17 Weeks - Holy Crap!

It's late and the rain is pounding on the roof. I was going to continue my previous post with the second part, which is way more exciting and filled with danger and intrigue. And then I just kind of lost interest. Basically, Beau and I drove through some terrifyingly deep flooding and snuck around road blocks and dodged some cascading rocks to make it back home. It seems kind of dumb now, but when it's late at night, you're only an hour from home (with a trunk full of groceries), the government is threatening to cut you off from the one road leading to your house for days and days, and money for a hotel is an issue as well, you do these things. It felt AMAZING to be home. Our dog, who while chained to her doghouse nearly always manages to get herself hopelessly tangled (and did so this time), was pretty thrilled we were back as well. Anyway...

We're in week 17 of the pregnancy right now. I'm feeling better, more myself. Well, about 80% my former self, which is nice. It's a lot better than being sick and miserable. My energy is returning and my sense of smell has thankfully diminished. Hopefully soon, I'll be feeling optimistic enough where I can start writing a journal for the baby. So far, all I would have put is:

Dear Baby, This blows. Please make February come faster. Your mom.

And then just copy and paste that every day.

Continuing on the optimistic theme, yesterday I was completely thrilled when my fetal heart monitor came in the mail. I got it off of ebay after some research and have been checking for it eagerly every day for the past two weeks. I was surprised at what a shitty piece of plastic it appeared to be, and how it only took a generic-looking 9-volt battery. It came with a pair of headphones that you get with the $15 walkman you'd buy at Walgreen's. Isn't Doppler supposed to be somewhat sophisticated? Well, who am I kidding...I only paid $35 for the thing.

But it works! You have to be persistent, but then suddenly there it is -- the thrush-thrush-thrush sound that has come to sound like pure beautiful (reassuring) music to me. I could just lay there and listen to it like it's an iPod filled with 1500 songs. I'm still terrified that something will happen to the baby, and this helps a lot. My midwife was pretty nice though. At my last checkup about a week ago, she said, "Anytime you're in town, just text me and we can meet real quick and I can let you hear the baby through the monitor." But now I've got my own. Coolness.

I think I'll also feel better when I get that bump. At that same checkup, my midwife noted that I have just now reached my pre-pregnancy weight, so I'm basically where I started. Only fatter from here on out! And since my appetite is quickly returning, I don't think it'll be a problem. I can't tell if at those times when I stuff my face it's because it's the pregnancy or it's just me going "Woo hoo, I'm pregnant, I can stuff my pie hole!" I'm a bit nervous of the latter, since it wouldn't be too tough for me to become a fat cow through this. I'm trying to listen to my body and be honest with myself. I eat when I'm hungry.

Saw the midwife again today. She called me a few days after that last appointment and was worried about some complications I've been having. So I drove in, she did an exam, and said she was referring me to the obstetrician to be seen next week. Great. We think we know what it is now, which is much better than what it COULD have been. It has to do with the fact that I'm Rh-, which for those of you who have happily forgot your high school Biology, means that if my baby has a + blood type, and our blood mixes, I will develop antibodies against it and basically try to kill it. I've already had that shot for it, but it's a bit more complicated than that. (I'm trying to be informative here without being too graphic...).

Good thing I drove in too. When in town, I was told, "Did you know they're closing the road up the coast at 6:30pm until 6:30am tomorrow?"

WHAT? So, again I quickly bought some groceries and drove back, where on the way, I was stopped at one of the many construction sites where they're trying to repair collapsed parts of the road.

"Did you know we're closing the road at 6:30pm?" (It was now about 3:30pm).
-- Yes. Glad I bought groceries! *big smile*
"Well, it's closed all day tomorrow too...at least."
-- Oh.

When I got home, Beau was already back from work. He added to this great news.

"They said once they closed the road for 3 weeks before."

!!!!!!

We'd have to get pretty creative with our food. Should have bought some potatoes.

Let's hope for a speedy construction recovery. And that this rain pounding on the roof right now, stops...soon.