Third Trimester Waiting Game

The waiting game has begun. I'm not technically in the zone yet for giving birth-- that will come next week. But from this point forth, if the baby wanted out then nobody would try to stop it. I packed my bag. I'm making backup and more backup plans for child care while I'm in the hospital. And I'm waiting. I never actually went into labor last time because I was induced. On one hand, I want a quick labor like every normal person. On the other hand, I want a few hours warning so that I can take care of affairs before going to the hospital. There are some things you just can't do until the last minute.

Put Your Feet Up

The problem with being pregnant and having a kid and having swollen feet is that everyone tells you that all you have to do is put your feet up... but putting your feet up requires that you stop doing pretty much everything else. That is, everything besides reading, knitting, or watching television. Chances are that if you're a working mom, these three activities are not an option, not even at the end of a busy day when there is a kitchen to be cleaned and toys to be picked up and laundry to be hung or gathered.

Hospital Bag

I packed my hospital bag last night. I'm not going to carry it around with me everywhere. But at least if I don't leave for the hospital from home I won't have to count on anyone finding me the right stuff and bringing it to me. I made sure to take an excess of underwear. That's what I was missing last time. I must have gone through five pairs-- just in labor!! I had a long labor, though. Counting on a shorter one this time with my 2nd.
I also packed wet wipes because they were really stingy with them in the last hospital I went to. Even today I can't use just one or two wet wipes to clean my son's bum. I mean, it depends on the situation, but one or two just doesn't cut it. I had to buy them from the hospital gift shop last time just to maintain some sanity.
I packed snacks because they don't let you eat past a certain point in labor. But if I'm there for a while I totally plan on sneaking in food while nobody's looking. How people go through long labors without eating is a mystery to me. The nurse even tried to give me an enema last time but I flat-out refused. I know some women told me they wished they'd had one because they couldn't poop afterwords but that wasn't a problem for me and once I heard the words 'turn over', I was pretty darn suspicious about what they were planning on doing. Ech. The thought of it makes my stomach squirm. Ech.
I packed a book. I actually did a lot of reading last time while waiting for my contractions to pick up speed. Also I read a lot afterwords in between feedings and things.
I don't think I packed anything else terribly unusual-- a bottle of water, gum, stuff... I did't pack any stuff for baby because I figure someone will just bring it over for me when I need it. Besides, it's hot. The baby can go home in a diaper in this weather (spoken like a true non-newbie mom...)

Have You Had Enough Of My Feet? Edema Continues

Edema edema edema. Maybe that's what I should name my baby. It has a nice ring to it, no? It's because of the baby that I'm getting it, so maybe I'll just pay it back with that name. Edema. Edem if it's a boy...

Just kidding.

Now back to my feet. They look like hot water bottles. You know, the red kind that you fill from the kettle? The kind that squish when you step on them and jiggle when you drop them? Yeah. That's what my feet look like.

DS has a new habit of stepping on my feet in order to access things he can't reach on the counter. My feet don't normally hurt but when he steps on them I'm afraid they're going to pop. My toes look like little sausages. In fact, my feet look like a baby's foot. Not as cute, though. Not something I'd pretend to munch on. But I would refer to my toes as little piggies. I think that it's an appropriate metaphor right now. This one went to market, this one sayed home...

Mirror Mirror: Body Image in the Third Trimester

My belly has filled out enough that, besides looking like I'm in my eleventh month of pregnancy, I'm kind of balanced out. What I mean is that whatever bulk I've gained my stomach is bulkier so I don't look really fat any more. Just really pregnant. At least, that's the way I see it. And I look overall broader than I used to be. But most people besides me wouldn't notice that.
Baby bump? Hah! More like a baby mountain. I think that I must be using up double the calories to complete the same task as any normal person would be. Climbing the stairs,rolling over in bed, typing...
In my home bathroom I only have a small medicine cabinet mirror. In fact, the biggest mirror in my house is only a 1/2 length one which, if you stand as far back from it as is physically possible within the dimensions of my hallway, gives you a 3/4 view of yourself. And I don't often stand around naked in my hallway. So when I was staying at someone else's house the other day and I caught a glimpse of myself pre-shower, my shape came as somewhat of a surprise. I don't feel like I have a graceful arch in my midsection. I feel more like a snake that's swallowed an ostrich egg. An awkward sort of bulge where it should be smooth. Ah well. With clothes on I don't feel as bad, and that's usually how I spend my days.

