NO progress...

I'm really starting to get frustrated with this whole pregnancy thing. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being pregnant, but I'm just SO ready for Parker to join us that each day I don't start having real contractions, I find myself more and more frustrated. Sure, I know she'll come when she's good and ready. And, yes, I know that we're not even to our EDD yet (which is Sunday, by the way)... but she's taking those practice breaths in utero and is already over 6 lbs. I think the bun in the oven is DONE!

We went to the OB today, and I had to visit with a doctor who wasn't my regular guy. He was totally dull, didn't laugh at any of my jokes and talked to me like I was an idiot. It totally made me love my OB that much more. In any case, the protein in the urine issue seems to have resolved itself, I gained 1lb since the previous week, my BP was 120/74 (which is again, high for me, but totally normal) and baby's HB was 149.

As far as progress, we're making none. I'm STILL dilated to "fingertip" and she's still "pretty high." Substitute OB said "I'd be surprised if she came this week." Uh, yeah, thanks. We have a sonogram scheduled for Monday morning to check her size and then a visit with our usual OB. I'm hoping we'll have a plan...*sigh* Testing my patience already, this kid!

Single digits

Well, just 9 days before Miss Parker Claire is set to make her debut. I wish I had more to blog about these days, but my life consists of sitting in my bed (to keep my feet elevated) and sleeping upright to better manage the heartburn.

I'm alright though....sore, tired and round, but I'm happy to be that way. I'm still waiting to hear back from the doctor on the protein in my urine, so I'll update if it's anything noteworthy.

Just an update:

My blood work revealed that I'm a bit anemic, so I have to take the iron supplement every day now instead of every-other-day. Hello constipation, but at least it explains why I've been so tired.

All my pee was normal though. :)

Jug of Pee

An entire post dedicated to urine...with a question in the last paragraph seeking advice.

I learned today that collecting your pee for 24 hours isn't near as fun as it sounds. (sarcasm, please) I was supposed to start my collection when I got up this morning. I woke up at 6, which is normal, but decided it would be best to wait until I woke up the second time to begin the fun. This was a good plan since I typically wake up every hour for my trip to the potty. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I was able to sleep until 9:30!!! No biggie-- I started the fun then.

Of course, by 2pm, I could see that my jug would runneth over before 9:30 tomorrow morning, so I put in a call to the doctor's office. As luck would have it, I had to head to Fort Worth to get a second jug. The 35 minute one-way trip was interesting....especially since I wasn't able to tinkle the entire time! Mom went with me, and we made it without a hitch...but know I tinkled the moment I walked in the house!

The most interesting thing about collecting your pee all day is realizing just how much you pee! Not how often, but quantity. I'm amazed. I get to tinkle in a little potty that makes me feel like I'm being potty trained again. The little potty has measurements on it, so I can see how many oz/ml I pee each time. It's been an interesting experience; that's for sure!

I return my collection tomorrow morning and they should have the results Thursday. Do you think it's too much for me to expect or too pushy of me to ask that MY doctor or his nurse call me Thursday or Friday with the results since my OB will be on vacation all next week? I have my regular OB visit on Monday with another doctor in the practice, but I'd really rather have MY OB look at my results and make the decision on how we proceed. I know in my soul that anyone in his practice is fully qualified to help me, but I have spent the last 30 weeks getting to know my doctor, not the doctor I'll meet for the first time Monday.

Thoughts?

Update

Today was certainly a typical Monday. Someone at work accidentally forwarded an email to someone who didn't need to know I was involved in a situation. It's not the end of the world, but certainly not how I was hoping the day would begin. Then, after spending an hour and a half grading assignments online, all of my comments and grades were lost. I'll have to re-enter everything again.

The OB appointment today had some highs and lows. As a reminder, I'm 38 weeks now. Baby's heartbeat was 159, so that's good. My blood pressure was 120/64, which is high for me, but completely normal. I'm dilated 1cm, so we're still making progress. Unfortunately, I had some extra protein in my urine. I tend to drink quite a bit of water (well over a gallon a day)- always have been a good water drinker. The doctor had them draw some blood today and beginning tomorrow morning, I get to collect all of my urine for 24 hours. Oh yeah-- get to pee in a jug, and shall I share that the jug needs to be kept refrigerated?!? I'm a bit concerned that I'm going to fill the jug before my 24 hours is up, so I'm fairly certain I'll be driving into the doctor's office tomorrow to get a second jug. When I return my collection Wednesday morning, they'll take more blood. Exciting! We'll get the test results on Thursday. The extra protein could be a urinary tract infection, but I'm not having any of those symptoms. It could also be pre-eclampsia, but my bp is in the normal range...just high for me. Who knows?

I also found out that my OB will be out of town all next week. Not the best timing considering all this protein stuff has jumped up AND I could go into labor at any time. I knew going in that someone from the practice could deliver me, I just didn't think it would happen. I was able to keep it together until we walked out of the hospital, and then the water works began flowing. I know a lot of it was hormones, but it still kinda stinks.

So much to say, so much to say, so much to say, so much to say...

I really shouldn't let so much time pass between my posts because I end up with SO MUCH TO SAY....although I don't know why I worry about writing too much. No one really reads this anyway. I've been keeping particularly busy with Big Brother 11; it's my summer guilty pleasure. I've also been busy preparing for the fall semester. I'm hoping to return to my class at the start of the semester....although my OB just laughs when I mention it. We'll see.

Everything is still moving right along. I'll be 38 weeks Monday, and I'm hoping the OB says I'm further along and ready to rumble. At this point, Parker is over 7lbs, and I really don't want to go to 40 weeks (or more and have an 8 or 9lb baby). I measured my stomach this morning. I'm 53 inches around....uh, yeah....I'm only 60 inches tall! To date, I've only gained about 7lbs, so that's awesome.

Have I mentioned the visit from the Mississippi in-laws? Yeah, it was interesting. It was a whirlwind visit....more like a hurricane, really. Mark's family is much larger than mine, and with 5 kids growing up together, they talked over each other, interrupted each other, ignored each other, etc. I grew up with just one brother, a theatrical/community involved mother, and an engineer for a father. We never interrupted one another and the house was fairly quiet most of the time. My mom is hearing impaired now (she started wearing hearing aids when I was in college). She hears noise, but has a hard time with clarity. Consequently, the tv is typically on mute and the general noise level in the house is quiet. The way I was raised is just SO different than how Mark was raised. I'm sure there's a happy medium in there somewhere. I was just reminded of the differences having Mark's family here....for 36 hours!

Enough rambling for now. It's midnight thirty and Mark still hasn't left work. I'm going to sit here with my heartburn and Big Brother After Dark...