July and August

These are the ramblings of a woman that really, really had a rough two months. Seriously rough.

I am a voluptuous woman. I have been for a while now. I got pregnant in October of '08. I bled within the first six weeks of being pregnant and because of this I was considered high risk - along with being voluptuous, older and Hispanic. I saw a wonderful genetic doc. We did the 3 month blood test and I came up with an elevated risk for downs syndrome. He tried to push amniocentesis but I vetoed that one. I didn't need a needle in my tummy with my Main Man (hubby) gone. Nope. Uh-uh.

All went well until poor Main Man came home. I had an ultra sound scheduled so that he could see bump in my tummy. We had to see another genetic doc because mine had retired mid-pregnancy. Within the fifteen minutes of seeing her she exclaimed that I needed a c-section. The kiddo was too big. She said c-section five times. Five Times! It really made me mad. Don't people have big kiddos in Georgia without a knife to the belly? We noticed that my glucose levels were getting high. Not terribly high, but high enough for the cut happy doc. We monitored - (meaning) I stabbed my fingers four times a day for two months - before she told me that I had gestational diabetes. Thirty-six weeks is when she made the diagnosis. She then prescribed Glyburide. I looked it up and absolutely refused to take a Category C pharmaceutical. It has been linked with birth defects. I was almost to the finish line and she wanted me to possibly hurt my baby. Hell nooooooo.

I started seeing another doctor. I loved him. He is/was an old cantakerous fart. Right up my ally. We sparred conversationally and both enjoyed each others company. On Friday the 3rd of July he told me that my blood pressure was starting to rise, that I had severe edema and that he wanted me to do a 24 hour urine test. (To test for proteins in the urine.) I had to wait for Monday to turn it in; it was the Holiday weekend. I saw Dr. Cranky the same Monday and he told me that with all kidding aside he was fairly sure I was at the beginning stages of Preeclampsia. ( I was subject to seizures - they may or may not kill me and the baby.) I had to get the kiddo moving out of me. He recommended a c-section. Can you say "egg on the face"?

Main Man and I went to the hospital where I was to deliver. I talked to a nice doctor that again, wanted a c-section. Look. I don't want one. It's not the cut that I was worried about, although there are some nasty repercussions if not done properly, it's having my hands tied down. (Women that have this procedure have their hands tied down in a T formation.) It's freaky giving that much trust to a panel of people that you met twenty minutes before the MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY. Apparently I have control issues. I wanted a trial of labor. I wanted to give it my best shot before getting the knife. He conceded, but I had to come back in within twenty-four hours. Main Man and I got on the phone and my family came out the next day, Tuesday. That night I went to the hospital and was induced with Cervidil. At 2:00 pm Wednesday, my water broke. I was then induced with Petocin. Nothing happened. The little man did not want to come out. At 2:00 am, Thursday morning, Main Man and I had a pow wow with the doctors. They had noted that every time I had a contraction, from midnight on, my baby's heart rate dropped. They were concerned that the cord was wrapped around his head. I didn't hesitate. Get him out. Put me in a T formation and cut away. At 3:27 am, on Thursday morning, my third son was born. We had an emergency C-Section. The cord was wrapped around his head twice and around his shoulder once. I guess my body didn't want to let him go. :)

Life is good. We got Little Man home and everything was peachy keen. Until the A/C broke. Little Man was three weeks old and the A/C broke. In July. In Augusta. The humidity is/was unbearable. We ended up getting a new system installed way freaking earlier than we had planned.

At the same time I had developed Mastitis. Nasty shit, that one. Oh and let me tell ya - cabbage wrapped boobs are OH - SO MUCH FUN!! I got on antibiotics. We ended up switching from breast milk to formula. Little Man wouldn't sleep more than forty five minutes. He was always up and hungry. But he would only eat an ounce - two at best. He did this for ten days straight. I was more than loopy. I was out of it. I ended up in a car accident with Little Man and Middle Man. It was horrible.......

I had gotten the kiddos into the auto. I started to back out of the driveway when I noticed the door to the house wasn't shut. I pulled half way into the garage, put the auto in park, got out, and shut the door. When I returned to the car, I grabbed for the door and it moved. I grabbed empty air. The car and kids went down the drive way....without me. We live on a forty-five degree incline. I screamed, literally pissed my pants and ran after the car. Luckily my neighbors car and bushes stopped the car from 1. hitting their house and 2. going down into the ravine behind their house. The kids were okay. I got into a fight with the rose bushes; however, I didn't notice until after the shock. We are okay. It is not nearly as bad as it could have been.

That Saturday, Main Man sent me out to get a pedi. Jeeezus, I really needed it. There just so happened to be a freak, violent thunderstorm that came through. It was spectacular. I came home refreshed. I was talking to Main Man when I noticed water damage to our ceiling. YUP. The joys of owning a home. Our vents were leaking. We contacted a company and got thrown under the bus. We worked with them for six days and they never showed up to do the work. The roof was fixed a week and two days after the storm - with a new company.

All said and told....I am grateful. I am grateful that I have a healthy boy. I am grateful that my children are safe and virtually unscathed.....Middle Man thought it was fun going backwards down the hill. Our roof is not as bad as we thought. And our house is cool inside. :)

So..... that is my drama story for July and August.