More on My Feet: Edema and Pregnancy

I know I've been talking a lot about my feet lately but edema has been a theme in the third trimester of my second pregnancy.
The truth is, it's not painful -- except for when I was wading through the wading pool with DS the other day and then for some reason it hurt to drag it through the water-- and I guess the swelling in my feet doesn't make that much difference to my life except for the fact that I'm bursting out of every shoe I own except for my Crocs. Thank God it's summertime or else I don't know what I'd be doing.
My sister saw my feet for the first time the other day and she actually felt so moved that she decided to rub them for me. Maybe edema is a good thing after all. DH is too grossed out by my feet to touch them but it's not because of the water retention. It's because they need a good washing. The ratio of how much barefoot walking I'm inclined towards to how much floor washing I find myself doing lately is quite high.

Pregnancy, Sinusitis and Me

Prior to going to the hospital yesterday, I actually had a doctor's appointment for my terrible sinus pain. (With all the hubub of having DS in the room with me, I totally forgot to ask her about the edema. If you think of it, the higher likelyhood of edema and sinus pain in pregnancy stem from the same problem-- water retention. This has definitely been a problem in this 2nd pregnancy of mine. I'm hoping that a lot of the weight I gained is just water.

My sinus pain has been excrutiating. At times it has me moaning and walking around holding my face. Tylenol provided some relief but at really bad times it just takes the edge off, it doesn't make the sinus pain go away. It's not always terrible, but when I have a flare-up, it is just horrible horrible horrible. I can't do anything. I can't sit, stand, or lie down. The pain keeps me from talking comfrotably. I can't concentrate on anything else. It wakes me up if I'm asleep. I find that it usually creeps up on me when I'm doing something that doesn't require moving my head around too much. Driving is a big culprit. So is reading. Using the computer, for some reason, isn't that bad.

Last night for the first time I tried putting ice on it. I hadn't tried it before because anything touching that side of my face when it hurts makes me feel worse. But after the initial shock of the cold, the ice actually managed to soothe the pain in the nerve running along my jaw, which is where all the sinus pain radiates from. The first thing you would try if you are not pregnant is decongestants. But they are strictly forbidden during pregnancy. I'm going to have to try some natural remedies for sinusitis such as vapor inhalation and nostril flushing. Also cutting out dairy and wheat products which contribute to the development of mucous.

Anyway, back to the doctor. I finally went to see her and she gave me antibiotics for it-- amoxicylin-- which is supposed to be safe for pregnant women, but which didn't make me any less nervous to take it. I even called my OB and confirmed with him that it was OK. It was. It is. Which made me feel slightly better about it. The truth is that I have to do SOMETHING about this sinus pain, pregnant or not, because at times it renders me completely non functional, not to mention the complete agony I feel.

Here's the irony between my leg swelling (which doesn't hurt, btw) and the sinus trouble. The radiologist who scanned me for blood clots yesterday at the hospital reminded me that if I sleep on my left side, it should help the swelling in my leg. Well, because of the sinusitis I can only lie on one side for so long before the pain starts and then I have to flip to the other side, whcih causes the pain to subside temporarily but makes my leg swell up. This doctor said that it's better even to lie on my back than to lie on my right side. That was a fist for me. EVERYONE says not to lie on your back in pregnancy. But apparently lying on your right actually blocks blood flow while lying on your left allows it. Lying on your back is only bad if it causes you discomfort. I don't have discomfort from lying on my back so I tried it out last night. It wasn't as good at relieving the pain as flipping from side to side, but I had my ice pack, and between the two, I managed to get a few good hours of sleep.

My Brush With DVT

Deep Vein Thrombosis basically means that there is a blood clot in your vein. I don't have it. I know this because I just returned from the hospital where my leg (in addition to my abdomen-- just for fun) was ultrasounded. Pregnant women are at high risk for DVT. It's one of the reasons they tell you to get up and walk around all the time. One of the indications of DVT is swelling in one foot and not the other, which is what I had. Well, actually I have swelling in both feet but one of them is a lot more significant, depending on the time of day. I called my doctor and he said I might as well go to the hospital and check it out.

