Answers - sort of

By this afternoon, I had still not received a call about my glucose tolerance test. I called my clinic again and a lovely nurse took pity on me. She volunteered to call the lab, and then kept me on the line while the lab faxed over my results.
Apparently, the results were deemed "unsuitable" by the lab.
Looks like they bungled my 1h sample. However, the fasting and 2h samples were o.k.
Now I wait for my doctor (not in today, but in tomorrow) to decide whether what results we did get are good enough to determine whether I have gestational diabetes or not, or whether I need to SHUDDER redo the test.
At least now I know when I'll know, you know?

Still no results

This is driving me insane.

Kisses on demand!

Twice today I asked Rebecca if I could have a kiss and she walked over and gave me one. And there was much rejoicing.

She apparently repeated this trick for mom when I was away at work too. Happy days!

Beware the clutz

As I enter the third trimester, all my natural grace, dexterity, and fine-tuned motor skills have deserted me. I have dropped objects, knocked things over, and fumbled, more in the past week than I have in the past year. I am not by nature a clumsy person, but this is yet another adventure in pregnancy. Apparently this problem is attributable to a combination of the hormone relaxin which loosens joints, edema in my hands, disruption of the sense of balance by an ever shifting centre of gravity, loss of the ability to concentrate and focus (oh yes), and the fact that I still had some dignity left.
O.k., that last one is just my own commentary.
I still do not have the results back on the second glucose tolerance test. It's driving me crazy. Last time, I had the test on a Friday morning and had results by end of day the following Tuesday. This time, I had the test on a Thursday morning, so I figured today - being Monday - I could expect some answers. By mid-afternoon, I called my clinic. I finally managed to get through, but they said they hadn't received my results yet. I guess I will hear from them tomorrow. It's the same lab as last time, after all. Plus, they are located in the same building as my doctor's office. I just want to know! I'm eating my bloody dutch chocolate frozen yogurt anyway. If they tell me to stop, then I will.
I continue to have nasty Braxton-Hicks contractions (painless, my ass). Also, it hurts to sneeze, and it hurts to laugh. It hurts to walk, it hurts to sit, and finding a comfortable sleeping position is virtually impossible. Lucy has lodged her legs in my rib cage and no amount of massaging or dulcet tones of persuasion seem able to convince her to give me a break. I get sciata, and pelvic symphasis pains, and tailbone pain and lower back pain. My legs are swollen and I take 5 Tums a day these days.
I know it's a litany of complaints. I'm not looking for sympathy - I know exactly how this all came about, and who is responsible (me!). I just need to vent sometimes. Let me assert that I *do* appreciate how fortunate I am to be pregnant with what will likely be a lovely little girl. However, it is hard to be physically uncomfortable for months on end without getting grouchy now and then. To say nothing of the fact that my previous experience of pregnancy means I know precisely how much more of this I have to endure. I've been pregnant since freaking July, but I'm only 2/3 of the way there (if this baby chooses to go to full term, unlike the last one). I'm tired from lugging this weight around, and I'm frustrated that my pregnancy is now an impediment to activities that might otherwise take my mind of my discomfort.
Anyhow, the end is in sight - no matter how I feel.

A transcript from a recent email to a dear friend in which I describe Rebecca's comments on dinosaur relations

I must preface this story by saying that Rebecca has recently "discovered"

dinosaurs. She calls them "dinos".

This morning, Rebecca woke up and she wanted me to read her a story. First

we read The Cat in the Hat (by read, I mean I tried to read as much text as

possible while she whipped through the pages). Then we read a Winnie the

Pooh story. Finally, she picked up a giant dinosaur book that had been

mine as a child. We start by looking at a page with a map of the world,

that shows where various fossils have been located. Then she flips to a

two page illustration. It shows a swampy area, lush with vegetation. The

sky is dark grey - there is obviously an ominous thunderstorm in the

offing. In the distance, a green herbivorous dinosaur is munching on some

ferns. In the foreground is a giant, fleshy Apatosaurus, standing in a

pool of water, it's eyes are shut, it has a grimace on its face, and its

long neck is curved back such that its head is somewhere over the middle of

its body. A large violent red and black striped Allosaurus is astride the

back of the Apatosaurus. The claws of its legs are digging into the ribs

of its prey. Little rivulets of blood are running from the talon puncture

marks. Its arms are wrapped around the lower part of the brontosaurus'

neck, and its jaws are firmly clenched on a higher part of the neck, where

Apatosaurus blood is now running freely. The Allosaurus is looking

directly at you with a most malevolent expression. A second Allosaurus

stands nearby, obviously hoping to join in the fun.

