I had my glucose screening this morning. That meant I had to to fast (i.e. not eat or drink anything this morning before the appt). So of course I showed up at 6:45 am STARVING. Luckily, I was able to get the sugary drink quickly (did I mention I was really, really hungry??). I drank that sucker down and felt so much better with some "sugar energy." Unfortunately, my sugar high lasted only about 40 minutes. At 7:45 I started getting very light-headed..similar to this experience, and thought I'd either pass out or throw up. I went to the back of the lab to lie down, which made me feel better for the remaining 20 minutes. I was so determined to not throw up because I knew that would void the test! They were able to get the blood, and the nice lab tech sent me home with a few crackers so I didn't crash my car. Phew! Another bullet dodged.
Looking back at that experience, it doesn't surprise me much. I have always had issues with low blood sugar levels (M calls it the "Low Blood Sugar Monster"), and benefit from smaller, more frequent meals to keep my blood levels even. Even pre-pregnancy I needed to eat breakfast AS SOON AS I got up in the morning. The lab people told me it's not that uncommon for preggers to experience it. Has anyone else had this happen to them??
I will be surprised and dismayed if I flunk that test! I don't think I'd survive the 3-hour torture!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Hospital Stay
24w3d
Well.
We've had an eventful few days.
On Friday at school I took the class out for PE. They picked soccer that day, and really didn't think too much of it. About 10 minutes into the game, as I had turned my head to yell at the girls who thought PE was social time, I took a soccer ball to the uterus. Hard, fast, and painful.
Freaking out commenced.
I called my doctor and he told me to come to Labor and Delivery to be checked out. I was scared to begin with, but once I heard this, I was REALLY concerned. Most especially because I wasn't feeling Elfie move. My MIL met me halfway to the hospital and drove the rest of the way...I was so glad to have her with me!
We got there and checked in, and they set me up in a room, had me put a gown on, and strapped a heartbeat monitor and contraction monitor around my belly. It was such a relief to hear my little guy's strong little heart pounding away, I started crying!! My doctor (whom I saw briefly as he was between deliveries) told me they were going to monitor be and baby for a few hours. Soon after, they took me down to get an ultrasound. Apparently, the u/s tech was looking for any placental abruption or tears that could cause baby to lose blood. M showed up in time to see the ultrasound.
The ultrasound looked really good, with no abnormalities. Elfie was moving around a lot, and he was SO BIG! I couldn't believe how much he'd grown in 5 weeks! It was such an emotional sight for me, I was just mesmerized by my son's body and movement.
M and I thought that since things seemed to look good that we'd be heading home. I was STARVING, and wanted to get the heck out of there. My doctor came in and informed us that we just had one more thing to do before they could release us. They were going to take blood to check for any fetal cells in my blood. M and I were pretty confident everything would be okay, but this meant more waiting around...
..and then we got the results of the bloodwork. They found Elfie's cells in my blood. This, as it was explained to us, was most likely a result of the abdominal trauma, since it's not a common thing to see at this gestational age. They told us they were going to keep me overnight for monitoring, and that I would see a perinatologist in the morning for a detailed u/s of Elfie's brain and blood flow.
This is where I lost it.
First, imagine a hungry, tired, hormonal pregnant woman. Then, add on top of that the possibility that there's something wrong with the baby it took her almost two years and $10,000 to conceive. Next, take her husband away from her for a night. The result is almost always going to be less that beautiful. Downright ugly, in fact. I was SO NOT happy at this point.
I think pretty much the only thing that kept me sane was hearing and seeing Elfie's hb staying strong, not to mention the hard swift kicks he was giving me. It was a long, long night...(remember, I was in the LABOR and DELIVERY ward?)...as I was kept awake by nurses talking loudly outside my room and ladies LABORING (screaming, crying, grunting), and the resulting wail of newborns taking their first breaths. Under any other circumstances, I'm sure I would have been so excited to see and hear such thing staking place. However, I felt that it was way too close to home. I was NOT supposed to be there! I wanted to get myself and Elfie back home so he could bake another 3 months!!!!