At the hospital they did a bunch of tests before they ever got around to looking at my balloon foot. Urine stick, blood pressure and temperature, and then heart monitor. The doctors on call-- well, one of them-- remembered me from having given birth there not too long ago. I didn't mention that I'm planning on another hospital this time. Not because they were bad in particular. I just had a tough birth and want a fresh experience that is not in a place I associate with all this trauma from last time.

But I digress. I was wheeled down to Radiology in a chair. I should have felt embarrassed-- I have no problem walking-- but I decided to enjoy my chariot ride. When the radiologist came to fetch me, he found me reading with my feet up against the railing. He scanned only my thigh and not below. He said that if there are any significant clots, that's where they are. Clots lower than the knee aren't considered dangerous. When he didn't find anything he sent me back up for discharge sans wheelchair. Now that I was clear of DVT I'd have to fend the elevators by myself.

Collecting Hats: I love toddlers because:

This is a really great blog post by the Glad Hatter that I read this week. It's not related directly to pregnancy, but I think my readers will enjoy it nonetheless!

Collecting Hats: I love toddlers because:

No Heartburn

Sometimes when I'm browsing through pregnancy forums online I have to stop and thank my lucky stars about some of the things I don't suffer from. Pu Pu PU. Knock on wood.

Heartburn is very common in pregnancy but I have only consumed a half package of TUMS since I first got three or four packages at the beginning of my FIRST pregnancy. and most of that half-pack was consumed by DH. I was playing it safe since my sister had heartburn REAL BAD and went through a pack a week of TUMS. I had some stomach pains that turned out to be gas (to be blunt) but not heartburn-- not that I know of.

At the end of my sister's most recent pregnancy, she was popping tylenol every day for lower back pain. Thank God I don't suffer from that either. I also never had this stupid edema that's been plaguing me last pregnancy but I guess you can't win them all.

On the other hand, last pregnancy I had a terribly itchy scalp and also ear pain. Nobody could figure out either of these things. There was seemingly no reason for the itch and nobody could see any redness in my ears. It turns out that (according to my pregnancy book-- how come the doctors didn't know?) that painful ear is associated with fluid retention. So I guess you can say that I had some symptoms of edema last pregnancy but it was nothing like what I'm going through now. Especially with the sinus trouble.

DS heart Cousins

It was so heartwarming to see our DS playing with his cousin when they met up on Friday for the first time in months. I don't know if he remembers her specifically, buthey got along great. He also didn't mind that I spent a lot of time holding her baby brother (who is as cute as a little jelly bean.) What a relief!

BigFoot: Edema is Me

My foot, when I stamp on it, jiggles like jelly. I didn't even bother trying my sandals on yesterday. I opted for DH's flip-flops instead. (Okay, I did try to put my foot in my sandal but I only gave it one half-hearted shove before I gave up.) My sister's sister-in-law, a nurse, discretely checked out my legs and ankles when I saw her over the weekend and she gently recommended that I keep a close eye on my blood pressure and take frequent urine tests. I sent in a pee-pee sample this morning. My blood pressure is usually on the low end of fantastic. But I'll have to get that checked out too. Sigh.

Oh yeah, I also couldn't get my rings off yesterday, though this morning it's a bit better. It was a terribly hot day yesterday, which could have accounted for a lot.

I finally made a doctor's appointment for my sinus trouble, which is also related to the excess body fluid in pregnant women. In this case the fluid is mucous. Apparently, they don't give decongestants to pregnant women although nobody is really sure why. I guess it's one of those 'not enough research done on it' kind of things. I'll have to update when I get her response. I'm hoping she'll send me to an ENT specialist because when it starts to hurt, it can be so bad as to wake me up. The pain runs along my upper and lower jaws and sometimes towards my eye and my ear. I've had a couple of flare-ups that had me in complete agony. DH thinks it'll all go away once the baby is born, but that's a long time from now. At least, it's a long time to be in agony.

The Baby Wearer

I want to mention a site I just found about baby wearing. www.thebabywearer.com
I don't usually join a lot of forums, but I posted a question here and got a ton of really good replies almost immediately.

Here is the response I posted to all the replies I got today:

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Thanks so much to everyone who's replied. I really did learn a lot so far from your answers, especially the dif between a stretchy and a woven wrap, AND I'm slowly getting caught up on all the acronyms!

