In comes the Carpel Tunnel Syndrome

My pregnancy with Connor was so very different from Nugget's. My skin cleared up, my hair was thick and needed less washing, everything was so smooth.

With Nugget, my skin has been horrible, I'm shedding like I'm six weeks post partem, I feel like I'm already as big as I was when Connor was born (my bump has blossomed BIG TIME) and now my hands are killing me. It started about a month ago with my righ hand. I would wake up and I'd be numb up to my shoulder as though I slept on it wrong. Then it was both hands. Then it took longer and longer for them to "wake up".  Connor would be well into breakfast some mornings and my hands were still tingly. I've been having trouble with strength and grip. Now this past week I'm having unbearable pain in my right wrist. Everything hurts, even touching it.

The midwife says this is normal, pregnancy swelling pinching the nerves in my hand. Tom bought me a splint to wear that seems to be helping.

I've been bad about writing about my doctor visits. Everything, even the 20 week ultrasound has been fine. As far a Nugget is concerned this pregnancy has been smooth sailing. I shouldn't really complain either since I'm getting the abbreviated pregnancy. Maybe it just seems harder because I slept so much during my pregnancy with Connor and I can't with Nugget.

The funnier thing is that both my Midwife and Dr. Dempsey (who was my doctor with Connor) are pregnant and expecting as well. They are due a few weeks apart. So somewhere in her I'll have to see a different doctor while they are both out on Maternity Leave.

and stranger still...

As though the whole "I can't pee!" phenomenon wasn't bad enough, last night it got better. Tom was in bed, Connor was asleep, and I was finishing up a few chores before bed for myself. I was just finishing with the dishes and when I bent over to put the detergent in I started to get a cramp in my back just under my ribs. I've felt similar pains before so I moved along putting the dogs out and checking Connor one last time for the night. It didn't let up though, and started getting worse. So finally I thought I should go sit on the toilet (still with the catheter in place.)

In minutes the pain got worse and worse to the point where I was crying out for Tom to help me. He slept through it until I crawled from the bathroom to the bed and woke him up. At first he just sat there on the edge of the bed half asleep saying he was sorry the catheter was bothering me so much. I couldn't seem to get through to him that this WAS NOT the catheter, but something new. I think finally seeing the amount of bloody urine in the bag helped get that across.

After calling L&D and waking up our neighbor Rick to come sleep on the couch while we went to the hospital we finally started heading in. The pain was on par if not worse then the back labor I had experienced with Connor. I felt like I was going to pass out, I had a trash can in my lap in case I puked. The whole time I could feel the pain moving lower and then more quickly that it came, it was gone. We were JUST crossing the bridge with the hospital in sight. The whole process took about 90 minutes.

The best they can guess is that I passed a kidney stone. By the time I got there I was simply embarrassed and there wasn't anything to be done. They checked the baby, did an exam on me and blessedly took the stupid catheter out. It turns out the bulb holding it in wasn't completely inflated and even Tom thinks that is why I was having so many problems. Of course there was a lot of talk about "proving" my bladder and what to do if I hadn't peed by morning. No need to worry there. I barely made it home and had time to get my filter (to look for the stone) set up.

I think that is enough excitement for one pregnancy.

and it gets stranger...

So, it's been a pretty uneventful pregnancy, at least until Friday. Friday morning, I woke up before Connor and thougt I would take advantage of a little leisurly bathroom time - no audiance and all. Well - I couldn't go! No I mean it! I could eak out a drop here and there - but I couldn't GO! I needed to, too. Then Connor woke up and I kept trying, and the more I tried the worse it got.  I called the doctors office and said "I can't pee!" and the nurse told me to drink water on my way in.

