Hospital and bed rest

Posted on May 18, 2012 by heatherss

Hello bleeps!

This is a first for me,  writing a post from DH’s iPad.

I have been a bit scarce, but I have a good reason.

On Tuesday afternoon I went to get my blood pressure checked out with the midwife. It was meant to be just a regular check up but the next thing I know I am being sent to the labour ward for more tests.  They did this test where they check your blood pressure every 3 min for half an hour. They also checked my baby with a fetal monitor.

Baby was fine. Me? Not so much.

So now I get admitted to the labour ward. It was all a bit of a blur. Phone calls and paperwork.

But I realize now what was happening. Did it ever happen to you where your head wanted one thing but your body knew better? It made me remember another time when I landed up in hospital. I was in a foreign land of Taiwan and had a scooter accident. My poor roommate had to deal with me losing my memory! Even though it was just for one night.  It was in the midst of us being between jobs and I think somehow I just didn’t want to deal with everything.

And I think in ths case I really wanted to work and fulfill my obligations. That’s what my head was saying, anyway. But my body had had enough.

So I landed up in a hotel. I mean, that’s what it felt like. Choosing what to eat and having someone bring it to you…. I mean, this is great. If you leave out the part where they keep waking you up to take Bp and fetal readings.

I was in hospital for two nights. They got my Bp down, gave me meds, and got me out of work.

My mom in the meantime decided to fly up and is washing dishes as I type this. She won’t let me do much! I think she is convinced that I could have the baby any day now, although doc says not, maybe only one week earlier. He is such a nice doc, by the way. And the staff were fabulous.

As for work I think they probably saw it coming. I dropped off the unmarked books in my car the day I was discharged. Feel bad, but not that bad. They still want to go ahead with my shower which is really sweet.

Well for now I am officially a bum. Lying sideways on it, that is.

 

 

 

Posted in pregnancy | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Blood Pressure Problems

Posted on May 12, 2012 by heatherss

I consider myself very lucky and grateful to have largely had an incident free pregnancy. I haven’t really had much in the way of morning sickness and little baby boy has been right on target with every scan.

Now that I’m in the third trimester, however, a chronic problem has come up to haunt me. Ever since my twenties when I had my wisdom teeth out, I’ve had a problem with high blood pressure. I’ve been on medication since then. It’s intrinsic hypertension and it runs in my family. My dad also has it.

Throughout this pregnancy I’ve been monitoring it carefully with my little electronic device. You guys remember when it went really low. Well, really low is better for baby than high.

I’ve been pretty busy so have been only checking it on weekends, and last Sunday got a bit of a shock to get 142/100. Phoned my mom and got into a bit of a panic. Decided to phone the emergency line for my gynae (who turns out to be away) and I get his replacement with a funny European accent (was it Russian?) that I’m trying to figure out. He says, not to worry, it could be isolated, rather take another reading in the morning and then see.

The next morning I got 129/89 (much better) so off I went to work. But this whole time I have been feeling really weak, so have been sitting down a lot. I kind of decided to leave things, was really busy so didn’t really have time to phone the doc’s rooms, and kind of left it. But my mother kept bugging me. Plus the news came through that my maid (who is on maternity leave supposed to be having her baby) lost her baby directly after the cesarean. I can’t help thinking it was a lack of monitoring that led to that horrible outcome. It is heart-breaking, and I can only be ever so grateful that I have a good medical aid and good care that I can take advantage of.

So on Tuesday I made the call and they said I could drop by in the afternoon and the midwife would take my blood pressure. Sr J was really great. The first reading was really high so she got me to rest up a bit in the waiting room while she saw another patient. Then she took it again and we got it down to 140. She wrote a note for my work so that I could work half days and said come back on Friday.

My boss has been great and even has a temp lined up for when I need to stop work. It also sounds like she is more open to me taking longer leave now. It could be a good option to stop, but I’m still trying to make all the right decisions. However we settled on me leaving around 2 which would be when school finishes anyway, and I would mark books at home.