In answer to those who asked, what I meant by a hip sling is basically anything that goes over one shoulder and, whether or not it has a buckle or a ring, basically forms a kind of an O shape that you stick the baby in.

As for carrying my toddler while pregnant, I can hardly carry him in my arms over my front -- though I can easily hold him on my hip-- so I can't really wear a carrier over my belly, but I'm totally open to getting a carrier that can be used back and front.

I guess there's no one-size-fits-all or even one bullseye option for each person. Which I guess means it's good that I'm looking into a second carrier as an alternative.

I'm going to mention this site on my blog: http://9moons.blogspot.com. It has been so helpful that I hope it will help other moms / moms to be (MTBs? is that an accepted acronym? (: ).

Baby Wrap - A funny story

I have a pretty good baby carrier (Bjorn)from my first pregnancy but I've been wanting a second one-- the wrap kind. I actually had one of them for a long time on loan from a friend who just had another baby so I had to give it back. I hardly ever used it since I always felt like the baby would kind of start to sag down after a while. But I think those things take a little more practice than the structured carriers. Anyway, I want to get one of my own now, or maybe a sling one, because they say it's good to 36 months and DS is not quite two-thirds of that. I don't know how he'd feel about being put in a carrier at this point, but it's good to have the option. I may also buy a frame backpack carrier for him eventually but that's a plan on hold until after we move. I also want a second wrap just because if you're using any wrap for an extended period of time, it will tend to get heavy and uncomfortable. So it's good to have an alternative one.
So anyway, I've been meaning to try DS out in one of either these hip carriers or slings or both. I was never really convinced about the hip carrier but today I realized that I carry him on my hip all the time. So it's actually a pretty natural position for me and the sling would just replace the need for my arm around him. Or so I would guess. I would have to try it on to be sure, right?
I was at the mall today and I asked at the baby store if they had any open slings that I could test out. I waited around until someone was free to help me, and when she finally pulled out the sample wrap, I asked her a few questions about whether DS could still fit in it and if he could sit on my back (no, in this case). So I said, 'Ok, let me try it on and see how he sits on my front.' The sales girl gave me sort of a weird look, at which point I looked down to discover that I don't have much front available for him to sit on. I had totally forgotten my extended belly. DH and I laughed really hard over this when I told him about it later. I thought it was hilarious.
They didn't have any open packages of hip sling for me to try, so I didn't get to see if that works for me. Score one for the hip sling, though, since it seems to be one kind of carrier I can use in late stages of pregnancy.

Fat Feet

I've got that edema thing going again. A lovely surprise in my second pregnancy. My feet were so fat yesterday that I almost didn't recognise them. I thought it would go away when I went to sleep, but this morning I had to coax my feet into my thong sandals. I sure hope my foot size goes down after I give birth. I don't want to buy whole new set of shoes. Besides the fact that we can't currently afford it, I hate hate hate buying shoes. My feet are big anyway, and I am tall, and still they don't make decent flat shoes. How many 5"10 people do you know who want to walk around in two-inch heels all day? Or in any high shoe, for that matter?

I know the swelling should go down when the baby is born, but some people's shoe size gets permanently changed. That would bring me up to a size 11. I don't care about the number itself but shoot, have you ever tried to find a size 11 women's shoe? It's not an easy thing to do, at least not if you care about selection.

My Weight

I was at the pool the other day, the one where I weigh myself on the scale that COUNTS. In other words, it's the scale upon which I actually gauge my weight gain, as opposed to the scale at my monthly appointments which I keep skipping/missing (this is, after all, my second pregnancy.)

I wasn't too upset by what I saw. I didn't gain too much compared to the rapid weight gain I underwent in my second trimester. The thing is, I must be developing a better attitude about my body because I can't remember the actual number. I think it was 74 kilos. I even ran into a friend who asked me how much I gained (we've known each other through a total of 3 pregnancies so we can talk about these things) and I remember telling her... I just can't remember exactly how much. Let's stick with 74 kilos. That sounds about right.

I know I'm much bigger now than I was even at the end of my first pregnancy just because of the way clothes fit me. My maternity clothes from last time are all less comfortable and they don't fit the way I want them to-- though I guess I wouldn't exactly call them small.

