By an interesting coincidence of scheduling, Emmie and I started fasting at midnight on Ash Wednesday for a blood glucose test. The fasting made a long morning feel even longer. Actually, a short night also made the morning feel extra long.
We ate dinner around 8:00 last night, and I fell asleep when Lucy did at 10:30. I didn't wake up until 2:00, so I missed my opportunity for an 11:30 snack. That meant that my 8-hour fast ended up being a 12-hour fast. At around 3:00 Lucy woke up as she typically does and got into bed with me. Unfortunately, she couldn't settle and cried inconsolably. We gave her some ibuprofen, but that didn't help. We couldn't figure out if her legs hurt or if her belly hurt or if she had had a bad dream or if her pajamas were bothering her. All seemed like possibilities because of the way she acted. She climbed out of bed, walked into the hall, look confused, and cried some more. She refused to go back to bed, so we went to her room. I changed her from footie pajamas to her Elmo Abby pajamas. She cuddled up next to me in the chair and after about half an hour finally fell asleep still gasping and hiccuping from all of the crying. That was around 5:00. I waited a while before moving her to her bed. Sometime during the 2+ hours of soothing Lucy, Emmie became active. She might have been bothered by my rumbling stomach. Or she may have been reacting to Lucy's cries. I've noticed her being more active when Lucy cries. I'm not sure if she's sympathetic and offering comfort or irritated by the noise. I've also considered that she thinks there's a riot and is trying to join in. Eventually, she settled down, too, and I got another hour or so of sleep before I needed to get up, drive to Lebanon, and get my blood tested.
I got ready quickly and discovered that my phone was missing. I called my cell phone from our home phone and narrowed the location to the study. I still had trouble finding it and had to call myself five more times before I found it in the bag with Lucy's toy cars, rolled into the play mat quilt that Grandma made her. I finally got on the road, driving slowly because of road conditions. Several times it started snowing again. By the time I arrived at the doctor's office, I was exhausted from focusing so intently on the road.
The blood test went fairly quickly. Hopefully, I did really well. I have a feeling that if I'm within normal range but not close to ideal, then I'll have to take the longer test because our doctor is being so cautious. If I didn't pass, I'll get a call sometime this week. In addition to the blood test, I had an appointment this morning.The nurse weighed me (down a pound thanks to the pool being open again) and took my blood pressure (normal). I saw the nurse practitioner. Apparently, my trip to the emergency room last week was not in my records. When I told the nurse practitioner about it, she asked if they did an ultrasound. They didn't, so she ordered one. She wanted to make sure that the placenta hadn't slipped down over my cervix. So I got to see Emmie again. This time because of the 12-hour fast, she wasn't moving as much. She was still wiggling, but she wasn't obstructing the view this time, so I actually got a profile picture and a shot of her yawning. The placenta was right where it should be. They also did a vaginal ultrasound to measure my cervix. It was a little short. The nurse practitioner did an exam and said it was also softer than it should be at 24 weeks. She wasn't overly concerned, but she put me on "vaginal rest." As far as I can tell, that just means no sex. Let's be honest, if some part of me has to be on doctor-ordered rest, my vagina is probably the part I can do without the most. Most of my other parts are essential when taking care of Lucy. I'm also supposed to rest and get off of my feet frequently. I've been doing that anyway. I've been more tired and in more pain during this pregnancy.
I ate only a few bites of a sandwich before heading home. Matt is supposed to be at school at 11:00, and I was going to get home after 10:30. Fortunately, driving conditions were better on the way home. About 10 miles out of town, Emmie started kicking me insistently. I told her we'd be home soon, and we'd eat something. I could hear Lucy excitedly shouting about my return before I even got the door open. Matt was in the shower. I told him about my morning and showed him the photos. And then Emmie and I had pancakes left over from yesterday. We were both glad to end our Ash Wednesday fast.
Our next appointment is in Louisville in a couple of weeks. If that goes well, we won't have to go to Louisville anymore. Then we already have two appointments, including a growth measurement ultrasound, scheduled with our OB in March. And then we'll be in April, when I expect weekly visits to begin. If all goes well, Emmie will be here in about three months.
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