Today’s appointment would have been very short were it not for the uncharacteristically long waits in the waiting room and in the exam room.
My weight is down a pound, my blood pressure is in a happier range, and my blood sugars are making Dr. Schwartz smile. (For once he didn’t change my insulin dosage!) Dr. Schwartz walked in the exam room, looked at me sideways and asked “How’s your boobs?” (I emailed him last week about a sudden re-occurance of tear-inducing breast pain. Turns out it’s just another Joy of PregnancyTM. But he did offer some advice on bras and whatnot that he assured me he had to research, as opposed to knowing off the top of his head. I’ve linked the worst of the pain to a ridiculous sensitivity to cold, so I’m making sure to stay well covered up, especially at night. Because crying during one’s morning shower sucks.)
We chatted a bit and he reassured me that I’m doing fine, baby is doing fine and if I wanted, I could space my appointments out to three weeks for a while since he’s confident that I don’t need to be ‘checked on’ as often now that we’re out of the scary 1st trimester when so many things can go wrong. (Holy run-on sentence, Batman!) I’ve even been given leave to stop e-mailing him my blood sugars if I don’t want to. (I think I still will though, cuz I feel like I’ve barely got a handle on them.) I think I’ll start spacing out the appointments though, so that I don’t burn any more sick leave than I have to. The more I can horde, the longer I can stay out on maternity leave.
The next appointment is February 10th which will be lots of bloodwork (including the quad-screen to follow up the 1st trimester’s triple-screen) and the BIG anatomical ultrasound – so it should take nearly an hour. We’ll find out the sex, assuming the little critter cooperates.
Speaking of the little brat… We tried to see the sex today, but the critter was having none of it. It turned it’s back to us three times. The tech actually had trouble isolating the heart because the baby wouldn’t stop flopping and flailing around. I was disappointed that I didn’t get much of a look, but I’m OK with not knowing for two more weeks. I’d really like Paul to be there when we do. We’ll be sure to get a DVD of the next ultrasound, and hopefully it will include some good pictures.
Well, aside from the boob issue, sounds like everything is coming along swimmingly well! Congratulations on all the great metrics!
Glad everything’s going so well! And yay on the one-pound weight-loss. I know they always say you should be gaining weight but my doctor told me both times that as long as you’re not wasting away and the baby’s growing properly, it’s okay. Emily never cooperated in the ultrasound so we didn’t know that she was a girl until she popped out. And, yep, boob issues suck and they’re totally normal. Just wait till you give birth :)
Yeah for a great check up! :) As for the boob issue, it helped me to wear bras ALL THE TIME while I was pregnant – more support, less pain. I’m really sympathizing with you on that pain. I don’t think mine was nearly as bad as what it sounds like your pain is, but I know how tender they can be. Oh – hey….if your finances will let you, get a 4-D ultrasound at 18 weeks and then closer to your due date. It is kind of creepy to see how alien-like they look at 18 weeks, but it is worth it to see a “before” and after picture at about 38 weeks. It is amazinhg because Olivia looked EXACTLY like her 4-D ultrasound at 38 weeks when she was born. :) Plus, they make you a really spiffy video. I wish we did it with RJ and Jimmy. Get some rest when you can! :)
Kara was likewise uncooperative. We had a “pretty sure” at 20, but no “definite” till 33. That was scary hard for me because I wanted a girl so much.
Ah, boob pain. It’s nasty, innit? Look for it at any relatively sudden drop in temperature. Even during the summer I had a few times where the difference between the outside warm and the hospital AC was enough to send me into the womens’ room crying and vomiting for half an hour. I can assure you, though, it blessedly leaves when the critter comes forth.
You’re right. It’s any major temp change, or just letting the twins get cold that really makes life unbearable. I’m lucky that the pain has never pushed me into puking, but I think I am more fortunate in that category than you were.
But seriously, the pain goes away after birth? I was honestly fearing breastfeeding, thinking that this was only a minor showing of things to come. So maybe this sensitivity doesn’t herald anything worse? Oh, that would be wonderful.
I love reading about your journey through pregnancy and pray that it continues to be an incredible experience! Can’t wait to find out what you are having!!!
~Heather