Unfortunately, I slept a total of about 4 hours that night. I thought the perinatologist would be showing up in the morning and then we'd be outta there! Anyone who has ever stayed in a hospital knows that this is not how things work. EVERYTHING is longer and slower than you'd like. They definitely weren't operating on "Katie time." The doctor didn't show up until 1:30 p.m. Talk about a long, excruciating wait.
SO...the ultrasound with the new doc was simply fascinating. He was there, basically, to measure Elfie's bloodflow to determine if he was anemic (had a low blood count), which would indicate that he was losing blood. He did this by targeting very specific arteries and measuring the volume and directionality of blood. He spent a long time looking at each chamber of the heart and then he isolated an artery in Elfie's brain. M and I were just speechless watching him take his measurements.
After all was said and done, the perinatologist determined that everything looked good with Elfie. He wasn't able to detect any abnormalities in the placenta, no hematomas, or anything else that would concern him. We were so relieved, and I WAS SO READY TO GET HOME! He sent us home with orders to monitor Elfie's movement. He told us that if we pay close attention in the morning and at night that we should be able to get at least 5 kicks in an hour. Apparently, he doesn't know out little boy because I get 10 kicks in a 10 minute period! But of course, I will be more mindful of counting his movements.
So..I guess for now we have avoided disaster. I have a soccerball-sized bruise smack dab in the middle of my belly, but that's small potatoes knowing that it could have been so much worse. I am an extremely grateful lady right now, and will definitely be staying OFF of the soccer field!
Well.
We've had an eventful few days.
On Friday at school I took the class out for PE. They picked soccer that day, and really didn't think too much of it. About 10 minutes into the game, as I had turned my head to yell at the girls who thought PE was social time, I took a soccer ball to the uterus. Hard, fast, and painful.
Freaking out commenced.
I called my doctor and he told me to come to Labor and Delivery to be checked out. I was scared to begin with, but once I heard this, I was REALLY concerned. Most especially because I wasn't feeling Elfie move. My MIL met me halfway to the hospital and drove the rest of the way...I was so glad to have her with me!
We got there and checked in, and they set me up in a room, had me put a gown on, and strapped a heartbeat monitor and contraction monitor around my belly. It was such a relief to hear my little guy's strong little heart pounding away, I started crying!! My doctor (whom I saw briefly as he was between deliveries) told me they were going to monitor be and baby for a few hours. Soon after, they took me down to get an ultrasound. Apparently, the u/s tech was looking for any placental abruption or tears that could cause baby to lose blood. M showed up in time to see the ultrasound.
The ultrasound looked really good, with no abnormalities. Elfie was moving around a lot, and he was SO BIG! I couldn't believe how much he'd grown in 5 weeks! It was such an emotional sight for me, I was just mesmerized by my son's body and movement.
M and I thought that since things seemed to look good that we'd be heading home. I was STARVING, and wanted to get the heck out of there. My doctor came in and informed us that we just had one more thing to do before they could release us. They were going to take blood to check for any fetal cells in my blood. M and I were pretty confident everything would be okay, but this meant more waiting around...
..and then we got the results of the bloodwork. They found Elfie's cells in my blood. This, as it was explained to us, was most likely a result of the abdominal trauma, since it's not a common thing to see at this gestational age. They told us they were going to keep me overnight for monitoring, and that I would see a perinatologist in the morning for a detailed u/s of Elfie's brain and blood flow.
This is where I lost it.
First, imagine a hungry, tired, hormonal pregnant woman. Then, add on top of that the possibility that there's something wrong with the baby it took her almost two years and $10,000 to conceive. Next, take her husband away from her for a night. The result is almost always going to be less that beautiful. Downright ugly, in fact. I was SO NOT happy at this point.
