UBC Motherhood - Pregnancy

Welcome back and happy Independence Day!

I appreciate your still visiting my blog. I know I kind of left you hanging yesterday. Here's how things went down:

My acupuncturist took my pulse. She grabbed my face with both her hands and looked me in the eyes:

"Young Lady, is there anything you'd like to tell me???"

She had noticed. Plus she told me it was a boy.

OK. You sure? Really? How can you tell?

I remembered with horror that the previous week I had drunk wine and eaten cheese made from raw milk.

"That's OK. Just abandon both from now on. Also no more sushi for a while, and reduce that caffeine intake of yours, OK, sweetie?"

Anything for my baby. I was motivated to do everything by the book. Plus I was feeling slightly sick anyway, Eating wasn't on my priority list. 

Feeling nauseous turned into a winter flu with high fever, and I panicked. It was "sports week", a two weeks' school break in late January / early February where regular people go skiing in the mountains. It's also when seemingly every doctor does exactly the same, too. 

I called several doctor's offices. Their answering machine told me they were on vacation, kindly call the following number, just the doctor at the following number was out of office as well.

I ended up at the substitute's substitute's substitute, and they told me I needed to lower that fever without taking meds. Haha, good one. 

"High body temperature, hot food and any kind of contraction may expel the little guy. Go home, drink warm-ish tea, sleep it off."

I was so nervous back then. Imagine, I finally managed to get pregnant and may lose it during the first few weeks? The anxiety and superstition pretty much remained throughout the entire time, even though after the first milestone (first trimester) I allowed myself to relax. A little bit.

So much so that we went on vacation. We called it the Goodbye Tour. We figured with a new baby we'd probably not be able to take road trips throughout North America for a couple of years. 

Everything went well.

Upon my next doctor's visit it was strongly recommeded to wear compression stockings in order to support strained veins. It was summer, and it felt very restricting, but hey, as I said earlier: anything for my baby.

Next thing I knew I had to be tested for gestational diabetes. The results were "borderline", and I was given a tiny device, almost like a stapler and some test strips.

For the life of me I could not prick myself with that little gizmo. I asked a coworker to help me. We retreated to the ladies' room like school girls. I explained what she was supposed to do, closed my eyes and waited. I felt a poke, and I opened my eyes. There was no blood whatsoever. 

She offered to try my other hand. 

*Sigh* Anything for my baby.

Something must have been wrong with my fingertips. 

The gyno said, it's OK. Just limit your carbs, especially sugar, and even fructose.

The good news was: while in my regular life I have a distinct sweet tooth, I didn't crave chocolate and desserts during pregnancy, which I was super glad about.

The bad news was: there was still the last trimester to go, and salads were getting old.

Around week 34/35 I encountered a new challenge. My bump wasn't a bump anymore, it was a huge water melon, and it got in my way while driving. See I am short. Meaning, my car seat has to be adjusted almost in the first position so my feet can reach the pedals.

Because of my big belly I had to push the seat back, and from now on I could only operate the gas and brake with the tip of my foot. Sounds acrobatic? I managed, but the whole commute was getting strenuous. 

I got a doctor's note that said I could go to the office only every other day and / or I should work from home. I did a little bit of both, and immediately I had to learn to let go.

Me, the workaholic, the person who likes to be in charge and oversee everything, was stuck at home, pushing papers.

Well, if I was going to be a stay at home Mom, I had to get used to it sooner or later.

On September 9, my oversized belly and I made our way to the nearest Starbucks, which was my employer. The office was 52 km (32 miles) away; the closest store 12 km (7.5 miles) to meet my boss and my successor. I had finished almost all pending projects, so the handover was a matter of minutes, and I was free!

On September 12, hubby and I found ourselves at the very same Starbucks, eating cinnamon rolls. We were on our way home from the hospital where we learned that my "contractions" were false alarm. I had read somewhere that cinnamon may help induce labor. I thought it was worth a try (and an exception to the no sugar rule.)

I also drank raspberry leaf tea, which was supposed to help speed things along as well.

You can tell, I was getting desperate. 

On September 16, around 8pm my contractions started.

Yes, you have to wait until tomorrow, just like we had to back then! In the meantime, let me know what cravings and complications you had back then.