been my last day at work anyway.  They knew I wasn't going to work once February came, and that I won't be back until at least June.   So...four months of officially not working.  I don't know what I'm going to do with myself...oh yes, I do:  take care of the little-one-to-be.  But until he arrives, it's going to be a long February.

I should get cracking on the addictions CEUs while I'm off...and dig out the Spanish lesson CDs for the computer.

Turned work down for today, so tomorrow will be my last day of working before baby watch begins.

My dad got out of the hospital today...a couple of days ago, he had tripped and fallen on some drawers that he was working on.  No broken bones, no stitches needed...but lots of pain, blood and a the development of a 12-inch hematoma courtesy of 30+ years of being on warfarin (Coumadin).  So off he went for a two-day stay full of Vitamin K and painkillers.

While inpatient, he got a complete MRI.  My mother said she was worried about it and so read it to me over the phone.  Word for word.  All 6 pages.  Lots of interesting tidbits but nothing that struck me as being horribly abnormal...though I'm no MRI expert.

I was getting exhausted from listening and translating stuff, so by the time she got to the kidneys, I asked her if any of the physicians at the hospital told her that they found any problems.

"No," she said.

"Then don't stress.  If there was a serious problem, I'm sure they would have told you--they wouldn't court a lawsuit by not mentioning anything.  But take it to your regular doctor so he can review it too."

*sigh*

In other news...I noticed something.  Over the last couple of weeks, I have been incredibly thirsty.  Insanely thirsty.  Not the typical "I've had too much salt" thirst, but a painful thirsty feeling.  Thirsty enough that the word "polydypsia" came to mind today.  Then once that word entered, I realized that the appetite has increased considerably over the last couple of weeks too.  And the edema started around that time too.

For the record, polyuria never crossed my mind as the little-one-to-be is securely parked on my bladder...and has been for several months.  So constant urination is nothing new to me right now.  And no weight loss (ha!)...for the record, I'm now at a 39 lb gain.

Appetite increase, polyuria and edema:  I could put all of these down to the pregnancy.  But the insane thirst has me a little concerned.  I passed my glucose tolerance test in week 28, and have never had a problem with diabetes or blood sugar before then.  So while I'm not getting worked up into a "I've turned gestational diabetic!!!" frenzy, I'm going to call my OB and/or regular PCP tomorrow just to be safe.

Of course, I couldn't notice this before my last OB appointment so I could bring it up.

*sigh* x 2

So far so good.  Little-one-to-be is in the correct position, his heart rate is good, and he is estimated at 6 lbs.  I'm not dilated at all, my blood pressure is good, my weight up up but my feet are well and truly swollen and apparently I've got a lot of amniotic fluid in there...my abdomen was described as being "very squishy."  The midwife was able to bounce the little-one-to-be around in there.

I also got a DTaP shot.  The nurse was rather tickled to find out I'm a psych nurse, and we spent about 15 minutes comparing notes on IM techniques.

Next appointment in two weeks.

Work wants me to work Thursday as well as Friday.  Every time I try to get away they pull me back in :)  I'm thinking about it.

If it wasn't enough to hear it at work, my sister declared that I am huge.  The better half is predicting that the little-one-to-be is going to be gigantic.  The little one introduces me as "my mommy with the basketball in her belly."  Seriously, my abdomen has doubled in size overnight.

So have my feet and ankles.  I couldn't get on most of my compression stockings...I had to wear the lightest-strength ones that I owned (only 8 mmHg) and even then, my feet and legs looked like a claymation accident when I took them off last night.

*sigh*

Doctor's appointment tomorrow.  We'll see where things stand.

I am glad I am off work since last night I could not get comfortable to save my life, so I didn't sleep much.  Watching Lon Chaney silent films didn't help me get tired, but I figured that if I wasn't comfortable I may as well be enjoying myself with good cinema.  So I'm planning to go back to bed later this morning.

I did do my daily spot of nesting.  My bathroom is clean.  I also cleaned this past weekend since we had company (sister and her kids) over.  Half of the house, including the soon-to-be-nursery, still looks like Hiroshima after the bomb though.

Only one more day of work this week.  Given the sudden stomach expansion, I may have to go in wearing civilian clothing.  That's another benefit to working in psych:  in a lot of facilities, scrubs are optional attire.  While I prefer wearing scrubs due to a.  the comfort and b.  there's no mistaking that I'm a nurse (as though the ID badge with the big "RN" tag didn't help with that too)...I also need to be comfortable for this last day.

