I suppose it was my turn....

Last Sunday, Matt, my brother Mike, and I piled into my car and drove to Weaverville for a belated Father's Day celebration with my dad. Stuffed burgers, grilled pineapple and cucumber salad with fresh basil, and grilled corn with butter, lime juice, and parmesan. For dessert, I made a raspberry lemon icebox pie with a homemade toasted coconut graham cracker crust. We had a lovely day with the family, the food was amazing, and the weather beautiful.

And at some point there in the middle of the day, my feet and hands began to swell to epic proportions. They were swollen to the point of feeling like they might pop, and that popping would actually be a welcome relief. Fun.

The next day I had an appointment already scheduled at my OB's office, and Matt had already planned to come with me. As we both got ready that morning, I confided in him that I was kind of freaking out. I knew that the swelling (which was better but still puffy) coupled with high blood pressure would cause all kinds of alarm bells to go off, and even though my BP on the Friday before had been perfect, I just had this...feeling. It's rare that I hate being right...

My BP was indeed high, and all the alarm bells I predicted were rung. My doctor sent me over to Labor and Delivery for monitoring, but not before a very thorough briefing on high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, and pre-term labor. And, also, not before delivering my sentence--Bed Rest. I thought (and Matt and the doctor agreed), that I had held it together admirably up to that point. But the phrase "bed rest" brought the tears to my eyes. No more work, no more grocery shopping, no more cooking, no cleaning, no laundry---okay, so when I list it like that you might be asking what it was that had me so upset again? But, honestly, NOT being able to do those things is insanely frustrating. I took some deep breaths, composed myself, and agreed to confinement on the couch. And with that, Matt and I headed over to L&D. I was monitored for about 3 hours, during which my BP returned to normal, and during which the Doodle's monitor showed her to be both "perfect" and "really, REALLY active". That's my girl.

We made an appointment later in the week for an ultrasound with my high risk doctors, at which they also prounounced baby girl "perfect". They also modified my bed rest sentence a bit, telling me that for every 2o minutes I spend on my feet, I have to sit out the next 40. Which, while it means I won't be heading to the mall or to work any time soon, does at least give me the option to make myself a quick lunch or go outside and sit on the deck for a bit. We got a blood pressure monitor and I use that three times a day. Starting Monday, I'll have two standing weekly appointments--a non-stress test for the Doodle on Mondays and an ultrasound on Thursdays. According to that last ultrasound, she's already 4 lbs 1 oz. I've been given a 50/50 shot at going to term, and prepared fully for the possibility of early delivery. 34 weeks is the goal in my head, and every day after that is a gift. 36 weeks and I have no concerns at all. It's mind boggling to me that "goal" simply means making it through this month. THIS MONTH. It seemed like this day would never get here, and now I'm just praying to make it through a few more days. And YES, I do feel like a genius for getting her nursery done so early, thank you. I just never realized that when I said I wanted to spend the summer with my feet up drinking tea, that would be ALL I would be doing.... ;)

So, it's been almost a week of this, and for the most part I've done well. I knew Saturday would be the tough day for me, and it has been. Small mental crack up, a few tears, but I'm doing better. It's very easy to remind yourself that this is for the greater good, especially when the greater good spends the majority of her day kicking me in the ribs and practicing kung fu on my bladder. So that's what I do. I justifies the frustration, but it doesn't cure it. Perhaps knitting will help...

Anyway, that's the story of where we are today. Bed rest. Boredom. Greater good. Please feel free to comment, email, call, write, facebook, come visit, send me games to play, etc. It's going to be a long month, and I've got nowhere to go!