2nd Pregnancy- Feelings of Guilt

This morning I was reflecting (as I often do)on how much I adore my son. He came running to where I was sitting with a big smile on his face, and as I pulled him up in to my lap, I felt a pang of guilt. What will happen to our special relationship after the new baby comes? Him feeling jealous is secondary on my list of worries. I asked him, as I sometimes do, "would you like to be a big brother?" His answer is usually yes, but this time it was a shake of the head. I tried a different tactic-- also a question I've asked before and to a positive response. "Do you want Mummy to bring a baby home for you?" Again, he gestured in the negative. Oh boy.
It didn't help-- at least, it didn't help how I felt-- when we got to daycare and one of the mom's was holding her two-month-old daughter. I pointed at her as I do to every baby we pass and said 'look, a baby!' Usually, he's interested enough to come over and take a look. Which he did. Then I said 'you want one of those?' Well, he didn't give me any answer this time. Maybe he's coming around.

More on Pregnant With A Toothache

I started writing about being pregnant with a toothache a couple of days ago.

So I finally went to the dentist the other day. She remembered me from the last time I was there-- over a year ago when DS was only about 4 months old and demanded to nurse while I was in the dentist chair (DH was late in meeting me and taking over with him.) So I nursed in the chair while they checked me (we're all ladies here). When it was time to do a filling, they called in a young hygenist to watch him-- said she needed the practice.

Anyway, the same dentist took a look in my mouth and said it didn't look too bad. This was only partially reassuring considering the enormous pain I've been having in my jaw. I was sure I'd be needing a root canal, but she said it was just a simple cavity. She couldn't understand why the pain was so bad until.... she did an x-ray (I got my two lead aprons without even asking for it). So yes, I had my teeth x-rayed while pregnant, but it was with the reassurances of a lot of different professionals and I did it with a steady heart (I can't find the right expression to say that I wasn't worried-- is that one good?)

Anyway, the dentist looked at the x-ray and asked if I'd had a cold lately, to which I answered in the affirmative. The pain in my jaw, she said, was not from my tooth but from the sinus just above it which was all clogged up. There is a nerve runnign through that area which can make the pain feel like it's coming from the jaw or the ear or the tooth.

What a relief! But not a physical one. That evening I was having a really terrible time with the pain. I finally took acetaminophen, which I am loathe to do in the best of times and especially in pregnancy (even though there's nothing actually wrong with it at either of those times so long as you take it as prescribed.) DH looked up the sinus issue in my pregnancy book and there it was the whole time-- I never knew it. Pregnant women are more inclined towards sinus infections. Something to do with the increase in mucous production during pregnancy. In my case, it's a no brainer since I'm always prone to sinus infections. Usually, however, they're not this bad, and they feel different. Usually I get them in the upper sinuses-- where you'd call it a headache and not a cheek-ache, and the pain happens when I move my head.

Knowing where the pain is coming from did give me the advantage of knowing how to deal with it. Instead of hurting when I move, this starts to hurt when I've been sitting with my face in one position for too long. Like if I'm reading or something So all I have to do if it starts to hurt is change position. The pain goes away within minutes after that but then I have to make sure to keep switching position if I'm doing something that doesn't involve a lot of motion.

Today it feels better. Hopefully the infection has gone down and I won't have to see a doctor or get antibiotics.

2nd Baby: Prepared or Getting There

I was commenting to my husband last night on how NOT wierded out I am by the coming of this 2nd baby. This statement might sound contrary to what I've said in other postings, (also here and here)but in fact it's not. I have some anticipation about how the baby will fit in to our lives, especially for my DS. And I have these minor issues about the gender and about whether or not I will love it, but I know these things will be resolved when the baby is born... well, I'm counting on it, anyway.

My attitude towards the arrival of our second child is very matter-of-fact. Compare it to a summer vacation and knowing that in September I'll be in school and I have to make plans around that. We have some major moving and traveling coming up soon and we've had to take a newborn into account in our plans. This planning has been going on for months, so talking about having another baby is really feeling very natural. I'm also getting used to the name we're most seriously considering...

