I finished work on Tuesday and my parents came in that night. They're now officially U.S. residents. (I can't believe it - after 15 years!!!) We spent yesterday bopping (or in my case waddling) around and getting them set-up with necessities such as cell phones and food.
Yesterday evening we visited my sister-in-law and her new son, Ezra, who is about to be just one week old tomorrow. Just like when I visited him in the hospital, it was surreal to hold him and realize that I have a baby around this size in my belly and, this time, that I would be holding him/her within just the next 48 hours. Saying goodbye to them and my mother-in-law really made everything hit home since our parting greeting was "See you on Friday at the hospital!" Um... YIKES!
However, we didn't have much time to dwell on our building sense of panic. We got home and our youngest dog, Maggie, was yelping and squealing inconsolably, as if an elephant was permanently parked on her foot. It wasn't her foot that was in "pain" but it was that same sound she makes when you accidentally step on her; although not just one or two quick whelps, continuous, brain-piercing whelping. Her butt was close to the ground as she walked and she was shaking like a leaf. Hubby did his duty and looked up her butt just in case anything might be stuck (yes, we're old-pros at the constipated dog dance) but couldn't see anything. After about 5 minutes of trying to calm her down without success, we called the emergency pet clinic, put her in the car, and sped down there.
She seemed to calm down in the car and, when we got out at the clinic, she immediately went #1 on the grass. We then scuttled her inside and right away she crouched over and dropped quite possibly the most incredibly foul smelling #2 ever. As we were dying with embarrassment and requesting items to assist us with the clean-up, she managed to get a couple of feet away from us to drop 3 more wet nuggets elsewhere in the waiting room. Delightful. We were charged $4.99 on our bill for the cleanup. Hilarious! Had we of known her poop was so valuable, we would have put all the crap in our side yard on Craigslist!
We still had her checked-out just in case but 90 minutes and $170 later, it turns out that it was probably just backed-up gas pains and some constipation after all. We've had the same with our older dog, Frankie, but he never made quite such a song and dance about it. At most he gets clingy, fidgety, whimpers every once in a while, and assaults our nostrils on a periodic basis. Meanwhile, our Magster made it sound as though someone was repeatedly poking her up the butt with a hot rod. Girls!!!! Needless to say, it was one more level of stress and worry that we didn't need right now. It also significantly impacted our sleep since we didn't get back until waaaay after our usual bedtime and, given that Hubby had today off and we had a ton of stuff to get done, there was no rest for us wicked folk today either.
Oh well, I'll be getting more than enough down-time in the next week or two and I'm sure no amount of "storing" energy is going to make a big diff in that department.
In other news, we had our last ObGyn appointment yesterday, which also doubled as our pre-surgical check-up. Our doc went through the procedure for tomorrow with us from start to finish, although having heard it all first-hand from my sister-in-law just a few days ago, most of it was familiar and fresh in our memory already. (GULP.) No significant news to report on the medical front - all vital signs are vital and healthy for mum and baby.
We also managed to talk to our anesthesiologist on the phone today which was a huge relief because our surgery paperwork said that I couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight tonight - and my c-section is scheduled for 1pm! 13 hours without food or water just is not going to happen right now - I can barely make it 3 or 4 without nausea and lightheadedness. Fortunately, with my stellar health and history of no adverse reactions to most anesthesia so far, the doc gave me some MAJOR leeway on the norm. I'm going to be able to get up at 5am and have a light breakfast and then sip clear liquids (which includes apple juice - one of my pregnancy cravings) from 5am to 9am. So my "actual" fasting will only be a couple of hours before we head into the hospital and they shove that IV line into my hand.
(Pauses to hyperventilate)
The doctor also talked with me more about the actual epidural process and its side-effects, which include:
- 99% of women experience itching.
- 1 in 3 get nauseous and/or vomit.
- 1 in 100 get a severe headache.
- Many women feel like they can't breathe or can't take a deep breath because the intercostal muscles that are used for these actions are completely numb. (Of course, you can actually breathe - breathing while at rest is controlled by your diaphram and they won't be numbing me anywhere near that high up.)
- There is also a chance that, when inserting the (gulp) needle into my back (deep breath,) I will experience a sensation down my leg much like hitting the funny bone on your arm. This means they've hit a nerve (ya think!?) and they need to pull out and reposition the point of insertion. Sounds delightful.
I'm also really lucky that I have the world's best husband who is going to be taking some time off in the coming week and will look after me and our baby like we are his most precious assets. (He did an amazing job with me after my hip surgery.) Add to that my parents who would do anything for me/us anytime, anywhere and without question and I honestly have very little to moan about.
So, as I embark upon this next chapter in my life, I know I'm not sailing out into the unknown alone. I'm determined to take each day as it comes - the good and the bad - and to appreciate each special moment before it passes into memory. Of course I'm scared and a little anxious but I'm also excited and eager to face the challenges ahead.
See you on the other side, folks...
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