I love Fridays for a lot of reasons. First off, I only work half-days, which is sweet. I'm done by 11am and I love it. Secondly, Husband has the day free so we always spend the afternoons together. It's special because we go shopping and go out to lunch and just do fun things that we don't really get to do during the week.
Today was especially great because we had an ultrasound scheduled. I love seeing our baby. I invited my friend Nicole to the ultrasound. I originally invited her because we thought Husband was going to be out of town. Turned out he didn't have to go anywhere, but I still wanted Nicole to come along because I don't get to see her as much as I would like. The three of us met for lunch around noon. We discussed pregnancy and how it's synonymous with being an old person. Actually, Nicole and I discussed it while Husband sat and ate his sandwich. It started because I was complaining about my swollen feet. Nicole suggested I buy those support stockings and I said I didn't want to because that's for old people. Turns out, a lot of things apply to pregnancy that also apply to being old. Here are a few similarities.
- Swollen feet
- Back pain
- Incontinence
- Constipation
- Poor posture
- Slow to move
- Fatigue
- Poor immune system
- Irritability
- Forgetfulness/memory loss
- Dental problems
- High/low blood pressure
- Shortness of breath
- Naps and early bedtime
- Insomnia
I don't think I need to go on. No wonder nobody likes getting old.
After that, we decided to go kill some time and Nicole asked if there was anywhere neat we could go. Since it's unseasonably cold, going for a walk or doing something outside was out of the question. I suggested we go to Whippersnapper's, this cute children's boutique downtown. She had never heard of it. I'm so glad we went! They have the cutest things for babies and toddlers (clothes, accessories, and other infant-care things like blankets and bottles). It's a bit pricey but you can find some really great things and it's all really unique. A lot of it is handmade locally as well.
I found this sweet diaper bag. These diaper bags are handmade by a lady here in town and go for $99.00. They had it on sale for $50 though, which was great. I don't think I'd spend $100 on a diaper bag unless it was a Coach bag, and even then I'd feel weird because I'd be stuffing it with dirty diapers. But I'd spend $50 on a nice bag. This bag rules. It's made from good cotton/canvas, has a ton of pockets for everything, and even comes with a wetbag and a good sized changing pad. I'm so thrilled.
I really liked it and showed it to Husband, and didn't expect him to want to spend the money on it.
But.... he did. He was very quick to do it too. I asked him if we could afford it and he said, "It's fine, we can transfer money from savings if we have to. Let's get the green one." So okay, he went and paid for it. Come to find out the real reason he wanted to get it was out of guilt. He had just taken a massive explosive dump in the fancy boutique's tiny bathroom and the smell was filling the shop quickly. Nobody would look at each other in the store. Pretty sure everyone knew it was him since he was the only guy in there. After we left, he said he wanted to spend some money in there because he felt so bad for stinking up the place.
Amazing. I should take him shopping with me more often because then I can get more stuff.
After that we went to The Chocolate Lounge to eat some truffles and waste some more time before my ultrasound. Kind of sounds gross now that I think about it, eating chocolate right after the issue with my husband taking a huge dump and stinking up a store. It was pretty good though.
Then, the ultrasound. I'll post pictures later on because they are hilarious. At one point, Sofie frowned, and then it looked like she started screaming. I shouldn't laugh because I feel bad that she might have been crying... but it looked so funny!! We couldn't stop laughing. And I can honestly say that Nicole is the only friend of mine who has now seen the inside of my body. She joked about seeing my placenta, cervix, and my vagina in real time on the ultrasound. Then said something about how it was a great bonding experience. Again, could not stop laughing! Also, based on the pictures, Sofie totally has my nose! :)
I was kind of nervous about the other part of the appointment because I was worried that my blood pressure was going to be on the high end like it has been. I was also worried that my placenta hadn't moved and that they would tell me I'd have to plan for a c-section. I was also worried that they were going to tell me that Sofie was a gigantic monster and that I was at risk for gestational diabetes. I was worried about this because I measured 4 weeks ahead at my last appointment.
Well, none of those things happened.
- Sofie is right on track for how far along she is as far as her growth. It is possible that my uterus may have been measuring large, but she is right on track.
- My placenta has migrated up to where it needs to be. 90% of women with a low-lying placenta see it migrate later on in pregnancy.
- My blood pressure was 120/60. It has been on the high end because I had been sick for over a month. I'm not sick anymore, and I've been drinking soy milk every day to help lower my blood pressure, which has obviously paid off. Research soy milk and lower blood pressure and you will see that it works. Husband had hypertension for a while. After having him drink a glass of soy milk every day for a couple of weeks, his blood pressure returned to normal range.
Additionally, my feet have begun to swell. I noticed my unsightly "cankles" last night as I was getting ready for bed and I burst into tears. Husband propped my feet up and rubbed them, which kind of hurt, but this morning they looked normal. They are swollen yet again, and I think this is going to be a regular occurrence while I'm out and about. I asked the doctor if this was normal. He took one look at my ugly swollen feet and said, "Yes, that is normal and it is fine." I asked if I should have Husband rub them. He then gave him a verbal prescription that he must rub my feet 6 times per day.
If I ever have to switch from a midwife to a doctor for whatever reason, I am going to pick this particular doctor.
Drinking water helps. The more you drink, the less you retain, which seems weird, but I'll just have to keep doing that. And peeing all the time.
All in all, it was a nice afternoon. I'm happy. :)