More on my OB visit

I don't remember the last time I got excited about any development in my pregnancy. Usually it's just 'HOW MUCH weight did you say I gained??" or "you want to do WHICH test? And WHY?" But last night when the OB told me that the baby is turned around-- sitting on it's little fetus head in my belly-- I got happy. Dunno why. I guess it might be because I was concerned for some reason (don't pregnant women always find reason to be concerned) that the baby was breach. And why? Because I was feeling kicking from both sides of my belly, and I thought that maybe the baby was horizontal. Logical? No. Normal behavior? Yes. Other than that, most of my concerns during this 2nd pregnancy have revolved around the new one's relationship with my DS and if I'll even be able to love it. Again. Logical? No. Normal? Yes.
By the way, my husband explained that breach is not when the baby lies horizontally. That's called transverse (I had to look that up). Breach basically means that the baby hasn't turned over yet.

Pregnant with a Toothache

Painful, bleeding gums are common in pregnancy, but this is above and beyond. I am sure I have a really bad cavity or two and I am almost sure it's going to require some drastic dental work-- hopefully not a root canal! I'm really afraid of having any procedures done during while I'm pregnant and so I spoke to my OB during my visit last night. He basically said I should go for it and don't worry. If there are antibiotics involved, they will give me something appropriate. If there is an x-ray involved then they will cover me and especially my pregnant belly with a lead apron (I'm going to request three). If it requires local anesthetic, that's ok too... Not that I know what kind of dental work I'm in for, but at least his reassurance was soothing. He pointed out that there's no way I can wait two whole months to have this taken care of-- the pain has been keeping me up at night (occasionally.)

What a pain in the butt to get a dentist app on short term, though. Considering how popular they are, you'd think they were giving away balloons and toothbrushes (which they don't) instead of collecting significant dough for drilling in my mouth.
The thing I hate most about going to the dentist-- pregnant or not-- is having to keep my mouth open for a long time. It makes my skin feel all stretched out. I'll have to put on some heavy duty moisturizer.

Interestingly, my husband, who has been having a lot of pregnancy symptoms alongside me, is also having dental work done. I don't know if you can correlate his wisdom tooth extraction with whatever I am about to undergo, but it's definitely in keeping with the pattern of Couvade syndrome-- or sympathy pains felt by the husband.
Sigh.
Wish me luck!

Exhaustamundo

There is a little incline from my apartment to the main street, not to mention the stairs. You'd hardly notice it if you were driving. I'm telling you, last pregnancy I wouldn't have noticed it either, but now it's become this source of dread for me. There's something about slight inclines as opposed to steep ones. I guess that since you're not actually seeing the slope so much, you expect to be able to walk at your usual pace... but you can't. And now it's just SO HARD. Fortunately, it's only about a block long before it evens out. I'm lucky-- I live in a hilly city but this is the worst slope I have to deal with on a regular basis. There's also the slight one in the parking lot at work which comes in a close second in terms of difficulty (or dread). I hope this is just a symptom of the late stages of pregnancy and not an indication of my overall physical fitness. I went to the OB last night. I'm a little more advanced in weeks than I'd thought. I'll take that as an excuse for now.

The Ugly Walk

I discovered today that the pregnancy waddle is just the dingified version of the ugly walk. I was having sciatic pain, as I usually do when I've been sitting at my desk too long, and since nobody was watching, I lapsed into a shuffle-and-drag kind of walk as I was leaving for the day. Nobody was around to see me. However, usually when I'm wandering the corridors I'll do the waddle. It looks nicer-- more pregnant, less injured.

Preview

Today I happened to be in the hospital where I intend to give birth, which is different than the hospital where I gave birth in my first pregnancy. The reason I'm switching for my second pregnancy is that I don't think I can face those doctors again... not that they're likely to recognize my face. Just kidding. I've seen them since and they did remember me-- shows you what a model patient I was. Or what a squeaky wheel. I can't believe I just called myself a patient. I wasn't sick, I was giving birth... that's the problem with hospital births in general, I guess.

Anyway, this hospital was, I think, a step above the last one I went to for a couple of reasons. First of all, they have what they call a 'natural birthing room' which, as far as I can tell, basically has a nicer, upgraded bed and a bathroom with a jacuzzi. The decor is also wood paneled instead of hospital-grade sterile, which makes it a little nicer, warmer, a little less... clinical. It's in the same hallway as all the other birthing rooms. I guess they revamped this one as a little experiment in birthing. The only thing is that if you decide that you want to get an epidural, you have to move across the hall to one of the regular birthing rooms. Fair enough.