In any case, Friday came around. She raced through the meeting and I actually left at about quarter to three. But the thing is, not knowing if I am going to be around or not, I have to be part of these meetings.

I get to the labour ward (Sr J had long gone home, but suggested I go there and then then phone her from there). 

I got there and they told me to go lie down on a bed so long. I thought this was good logic: let me rest and then the reading would be lower.

I didn’t quite count on them forgetting about me.

About half an hour past. I poked my head around the corner (this was a room right next to the reception area) and asked how much longer am I expected to lie there?

Poor old dolly had forgotten about me. She came and took my measurements. She got me to lie on my left side.  The first one was 149 and the second one was much better – 129/76.

So this was an excellent reading. I phoned Sr J and left a message.

I went to the car and phoned my boss. She is still pushing for me to stop and getting a replacement. I think she doesn’t understand why even when I have a good reading, I’m still feeling weak, and needing those half days. Is this all in my head? I don’t know. Still trying to figure this all out. Am I back in the infertility “just relax” zone again?

I phoned my DH and went over to his work where he was still busy. Had a nice chat to his boss’s wife who took a full month off before the birth. I think I finally understand why! I also got a phone call back from Sr J who encouraged me to keep going with the half days and see her again on Tues, and then I will see Dr K anyway on Thurs.

When I phoned my mom she was glad about the reading, but still pushing for me to stop work. She is a doctor and she is convinced I am going into pre-eclampsia and basically depriving my baby of blood. According to Wikipedia, Pre-eclampsia is diagnosed when a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure (two separate readings taken at least six hours apart of 140 or more in systolic blood pressure and/or 90 or more in diastolic blood pressure) and 300 mg of protein in a 24-hour urine sample (proteinuria).

In any case we went home and skipped our normal Friday night grocery shop. Just got some stuff from Woolworths (like TV dinners) and I basically went straight to bed. And yes, I’m doing my best to sleep on my left side.

This morning I’m feeling a lot better and got another good reading 126/92.

I’m taking it easy. I’m having my afternoon naps and going to bed early. I’m doing what I can and I think it’s helping. The real question is: should I take the next step? Should I stop work now? At the moment I’m tending to take a “wait and see” kind of attitude, especially till my appointment on Thursday.

Oh and to end off on a lighter note – here is something B has been longing to do for ages…. making baby a Bulls fan before he is even born :)

Baby Bulls fan clothes

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Cute Baby Clothes and Important Events

Posted on April 28, 2012 by heatherss

My mom was visiting again this week (coming back from my sister) and she brought with her the cutest little baby clothes. I can really imagine my baby snuggling into these:

 

I am 32 weeks and getting bigger and bigger! The past two weeks I have been having heartburn and having been having gaviscon before each meal. Otherwise, I have just been feeling bigger, carrying this little baba around.

I just want to mention a few events that have been happening

-National Infertility Awareness Week ends today. Circle and Bloom’s 35% off special also ends today, so take advantage of their special offer. Enter code NIAW35 at checkout

-The Tapping World Summit is on – really amazing speakers.  You can listen to each for free within the time period, or order the talks (like the fertility summit).

Have a super week!

 

Posted in pregnancy | 7 Comments

My blog got hacked / Second Antenatal Class

Posted on April 26, 2012 by heatherss

Last Sunday I was about to post about the second and last childbirth class, when I got a huge surprise.

When I went to my blog I was presented with a violation. It had been “Hacked by Ziqor” and was no more.

Funnily enough, I wasn’t as panic stricken as I thought I’d be. This was also due to my hubby telling me to calm down, and that things could be fixed.  Also, my site “healwithheather.com” has been down for months at a time, and I’ve pretty much accepted its demise. Perhaps this was a sign to go in a new direction – with less of a focus on infertility, and more on this new life that is coming so soon. I enjoy writing, but am still figuring out exactly where that will leave me. However, to have this record of my infertility struggle and pregnancy so obliterated, was a knife to the heart.

