When the nausea hit with
the first heatwave of Summer I would tell people “at least when I feel like a
whale in the second half of pregnancy it will be cooler”.
HA! It’s like I
forgot I live in Southern California! Today’s high was 107! Come ON! Luckily,
we anticipated the heat and spent all day inside with full A/C and I’ve been
chugging water like it’s going out of style!
Last week I had a routine
check-up plus the “lovely” glucose test for gestational diabetes. About 2 hrs.
before my appointment I got a call from the receptionist informing me that my
doctor was stuck in surgery and, if I was ok with it, I would be meeting with
one of the nurse midwifes. I was a little hesitant just because I prefer
meeting the doctor each time but they assured me they do this all the time and
the check-up will be the same.
So, I showed up to the doctor’s
office for my 12:40 “sugar drink” appointment. Anyone who has ever had a
glucose test knows it’s not the absolute worst but it’s like drinking 8oz of
melted lemon lime popsicle. And you only have a few minutes to drink it. Ugh!
Oh well, got it down and then they handed me a timer to return in exactly 1 hr.
to have my blood drawn.
My appointment was booked
for 1pm so I waited and was called back shortly. Blood pressure was perfect
(last appointment their first read was off the charts and I tried to stay calm
as they re-checked and it showed completely fine numbers). I’ve decided to not
look at the scale cause knowing how much I’ve put on is only going to make me
stress more.
I waited in the doctor’s
office and then the nurse midwife arrived. She was so nice and I was able to
ask her all my questions I had prepared for my doctor.
I have been having more
pelvic aches and pains this time around, which the midwife explained that since
this is my 5th pregnancy, everything is more stretched out so it makes sense
that I’m having more pressure lower. She suggested a belly band to help support
my growing belly.
I also asked her about the
amount of people allowed in the OR for the c-section. She told me hospital
policy is usually only one person but they may make an exception for
surrogates. I also found out that usually they don’t let the husbands be in the
OR for the spinal block which is usually my most nerve wracking part that
Daniel has talked me through twice. I’ll have to double check with the doctor
on the policy but either way I know I’ll be in good hands.
She also mentioned that
the hospital will be providing me with a binder to wear around my stomach after
birth which is AWESOME! I wore both girdles and binders after all my births so
knowing I’ll have one to wear in the hospital is pretty cool!
She mentioned (without
exact numbers) that my weight was doing ok, it was a little high but not too
bad. Phew! (I’m already planning my triumphal return to Weight Watchers as soon
as I can after I’m healed post birth).
I also got a chance to ask
her about our family possibly traveling overseas just 5 weeks postpartum. I had
been a little concerned but she thought since I won’t have a newborn to take
care of and if I make sure to take the first 2 weeks really easy to heal, I
should be ok. We are attempting to finalize our 3-yr. old applications for
South African Permanent Residency before the expiration date of Mar 7, 2018. Even though we live in the US now, we paid
for the residency back a year before we knew we were leaving South Africa and,
if Gabriel and I are approved, we would never have to worry about travelling
visas or permits again when traveling in and out of South Africa (Where Daniel’s
side of the family live).
I left the appointment
very grateful for such an amazing hospital and staff that have taken such good
care of me!
Some may remember that I had
originally gone to a different OB at a completely different hospital back
around 10 weeks. I got a call a few days
later telling me they didn’t take my insurance.
I was quite frustrated (and cried) that I would have to find a different
doctor and hospital. BUT through it all I
reminded myself that God was in control and He knew it all. Since then I have come to absolutely love my
new OB and hospital. I always feel so
calm and relaxed there and, even though it’s a slightly farther drive, I feel
such peace whenever I go.
So, I started writing this
update a few days ago but never finished so now we are past the heatwave and it’s
a glorious 69 degrees outside and I already feel 75% better! So nice for Fall to finally arrive, even if
it is a month late!
Other than that, baby girl
has continued kicking and growing! After
our next appointment in the beginning of Nov, we will begin having appointments
every two weeks! Last Thursday (Oct 26) marked exactly 3 months till our
planned repeat c-section. It really hit
me how close we are getting! At night I use these awesome Belly Bands
(basically headphones for my belly) and play messages and stories read by Chad
and Stephanie to their daughter. I also
play some Mozart for her! We’re so
excited to spend some time with Chad and Stephanie at the end of Nov for a few
days too! I think that’s about it, thanks for following along in this journey!