They're making bets...

The consensus of my coworkers is that the belly has gotten so large, that few think I will make it until the end of February.  Half predict I'll go into labor on Super Bowl Sunday, which is exactly at 37 weeks.

"No," I said.  "The Ravens made it, and I want to watch the game without having to stop and push!"

I thought this week was going to be my last week at work, but I got talked into doing one more day next week.  I told them that had to be it because once I was at term--which is either Super Bowl Sunday or the following week, I'm not good at the definition as OB's not my specialty--I wasn't working anymore...at least, not until the little-one-to-be is 3 months old.   Then I'll be back in some way, shape or form.

In the meanwhile, I'm finally having a bona-fide craving that is lasting more than a couple of days.  

It's whole wheat toast with real butter...specifically, very well-toasted Dave's Killer Bread and salted butter, though if desperate I'll use unsalted.  Seriously.  I'm putting down a few slices each day.  I even made some at 2200 last night and had it with a glass of chocolate milk.  I suppose this is a better craving than ice cream, sugar or cheese...the last in the list being a major craving last pregnancy and which resulted in 50+ lbs going on the body.

Speaking of weight gain, I'm up near 33.  So much for keeping it around 25...still, it's better than last time.  I'm aiming to keep it under 40 but at this point, any weight gained is mostly kid, breasts and peripheral edema, so I'm trying not to let the scale get me stressed out.

I did start getting the MyFitnessPal account ready though.  As much as this pregnancy has been good to me--seriously, it's been miles better than the first one--I'm ready to start having most of my body back.  The breasts, I'll have to continue to lease out to the little-one-to-be for at least a year, but the rest of me can start to be reclaimed after birth.

I started cleaning out the office, which will become the little one-to-be's nursery.  This is not meant to be a one-day process:  I figured I'd work on a it a bit each day.  Of course, little one-to-be won't be living in it for several months, but given that I'm a pack-rat by nature, I need to get an early start on the process.

I culled the nursing school textbook herd quite a bit and I still have almost bookshelf full.  Same with the knitting books.  Unfortunately, there's too many to combine into one bookshelf, so I'll have to think of something.

I also found a few unfinished knitting and crochet projects that I should tackle once I stop working and go on baby-watch.  I found a blanket for my bed, two wool shawls, two pairs of socks, a burp cloth and a charity blanket.  I also found a baby blanket in gender neutral colors that I have no idea who I was making it for, but it's almost finished.  So I'm going to finish it off and set it aside for the little one-to-be.

I also cleaned the stove.  That's today's adventure in nesting.

I was going to see my nephews tonight to let my sister have an evening off.  I made plans for the better half and little one to go to a monster truck show while I babysat.  I actually like monster trucks (and my Grave Digger is going to be there) but figured that being at a monster truck show at 35 weeks' pregnant is probably not the best idea.  The boys better bring me back lots of pictures and if possible, a Grave Digger souvenir.

But then I found out that my sister and one nephew have strep, and the other nephew has a cold.  So no babysitting for me.  I need to get strep while pregnant even less than I need to be at a monster truck show while pregnant.

I now have an evening to myself:  definitely a Chinese food night.  I wonder what sort of movie/television marathon I should have...and I should pull out that baby blanket in progress and work on it while I'm watching.

34 weeks

6 weeks--likely less--to go.  I only made it to 38.5 weeks last time, but this time I am several years older.  Major discomfort has set in...I'm spending more time lying down than I am doing anything else.  Though funnily enough, sometimes standing is the most comfortable position for me.  Go fig.

Beat the cold.  Only working one day this week.  After that, my schedule is open.  One of the departments that I am covering for got their own per-diem back and if all goes well should have a new full-time person starting soon, so I won't be needed as much if at all.  My core unit doesn't need me much now either--she's taken care of all of her personal issues and unless she decides to take advantage of me to have a day off this month, I probably won't be going in to work for her either.

Need to take the little one to the dentist today...it was either pull him out of school for the day, or wait for the first free afternoon appointment in mid-February.  So here we go.

Pray for me...or if you don't pray, just think happy thoughts for me.  His last two dentist visits did not go well.  One resulted in him vomiting all over himself...which was fine by me, except that he stripped down to his underwear and ran out into the waiting room because he didn't want to wear vomit.  The other involved restraints:  he actually requested the papoose board.  So he was strapped in and screamed bloody murder the entire time, then as soon as he was released was all hearts and flowers and "that went well!"