However I am so lucky to have support and was able to get things up and running by Tuesday. Firstly, a mention to Jjiraffe,  who recently went through something similar and wrote a blog post about it. Also to Lynda, who is also a blogger, and picked up on my tweets with care and concern. Thanks ladies, you are stars.

Ultimately my ultimate savior was having a host that did back ups. They offered me a replacement of a monthly, weekly or daily backup. I went for the weekly one because it was before the hacking. So thank you serv hosting!   However they sent me a very technical attachment of all the things I could do to help prevent this again, which I did not understand. If anyone has some advice that is idiot proof / techie proof, please let me know! Otherwise, on with my original post:

 

Childbirth Class – Part 2

The second week of the childbirth classes went better than the first. I think that I was in a better place and more accepting that they were going to push the natural aspect. And I was more observant of how they were accommodating us. One thing our instructor said that I really appreciated was however the birth happened that was “the way your baby has chosen to come into the world”. And that feels very right to me.

We started off with a video extolling the virtues of natural birth. Just knew this was part and parcel of the course, so I sat and listened to this and just smiled.

We then continued on where he had left off last week on the hospital interventions.

-Artificial Rupture of Membranes (they showed us this crochet hook type thing they use to break your waters)

-Instruments used during birth: apparently the softer plastic vantouse (suction thing) is better than the harsher metal forceps. Apparently the forceps can also be used in a caesarean.  Eeek.

Some other interesting stuff they told us. Don’t shower with soap after the birth as the baby needs to smell your smell! The baby is born with “vernix” (that’s what it sounded like) which is absorbed and protects their skin. So you don’t need to rush and bath the baby. You can rinse off blood and take care of washing their bum and eyes, but there isn’t an urgency to bath the baby. You can even leave it for a week and then another 4-6 days.

They also spoke about using a chiropractor for yourself closer to the time of labour to get your pelvis all aligned and ready. You can also use it on the baby for colic in case he has pinched nerves.

We then went on to the part I had been patiently waiting for: The Caesarean birth.

This is what is going to happen to me: Apart from the notes they gave I have included what I saw on the video which took place at the hospital I am actually going to be at, although it was a different doctor (Dr N).

  1. Admitted to ward after paperwork. (I have already done the paperwork and I know I am going to the maternity ward and then theatre for the operation).
  2. Given hospital gown to wear.
  3. Intravenous needle inserted – which will be giving fluids and meds.
  4. Spinal block (they inject you in the back with the anesthetic)
  5. Lower abdomen washed and shaved (I’ll take care of this before I go)
  6. Catheter in bladder
  7. Incision made (about 20 cm)
  8. Baby is born
  9. They suck all the mucus out of the baby (since he didn’t have the process of vaginal birth which helps getting all of that out)

10. Clamp and cut the umbilical chord

11. Pediatrician gives the baby oxygen and cuts the chord shorter. The baby gets a nappy and a tag (well the video was sponsored by Huggies, so they have to make a point about the nappies every time!)

12. Back at the mom the placenta comes out.

13. They sew the uterus and it is on top! I.e. you can actually see it outside of the body! Seriously freaky!

14. They continue sewing you up and apparently the whole process after the actual birth takes about 45 minutes.

15. In this video the baby was all wrapped up and given to mom, but I am hoping we are going to able to swing the skin to skin thing and not worry about too much separation.

What was nice was the instructor gave me a booklet on cesareans and also a birth plan. The booklet turned out to be very anti, so I’ll skip that, but the birth plan was actually useful. If I look through all the points, these were the ones that seemed important:

1. Remove the screen so you can see what is going on.

2. Get baby delivered on my chest and leave it there while I am being sewed up.

 

There were lots of other things, which I will see if I can get, but I think that No2 is most important, and I’m not going to stress about all the others.

 

We then went through pain management and the hormones involved. The human body is amazing. They also gave some good hints about aromatherapy oils that can help. Some of these are also good for baby e.g. lavender, jasmine, lemon and orange. Clary Sage is only for labour. They demonstrated the TENS machine – there are two points on your back which help with pain, as well as massaging the sides and counter pressure on the two “wing” bones by your hips.