I think pretty much the only thing that kept me sane was hearing and seeing Elfie's hb staying strong, not to mention the hard swift kicks he was giving me. It was a long, long night...(remember, I was in the LABOR and DELIVERY ward?)...as I was kept awake by nurses talking loudly outside my room and ladies LABORING (screaming, crying, grunting), and the resulting wail of newborns taking their first breaths. Under any other circumstances, I'm sure I would have been so excited to see and hear such thing staking place. However, I felt that it was way too close to home. I was NOT supposed to be there! I wanted to get myself and Elfie back home so he could bake another 3 months!!!!
Unfortunately, I slept a total of about 4 hours that night. I thought the perinatologist would be showing up in the morning and then we'd be outta there! Anyone who has ever stayed in a hospital knows that this is not how things work. EVERYTHING is longer and slower than you'd like. They definitely weren't operating on "Katie time." The doctor didn't show up until 1:30 p.m. Talk about a long, excruciating wait.
SO...the ultrasound with the new doc was simply fascinating. He was there, basically, to measure Elfie's bloodflow to determine if he was anemic (had a low blood count), which would indicate that he was losing blood. He did this by targeting very specific arteries and measuring the volume and directionality of blood. He spent a long time looking at each chamber of the heart and then he isolated an artery in Elfie's brain. M and I were just speechless watching him take his measurements.
After all was said and done, the perinatologist determined that everything looked good with Elfie. He wasn't able to detect any abnormalities in the placenta, no hematomas, or anything else that would concern him. We were so relieved, and I WAS SO READY TO GET HOME! He sent us home with orders to monitor Elfie's movement. He told us that if we pay close attention in the morning and at night that we should be able to get at least 5 kicks in an hour. Apparently, he doesn't know out little boy because I get 10 kicks in a 10 minute period! But of course, I will be more mindful of counting his movements.
So..I guess for now we have avoided disaster. I have a soccerball-sized bruise smack dab in the middle of my belly, but that's small potatoes knowing that it could have been so much worse. I am an extremely grateful lady right now, and will definitely be staying OFF of the soccer field!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Cheer up, Charlie!
23 weeks!
Just checking in to report that Elfie and I are just plugging along, growing bigger every day and experiencing some of the not-so-joys of pregnancy! Lately, I have had quite a bit of pain and pressure in my lower abdomen, mainly triggered by walking long distances. Unfortunately, the longest distance my body seems to be okay with is to the park down the street from our house. In my book, this is just not nearly enough exercise. Oh yes, and the back pain and heartburn? They're still hanging around too! I don't worry about it too much since most of my pain is relieved the minute I sit down and relax, but will definitely be bringing it up to Dr. D at my appointment on Monday. I'm guessing it is just par for the course, and most likely ligament stretching...Has anyone else experienced this or something similar?
The nursery is coming along steadily. We are going to start our furniture shopping soon, and then it will really start to come together (!). Charlie (our canine "baby") has been moping around the house since I've become increasingly less mobile...but last Friday I found one way to cheer him up:
He loves to feel Elfie kicking away at my belly button! This is in the nursery..as you can see, I decided to get crafty with some canvasses, paint, and stencils. Funny that I have those done, but still need the majority of my furniture!!!
Just checking in to report that Elfie and I are just plugging along, growing bigger every day and experiencing some of the not-so-joys of pregnancy! Lately, I have had quite a bit of pain and pressure in my lower abdomen, mainly triggered by walking long distances. Unfortunately, the longest distance my body seems to be okay with is to the park down the street from our house. In my book, this is just not nearly enough exercise. Oh yes, and the back pain and heartburn? They're still hanging around too! I don't worry about it too much since most of my pain is relieved the minute I sit down and relax, but will definitely be bringing it up to Dr. D at my appointment on Monday. I'm guessing it is just par for the course, and most likely ligament stretching...Has anyone else experienced this or something similar?
The nursery is coming along steadily. We are going to start our furniture shopping soon, and then it will really start to come together (!). Charlie (our canine "baby") has been moping around the house since I've become increasingly less mobile...but last Friday I found one way to cheer him up:
He loves to feel Elfie kicking away at my belly button! This is in the nursery..as you can see, I decided to get crafty with some canvasses, paint, and stencils. Funny that I have those done, but still need the majority of my furniture!!!
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