Anyway, here goes!
Monday I can't say was too terribly eventful. Unless it was eventful, and I just forgot. In any case, Mike was home with me, the boys went to daycare, and that was that.
Tuesday was Daniel's birthday! It was kind of fun convincing him that he was now FIVE (instead of four!), and he got to open a few more presents from Grandma and Grandpa Stone. Part of me was a bit afraid that something dramatic could happen, and the baby could share a birthday with Daniel, but as the day went on, we were pretty confident that there would be no sharing of birthdays!
It was also a bit of a disheartening day, as one of the jobs that I would have loved to have worked at...I basically got shot down after their interview request (they asked if I could come for an interview, I told them about my status, and got shot down). I know I should have expected it...as I keep saying, as much as everyone thinks that it isn't a big deal to try and find a job while pregnant...it is. No one wants to hire a pregnant lady, even if they "say" that being pregnant bears no weight on their hiring practices/decisions.
Wednesday was doctor's appointment day! I was a little bit disappointed (or rather, maybe, not as enthused by it) for a few reasons. One was that since I'm off ibuprofen, I don't get the weekly ultrasounds. I think both me and Mike looked forward to that, our little bonus or reward for hanging in there and coming every week. Also sort of miss socializing with the ultrasound tech, but oh well. The other thing that was kind of lacked enthusiasm was the appointment in general. By that time in the morning, things were running kind of late, and I think the doctor was a bit rushed (he usually isn't...and doesn't talk so fast!). I got the impression that there was no mention of the last hospital stay, and he kind of acted like business as usual (just another checkup!). No cervix check, no repeat fFN test...the baby's heartbeat is just fine, but it's been fine all along, that's not putting me any more at ease. Even with scheduling the next few weeks worth of visits...I wasn't really feeling all that enthusiastic. I thrive on familiarity sometimes, and apparently things were so booked up that I got stuck with whoever...people I've never met before or even heard of. The more of that that goes on, the more I feel like I could easily get lost in the system, especially if no one takes the time to read what's going on in my chart.
Well, enough about the appointment. The next task on the list was to go and check out the 24/7 daycare that my mom told us about. I had looked at the webpage, I knew where it was (across the street from my high school!) and all of that. So Mike and I drive over there after the doctor's appointment (since we were already out) and the first thing he mentions is that the van looks kind of creepy. Yeah, OK, not as nice as the transportation that our regular daycare has and uses, but it's not like they're going to be driving the kids around. Playground outside looks pretty decent, so that was a good sign. Then we go inside. The layout is WAY different than what we're used to at daycares, with a lot more open rooms, having more "communal" bathrooms and all of that.
We asked how their drop in policy worked, and the lady there assured us that it would PROBABLY fit our situation (we'd need it if I went into labor in the middle of the night, and needed to drop the boys off somewhere). She mentioned that without 48 hours notice (wha?) that we'd have to pre-pay when we thought the time was close. I have no problem with the pre-pay, but I just didn't get an overly awesome vibe from that place. So we took a registration packet anyway and left.
After talking about it a little more (because, honestly, this is one thing that is really rattling me a lot about going into labor...or even going into labor and not having the baby right away), we kind of figured out a tentative plan for things. I think I'm good even with, at worst case, having to take the boys to the hospital in the middle of the night. Ideally, what I'd love is to have a nanny service in place, so that I could call and they could come over within the hour and stay with the kids. I'm still looking...but I'm feeling better about our plan B's...and C's...maybe D's too.
Last night was a bit rough for sleep and everything along those lines. Baby was moving a LOT when I tried to sleep (and seemingly like a long duration of time). Mike was up working half the night. My lower back, again, was killing me. In the evening, before I took the nifedipine (since it's "as needed", I waited until the previous dose had cleared out, just to see...and...well...that's not a good idea. I had contractions as close as 8 minutes, lasting about 45 seconds).
So now to today! Today is the 33 week mark! Which means I need to add the obligatory ticker! This morning greeted me with a little intestinal disturbance...I was warned that nifedipine couled cause constipation, so I've been making sure I drank extra water, ate some prunes, took the occasional stool softener. Apparently that might have worked a little TOO well. As a weird side effect (maybe?), I was also leaking some kind of fluid. My mucus plug appears to be long since gone (haven't had a chunk or anything resembling since last week, right before the hospital stay). I didn't think it was my water breaking (I have first hand experience with water breaking at home...), but called the doctor's office and they had me come in anyway.
At least it was just the doctor's office visit! It wasn't amniotic fluid, and the sac appears to be still intact, so all of that was a relief. The fluid had kind of a weird in between pH (from what I heard the nurse practitioner say, amniotic fluid turns the paper purple, urine/normal secretions make it stay more of a yellow). The paper turned kind of a blue green though...so she had to double check by drying it on a slide, and that came back just fine. I did get a prescription for something else (I'd rather not say, but it's another unfortunate pregnancy side effect), and she mentioned that there was a culture going out for something else, but didn't say what (infection maybe?).
And hereeeeee's the tickers...