 

Medicated pain relief was gone through.

-Entonox is a gas which should be the first line of intervention. The person breathes it in through a contraction.

-Pethidine can also help, and has only slight interference with ability to push. But it can affect the baby’s breathing among other things.

-Epidural analgesia means you will be bed bound but it does completely eliminate pain. You also need the anesthetist for this.

 

The partner’s role during birth is largely to “love her, believe in her and praise her”, but mostly to BE THERE.

The bag for dads must have: birth plan, grooming supplies, drinks and food, sweater, change of clothes, pen and pencil, things to read, phone numbers, money for vending machines, camera, batteries, tripod, and rescue remedy. Dads also need to take charge when mom hits an emotional low and support her. Be calm, stay close and hold her.

 

We then went through some breastfeeding basics and also watched a video about the different types of milk and latching. There was also some demonstration of the various positions. You have to line up the nose with the breast and allow the baby to “root” which is like exploring, before it suckles. You can tell if baby is getting enough if they are making 6-8 wet nappies a day. Apparently you shouldn’t stress too much about the poop, but make sure you clean it up very thoroughly, apparently it is sticky at the beginning! You can start solids at around 6 months.

 

The subject of pets was brought up (this was B’s question). The one instructor did have a dog when her kid came home and she said the dog moved to the bottom of the bed to make room for baby. She suggested letting the dogs get a proper sniff when baby comes home, and then all would be well. Also don’t be paranoid about them licking baby, unless it really is all the time.

 

We also got a demo of how to clothe, put the nappy on and bath the baby. But I think I have written enough now!

 

The bottom line is I learned a lot and feel a bit more ready.

 

I know this C-section is going to be an ordeal, but I am determined to make the best of a bad situation. By having a better idea of what is going to happen, it can only help.

 

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Hospital Tour

Posted on April 18, 2012 by heatherss

I was so excited to get the lay of the land of the place (Sandton Mediclinic) where I will be birthing my precious little baby, especially after sitting through the home birth / birth centre brigade on Sunday.

We started off at the labour ward where if you are going the natural way, you will start off there. Looks very nice and each person has a room with bathroom as well. On the same floor is the theatre where I will be having the cesarean.

We then went to the maternity ward. (I would start off there and then go to the theatre and then back) There is a nursery but it only had one baby in it with a doctor and the parents. They encourage mothers to have the babies with them (yay!) and the nursery is just if you need a break. I saw quite a few moms wheeling the babies around on those cots on wheels type things.

You are only allowed a certain number of visitors (12) and you have to make a list and they have to sign in.

They showed us the general ward where you share three in a room and one bathroom (which isn’t bad). You can have curtains that will close around you if you want as well. They also showed us the private room too. The medical aid covers the general ward so that is where I will probably be.  The private room costs around R2200 per night. They even have executive suites which are around R5000 a night but then you can have a huge room with place for dad to sleep too. And a full time nurse at your disposal.

Apparently on the day you leave you can stay as late as you want (the medical aid charges from midnight to midnight) so you don’t have to rush. Also you need to be discharged by both the gynae and the pediatrician before you can go. They apparently also give vaccines to the baby on your last day too.

Dads apparently have 3 jobs: 1) Attend the 1pm demo of how to bath your baby esp. if mom is not up to it. 2) Control the visitors esp. if mom is tired to chase them away 3) Get organized to have green id books for birth registration; you can also have Photostats of them as well.

What was super cool was seeing other pregnant ladies, and it looked (by looking at the register) that about half were having Cesar’s. So it was cool not to feel so alone in this boat again.

 

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First Birth Preparation Class

Posted on April 15, 2012 by heatherss

I should actually subtitle this post: “I guess I’m not a tree hugger after all…”

Today we had our first session of the Baby Preparation Class.

I feel a bit emotionally exhausted.

It’s not just the avalanche of information being thrown at us, it is the very strong direction that this information is being delivered in.