I wondered what she would think of this picture. There is so much

atmosphere and emotional content, I thought that she might find it scary.

I remembered a book on prehistoric animals that I had as a child. There

was one especially scary picture of a prehistoric shark. I was so afraid

to look at the page, that I had memorized its exact location so I knew when

I should skip a page.

She was not afraid.

She looked at the picture, she pointed to it and she said "hug!".

Indeed - the world is different through the eyes of a child.

It really cracked me up. :)

The tower built by crazy people

Don't know what it is - but I really like this one

Happy Winter Becca

Teething again - this time with results

Rebecca has been drooling a lot, waking up in the middle of the night screaming, and gnawing on things. During toothbrushing time, I convinced her to open her mouth wide, and I was able to see that FINALLY one of the bottom 2nd year molars has cut through the gum at the corners. It looks like the other bottom molar is on the verge of doing the same thing. I expect we are in for a few weeks of suffering for Becca, but as usual, she manages to keep her cheery disposition most of the time.

Woohoo! "I love you"!!!

This afternoon I gave Rebecca a kiss and said "I love you" and she responded by blowing a kiss and saying "I love you" back!

I then got her to say it two more times by singing Skinnamarink-y-dinky-dink with her.

Good times.

There was much elated hugging and kissing afterwards.

It's all just a little bit of history repeating

Got the call from the doctor's office this week. Despite my hopes, I failed the initial glucose tolerance test AGAIN. So I'm off for the long and horrible one tomorrow morning. The 8 hour fast, the super-sweet orange nastiness, the multiple punctures. I still have a bruise from the initial test. Trying desperately to get Lucy's room emptied out for the furniture that is coming ( date unknown). I am limited to moving small stuff, and directing Greg on what needs cleaning up. Of course, time is at a premium for both of us, so between his work shifts, time with Rebecca, my work, and our mutual exhaustion lately, it's not going according to schedule. Sometimes I feel like I am under a mound of earth, from which there is no escape - it just keeps piling up, despite my efforts to dig myself out and actually - hopefully - maybe get on top of it all again. The medical commitments that are now increasing in frequency, naturally do little to help this situation.
I am up early today because Lucy was going bananas starting at 6am, and I was unable to get back to sleep. Therefore, I am endeavouring to do something that meets one of Greg's two criteria for activity - productive and/or entertaining.
I have lost my pregnancy office buddy quite suddenly and unexpectedly. She has been ordered to stop working and rest at home. I am worried about her, and I would have liked to say goodbye. Also, I miss her company. Second pregnancies and the women going through them, just don't bear the magical aura of a first pregnancy, despite the fact that it is actually more challenging to look after yourself when you have a toddler underfoot, than when you can go home from work and have a nap before supper. Relaxation time starts when Rebecca goes to bed/sleep (not necessarily both at once). The only problem is - that small window of time before I cease to be capable of consciousness is also the time when I'm supposed to: do chores, do things I enjoy, spend time with Greg, get Lucy's room ready, communicate with family and friends, prepare for the next day.

100 days to go!!!

After today, it's all double-digits of waiting (supposedly, hopefully).
Lucy is making me very uncomfortable lately. A trip to the grocery store this weekend made me want to cry - she is shoving her limbs so far up into my ribs, back and liver, and as long as I am walking or sitting, I get no relief. I have found that the only solution for this is to lie down on my left side (since she is camped on my right). It is really tiring, and sometimes I despair that I won't be able to endure all this for however many months remain. My edema is noticeably worse, but still not as bad as the last time. Out of curiosity, I perused my Rebecca blog to compare pregnancy progress. Apparently, my glucose tolerance failure prompted a call from my doctor within 24 hours. Perhaps this means I am in the clear? Naturally, they only call when something is amiss. Also, I was surprised to read that in early October of 2005, we had a heat wave with highs of 28 degrees Celsius for 4 days in a row. The A/C unit was running at our house every night and I was seriously uncomfortable. No wonder I had almost no fall/winter mat clothes for this time around, I was living in my summer clothes even in the third trimester. I am so thankful to be pregnant through the winter.

New word

New words happen basically every day with Rebecca.
Today's new word was "love".
I'm not sure whether she understands the meaning, but she blew kisses after saying it, so maybe?

Baby pool guesses - Mom and Dad: I mean you!

Just so there's no ambiguity about my messages of encouragement vis-à-vis the Lucy pool...
Mom and Dad - I mean you!
Enter some guesses. I know you are reading this...
Please cater to my pregnancy whim.
Thank-you!

