Free, I am free at last!

So I saw my primary midwife today(@the office), for the first time since July(she has been on vacation), my secondary has been doing all the home visits.

She has sprung me from bedrest

My BP is still down and she said as long as I take it easy and listen to my body and rest when I need to I am free to do as I please.

I am so excited I am going out right now.
Gonna go buy some fish for my fish tank, and wander around the book store, maybe even go visit some friends. I am just so excited I don't even know what to do. I have a brand new Jeep in my driveway that I haven't got to drive in weeks, I can't wait

OH btw, the baby is doing great, my midwife thinks that I am having a boy, we will see, Due Date is tomorrow, I am thinking Saturday is a good day Time will tell.

The perfect "Congrats U had a Baby" present...

If someone wanted to make this and deliver it to my house after the baby is born, or before for that matter I would be in debt to them for life.

Hospital Visit The Season Finale...

Bottom line my BP was 124/71 :) The lowest so far since I have been on bedrest.
Now that was after 2+ hours of monitoring because when they took it the first time it was through the roof (154/95), funny how I told the nurse that it was gonna be, Why? Well hospitals suck of course.

I arrive for my appointment as per the prescheduled time from last Thursday and guess what,
No one had any idea why I was there!
I spent the first 30 minutes raising my blood pressure trying to repeatedly explain myself to 3 different nurses why I was there and what was to be done. Well since they didn't believe me they called my midwife who explained exactly what I said and then the process got rolling.

They plugged me in ( baby looked awesome by the way), took my blood again( I look like a junkie at this point) and made me pee in the cup. All was normal, except for the blood work because after 2.5 hours we are still waiting for the damn results.

So when the nurse came in to tell me that the Dr.(aka the boss) said that I did not need an ultrasound unless the blood results came back abnormal( keep in mind we have been waiting almost 2 hours for the bloodwork at this point), I looked at her and said " I want to see the doctor!"

The nurse complained that she was not paid enough to take this kind of flack, blah blah blah, I stopped listening, and that she would see if she could track down the Dr.(aka the boss).

I tried to explain to the nurse how un-nerving it was for me to be taking advice from a person that I have never met, and was very irritated that I had to be brought back to the same place that raises my BP and be told what to do by nurses and non doctors when this person that is giving all the orders has never laid eyes on me. Needless to say, I got my way.

I finally met the Dr.(aka the boss) and she was very nice. She apologized for the performance of her resident on Thursday in regard to the internal exam, and agreed to release me back into midwifery care without any concern. She figures that my BP is a 'whitecoat issue', which I agree with, but as long as I am being monitored by my midwife she has agreed to take a conservative back seat. She said that the only reason for me to come back to the hospital is to deliver, unless I go farther than 41.5 weeks then she will be inducing me. This I understand, since research shows that after 41 weeks the placenta starts to not work as effectively and increases the chance of stillborn, which I don't want at all.

So the experience ended on a positive note, in the fact that I don't have to deal with them anymore....phew. I just wish that once I could have a positive experience at the hospital. I do have to say though, even though the nurses were inept today they were very nice, they all offered me food and drink and tried to make the experience as pleasant as possible.

3 days till my due date... Come on baby lets get the show on the road!

L8R

Carrot Cake....

So we went to William's for carrot cake, placed the order sat down and then boom there is our server, "I am so sorry we are all out of carrot cake :( " She even frowned, since she had complimented me on my excellent choice of desserts and I had mentioned to her that I had been craving it for 2 days. Thank you for your sympathetic frown. I substituted the carrot cake for Caramel Crunch Cake... very tasty fulfilled 70% of the craving, since most of it was for the icing, but alas it was not carrot cake.

On a happy note, my BP was down today, 134/78 :)

Chris and I went out and about today so I think that was why, not that I did a whole lot but I think getting out of the house helped a bit.

That is all for now.

Ok I get it... My BP is up...

Hello my name is Leanne and I am a stubborn Taurus.
Yes I must have things happen a million times before I get it.
My midwife just left and my BP is still borderline.
140/88 was today's reading.

We talked about induction and how pain meds and such and she figures that I will end up going on my own. That makes me feel better.

I really took it easy today too, have done absolutely nothing other than shower and make food, plus 8 million trips to the potty, and it was still up.
I just want this baby to come out so that I can go back to being normal. Or as normal as I have ever been.

We talked about the ultrasound on Monday and she said that it is a good idea just to be safe, and it is rare that a midwife will encourage an additional ultrasound, so I will heed her advice.