Definitely PRO natural birth and ANTI hospital intervention.

Maybe I should have realized this would be the case, since the course is being run by a midwife at a Birthing Centre and her sister, who is a doula. Of course they are going to push the natural way.

Truth to be told, I agree with them. And I would have totally gone the natural route if I had had the choice.

But. The fact is, I am a high risk pregnancy. I have a scar from my laparoscopy from taking out that nasty fibroid that has a risk of rupturing if I go the natural birth route. I have high blood pressure (which has surprisingly been ok for now, thank goodness, although I am monitoring it). I am an older mother. But who cares? I might have been able to still do this whole natural birth thing without a hitch. But I am just very hesitant to risk it. It is my life and my baby’s life at stake here.

And I have fought bitterly hard to get to this place, with the help of medical intervention, I will have you know.

So actually, I realise, I am in favour of technology. Bring on the drugs and pain killers. Hook me up and cut me open. At this point I am past caring exactly how it comes out, except that it comes out healthy and ok. Other people can puff and pant for hours. Mine will be over quickly.

I’d love to be a part of this cosmic miracle that everyone says is so life changing when you give birth, but for those of us who just can’t do it, it is actually ok.

 It’s like the fertility vs infertility club all over again.

Of all the people at the course we were the only ones doing a c-section. There is someone there having a home birth. Another one (at my same hospital) having a water birth. But here we sit, having to explain ourselves.

And on the whole, people understand.

I think when you speak your own story, nobody can deny you that.

The one thing I did enjoy was when they had a couple come in to share their experience. Yes, it was a home water birth. But it was a true story without an agenda. Since the hubby works in film and filmed the birth, B was interested to chat to him about it. They did show us some pictures as well. It looked like an amazing experience. I also liked their piece of advice about introducing the dogs to the baby: first let them smell the dirty nappy! (diaper)

The course itself had a lot of good information. They started off by telling us about the optimal fetal position and things we can do to help this. (I have to get out my ball again and blow it up to get moving again, instead of just sitting here at my disk!)

We then had some info on “perineal massage” which basically means massaging the part between your vagina and anus to get it nice and stretchy for the birth process. I could see B really trying to contain his laughter here.

We then went on to preparing for the intensity of birth. Lots of good advice here about being realistic about your expectations and self care. I liked what they said about PAIN is what it is but SUFFERING is when we believe our negative internal story.  I guess it is a lot in the mind.

Next was all about labour. She got out a model of a pelvis and explained the optimal angles (angled backwards better than flat – creates more space for baby to come out). It was an interesting comparison that baby comes out like a corkscrew, or how you would wind your ring off, rather than just straight.

The stages of labour were gone through. I guess it will be useful to know this stuff in case baby comes too soon.

She lastly started going through different kinds of birth options.

And this is where the obvious preferences came up.

Although disadvantages of home birth were brought up (fewer options for pain relief, distance from hospital, no emergency pediatric care), boy did they tear into the hospital scene. And we haven’t even got to cesareans yet.

Oh boy we are just going to be at a disadvantage because of:

-unfamiliar medical surroundings and people (well what do you expect? And I am still going on that tour….)

-making decisions in the least conductive of circumstances (so what? Bring on the technology and the expertise, I’d rather have them..)

-invasion of privacy (again, a small price to pay for peace of mind)

-interventions (bring on the pain pills!)

-constant examinations (I’d rather be safe)

-only birth within protocols and management of the hospital and staff (well, what do you expect?)

Then all the interventions were gone through.

I won’t even bore you with them.

The point is, I have an excellent doctor.  I trust him. I have heard a lot of good things about him and how he will make this experience as baby friendly as possible (including letting us have the skin to skin afterwards).

So what if this is a hospital.

It can still be a great experience.

Sigh.

I know next week’s class will be better because it will concern more of what happens after baby is born – stuff I am more interested in.  They will go into more detail about the Cesarean and also more info on breastfeeding.

It was just a lot to process today.