One of my major problems with the hospital I was at last time is that there was nowhere to be but in my room. There was no sitting or lounge area for moms to entertain their families and friends who came to visit. I had to host people in my little room along with my roommate whose giving birth drew out the entire village to come and bring her cakes, it seems. I ended up sitting with my guests in the hallway waiting area where we could actually sit and talk without the craziness of visiting hour pandemonium. Also, the room I was originally put in was very small. Really, it was only big enough for one bed and a bassinet. We couldn't have had both babies in there at once. I eventually got transferred to a bigger room (remember, I was there for 5 days waiting for my DS to get over vacuum-induced jaundice, which at the end of the day made all the difference and brought me close to the brink of madness.) This bigger room also featured a slightly better window-- it had one, but it looked out over the inner sanctum of the hospital, which is built in a ring. I didn't even have the window-side bed.

This other hospital has a communal dining area so you don't have to eat on your bed and you don't have to hustle to make sure there are no bloody sheets or clothes hanging around for when your husband's friends show up. Also, it makes you feel less like a patient and more like a woman who has just given birth. The rooms are less good-- they're for either two or three people, which is a bit crowded. However, if you're lucky then you'll score a window-side bed with a view AND privacy. The window beds are separated by a wall from the other roommates. It's a good thing I did this tour. Now I know what to ask for if I end up going there. Also, the staff seemed really nice and sweet. They were pretty ok in the last hospital too, and also more professional-looking (which does mean something) but there was one monster, b*&^h nurse on the birthing floor and one like that (who eventually softened up but started out mega super b^%$y) in the recovery area who really got to my pre and postpartum hormonal self a couple of times.

Edema

Edema is what happens excess fluids in your body gather in your extremities. I didn't have any problems with it in my first pregnancy. I even flew six times in late pregnancy (four of those were part of a trans Atlantic trip) and did fine-- though I did wear compression stockings each of those times and I took care to move around a lot.
Now, in my 2nd pregnancy, I've been noticing that my legs and feet are pouffy-- much more substantial looking than my usual chicken-like appearance. I even had marks on my feet when I took off my fancy sandals after an affair last week. I showed it to DH who pressed on my shin with his finger and sure enough, it left an indentation. That's how you tell. Apparently it's pretty mild, but I'm still not happy with the situation. It means one more thing to be careful about. One more succumbing to pregnancy ailments that I'm going through this time around. On a positive note, it probably means that I have less to lose after the pregnancy since a higher percentage of my weight gain this time is water.

False Labor

I don't know what the technical criteria for false labor are, but at about 4am last night I was having something like it. I was getting waves of pain and nausea all up and down my abdomen. When you're not pregnant, you deal with the pain but you don't worry about it all that much-- at least relatively speaking. Stomachaches happen, and they usually resolve themselves. But when you're at the beginning of the third trimester, you start to consider going to the hospital pretty fast. I tried to think logically, which was a difficult process since I was having a wave of pain every couple of minutes. That was one clue in itself. Contractions don't usually start off that way. They start one at a time and gradually get stronger and closer together-- but that's in most cases and there's no guarantee that it can't just come on strong from the beginning. Considering that I've had another baby before, you'd think I'd be able to compare the present experience to my past one, but I was induced last time and I actually don't remember the pain too well, though I remember it was really, really bad. What I did know was that the pain I was having was comparable to a stomachache. Another clue was that I'd been having, eh, a bit of a problem with sharing enclosed spaces with people all day, if you catch my drift. I realized that I must have ingested about seven or eight nectarines, peaches and plums-- the current crop of fresh fruit-- over the last day and a half. I reasoned that this could have been the source of my troubles as well.
I eventually woke up my husband, though it was hard to speak and I didn't actually want to hear anything either. I wanted complete weightlessness and silence. I positioned myself in a draped position over the end of our bed which was more comfortable and then for some reason took comfort lying right on the hard tiled floor with my pillow. I think it was the coolness of the surface. I woke up in that position some time later-- I'm not sure how long-- and found that I was able to release all the pressure (ahem) that had been building up inside me. I felt much better and got back in to bed. I've been going easy on my stomach ever since, and I'm glad to know that little Fetus is still cuddled up inside, safe and sound and biding it's time until much closer to it's due date.