Some Good News, For A Refreshing Change

My doctor's appointment went very well today, extremely well, one might even say. My blood pressure is down. Not as low as we would all prefer it to be, but down where neither my nor the baby's health is currently in jeopardy. And after a few quiet minutes on my left side (where blood flow is the best), it was even down as low as we all would wish it to be. Unfortunately, I physically can't lie on my left side all the time (how ever would I type??), but it is so nice to see that the bed rest is working.

They gave us another fetal non-stress test as well today, and Segunda looks lovely, a happy baby, according to the doctor. I always like the Hi-C they give me to drink when the test starts, both because I like it (I know it is 90% sugar water but I have a sweet tooth. Sue me), and because the sugar really gets Segunda moving. It's always nice and reassuring to feel her moving around.

Digression: last night I woke in the early morning hours convinced that I hadn't felt her moving for hours, even into the previous evening and afternoon. Now I didn't have those thoughts actually during the evening or afternoon, only in the middle of the night, so I'm pretty sure I felt her moving during the day yesterday, but it was so hard to shake my anxiety in a dark and quiet house. I tried to poke her to get her moving (there are places in my belly where her body parts are readily apparent to the touch), but that didn't work. I started nearly hyperventilating, imagining going to the doctor and listening to the ultrasound technician say, "I'm so sorry. There's no heartbeat." I wondered if I should drive myself to the emergency room, working myself up by searching "decreased fetal movement" on WebMD and Babycenter.com. I didn't want to wake Bruce, because in some small part of my mind I knew I was not being entirely rational, but I was getting more and more freaked out. Still, remembering how quickly she responded to the sugary drink at the doctor's, I decided to have some apple juice and call the doctor first thing in the morning.

The apple juice, of course, did the trick, reminding Segunda that her job is to kick me often so I don't freak out like that. I eventually went back to bed, resolved not to call the doctor in the morning, since I was seeing them this afternoon, and woke up, fuzzy headed and sleepy, 2 and a half hours later to Caetlin yelling for me and singing the ABC song.

Anyway, there was also no protein in my urine again, which, in concert with the blood work, suggests that I still have not developed pre-eclampsia, and that the protein in Monday's results was an outlier for whatever reason. My reflexes are still okay, though I have some swelling in my hands and feet, and I don't have the headaches, dizziness, or abdominal pain that characterizes pre-eclampsia.

So, it was a great day at the doctor's office. I go back again on Tuesday, and then again either Thursday or Friday, at which point they will check my cervix for changes showing that my body is prepping to have the baby. I suspect my doctor will induce me on March 2, if there hasn't been any reason to induce sooner than that; he is on call that day, and then isn't on call again until like March 13, and he's already said they won't be letting me go longer than my due date. I would frankly be thrilled if I make it until March 2, so I start the official countdown now: 18 days and counting.

In a random Segunda observation, it is strange and wonderful to see her practice breathing through my stomach. The top center of my belly is where the layers are the thinnest, the abdominal muscles the most stretched, and there appears to be no placenta up there either. Occasionally, if she is turned right, I can see- but not really feel- that part of my belly moving up and down, rhythmically, quickly. It's not my heartbeat, and it's not something so crude as a limb moving around. This is more delicate, and far more regular. She's been practicing breathing for at least 5 weeks or so, as we saw on the last ultrasound, so it's not a surprise, but so odd and encouraging to see it from the outside.

Caetlin continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and has really gotten into music and singing and dancing lately. She has quite a repertoire for a 2.5 year old, and she picks up songs so quickly. She sings the ABC song (a current favorite), the clean up song ("Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere, clean up, clean up"), "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and in a last minute addition from Mommy, the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" (what? she has an actual yellow submarine bath toy). She also sings bits of some of the songs from the TV shows we watch with her. And she dances all the time. If there is any music anywhere in the vicinity that catches her fancy, she dances, sometimes saying, "I dancing, Mommy," to be sure I am watching.

She is my joyful spirit, my dancer girl. She reminds me why all the annoying bed rest, all the discomfort (my pelvis is killing me), the heartburn, everything related to Segunda, is going to be worth it. She reminds me to actually dwell on all the good news we received today, rather than thinking about all the cruddy circumstances we've been facing lately.