And it made me decide: I think I want to do the hospital course, although even our doctor said that course would not have enough “meat”. I think I have had enough large doses of “meat” now. I just want to hear it from the other side.

 

 

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I saw my son in three dimensions

Posted on April 14, 2012 by heatherss
 

Hello bleeps!

I am still on holiday this week and have been getting quite a lot done. Went to the traffic dept., paid all fines and got my new driver’s license. I upgraded my phone (still getting used to the touchscreen, but at least it is still a blackberry). And lots of other stuff. I plodding my way (very slowly) through work too.

 As far as baby stuff goes two more items have been added to the room:

Compactum

The compactum (which is a combination bath and changing station) which is one of the last lot of things B got from his friend at work.

Car seat

The car seat (finally got my act together with having the voucher from Discovery plus the 16 digit number needed so I could get the 60% discount – well worth it!).

On Thursday we went to the midwife and all is still looking well with the baby. She was a bit worried though about me looking a bit pale and set up some more blood tests which I did on Friday. For one of them I had to fast and then drink this glucose mixture an hour before so I assume that’s for blood sugar levels. Although I have been feeling a bit on the weak side I have put it down to the pregnancy, so knowing it could be the iron thing also is reassuring because it will just mean increasing those tablets.

On Friday (after the blood tests) we went for the 3D scan. At first I really couldn’t see much. Little PB insisted on putting his hands in front of his face. He was also nestled in at a difficult angle. However later on we got a nice video of him where you can see the eyes quite clearly:

 

And another one where he is sucking his thumb.

 

3D scan: Baby sucking thumb

It was really quite special and just makes me long all the more to meet him for real.

I am feeling very grateful and blessed to have this little one kicking inside me. :)

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Happy Easter!

Posted on April 8, 2012 by heatherss

Happy Easter, Bleeps!

I hope you are having a super nice long weekend. Continuing with our analogy theme, there is something about Easter that also corresponds to the struggle of infertility – if you can get through the long night of Good Friday, you’ll make it to Easter Sunday with the promise of new life.  In fact, if you can make it through many difficult situations (and not just this) there is the promise of new beginnings, new birth and new ways of seeing things.

 

International Day: with another teacher dressed in Chinese outfit

I am so glad that I have survived Term 1 and now have two weeks holiday. We ended off with a celebration of International Day. Each kid painted a flag, and then they each did a hand print in the middle on the tree.

It’s not really going to be a total rest because I will be doing some prep for the time I am on maternity leave. Also we are doing lots of baby stuff (but that is the fun part). Have a hospital tour, 3d scan, midwife visit and our first childbirth class lined up.

Our camp cot

This weekend we got the camp cot and B spent the better part of Saturday putting it together. The funny part was then realizing we had to move it back into the nursery so the dismantling and putting back together had to begin again. Although of course it was quicker the second time around.

 

By the way, how cute is this special rugby camp cot? B really liked it, but we eventually saw how the other one had more features.

My mom and I.

My mom arrived. She is on her way to see my sister in Seattle and normally makes a few days stop with us in Joburg on the way. It was really nice to see her. Today we went off to church together while B was still busy sorting out the house. We have moved a considerable amount of stuff out the nursery into a cupboard and a room divider so now that room has more space for baby stuff.

 

Stroller

We have also been given a stroller from one of the parents at my school. B took all the material stuff off and we had it washed. Then of course there was the fun part of putting back on. He really has been a handyman lately.

I made “Greek Chicken Packets” (thanks Whitney! ) for lunch, although I didn’t have all the ingredients and added my own as well, it was a tasty idea.

Then this afternoon we had more family visiting – my cousin and his wife who is going to be my doula, plus my uncle. Looking forward to having her on board!

My mom got some nice pics of us. There is this one nice one of me looking at B. You can see our wedding pics in the background. It’s a cool pic because of the hopes and dreams of marriage finally coming to fruition…

 

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Infertility is like driving a skedonk.

Posted on March 30, 2012 by heatherss

Mel from Stirrup Queens has had a great idea: write a post about comparing infertility to an analogy.