I felt bad because Connor's breakfast consisted of a Nutra Grain bar while I got dressed and found him cloths and tried again and agian to "go." When we got to the office I had managed to drink a little water, and to say nature was calling would be an understatement. I ended up in tears and whisked to the back when the receptionist asked how I was today. Well there was a lot more trying while my favorite nurse, Anne, wrangled Connor and fed him Saltines. Finally  I couldn't take anymore and I was begging for help. A doctor finally came in, did an ultrasound to make sure I did in fact have to pee (as if I don't know that feeling!) and FINALLY gave me a catheter. The relief was immediate and profound. They managed to drian 1300cc (1000cc is a liter) and sent me home for the weekend with the catheter.

I feel like an idiot again because no one at the office seems to have ever encountered a pregnant woman who can't pee. I remember one morning while I was pregnant with Connor haveing a similar experience, but I managed to "go" before I started for the office and they couldn't find a cause. It didn't happen again until this pregnancy. For the last week or so I had been having trouble but always managed to get past it - and then came Friday.

They'll take the catheter out tomorrow and we'll see if I can "go" on my own. They don't seem to know why or have an underlying cause for my condition. However, I have decided that this catheter CAN NOT be a long term solution to the problem. It has been painful and restrictive and made me miserable all weekend. It may be fine for someone sitting in a chair or laying in a bed for most of their time, but it is not compatible with chasing Connor.

1st Trimester Screening

We got to see Nugget again today. The tech doing the ultrasound said that everything looked good and we'd get any results in a week. This is the appoinment where they look for certain birth defects by measuring the baby's different bits and particularly the back of the baby's neck. The one remarkable thing was that the baby was measuring a week older then what we were told at our last appoinment. Could just be all of the good eating from Boston. The tech said it wasn't dramatic enough to change our due date, but maybe Nugget will be sharing a birthday with Ouisa who was born on April 18th. We'll see!



I said "just show me the legs
and feet and I'll be happy!"



I love the little crossed legs in this one!





10w5d

That was the official determination today at our Midwife appointment. It was such a change from my experience with Connor. Then I called the office and when they tried to set my conception date I could say "nope! You're wrong!" because I knew - we had a good idea of when we made him. This time I walked in like a dope saying "Well, I could be a couple weeks or I could be a couple months." While the midwife was doing her exam she smiled at me and said "Uh... I think we're more then 8 weeks." So she busted out the ultrasound machine and we got to see the little heart and arms and head (but no legs and feet - did I mention I had x-rays? Don't freak out the expectant mother!) Anyway, she took some measurements and they were 10w5d and 10w6d respectively. That puts our due date around April 23rd.

Nugget!

We're pregnant again! It has come as a total shock to me, though Tom says it isn't really a surprise since we had been trying. We were trying, but I looked at it like when we were trying for Connor. We tried and tried and didn't get anywhere until I went on Metformin. This time we were trying but knew we would have to take a break for timing around Tom's interviews in the spring. So the early round of trying was only wishful thinking because my body didn't seem to be ready and I hadn't started the Metformin again.
Well, it turns out when I did start taking the Metformin I was already pregnant. I had also just put away my maternity cloths and all our outgrown baby cloths. I had had dental x-rays and done a million other things they tell you not to do when you are pregnant. I had even started the Couch to 5K running plan in August. I didn't have a clue!
Connor had been sick and he hadn't been sleeping well for a few weeks and then I had gotten sick. I have been tired and touchy and generally not feeling myself. Then today I was walking around Costco and realized I was nauseous again. That nauseous feeling you get when you REALLY need to eat something. I hadn't been eating a lot - I didn't have time with a Cranky Connor. I was trying to lose weight and with our busy mornings there were a lot of days I didn't get to eat until he went down for his nap in the afternoon. I thought well I had better take a test just in case. I expected a negative result - I DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE!
When I got home form Costco I unloaded the car and then went to take the test. Let's just say the result was immediate. I hadn't even stood up yet. This has got to be a fluke. Come on Connor, let's do it again. This time I watched. The control line wasn't even wet yet and it was positive. Shock doesn't even cover it. It took 13 months with Connor... Holy Shadingy, Batman!
Now we know I'm pregnant, but we don't have any clue HOW pregnant I am. I called the Doctors office today to get an appointment with ANYONE who can answer that question. We'll find out on September 29th.