I am getting sad, being in the house is driving me nuts, because I was feeling cruddy today I did not go for the walk that I wanted and did not get fishies. I am however going out for dinner tomorrow, I even told my midwife that I was... she smiled and said "well then I will try and come before you go".

I would really like Celeste to deliver my baby, we talked about that too and she reassured me that Lisa is a great midwife... I think I am just more comfortable with Celeste because I have seen her everyday for a week and a half now.

Oh and get this the Dr.(aka the boss) never got in touch with my midwife today, surprised? Not in the slightest. But the nurse who was attending to me yesterday was kind enough to call her while I was at the hospital to ask my previous BP readings, after I had offered her my chart!

Again my opinion on hospitals and western medicine becomes more solid every day!

Well that is all tonight.
Alas one day soon I will no longer be pregnant, and I will finally be a Mom.

P.S. I would love a piece of Carrot Cake right now.... mmmmm carrot cake :)

Hospital Visit Part Deux, or Duh depending on your take...

So I have seen my midwife everyday this week, so that she can check me out.
Well I have been on bedrest all week and have basically done nothing other than become addicted to playing The Playboy Mansion on X-Box. I gotta say, being Heff is pretty damn cool, I have never seen so many over inflated boobies in my entire life...lol

Anyway back to the bedrest, so my BP has been down all week, and there has been no signs of protein in my urine(a sign of bad things when you are pregnant), the baby has been moving lots and his/her heartbeat has been excellent. My midwife was so impressed that she just shrugged her shoulders in confusion as to why my BP was up. I told her that it was the fact that I have had company for the past week and that it stresses me out. Don't get me wrong, I love company, when they are invited, not when they show up on their own agenda and stay for a week.

So my numbers for this week were this...
Monday @ home 156/94, 140/92... this lead to the hospital visit
Monday @ hospital 140/86, 135/84, 136/85 this lead to go home and rest come back Thursday have your blood done again. Meanwhile urine and BP monitored by your midwife all week.
Tuesday @ home 130/80
Wednesday @ home 138/84
Today I go to the hospital and boom up it goes 146/91, 133/92.

So they draw blood make me pee in a cup and tell me to sit and chill while I am plugged in to the machine that knows more than me(no I am not bitter).

So as I am sitting there, by myself, freaking out, cuz that is what I do when I am in a hospital, the resident, of course no doctor again, comes in and tells me that her boss thinks that I should be induced and that she needs to check my cervix. Well pardon me for being offended. I love how someone can make a judgment call like that without ever meeting me.
So I proceed to ask her, "How was my blood and urine?"
Her response "Normal!"
So I say, "You want to induce me because my BP is a up a bit because I am stressed out by being in the hospital?, or you want to induce me because it is the best thing for the baby?"
her response "The baby looks fine and we are just concerned that it might(yes I repeat she used the might word) get worse."
So I told her "Over my dead body are you inducing me unless it is necessary for the baby's health!"
She got annoyed with me,(well boo hoo, sorry that I didn't make your job easy), and then tells me that I have to come back Monday for more bloodwork and observation and an ultrasound and that I am still on bedrest. At this point I asked her to release me back into midwifery care and she said that I had never left it, I told her that my midwife was under the impression that I was now an obstetrical patient and that I needed to be released back into her care. I asked if the Dr.(aka her boss) would call the midwife and clear this up, her response... "I will tell her". Not a yes or no, another might or maybe in my books.
So as I proceed to get up she tells me that she can't let me leave until she checks me. Ummm Pardon me? You mean that you can't let me out of here until you dawn the glove and do your thing?
Ummm screw you comes to mind!
So even though there was no need to do it, and I felt violated because I was given no choice, I proceed to let her do her thing.
With a puzzled look on her face she announces "Well you are not dilated, I don't think that we need to induce you."
Chalk one up for the mom to be about being right about the body that she has lived in for 30 years. I mean come on, with dilation comes pain, aka contractions(not always but more common then not in first time moms), and I think that I would be aware of them if I were having them.
See this is why I hate hospitals and western medicine in general.
So I called my midwife when I got home, she was as annoyed and confused as I was, and she will take it up with the Dr.(aka the boss) tomorrow.
It is a wonder why I never go to the hospital, or the doctor for that matter.
My blood pressure can't handle western medicine.
So AMA(against medical advice) I am going for a walk tomorrow, gonna go buy some new fish for the tank and Saturday Chris is taking me to Bertoldi's for dinner to celebrate our last weekend before parenthood sets in.
Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to do any harm to me or the baby, but being a type A Taurus, I am driving myself crazy in the house.
I will keep you all posted on the progress.
You know because we have reservations on Saturday that I will go into labour, Murphy's law!
L8R all.

Hospital Visit Today...

Well it confirms it, I hate hospitals, still, even if it is "different" in labour and delivery. Please tell me why it is that when you go to a hospital they feel it necessary to treat you like a robot and plug you into everything that they can. Last time I checked I did not run on a circuit board, nor do I require a boost. Arrrgh!

Anyway, may day panned out as me feeling really crappy when I woke up so I called my midwife and she came over and took my BP and checked the baby and such. Everything was OK except my BP 156/94 and 140/92, so she sent me off to the hospital for observation and blood work. Well as soon as I got to the hospital they plugged me in and drew blood. My BP had come back down, 140/86 and remained that or lower for the next 2 checks. After being there for upwards of 3 hours I got to see a resident(no not a real doctor, and resident!) She was nice, but either way she was not a doctor and that kinda chaps my but since not only did I get to see 1 resident I got to see 2! In my books 2 residents does not equal a doctor. It is not like beer where 2 half bottles make a full glass. But either way she/they explained to me my blood test results(which my really nice nurse had already done.... ummmm thanks for the refresh!) So as it stood my platelets were down a bit and one of my renal function reading were up a bit. Both readings were borderline but the residents were still concerned enough to want to clear it with their "boss"(as she put it, aka a full fledge bonafied doctor)before sending me home.
So I got released and they sent me home with a list of instructions for reasons to return. The funny part is, that the "list" is exactly what my midwife has been telling me, and was the reason she sent me in the first place.
Arrrrgh hospitals piss me off.
So for the recap, I am at home, on bedrest, and not being induced today. I go back to the hospital for more bloodwork on Thursday and we will see then.

3 things I am wishing/hoping for... if someone else wants to pray for them go right ahead if that is your thing... I am not a big prayer.

1. To not be induced!
2. To be able to labour at home, I hate the thought of having to be plugged in when I am trying to deal with an excruciating amount of pain without painkillers.
3. That my levels and readings permit me to have the above 2.

Thanks for listening all.
L

Update on BP

Well the news is not good. I am still on full bedrest and my midwife made it clear that I am not to leave the house, even for her appts, I don't think she understands that I will find more to do in the house than I would if I left the house.

My BP yesterday was 155/88, when I saw her the very first time my BP was 118/70, so as you can see it has gone up a lot, hence her distress and concern.

If the bottom # goes up by 2 more then I get admitted.

I am scared shittless to say the least. Scared to the point that I can't sleep.

The more I think and write about it the more scared that I get. Can't blog right now, gonna go play mindless Xbox.

Bedrest

Just a little update for y'all.

My midwife has put me on Bedrest until the end of my pregnancy. My Blood pressure is elevated and she is afraid of possible Pre Eclampsia so she has confined me to the house, no activity other than trips to the bathroom or making food. I see her again tomorrow here at the house to see if the restricted activity has helped bring down my BP. The baby is doing fine from the last exam so she wants to err on the side of caution.

Needless to say my life is a little boring at the moment, thank god for X Box!

I will post again soon.

Belly shots... 37 weeks

Mike Shot a few photos for me in Stratford yesterday thought I would share a few with you all.

You can find a bunch more @ my flicker site
or at Mike's flicker site

Enjoy :)

When I sit down....

I can feel my belly on my lap.
Talk about weird!
Aimee says I have dropped, maybe she is right.
Pregnancy is a weird time.
I am officially 37 weeks today... that means full term so I guess it can happen at anytime from this point on.

Oh ya and I can't sleep again... surprise surprise!

Ultimate Fighter Season 2

Ok so for all you MMA fans out there there is a Canadian on this seasons show.
For any of you who know me well you know that I used to train 6 days a week at the gym to get into shape( I lost almost 50 lbs!!), well my old trainer Rob MacDonald is one of the contestants this season. Not only is he a great personal trainer but he is a great guy and a great fighter. Show your support and watch the season! Begins August 22nd at 11:05pm on Spike TV.

Even if I am in labour I am gonna watch it!

GO ROB GO!!!

Papercuts, Glue, Hand Cramps and Elevation

Ah the joys of addressing Thank-You cards.

So since the heat and humidity have not really subsided and the fact that I am swollen up like a beach ball, my life is very much confined to the air conditioned apartment. Believe you me I am not complaining about the fact that I have A/C! Especially since I don't pay the hydro bill, I can't imagine being my landlord though.