So in typical South African style, I am going to say….Infertility is like driving a skedonk. That is an affectionate S. A. colloquial term for an old battered motor car.

I read this article about the worst skedonk. This one’s only roadworthy part was the windscreen. The traffic cop who impounded the car said it was the worst car he had ever seen during his 40 years on the roads.

Infertility makes you feel like this. Unroadworthy. Everything is broken and doesn’t work. And driving this thing is downright scary.

When you drive a skedonk, there are no guarantees that the car is actually going to go.

In my early car driving days, I drove my grandmother’s mini which had seen better days. I remember the day when the brakes failed. That is a pretty scary experience. Going forward without being able to stop!

I also remember our ex-gardener’s car. This one was an old BMW but not much was working. It really struggled to get going.

I think the way this whole analogy compares to infertility is just knowing, you start the car (multiple times) and it just does not want to go. You try, month after month, to have a baby, and as sure as eggs are eggs, your period arrives promptly. It didn’t work. Again.

Then you try and get some help.

And sometimes you get the wrong help.

You trust this gynae to take care of the problem. But instead it is like going to a disreputable mechanic.  You think he’s done his job (like you paid him for),but instead you are now in a fast speed through uncertainty, or a slow crawl through the two week wait, to land up in a BFN yet again. But now it just feels worse. You PAID all this money to get a positive result. And the damn thing still doesn’t work.

So you keep trying. You go to all these different doctors / mechanics.  All of them recommended or promising that they will really help you this time. Ja right.

Eventually you actually get to the point where you want to forget about the car and walk in a different direction.

Maybe this car was just not meant to go.

You get sick of all those BMW’s passing you by who conceive so easily while yours just sits there.  They have offspring that advance in years, reminding you of the passing of time. How long you have been waiting.

But something within you keeps saying: try one more time.

So .. you do. What the heck. At this stage it feels like you’re a sucker for punishment.

This time you go to a proper mechanic. Who actually knows what he is doing. Who puts petrol in and gets the starter motor going. Opens the hood and clears out the gunk. (I’m talking clearing out the endometriosis here!) The fertility clinic can really narrow it down for you, and if you find a good one, you may have just found the perfect fix it place.

The point is, because you have been scammed so many times before, even though all the changes are promised to make a difference, you really don’t believe that after all these years, the old BMW actually has it in her to start her engines.

I have to say it was one of the biggest surprises (and blessings) to get that BFP.

To actually get that car going like all the other BMW’s out there.

And they don’t even know.

I was once a skedonk.

 

In other news, despite being overloaded with work and reports (just two left, I can make it!) I have actually had a good week, it being my birthday week and all. On Tuesday, my actual birthday, my dearest hubby took me out for supper at the Spur. I really enjoyed that chocolate brownie. Then today I had a nice celebration at work, nice food and nice woolworths vouchers! I think they wanted me to buy stuff for the baby but I landed up getting pajamas for the hospital. Nice winter ones for my winter June delivery.

It is really amazing what a difference a year makes. You can read this post for how depressed I was last year.

I’m cruising now. But I wasn’t always.

 

Posted in bloggers, Fertility | 10 Comments

Lots of News: Camp, Midwife Visit, PAIL, and other newsflashes

Posted on March 16, 2012 by heatherss

I know you guys haven’t heard from me in a while, so this post is going to contain quite a lot.

I have been insanely busy and it only gets worse after this.

Last week after a hectic week of school (assessment tests) it was straight onto camp which basically took up my whole weekend. I did have the Monday off but was running around doing stuff (including the midwife visit) plus trying to at least get some work done.

I have to still sort out all the photos from camp (we’re talking over 600 here so I really do some severe editing) plus get going with reports at some point. Only 3 weeks of term left so it really has to start happening soon.

