Going, Going, and then Bed Rest

Pregnancy with this little boy has really not been too bad up until a few weeks ago, and by no means is baby Caden to blame for the events of late .  I did not spend my first trimester with my head over a toilet, have super bad nausea, or really have to deal with any complications with my one kidney.  At the beginning of this month, I took a couple Fridays off from work to clean my house because it desperately needed it.  I learned the hard way that an 8 month pregnant lady can not operate at the same capacity as her mind may think she can and pushing past that limit is not worth it.  I ended up pulling a muscle in my lower back and really irritating my SI joint. So not a good idea!!!  It hurt to put any weight on my right side or turn in bed, which a pregnant lady will do both things multiple times to go to the bathroom or attempt to get comfortable.  Thankfully that has gotten better with time and the help of a great chiropractor!
   This past Wednesday I went to my OB appointment, which was supposed to be a normal, quick and routine check up.  What I did not expect was for my blood pressure to be a little high.  Up until then, my numbers had been perfect!!!  It was an unwelcomed surprise for me and my doctor.  There is a possibility it could be nothing and just a fluke thing, or it is also a sign of preeclampsia since I also had some swelling in my feet too.   They did some blood work and took another urine sample to check various things that might also point towards preeclampsia, but thankfully those all came back normal.  My doctor told me to stay home from work on Thursday, check my blood pressure twice a day, and call them with the numbers.  I took it multiple times a day and only once did it even get close to the high reading I had at the doctor (which I mistakenly took after standing up for a few minutes and walking around, a couple minutes later after I sat down it was fine).  Even though my numbers were good, my doctor asked that I stay on bed rest through the weekend and call back Monday with my results.  I'm not to go back to work until given the doctor's approval.
    Today would mark day 3 of bed rest and I must say I already eagerly anticipate its end.  It's one thing to not feel well, but it's a totally different situation when you feel fine and can't do anything (especially when you have a ton of things to do to get ready for a baby's arrival).  Now my list of to do's has transformed into a list of things for others to do for me, which goes completely against my default nature to just do it myself.  I'll confess I've done a couple things like laundry when I've been home alone because I know that is the only time I will be able to get away with doing it (not that I I truly got away with it, I just got chastised by Casey later when he figured it out).I'm trying very hard to comply because I prefer to do my bed rest here at home than at the hospital.  We'll be 36 weeks on Monday, so Caden needs another week to make it to full term, but I know any extra time he can stay in there will be to his benefit, so we'll do what needs to be done and the Hixon house will survive bed rest!
 Either this picture or one of me laying on my side in bed is my current view:

Thankfully my wonderful husband has truly stepped up to help out with cooking dinner, doing the dishes, and even went on our hospital tour class by himself!  My Mom has also brought me lunch and went to the grocery store for us. Sweet friends have brought iPhone chargers to me, so I had a way to charge my phone.  How blessed we are to have such wonderful family and friends to help us in our time of need!  We'll see Monday how long the bed rest continues for...

"Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.  Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken." Psalm 62:1,2

Random/Dumb Things I Have Cried About During Pregnancy

     One of the lovely things about pregnancy is the increase of hormones that flood your body making your emotions and frankly the lives of those around you (particularly your baby daddy) much more difficult.  I really don't think I had been too terribly unreasonable or overly sensitive for a lot of this pregnancy, which surprised both Casey and myself.  That unfortunately all started to change as I have finished my 2nd trimester and begun the home stretch of the 3rd trimester.  Here is a list of the situations in my life that have evoked tears (and not just one tear, but many):

• Casey didn't ask me how my day was after I asked him about his.
• Casey told me he wanted chicken and rice for dinner one night, but didn't ask me what I wanted for dinner.  (Keep in mind he made breakfast 2 days before without asking and that resulted in no tears)
• Casey interrupted me, which really just irritated me not made me tear up, but as the conversation progressed, he then professes "I want my wife back" (referring to a much LESS emotional one) and that's when the tears began to flow.
• The HR dept. at my work wouldn't validate my parking so I had to pay $25 to park in the garage. 
• I'm still not sure what caused some tears one night as I was laying in bed (the only thing I think it could have been was that at dinner, which was at the Memorial City Mall food court before church one Wednesday night I was debating between pizza at Sbarro or Chick-fil-a.  I ended up going the Chick-fil-a route (which normally I'm all about) because I thought that might be slightly healthier, but as I ate my chicken nuggets and fries, I remember wishing I had chosen the pizza.  Either possible explanation: the unknown or being upset over not choosing pizza for dinner is pretty lame.

    Even more sad to say is that I think all of those examples happened in about a 10 day period or so.  Let me say that despite knowing the ridiculousness on crying over these matters, that does not make the tears stop (it may have delayed it a couple minutes, but the tears still came and there were probably more of them too because I knew it was dumb to cry over these things).  These were the things I was just willing to share crying about, believe me, there have been more tears.
    So let's all say some prayers for Casey as he deals with all these tears, which he is handling overall very well.  Bless his heart, the boy wants to fix it and try to understand why I'm crying, but I think these days there is no logical reason most of the time, which is very difficult for the engineer male mind to process.  I did warn him that right after the baby is born, the hormones don't immediately go back into place, that will take some time too.  It's a learning experience for us all!
  This coming Monday will be 34 weeks (Seriously?!), so each day  we make it through means we are one day closer to normalcy or more likely a new state of craziness (hopefully the number of tearful instances diminish over time).  I've been going to the doctor every 2 weeks since the 28 week mark, and this past Wednesday marked my second to last 2 week appointment, then the next step is going every week!!!  Baby Caden was doing great!  Measuring right on track and heart beat was good!  His movements are much more intense shall we say, so I think the boy is getting cramped for space.  He just needs to stay until the 37 week mark to make sure his lungs finish maturing, but after that, this little guy does not have to wait until Nov. 25th (or later) to make his appearance!  Until the next post my readers...

I'll leave you with is a side by side comparison from 28 weeks to  33 weeks:

Have a blessed weekend!!

"How great you are, Sovereign Lord!  There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears."  2 Samuel 7:22