There's no denying the belly

Hope everyone had a good holiday.  My family left last night to return to the East Coast after two weeks out here, so this weekend is all about rest and recuperation.

And jump-starting this little-one-to-be as he's been quiet all morning.  I'm not concerned yet as mornings are not usually his most active time, but I will be monitoring him to see that he does get going; otherwise, it's off to L&D we go for a checkup.  So I whipped out the V8 Fusion and downed a large glass, then got back into bed to type and wait for some activity.

He's 32 weeks tomorrow.  I figure I have one more month of freedom before it's baby watch time.  Not as though I'll get much sleep in January...haven't sleep through a whole night since August.  Oh well.

Being a nurse this time around the pregnancy ride has definitely made this pregnancy go smoother, at least mentally and emotionally.  I was so anxious and nervous with the first one, panicking over any little thing...I ended up going to the hospital several times to make sure all was well with the little first one.  This time, even though the risk is higher (and the first pregnancy had its own risks to begin with), I'm much calmer about things.  Not ignorant or unconcerned, just calmer about how I handle them.

My weight is up 24 lb.  As I mentioned earlier, I kind of knew that keeping it under 20 wasn't really going to happen, but at the same time, there was no need for me to repeat the 50+ lb. gain of the first one.  Funny enough, I now weigh more than I did when I delivered the last time, but I actually look smaller and better.   Brassiere size still in the black hole though...you know the minute I find and buy more 38DDs, the chest will expand overnight.

We hope he's in the head-down position, but I really can't tell as the blows are coming from all sides simultaneously.  I'm giving birth to either a future gymnast or Cthulhu.  I've already decided that if he's not head-down or if he's more than 9 lb, C-section.   

Ah, some movement.  Little-one-to-be is waking up.

In other news, my current facility posted a few positions that I would love to apply for a transfer to.  Of course, they do it now and not when I'm not pregnant.  Day ICU part-time and per-diem, day detox per-diem, day residential detox per-diem, psych/med day part-time, facility registry...alas, if weren't for this belly, I'd apply.  But I can't apply for them knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to start working until May at the earliest.  *sigh*  And they know I'm pregnant so it's not as though I'd be able to hide it.

Actually, most of the facility and patients know.  There's no denying the belly at this point, even if I wear dark colors.  Now staff I don't even know are leaving me chocolate and pretzels.

So we're still here

As I told someone else, I go by the calendar printed on the Oreo cookie, and there was nothing on there about an apocalypse.  So I wasn't too worried about today.  Still, it's nice that the appointed time has come and gone, just to be extra sure.

In other news, I'm being wooed by a major hospital for their behavioral health program.   Not an agency, but the hospital itself.  If it wasn't for the fact that I'm 8 months pregnant as well as fairly happy with where I am working now, I'd seriously consider it.   But I'm not planning to make any career changes for at least the next several months...once the new little one is a few months old, then I'll look around and contemplate other positions as well as possibly other organizations.  If they're still interested in me at that time, then we'll talk.

It's very flattering though:  I feel all warm and fuzzy...and gigantic.  Apparently the baby-to-be is on a growth spurt.

Christmas party at work this week.  We played parlor games...and it's rather entertaining to watch psych staff play "guess the celebrity."  Most were identified by their psych issues.   Don't ask any of us what their latest movie is or who they're married to, but tell us their personality disorder or CD issue, and we're all over it.

Interesting fact:  Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader meets most criteria for a borderline personality disorder diagnosis.  Vader's my favorite Star Wars character, so I found this intriguing.  This meant nothing to the men in the family other than it made them want to watch the Star Wars movies...again...

Sometimes my family just doesn't appreciate psych.

Senioritis:  2, Meriwhen:  0.  For history class, I have a test and a last entry to finish up in the next 8 hours, and I'm waffling on both.

The results are in

It's not preeclampsia.  And while we're here, I passed the glucose screening.  What a relief on both counts.

Now I just have to shake this senioritis and work on the final paper and exam, both for History class.

In 6 hours, the first digit of my age will change.  In the U.K., it's already changed.  Here in California, not quite yet.

I may be awake for the actual moment, as I am so far behind on my history coursework it's ridiculous--I really need to catch up tonight.  It also will not help that the other half wants coffee right now, so a pot is percolating as I type.  And I can't resist fresh coffee.

That's all, really.

I dropped off the jug this morning--I drove it in nestled in a bag of ice, strapped into the front seat.  First I had to drop the little one off at school, so I'm sure more than a few people who walked by the truck were wondering what I was doing with a biohazard container on ice buckled into the passenger side.

I will never take peeing for granted again.

Off today as I wrap up some history homework.  I'm kind of glad I'm off today.  The hospital's new grad residency program has started notifying applicants, and quite a few of them who had worked for the hospital chain--some for years!--found themselves told, "sorry, but no..."  And for some, it wasn't their first go-around on the wheel.  If nothing else will convince you that working as an internal employee is no longer the guaranteed lock on a new grad job, this will.

The mood in the hallways is probably going to be somewhat dark for a while.

So here I am with a gallon biohazard jug and 16 pounds of ice...

24-hour urine collection day.  Thank God I'm off because don't see this really happening--successfully--while at work.  So today will be spent working on my group project for history class, working on the rest of my other homework, and collecting my own body fluids.

For those of you who aren't nurses or medical professionals, the goal of this collection is to determine how much protein, if any, that I am excreting via urine in a 24-hour period.  If I excrete 0.3g of protein or more, I may have preeclampsia.  They'll evaluate that plus my blood pressures before they give me an official diagnosis.

Hopefully, all of this is for nothing, that we'll find out that I only have gestational hypertension or--even better--the nursing student from yesterday was wrong about the high blood pressure reading in the first place, the weight gain is just the new little one's way of making up for lost time, and I really need to put the salt shaker down.  It still wouldn't explain the vision issues I've been having...but that could have a variety of other causes.

That being said, I did a little refresher reading up on preeclampsia because I believe in hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

Mild preeclampsia can be managed at home...the literature says bed rest and possibly medications.  I read that as "stop working" but that I don't have to chain myself to the bed 24/7 because the old little one still has needs that need to be met.

Moderate to severe may require I check myself in for more hands-on management by medical professionals.  The good news is that I am within 2 miles of a hospital--I could even walk it if I had to.  The bad news...because we're military, it's not my hospital.  I can use the local hospital for an emergency, but should we talk extended stay, the military will want me at their place.  Should it come to that, maybe I could negotiate being farmed out to the local hospital...but I'm not going to think about that yet.

If I were to have preeclampsia, the only cure for it is delivery.  I'm currently at 28 weeks:  if I were to give birth today, it wouldn't be great.  The kid would have a fair shot at life, but there's way too many risks that he a.  wouldn't make it or b.  would have developmental issues from being born so early.  The goal according to the literature would be to get me and little one to at least 32 weeks.  Going longer that that would be far better--they would try to get me to go as far towards 40 weeks as we could.  But at least at 32 weeks, his odds of survival without issues are much better.  Also, they can prep him to mature his lungs.

Again, not really going to think about that yet either.

Ended up going in yesterday for half a day, for admissions and to orient a new nurse.  Patients are commenting that the baby belly has really popped out of nowhere.  Staff keep bring me pretzels and peanut butter cups.

Going to have some coffee, get to homework, and try not to think about sausage and egg sandwiches...because I've been craving them lately, and I'm trying to watch the sodium intake.