So yes, pray for me.

So I ended up leaving work after just 2 hours on Wednesday.  They were all surprised I showed up--the general consensus was that I looked and sounded horrible.  Fair enough, I did try to push myself.

I spent most of Wednesday night and most of Thursday unconscious on various pieces of furniture around the house.  I'd move to one room, take a nap, wake up, move to another room, take a nap, wake up, lather, rinse, repeat.  The cat followed me around the house and parked herself on my leg at each spot.  The little one followed me around the house and would arrange his Star Wars Angry Birds figurines on my belly at each spot.  Good thing for both cat and Angry Birds that I don't move when napping.

Today...I am feeling somewhat better.  At least I can breathe--I have no energy, but I can breathe.  The sinuses seem to have cleared themselves out for the most part.  I still called out for today--actually, I called out yesterday at one point when I was conscious for a bit. Considering I tried on Wednesday to go in--and failed--I figured I really needed some solid rest.  So no more work until sometime next week.

In other news, my sister has volunteered to be in the delivery room with me.  She's very excited about it, actually.  I know she wants to be there for the birth of her nephew, but I think a small part of it has to do with the fact that she's never had a vaginal birth (she's just not structurally built for it--she has the wrong shape of pelvis) and this is probably the closest she'd ever get to the experience.

Truth be told, having had one vaginal birth...I don't think she has missed much.  Lots of frustrating contractions, waiting, and pushing--during which I kept falling asleep--then the lovely discomfort afterwards...I'm half-hoping that this time, I'll need a C-section and just get the whole process over with much faster.

Anyhow, considering that the other half almost passed out during labor and delivery class the first time around (they showed him a picture of a placenta and he went white), it may be safest if he's not there while I'm laboring and she is.  He'd probably pass out and then they'd have two patients to have to tend to.  Poor guy really doesn't do well with anything medical-related.  And for someone who likes horror movies and video games, he can be incredibly squeamish.

So I told him about her offer and he agreed she should go in, saying that someone would have to watch our other little one and it should be him...but there was no mistaking the look of relief on his face.   It's all good though.  I'd rather he not be passing out on me when there won't be much I could do about it.

Afrin: the scourge of evil

So after a very restless night where I woke up q1h to blow my nose, I decided to try the other half's advice and use some Afrin.  He's sworn by it for years, and considering he was spot on with his other holy grail cold medicine (Theraflu:  works and makes you feel warm and fuzzy at the same time), I figured it was worth trying.  I whipped out my drug guides and data to check if I could take it, and majority of the data showed that it's safe for pregnant women for the most part if used as prescribed.

So I tried it.  And right now, I want to claw my face out.

The pain immediately started off as a massive fire in my sinuses; now it's down to a moderately dull burn.  The nose is running like a faucet.  My throat hurts even more than it did before.  The eyes are tearing.

The other half was worried.  I reassured him that it wasn't his fault:  I'm glad Afrin has always worked for him but I am apparently one of the few who can't tolerate it.  Almost any medication has the 1-5% of people who can't tolerate it or have a paradoxical reaction.  Take Benadryl and my little one:  there is no better way to guarantee that he'll stay up all night than to give him a dose of diphenhydramine.  Works better than soda and candy.

I'd rather wake up q1h to blow the nose than to ever experience this again.

Unfortunately, it's a 12-hour spray, so there's little hope of things wearing off quickly.  I'm just hoping the discomfort will get tolerable enough for when I go into work later.   Fortunately, that's not until later this afternoon, so I have time to gnash my teeth and wail in pain as I run though Kleenex like there's no tomorrow.

*sigh*

As far as this cold goes, I'm really not feeling outstandingly better, but I figured I should go in and work whatever I can this month, before I go on maternity leave.  One, the extra money--even a little--will be nice to have.  Two, I still feel edgy about taking a few months off of working.  I know I'm in little danger of losing my main job:  I'm per-diem so it's not as though anything is guaranteed to me, and the higher-ups in the food chain have been pleased with my performance as well as supportive of my pregnancy, so I think the chance of me being let go for not working for a while is minimal.

And there's always the agency:  they're still calling to ask if I can go work, and I'm still telling them not while I'm 8 months pregnant.  Which is a shame because I really miss the place...I definitely want to go back there if they'll have me this summer.

But still, you know I can be insecure at times.

Going to try to nap for a while and see if that will help with the face discomfort.