The camp was great by the way. Run by edu tours they are so amazing. We went to the Voortrekker Monument and Freedom Park on the Friday which was awesome – but also quite a lot of contrasts. For those of you not from South Africa the Voortrekker Monument is like a monument to the Afrikaaner nation (people who split up from the English to go on a big trip inland) and fought a lot of battles along the way.  Freedom Park is a monument to the freedom fighters (who basically fought against apartheid and unequal rights). It was so nice to be out and about in the fresh air and see interesting things. Although those stairs at the Voortrekker Monument were very hectic!

With lion cubs and some other teachers

We stayed at Ukutula which has lots of game and lions. One of the highlights for all the kids on the Sat was playing with the cubs who were only 4 weeks old. They still had spots on their legs. (I was chuffed because we’d just done a comprehension that week about baby lions that lose their spots as they grow up).

Touching a snake!

On the Sunday we went to a crocodile and then a snake park. I touched a snake at the snake park!

On Monday I went for my first midwife visit. Dr. K phoned the previous week to cancel the appointment, but had previously recommended the midwife who works with him at his practice and she also does scans. Plus she costs a lot less i.e. half the cost of him.

I think she was also more matter of fact about details like booking the hospital and the 3 D scan, which I did after the appointment.  It’s quite cool when you book your cesar they give you vouchers for the 3D scan and the hospital classes so it was easy to get all that done. I already have the authorization number from Discovery which they could look up on their computer which was cool.

25 week scan

With both Dr. K and Sr. J I have to pee in a bottle and get weighed. She even took out a measuring tape and measured my stomach. According to her baby is right on track and the right size which is good.

She also told me I must go off the Ecotrin meds at the end of May (blood thinners I was on to prevent miscarriage) to prepare for baby’s birth.  Once less pill to swallow, yay! (And I am really taking a lot; I’m talking more vitamins here!)

I also shared with her my concerns about the blood pressure but it seemed to be fine and they will keep monitoring it. I also have a monitor at home but I think I’ll wait until later to do it more regularly (like when I’m really in the third trimester, almost there…)

I’ve also been lucky enough to get more baby stuff. A parent has given me a stroller and my dearest B has been unscrewing it so we can properly wash the material so that it will be super ready for baby.

Yes we still don’t have a name. Although I now have 3 name books.

At some point inspiration will hit.

Just like he keeps hitting me from inside. Or it could really be hiccups as the midwife said. Whatever it is he is moving around a lot.

 

Well enough about me.

 

I have been reading a lot of stuff that has been going on in the infertility community. I read a lot of blogs and was kind of sad.

When I heard about PAIL from Elphaba I was pretty excited to find another way to connect. But then I read Mel’s post  from Stirrup Queens (basically the Queen of Infertility Blogrolls who felt a bit insulted that someone else was doing, in part, what she was doing, albeit from a different angle).  I think the worst thing was all the mud that got slung and the people that were hurt. I think specifically of Jjiraffe who wrote some of the most balanced posts on the matter, and received some nasty email.

I think that in any community there is always growth and change.

It just seems like change awakens a lot of fear and raw emotion.

It will be interesting to see how things develop. I will be watching and reading.

In the meantime I was interested to read a variety of posts that Elphaba gathered from this group on breastfeeding.  I was especially chuffed to read there is also someone else out there who also has a La Leche League leader for a mom.  Ah ha! Someone else who has survived! And it looks like she did quite well.

 

With National Infertility Awareness Week coming up I was struck by their “Don’t ignore” theme. And one of their suggestions was: Don’t ignore each other.

I think this is one of the most valuable things about this community: we are there to support each other. And I really find it terribly sad that we are fighting over stuff like this instead of being supportive.

 

March is also Endometriosis Awareness month. You can read more about this disease here.  This is the stuff I had cut out of me just before baby got put in. Really yucky to think of all that growth inside but also cool to know that modern medicine (and natural means) can combat this disease to an extent, anyway.

Also don’t forget that the Fertility Telesummit is almost over but you can still catch the infertility bloggers being interviewed this weekend. Click here.  

If you don’t hear from me in a while just know I am still alive, but drowning in reports. And I will keep reading about all of you and commenting where I can!

 

Posted in PAIL, pregnancy | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments