Only 8 weeks left! It's going by fast, which is good because I'm getting super impatient!
Little man is growing fast and his kicks, punches, and flips feel pretty pronounced now. Sometimes they take my breath away, literally. He is the size of a jicama. Seriously? What is a jicama? He weighs about 3.75 pounds and is about a foot and a half long. How does he fit in my tummy? That's what I want to know. :) A stranger outside the hospital today said to me, "Is it triplets?" I said, "If it is, I'm giving you two!" He thought that was HILARIOUS! :) People say the craziest things.
I had just written my last blog entry when my week started to go seriously downhill, and since I've written more than my share of mundane details of pregnancy in this blog, I suppose I should record the events for historical purposes. So here goes...
On Thursday I was working at a cushy law firm and as work came to an end I was returning a chair to it's home in the corner of the room. It was a carpeted room, mind you. And a padded chair. But it caught on the carpet, and I had nowhere to go but on top of it. It was the weirdest fall ever, and even seemed to defy gravity. But over I went, tummy first, and with just enough pressure that I was a bit concerned. Thank goodness my little baby boy knows his mama worries and kicked for me right away to show me he wasn't completely traumatized. But I called the doctor anyway to see what they recommended, and of course they recommended that I come in and be observed for 4 hours. Chad came with me, and I was really really glad he did. This may sound crazy but I actually felt pretty giddy to have my hubby all to myself for 4 full hours. Even holed up in a tiny, clinical hospital room. They took my blood and hooked me up to a monitoring machine and everything was completely fine, so I was released. Friday, totally unrelated to the fall, I had some swelling in one particular spot and wanted to check in with my doctor a few days earlier than my scheduled appointment so I came in for an unscheduled check up. The swelling had been getting worse for a few weeks and was starting to hurt. Doctor told me it had something to do with a broken blood vessel, was nothing to worry about, but would probably get worse for the rest of pregnancy. Yay! On my way out I mentioned in passing that I also had a lump that had developed since pregnancy under my armpit. She took a look, didn't have an explanation, and said she wanted me to see a breast surgeon for a consult. I was NOT thrilled about this. I have a tendency to worry about things, and breast cancer while pregnant was not a small thing. But I put on a brave face and headed immediately next door to my dermatologist, who needed another sample of skin for a biopsy. The last biopsy from a mole I had removed a few weeks ago was inconclusive because it was too small, so she used a bigger needle, took another sample, and this time I got stitches. And the mole in the front, my signature mole, which had been removed at the same time, was not healing properly. So she used a bigger needle, and stitched me up. What a day! So I go to my best friends house to vent about my no good, very bad day. And on my way out of her driveway I backed right into a set of 4 mailboxes and put a good size dent in my car. !!! So that was not my best day. Since then the biopsy for my new skin sample came back normal, and my mammogram/sonogram/breast exam was normal as well. What a relief! I feel so fortunate that I am healthy after all that madness.
I very much want this blog to reflect the reality of my experience being pregnant so I am going to be honest. It's not easy! Some very weird stuff happens to your body. I have the lump under my arm, pretty significant painful swelling in a strange part of my body, a large dark spot that pretty much took over my left leg, and those are just the weird things. It's hard to experience things that relatively healthy people like me have never experienced, like trouble breathing, and so much heartburn! I have to constantly remind myself that I am pregnant and my insides are all sorts of compressed inside me, and this isn't a reflection of my overall health, but a symptom of the life I am creating. And then I feel better until a little throw up comes up into my mouth again and I'm back to the Tums and the cursing.
Still the good things remain. I love to feel him moving, and he has been getting hiccups at least once a day for the last couple of weeks. It makes him even more real to me. And it's actually getting to the point where it's close enough to get excited. And I have TWO baby showers this week-end! I can't wait. Not just because of the baby loot he will get, but because I feel so alone sometimes and feel guilty talking about pregnancy or baby with anyone who isn't pregnant. So, most people. :) Just because I always hated it when my pregnant friends only talked about being pregnant. Well now I know why. It kind of consumes you! So this is my week-end where I don't have to feel guilty for focusing on this amazing little person growing in me. I get to celebrate him with all my favorite people!
