So after a second set of (read: my) eyes looked again at the instructions for the bed, it seems that there were a few very crucial screws that Andy overlooked that would have held on the headboard and the foot board. Part of me is sad that Liam doesn't have HIS bed, but part of me is relieved not to have to store extra pieces and not to have to haul a crib from Athens. It also works out because we now have half matching oak and half matching cherry, rather than two pieces of cherry, a crib that's also cherry but inevitably a mismatched shade, and an oak glider. Trust me - cherry is hard to match unless you buy a whole set together. Our living room is a hodge podge of cherry shades.
This pregnancy seems to have been so up and down. At times I've felt it's been so much easier than Liam, and at others I've felt like it's been relatively difficult. I may have blogged about my insomnia when I first found out I was pregnant; of course, I didn't relate the insomnia to the pregnancy at the time. I was having such a hard time sleeping because my heart was racing - it was that feeling like you're nervous or on a sugar high. It lasted several days and then went away. It seems to have crept back up over the last week.
I woke up this morning at 1am and felt my heart beating quickly with these waves of discomfort in my belly every couple minutes or so. Once they stopped being uncomfortable, I recognized that they were probably Braxton-Hicks contractions. It's normal for this point in a pregnancy, but shouldn't occur more than 6 times per hour. I also felt the baby moving constantly over the course of the next 2.5 hours when I couldn't go back to sleep. "Normal" for her, however, is to alternate between active and inactive periods. I finally hydrated myself to the point where my heart slowed down around 3:30, and I was able to get back to sleep with the baby still wiggling around in there.
The whole episode didn't feel right, so I called my midwife and left a message. I've come to know my doctor's office and, as you have to describe the problem when you're leaving a message with the receptionist, I know the quicker I get a return call the more concerned she is. I got a call immediately. It's probably nothing to worry about - baby was probably in a bad position and my body was trying to get her back to being vertical. She was concerned about the heart rate, though, as those episodes shouldn't last more than a few minutes.
I'm sure all will be fine, but at least for peace of mind she recommended I see a cardiologist for some testing. I have to go next week for some blood work (MORE blood work - yay!), EKG, and a 30-day heart monitor (how fun will THAT be?). If there's a problem, it'll surely get worse over the course of the pregnancy. If there isn't a problem, I'll have some peace of mind if not sleep. I suppose the good news is that rapid heart rates are associated with low blood pressure as opposed to high. I think LBP is better news. Maybe not?
Today I had another rapid heart rate episode during the day, but it did immediately follow my two orange punches that I had at my trusty Bleu House Cafe (it was an orange drink mixed with ginger ale - SO good!). It lasted about an hour and a half. My tolerance for sugar has been all over the place this pregnancy, too. For the first half, I could barely have any sugar at all without feeling antsy. Around Valentine's Day candy time, that all changed and it seemed like everything I ate and drank had to contain sugar. Now over the last week I've had to go back to limiting it (luckily a sleeve of Thin Mints has about the same sugar content as a can of soda, so I don't feel too bad). I've even been forced to drink water - WATER!!! I get so thirsty but can't tolerate the thought of a sugary beverage.
Stuff like this didn't fluctuate so much with Liam. I was miserable at the beginning and the end, fine but a little "blah" in the middle, and had a sweet tooth the entire time. It's weird that this pregnancy has been so different from month to month.
I'll get through it myself, but you always, of course, worry so much about the baby and pray that you can JUST make it to that point where, if she HAD to be born today, you would be confident that she'd be ok after a brief stay in the NICU. Not that I want that - I want her to go to 39-40 weeks and be good and baked like her brother, but there is a peace of mind about knowing that in an emergency situation, you could get the baby out and be alright. Not so much feeling that at 25.5 weeks. I'll feel better at 28, out of the woods at 32, and happy happy happy when she's ACTUALLY born full term, as I am sure that she will be.
Just that typical mom worry - and then once baby comes, you realize that all that worry you felt during pregnancy is magnified by a thousand with no end in sight!
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