week 17

obstinate baby

This week I had a doctor’s appointment. It was a very fast visit. The longest part of the appointment was trying to find baby’s heartbeat. It took long enough that I was starting to be very concerned before we finally heard it–I really thought that everything was over. This is the second appointment where baby has been hard to find. I hope this doesn’t indicate something about their personality. As it is, I can’t imagine why it’s been this difficult twice now, except maybe things are even roomier in there than I can tell from the outside? I have no idea.

Other than that excitement, there was nothing particularly special about the rest of the appointment. I didn’t have any questions, so it was basically taking my blood pressure (twice because it was a little elevated) and then I left. Sometimes I do wish I had a doppler at home, and I could just send them the baby’s heart rate and my blood pressure reading and not have to drive the 30 minutes into town. From experience I know that this desire will intensify as I near the second half of pregnancy.

haircuts

This week I gave haircuts to two Kranslings who needed one. (Is this appropriate to put here? It’s not pregnancy related, except that I gave the haircuts and I am pregnant. I suppose that is good enough.)

holidays

This week was also Thanksgiving. I am very thankful (no pun intended) that I didn’t have any heart-racing episodes during the food preparation process, which would have been very inconvenient.

blood pressure

After my blood pressure being slightly high at my appointment (not really “high” but just higher than normal for me) I looked quite a bit into a particular diet for pregnancy that is supposed to help with that, but after reading both sides decided to just keep doing what I’m doing (as it’s worked fine for other pregnancies) but keep an eye on things.

Really, I think it was elevated because this is the second appointment where they’ve called me while I was waiting in the car and tell me to come on back to the exam rooms (bypassing the waiting room) and someone would meet me by the scale. But the first time I walked up to the OBGYN offices, bypassed said waiting room (full of people who watch you walk back through the door where no one goes without being called first) and stood by the scale and no one was there to meet me. And the other nurses in the office looked at me (maybe skeptically, but probably not) and asked who it was who said they’d meet me. But she hadn’t given me a name. She did come around the corner right after that, but for a moment there I was anxious that I’d be sent back out.

So, this last appointment I got the same instructions, and I did the same thing, realizing on the way that I still didn’t have her name and hoping she would be there waiting, walked past that waiting room full of people, went through the forbidden door, and she wasn’t there. It’s silly, but it did freak me out a little.

I’m hoping that, if this happens a third time, I will have the presence of mind to 1) remember to ask her name, or 2) realize they’re not going to send me back out in shame to the waiting room, and my blood pressure will remain where it ought to be.

At any rate, I’ve gotten a cuff so I can monitor myself at home.

nesting

In nesting news, I have been planning for a couple of weeks to change out the rug in the living room (yes, the one I just changed out of the girls’ room as I thought it felt autumnal) with the rug that was in the basement play area. This is because our Christmas decor is more multi-colored and bright than the rusts and pinks in the autumnal rug. I also recovered a couple of pillows (not pictured yet) and moved furniture around to make space for the Christmas tree that will be coming in soon.

The kids always love it when I move stuff around– I am glad they don’t find this disconcerting.

I wonder if rearranging rugs raises my blood pressure; I am certain that the reorganizing of the kitchen shelves probably does. But that’s week 18, and as this is already quite long enough, I think I will resort to weekly updates rather than monthly, and end this here.