Hopefully the title of this post has served as an official warning to those reading that this isn't your standard "Stephanie on the Move" PG post. It is about pregnancy and some week 36 drama. Oh, and there are no pictures in this post...just a lot of words so that I can keep my pregnancy chronicle accurate. So, without further adieu...
My pregnancy has been a walk in the park. At least that is what I believe based on all the horror stories I have read/heard of others experiences. Sure, I had to give up wine and must now perform an Olympic event to role over in bed, but Baby R has been kind to me.
That was until yesterday. I had my first pregnancy snafu and it was enough to scare the living daylights out of me and send me running for a permanent position on the couch. I should mention it wasn't Baby R's fault so he can still be given the A+ baby in-utero rating!
Before we get to that story, let's address the title of this post. #1-Granny panties. In all of my reading I have learned that I get to come home from the hospital with an industrial strength maxi pad and will be needing some more "substantial" underwear to hold that beauty in place. So, off I went to Target because I don't own anything of the sort. I picked out a handful of not completely scary options and packed them away in my hospital bag so I could be ready to show off those hot underwear lines through my Lululemon pants post delivery (seriously, is there anything worse?). #2-Maxi Pads. This was worse. It took me three trips to the feminine hygiene aisle and a text for more information on what to buy to finally put a couple of packages in my basket. I am pretty sure I have not had use for a pad since 8th grade and was sufficiently overwhelmed by the ocean of options in front of me. Based on what I hear I contemplated just throwing in the Depends...if I have to wear a diaper, might as well be the real deal.
Ok, I think we are all clear on where I stand on Maxi Pads and full coverage underwear. BUT, I was officially prepared for the arrival of Baby R (or so I think, there might be a follow up after delivery to tell you otherwise).
Moving on...yesterday marked the beginning of my weekly visits to my OB to keep tabs on Baby R's pending arrival. This also means hearing the words "just undress from the waist down" every time. You get the idea, right? If not, ask Google. Exam #1 went well. Baby R is showing no signs of making an arrival, has a great heart rate (150s), and is measuring right on schedule.
So, off I went in pregnant happy land enjoying feeling Baby R kick and knowing that everything was still going just right in his little world.
I arrived at the dentist (remember the nesting list?) for my cleaning after a 45 minute drive from the city and, of course, had to pee before being sat in a chair for an hour. To my horror, I was bleeding. And not just a spot or two. I went back to the lobby and shared way too much with the receptionist and anyone within ear shot and high tailed it back to my car. I imagine I looked slightly like someone who just saw a ghost and was fleeing the scene of a crime.
I immediately called the doctor's office and learned Dr. G had left for the day to go into a surgery. Awesome. So I frantically called their other office, left a slightly hysterical message and then called Scott. So far, I was pretty even keel.
I got a call back from the nurse telling me she was going to call Dr. G and try to reach her before she went into surgery just to get her opinion...ALLELUIA. I wanted to hug this woman through the phone. Then, I lost it. I called Scott back and just started bawling. It was in that minute that I truly realized I would do absolutely anything to keep this little guy safe. I wasn't sure what the answer was at that moment and that was the worst feeling. Do I head for the ER, drive home and wait, pull over and wait?!?! All I knew is that I wanted to know what was going on and how to make sure my baby was perfect.
Thankfully, I got a call back from the doctor and she told me that this was a normal side effect of the exam and that I just needed to take it easy the rest of the day and monitor the situation (um, would have been good to know before leaving the office). While this brought immediate relief knowing that Baby R was likely not in harm's way, I was still a bit on edge with the "just wait it out" mentality. I am the kind of person who likes answers and definites...wait and see is hard for me (reason #1 awaiting labor is already a challenge). But, I did as I was told.
I came home, pulled the granny panties out of the hospital bag and retreated to the couch in my robe. I was pretty much a hot mess when Scott came in the door from work. He deserves HUGE credit for keeping me calm and being an amazing husband through my whole (ok, it was seriously 15 minutes) ordeal. We knew that it was just a sit and wait situation before he even made it home but he still came and sat with me and let me have one more cry on his shoulder. While I didn't need him there as I was ok, I needed him there and he knew that and was there. He is perfect...just like Baby R.
In the end, I haven't made any emergency trips to the ER, actually had a good night's sleep and intend to do some more relaxing today. Relaxing is not something I am good at (I ended up doing laundry last night...I just can't help myself) but I am going to begrudgingly skip Bar Method again today (let's be honest, I would be scared to death the entire class anyway) and simply run a few errands and take care of my little man.
While I love my doctor visits and hearing how Baby R is doing, I can honestly say I am not looking forward to more exams if this is the outcome. I will now know what to expect but I sure am going to be armed with 5,000 questions at my next visit to learn EXACTLY what is going on and how I should respond.
I just realized Bar Method today would result in the aforementioned underwear lines through pants...that is reason enough to stay home. I am not really sure why this is such a problem for me...
All of this post is pretty much just a way to chronicle my pregnancy. So far, we have just been lucky that it has been kicks under the ribs and meat aversions to talk about. I'm sure you can hardly wait for my birth story. At least there will be pictures (don't worry, all G rated).
Yesterday, I am pretty sure I officially became a mom based on three things:
- I wore granny panties
- I donned the maxi pad once again
- I felt the complete and utter fear that came with not knowing what might be wrong with my little guy and knew that I would do anything to keep him safe and make it all ok.
I will leave you with that. I have some daytime TV to watch.
