A Lot Has Happened
A lot has happened is actually an understatement! Where do I start…..
Last Monday we had random snow fall and I managed to slip on the sidewalk, going into my school. I did a split, hit my knee, and bounced back up. I thought nothing of it but about 30 min later I felt sharp pains in my lower abdomen and pelvic area. And soon after it hurt to walk, sit, or move. Immediately, I called the OB office and few hours later I was sent to Labor and Delivery to get checked out. Although I found myself in a lot of pain and discomfort, baby girl was living her best life. Everything checked out with monitoring and ultrasound.
Then last Wednesday is when it really got real. I went for my normal 32 week OB appointment. But found out that I had high levels of protein in my urine and blood pressure was high. My OB decided to also draw blood and put a rush on it. By the time I got to my MFM appointment that afternoon, they told me my liver enzymes were high too. As a result the OB and the MFM sent me to Labor and Delivery due to symptoms of pre-eclampsia. What I thought was just some monitoring ended with a week long stay. Initially when I got there the doctors were talking about keeping me for 2 weeks and delivering baby girl at 34 weeks. According to doctors, the only way to deal with pre-eclampsia is to delver. I even had a consult with peri-natal doctor about what might happen delivering that early. So they needed to continue monitoring my vitals, enzymes, and the baby. Needless to say she again was living her best life, kicking up a storm, and escaping the doctors. After a week stay, the doctors reported that my levels were trending down and I could be monitored outpatient. The caveat was I would continue to be monitored with 3x per week appointments and we will induce at 37 weeks.
When i first got to the hospital I was sad, confused, hurt, and feeling like a failure. What did I do to make this happen? And feeling insecure about not being able to keep my baby safe. I ended up crying myself to sleep the first 2 nights. I had to seriously pull on my faith at that point and realize that God has been with me this entire pregnancy and was going to be there now. I was also grateful for my family that checked on me, sent encouraging words, and reminded me I was loved. I am glad to be home from the hospital.
3 WEEK COUNT DOWN!!!!
Getting ready
LATE POST: Couple weeks ago I participated in childbirth classes, hospital tour, and infant care class. According to my mom, these classes have changed some over the years LOL. But basically this was my opportunity to practice breathing techniques, learn all about delivery options, medications, complications, and ultimately help to develop my birthing plan. It was a long virtual class but was helpful in giving important information. I was grateful to take the childbirth class with my mom who will be my support person in the delivery room. Unfortunately the hospital tour was also virtual, so we only got to see pictures of the rooms and spaces where I’ll be.
The infant care class was probably the hardest to sit through because I knew a lot of that information form my experiences working with kids over the years but there was still some valuable information to gather.
I have also officially chosen my child’s pediatrician office. I looked up several offices and consulted with other SMC in the area. I was ultimately looking for a person of color who had variety of office availabilities. There were rave reviews for Dr. Brown at Dr. Klebanow & Associates https://www.klebanowandassociates.com/ . And best of all, the practice has several persons of color to choose from in the event I can’t see Dr. Brown. **Special fact: this is the office that I was also seen at as a child, only by a different doctor**
Its the Village for me
I have to say when I started this journey, I expected there would be times that I would feel lonely or miss not having a partner. And there have definitely been those moments where I felt that.
An Africans proverb that I love is “its takes a village to raise a child.” It shows that when communities are at its best, its a village. A close knit unit that helps, supports, gives feedback, provides structure, brings guidance, and love to all. The African American community has lived off this for so many years. And honestly I grew up this way as well. I have to say that, my village is awesome and has been essential throughout this journey!!!
Let me start from the beginning…. Earlier this week, I found myself in so much pain dealing with what the doctors have determined is sciatica (really sharp pain going from my lower back, down my butt and into my leg). It seems that either baby girl is constantly sitting on that nerve or has irritated it so much its pinched. And when I say pain, I mean pain. I’m talking sliding up/down the wall to get up/downstairs, crawling across the floor to get to the shower, and literally tears rolling down my face with every movement. It got so bad I couldn’t get out of bed Tuesday morning. My doctor had already referred me to Physical Therapy at my last appointment. So their suggestion was take Tylenol, use heating pad, icy hot, restrict activities and be on bed rest until the psychical therapy appointment. Imagine my frustration because that meant I couldn’t go to work and had to figure out how to take care of myself for the next 3 days.
Now enter where my village stepped up. Family and friends calling to check on me to see if I needed anything, offering to go to the store to pick up essentials, and even sending me money to pay for my door dash meal (because I mean who can stand on their feet to cook anything). I also tapped into my online village of other SMC’s who gave great guidance on stretches to try, tricks that helped them with the same issue, and even just offering their love and support. The major part of my village that I am truly thankful for is my mother. Who made the sacrifice to stay with me for a couple days to help around the house and make sure I got fed. I can’t thank her enough because being able to sit brought some relief, even if it was short lived. My village is honestly, one of the main reasons that I knew I wouldn’t be completely alone in this process even if it sometimes felt that way.
Hello 3rd trimester
Well we made it to the 3rd trimester!! It honestly seems like time is flying by while taking its sweet time.
I am excited to officially be 2/3 of the way done but with everything going on, also feel like it’s a lifetime to go. This trimester has brought constant backaches, sciatica issues from my lower back down my leg, and numbness when trying to sleep. It’s also brought on real fear with these covid rates spiking 😬. And certainly last but not least the increased anxiety. I feel like I’m anxious all the time wondering what this pain or that pain means, counting fetal movement, making sure im doing the right thing, and stressing over getting the nursery/my house in order.
It’s honestly not all bad because I find myself excited about feeling my baby girl move more, nesting, seeing my sunflower nursery visions starting to form, receiving some early gifts from ppl, and even starting to plan my baby shower. I do mourn the fact that it has to be virtual and I can’t celebrate with family/friends in person but more interested in keeping everyone safe.
It balances out I guess. One thing is for sure, while I am very grateful for the opportunity to experience pregnancy and bring life into this world, baby girl might be an only child if yall waiting for me to get pregnant again LOL. So I need yall to help me in my search for finding some great cousin friends that she’ll be able to grow up with 🤣.
Just a little scare
Over the weekend, had to make a trip to labor and delivery. Was experiencing stomach cramping and what the office said was low movement count. I had little relief from the stomach cramps after speaking with the on call doctor at the office. Luckily it all was related to something else and not baby girl. I had some mild contractions according to them but it didn’t worry them because I didn’t feel it, monitoring for her checked out with strong heartbeat, as usual lots of moving around when we are with doctors, and cervix check was good.
Good thing is I didn’t have to wait in the ER and my experience was excellent. I got a first hand view of how things will be when its really time for baby girl to enter this world! And that actually brought some relief to the whole ordeal. I am definitely counting down though. 27 weeks down, 13 weeks to go!!!