25 weeks prenatal appointment and glucose challenge

I had my 25week prenatal appointment today. After 28 weeks, we go to the biweekly appointment schedule, so my next appointment will take place at 28 weeks rather than 29 weeks gestation.
Anyhow - I was waiting to hear the same kind of message I received at this point in my last pregnancy - that is... you are measuring large and have exceeded recommended weight gain. But... the message never came. Everything is fine. So, that was a pleasant surprise.
Also, Lucy's head is down, but I am told that since the uterus tends to be larger in a second pregnancy, the baby gets more freedom of movement and space for longer, and therefore, she is not necessarily "settled" in that spot. Except, I think she is.
I also had my glucose tolerance test today. The pseudo-orange crush beverage was worse than I remembered, but I was able to make it through the hour without getting drowsy, so hopefully I will not be a borderline flunk like the last time and be forced to undergo the longer, stronger, grosser test.
I am beginning to wonder about what will happen if Lucy doesn't arrive in the way I expect. I am fully expecting her to come early in Rebecca-style. But what if she comes on time or even late? There is a whole end stage to pregnancy that I have never experienced. I never got to be at home, not working, waiting for labour to start. The circumstances of my last delivery - early membrane rupture etc., really narrowed the options for how the delivery was handled right from the beginning. Because I was induced, I didn't get to wander around or try any of the myriad of techniques that Greg and I learned about in prenatal class. I was also in a great deal of pain from even the point of 1cm dilation - so maybe all that stuff isn't for me anyway. Maybe it was so painful because I had already broken my water? What if the baby and I don't have to be in the hospital for 6 days? What if my water doesn't actually break before labour - then what? I don't know what's really normal. Maybe I will have a normal pregnancy? Maybe there is no "normal".
There is still lots of time to enter the baby pool game (you can enter via the banner at the bottom of this webpage). No registration is required, so you need not worry about privacy and spam. Thanks to everyone who has already submitted a vote.

Mini updates

Question from the care lady at the gym: How do you keep up with Rebecca? Don't get me wrong, she's 'good', but she just goes goes goes....

Awesome moment of the week: Getting home from work Sunday evening, having Rebecca freak out and run over arms outstretched to be picked up for a hug.

New word: shamPOO

Awesome accomplishment: Sneaking away from the dinner table with a yogurt, eating it all with a spoon on the couch in the living room and hardly spilling any at all.

Awesome accomplishment 2: Last night she went to bed with basically no fuss, and slept for almost 12 hours.

Feeling tired again

This week I've started to feel tired again. Despite my official second trimester status, I feel (physically) as though I have entered the third trimester. The weight I am carrying is becoming cumbersome and the belly is turning into an obstacle. I have lost the will to pick up things that fall on the floor or are on the floor to start with. Also, I am having to make more modifications to my weight training regimen because my belly won't allow me to sit properly in the machines at the gym. Third trimester isn't until week 28 though. Lucy is not as prone to kicking me as much as Rebecca did, however, she is a big squirmer and her contortions have caused me greater actual pain than Rebecca's pushing, shoving and punching ever did. Also, Lucy is a definite night owl, and is most active when I want to sleep. Last night she did something that was so painful it actually woke me up.
My edema has definitely set in - I can see the compression marks when I take off my socks at the end of the day. However - it is certainly not as bad as it was by this point in my pregnancy with Becca. I think I can attribute this to the weather, since hot weather is known to contribute to edema. I am making a conscientious effort to do to what I can to reduce my edema, but I think a certain amount is inevitable. I have had a few more middle-of-the-night leg cramps, for which I am taking mangnesium supplements (above and beyond my daily multivitamin). Poor Greg is going to have a heart attack if I keep waking him up in the middle of the night with my shrieks of pain.
These physical limitations are as frustrating for me as when I am miserably sick. I feel like a prisoner of my body in certain respects. I can no longer put Rebecca into her car seat without considerable discomfort, so I have asked Greg to move it over sometime this week. Lucy's infant seat will go in the middle, and we need to install an extra bolt anyway - so the timing is propitious.
I am having a bit of trouble with my motivation in the workplace. This is due to a combination of physical and mental factors. My lack of energy, discomfort sitting in a chair for prolonged periods of time, and sore back make me feel like I want to be home, or at least somewhere where I can shift positions, put up my feet or take an afternoon nap. My patchy memory, fatigue, and anticipation of my maternity leave have sapped some of my enthusiasm for my projects. I have apprehension about whether they will be looked after when I am gone, and it makes me wonder what the point is.