As for the heading of this post, it is what I spent my day doing. I spent the better part of the day filling out Thank-You cards for all the beautiful gifts that we got at the baby shower. Papercuts really suck on your tongue, but the advantage to licking all those envelopes is that the glue seals the cut...lol a weird win win situation.

As for the elevation that is for the swelling. I saw my midwife yesterday and in the past 2 weeks I have put on over 6lbs... We both know that it is water retention because I am swelling like mad... I got told to put my feet up as much as I can. My BP is fine and the baby looks good so she is not worried about any other complications to could be indicative from the swelling. She thinks the baby has dropped since I am now measuring 33cm at 36.5 weeks and at 34 weeks I was measuring 34! Either the baby was in a weird position or she/he has dropped. I guess we will know more at the visit next week.

It appears that we may have a new name on the horizon... Chris sprung on me earlier this week that he no longer likes Mackenzie for a boy(he picked it initially so I guess he has the right to change his mind about it). We are tossing around a few names at the moment, Cameron(my choice), Cole(his choice) and some other random ones. The middle name will remain the same, John Thomas, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Anyhoo time for feet up again.

L

Can't sleep, sore wrists, (caution long pregnancy confessional)

So I have been one of the lucky pregnant women to develop pregnancy induced carpal tunnel syndrome.
I have to say I would not wish it upon my worst enemy! It hurts like hell, and yes I mean hell because there is a fire that is burning in the depths of my wrists that cannot be compared to anything other than hell! Not to mention the excruciating pain that radiates to my finger tips and the numbness that accompanies it.

I confess, I am 30 years old and I cannot open a jar of spaghetti sauce without assistance! I wake up in tears in the middle of the night because the thought of having to plant my hands on the beds edge to hoist up my huge belly to make the umteenth trip to the bathroom scares the crap out of me. The impending pain is then inevitable.

I confess I am a whinny pregnant woman.

I feel sorry for my boyfriend and my friends and my family who have had to be subjected to the pregnant me. I apologize in advance if I get worse in the initial post partum period, and I am so sorry to those of you who will be present through out my labour. I hope to one day return to normal and be somewhat sane again.

I confess I am not a nice pregnant woman.

I am appalled by the things that come out of my mouth, I mean I have never been one to use my verbal filter very efficiently (I was always told when I was little "if it's on your mind say it, no sense keeping in bottled up"), but even I am shocked by what comes out of my hormonal mouth. If there is one thing that is for sure, I know that Chris loves me, he must in order to put up with the hell that I have put him through in the past few months. I have never felt so guilty in my life for treating someone I love so much, so poorly. I am sorry, you do not deserve this abuse.

I confess I am a mean pregnant woman.

I wonder how much of it all is nerves?
I mean I am educated about pregnancy, labour and delivery and the initial post partum period. I have armed myself with the knowledge necessary to alleviate any irrational concerns or fears. I am prepared for this baby, we have everything needed for the arrival of this newborn, carseat, diapers, wipes, clothes, linens, hygiene products a place to sleep and of course lots of love. But then what if!

What if... My labour doesn't go as I want (natural no drugs at all with minimal medical intervention).
What if... Chris is at work and can't get home for 4 or 5 hours?
What if... My midwife is on vacation and the backup midwife is doing a delivery?
What if... I need a c-section?
What if, what if, what if?

I have always been extremely prepared for everything I do, blame it on me being a Taurus, or me being totally Type A, or maybe it's because I was a Girl Guide as a kid, but being prepared for every scenario makes me feel comfortable. Call it my bubble. Maybe it is the control freak in me (yes I admit it, I am a control freak... I know... Shocking as that may sound!) Maybe my nerves come from the fact that I have no control over this. No control over when, or where, or how long. No control over who will be there or who will not. No control over anything other than the fact that it is inevitable. I am not scare of it, labour that is, I know it is going to happen, but I am nervous because of all the what ifs.

I guess this makes me human.

Enough confessional for the moment.

We went to the Tillaart Annual Family Reunion at Grenville Park in Prescott this past weekend. The weather was great it was a blast as usual. The highlight this year was the fact that the family threw Chris and I a surprise baby shower. We got spoiled! It was very appreciated but very unnecessary. I would post pictures of the gifts but there was so many that I need a panoramic camera to get them all in. Lets just say asides from the toys and high chair and books and baby trinkets there was a full washer load of clothes, a full load of receiving blankets and a double washer full of blankets. It is safe to say that this child will never be cold. Thank you all, very much.

I would type more but I have lost feeling in my left fingers and the typos are starting to drive me nuts.

Thanks for reading/listening, I feel a bit better.
Night.
L