Coming Back To Life
It’s been a long time since we updated, and I am truly sorry about that. For one thing, I've been too plastered to the couch to write, and the other thing is, the past few weeks have left me slightly superstitious. Things have been on the upswing, but the last time I said we were on the mend we were hit from behind pretty hard; it left me gun shy. However, I know many of you are anxious to hear about how things are going.
*It’s been about 4-5 days since my last really bad kidney stone episode. This is like, the equivalent of a YEAR in Pain Land - it's a huge improvement. I’ve been dealing with some other pretty uncomfortable things, like when the stones/fragments go through my bladder and beyond, but not writhing on the couch is a MAJOR upgrade. Please continue to pray that the worst is over in that regard.
*Our doctor was supportive of inducing early at 38 weeks if the severe pain continued, but in light of the last several days I am hoping that we won’t have to resort to that. I plan on carrying BGB as long as she's happy being in there…of course, I’m sure she is in no rush to get out – she’s clearly built an entire Six Flags theme park by now. At least that’s what it feels like.
*Through all of this we’ve only missed one birthing class – the day we left the hospital. I nearly fell asleep through one class due to exhaustion and medication, but we made it through. We’ve been briefed on newborn care, newborn safety, and next week – our last class – will be about breastfeeding. I’m still sad we missed the tour of the birthing center – the one part I was really looking forward to! ☹
*My body could be a contender for the winner of The Biggest Loser right about now – I have gained 25 pounds and lost 33 in the last 2.5 weeks. My skin is just starting to NOT hurt from being so stretched! I look a little like a basketball on two popsicle sticks. I don’t mind though – I admit I worried that the fluid would never leave my legs and people would have to start calling me Stumpy. The doctor doesn’t like that I’ve lost more than I gained, but feels the baby is fine; she estimates we have a 5-6 pounder in there so far, and that she’s head down. This kid is a trooper! Nothing seems to bother her.
BGB’s added size hasn’t slowed her down any, so now when she flops around it truly looks like the scene from Alien. Reminds me of a line from Steel Magnolias – “Looks like two pigs fightin’ under a blanket!”
*If all systems are still on the mend by Sunday evening, I plan to go back to work on Monday. When I was still feeling poopy, I had asked my job if I could go ahead and go on maternity leave. They said I could have two months unpaid leave, returning October 5th. Now that I’m feeling better, I really don’t want to spend that short time allowed nor our savings when I don’t even have a baby yet! I’m shooting for working another three weeks and then staying home until she comes. If two months after that doesn’t feel long enough to recover and adjust, then I will try to re-negotiate.
*I’ve invited my stepmother Donna to come up and be with us while we are in the hospital. Many people were upset by our last hospital stay (us included!) and felt things might be better if we had an advocate there to go to bat for us. I have decided against a doula (though I do plan to use lactation consultants and possibly a post-partum doula after the birth for pointers), so we decided to ask Donna. She’s pretty good at being in charge, and has lots of experience in being an advocate for others in hospitals. We feel confident that she can handle the nurses and doctors in order to let Jack do his job, which will be being my birthing partner in all this. With her help, we can get through the hospital stay and back home again more smoothly, and Jack can focus on becoming a Daddy instead of worrying about how the staff is handling things.
After we get home, the three of us will take 2-4 weeks to get to know one another as a family. When Jack goes back to work, we’ll be ready and set for visitors, so we hope you’ll let us know when you’d like to come and visit and meet Bob the Builder…I mean, Baby Girl Bilbo (we WILL have a name chosen by then – promise!) If there’s a particular time that works best for you, let us know. We look forward to the added bonus of getting to see you all!
*It’s been about 4-5 days since my last really bad kidney stone episode. This is like, the equivalent of a YEAR in Pain Land - it's a huge improvement. I’ve been dealing with some other pretty uncomfortable things, like when the stones/fragments go through my bladder and beyond, but not writhing on the couch is a MAJOR upgrade. Please continue to pray that the worst is over in that regard.
*Our doctor was supportive of inducing early at 38 weeks if the severe pain continued, but in light of the last several days I am hoping that we won’t have to resort to that. I plan on carrying BGB as long as she's happy being in there…of course, I’m sure she is in no rush to get out – she’s clearly built an entire Six Flags theme park by now. At least that’s what it feels like.
*Through all of this we’ve only missed one birthing class – the day we left the hospital. I nearly fell asleep through one class due to exhaustion and medication, but we made it through. We’ve been briefed on newborn care, newborn safety, and next week – our last class – will be about breastfeeding. I’m still sad we missed the tour of the birthing center – the one part I was really looking forward to! ☹
*My body could be a contender for the winner of The Biggest Loser right about now – I have gained 25 pounds and lost 33 in the last 2.5 weeks. My skin is just starting to NOT hurt from being so stretched! I look a little like a basketball on two popsicle sticks. I don’t mind though – I admit I worried that the fluid would never leave my legs and people would have to start calling me Stumpy. The doctor doesn’t like that I’ve lost more than I gained, but feels the baby is fine; she estimates we have a 5-6 pounder in there so far, and that she’s head down. This kid is a trooper! Nothing seems to bother her.
BGB’s added size hasn’t slowed her down any, so now when she flops around it truly looks like the scene from Alien. Reminds me of a line from Steel Magnolias – “Looks like two pigs fightin’ under a blanket!”
*If all systems are still on the mend by Sunday evening, I plan to go back to work on Monday. When I was still feeling poopy, I had asked my job if I could go ahead and go on maternity leave. They said I could have two months unpaid leave, returning October 5th. Now that I’m feeling better, I really don’t want to spend that short time allowed nor our savings when I don’t even have a baby yet! I’m shooting for working another three weeks and then staying home until she comes. If two months after that doesn’t feel long enough to recover and adjust, then I will try to re-negotiate.
*I’ve invited my stepmother Donna to come up and be with us while we are in the hospital. Many people were upset by our last hospital stay (us included!) and felt things might be better if we had an advocate there to go to bat for us. I have decided against a doula (though I do plan to use lactation consultants and possibly a post-partum doula after the birth for pointers), so we decided to ask Donna. She’s pretty good at being in charge, and has lots of experience in being an advocate for others in hospitals. We feel confident that she can handle the nurses and doctors in order to let Jack do his job, which will be being my birthing partner in all this. With her help, we can get through the hospital stay and back home again more smoothly, and Jack can focus on becoming a Daddy instead of worrying about how the staff is handling things.
After we get home, the three of us will take 2-4 weeks to get to know one another as a family. When Jack goes back to work, we’ll be ready and set for visitors, so we hope you’ll let us know when you’d like to come and visit and meet Bob the Builder…I mean, Baby Girl Bilbo (we WILL have a name chosen by then – promise!) If there’s a particular time that works best for you, let us know. We look forward to the added bonus of getting to see you all!
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