It's 5 days until Judith turns 1. The 5 days before she was born were a whirlwind, and I can't believe it was 1 year ago when my pregnancy took an unexpected turn. I want to share Judith's beginnings, with the hope that some day she'll read this and understand what a miracle she really is!
My entire pregnancy was rough, but little did we know how rough things were about to become. I had a regular appointment with my OB on the Monday after Thanksgiving. I just started my 3rd trimester, and in the prior week to my appointment I started to experience some swelling in my feet. My pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel also was acting up more than usual, and my fingers were so numb that I lost a lot of sensation in them (writing and typing were becoming a challenge). I remember talking to my mom about it, mentioning that by the end of a day of teaching my feet resembled that of a Cabbage Patch doll. I chalked it up to normal third tri swelling, but made a mental note to talk to my OB about it at the next appointment.
We spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws, and the swelling seemed to have gone down a bit. I made sure to prop my feet up as much as possible, and took it easy. I did the same on Black Friday and that Saturday, but by Sunday my legs, along with my feet, were starting to swell. Monday arrived, and I was blowing up like a balloon.
Cue my appointment that Monday. It was an evening appointment, around 6:00. John came home from work, and we left for the doctor soon after... without eating dinner (I said we'd just eat when we got home, figuring the appointment wouldn't last too long). Stepping onto the scale was concerning: my weight had dramatically increased again, even with a big change in my diet. I made sure to take off my shoes so my OB could see the swelling - it was the first thing he checked (along with the little test strip they use to check for protein in the urine). We didn't finish our appointment - he sent me directly to Labor & Delivery for a non-stress test and a 24 hour urine catch.
I went through the catch before, so I knew how much of a pain it was going to be. He wanted me admitted because my blood pressure was so high, and I was somewhat grateful because I wouldn't have to worry about doing the test at home again.
Everything looked good on the monitors, and Judith was getting pretty pissed at them; she showed her constant disapproval by kicking the monitors (silly girl). Nevertheless, I was placed in a room for monitoring, and the nurses attempted to start an IV - I have horrible veins, but it took them over an hour to get the lines in, and they took my 1 good vein they use for blood draws (I was not happy about this).
While all of this was happening, my parents were driving to our place to watch the dogs, and to feed them their dinner.
John was able to spend the night with me, and neither one of us got a lot of sleep. I was uncomfortable, and didn't have a spare pillow to help make me more comfortable. I didn't get to eat, and was annoyed by that. The nurses started the urine catch, and the waiting game for the results began.
To be continued...
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