Since no book or website can agree when the hell the second trimester actually begins (some say 12 weeks, some say 13, some say 13w3d and some say 14), I have set 13w3d as my second trimester date. I have made it to my second trimester! I am so happy to be here, too. It's like a big sigh of relief.
So, what has been happening lately?
I have gained no weight. At all. In fact, I've lost weight, which isn't unheard of in the first trimester. It's probably because I've become a very picky eater, and most of the time, I don't finish my meals. Lately, my go-to foods have been pears and toast with real butter. Because that makes absolutely no sense. But, I've told myself that no matter how stupid the foods are that I want to eat, and how stupid the time is that I want to eat them, that I have to eat, so that's how I manage.
My back has been killing me, and it is getting progressively worse. My next appointment is on the 9th, at 14 weeks, and I am trying to make it there without wanting to confine myself to the bed. Except the bed makes things worse. So does sitting.
It's my lower right back, right near my spine. Yesterday, I arranged my first prenatal massage because the pain was so unbearable. I told the massage therapist that I was right at the second trimester, and I needed relief from the pain, so she let me come in. She told me that the point where I am having pain is right at where the hips are separating to support the baby. She also said that usually this pain doesn't happen until later, since the hips don't move until later, but anything is possible. Sometimes, I already catch myself waddling, which is the sign that the hips have, in fact, moved, so I guess mine just couldn't wait. The massage was wonderful, but when it was done, the therapist told me that if it continues as it is, I have to let my midwife know.
Today, I was expecting to wake up feeling bruised because I did get a deep tissue massage the day before, and that is normal. Instead, I woke up with the same back pain, just worse. It's getting to the point where I don't want to drive or anything because getting from a seating position to a standing position is very painful.
I feel the baby move around more, though it's still infrequent. It's about the size of a tangerine now, so I didn't really expect to feel it much at all, but I think it just likes to let me know its there every now and then. My next scan is probably at 20 weeks, and though I haven't seen the midwife yet, I do know that there's no well in hell that I am waiting until 20 weeks to see my baby again. The way I see it, I have been a patient enough girl to have gone through all of what I had to go through to get this baby. I shouldn't have to be patient anymore.
So, B and I have decided to schedule an elective scan done soon to determine the sex of the baby. I am not giving a date, because I don't want people to bother me about it. :) We are going to go to a center in Pikesville that does elective scans for just this reason. There are different packages that we could choose from, but we went with the cheapest one, which is $75 for 10-15 minutes of a 2D/3D/4D sonogram, gender determination, and three or four color prints of the baby. This is the cheapest center I could find in the area, and they are very popular and have gotten high ratings, so I'm good with going there.
Hopefully, though, my midwife will offer to take a peek in the office and maybe we won't have to get the elective scan at all. Can't hurt to ask. I have a million other things to ask her, such as:
1. When will I have to hire a doula?
I am getting a doula because while I love my husband dearly, he's not the best at empathy. I want a doula there for extra support for the both of us.
2. What can I do about my back pain?
3. Should we keep a better eye on my blood pressure?
This is really important to me lately. Ever since my migraine hospital visit, I have worried about my blood pressure. For the most part, it's been okay since then. In fact, one day it was the lowest it has ever been, and B got worried that it was too low and that my pulse was too high, until I told him that low blood pressure and a high pulse in pregnancy was normal.
Last night, I started to feel kind of strange, like there was a heaviness in my chest, so I took my blood pressure. It was 126/60, which is great. A couple hours of later, I felt a pressure in my head, much like the auras I get before a migraine onset. I took my blood pressure again and it was 141/74. Not so good. B told me to drink some soda to ward off the migraine, so I poured a cup of soda and slowly drank it. Forty minutes later, I took my blood pressure again and it was 116/72. The top number is good, but the bottom number sort of sucks. The pressure in my head was getting better, but was still there. Before bedtime, another forty minutes later, I took my blood pressure one more time and it was 131/75. Meh.
I have read that a fluctuating systolic number is not as bad as a fluctuating diastolic number. In fact, the bottom number seems to be more important to doctors, and while my bottom number was in the 70s, that's not actually too bad. Above 80 is bad in the diastolic range.
This morning, before breakfast, I did my blood pressure again and it was 137/79. That's not good. I'm thinking of letting the OB office know earlier than the 9th and maybe they can get me in this week? I don't know. :/ I hate calling the doctor...I really do.
4. Is there a migraine medication that I can take during pregnancy?
So, that's about it for now. I think I'll give my midwife a call and see what she says. If she wants me to come in sooner, that's fine. Can't hurt to ask, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment