32 Weeks!

How Far Along: 32 Weeks! (Only 6 weeks to go....AHHH)
Maternity Clothes: Yep
Stretch Marks: still nothing, but my tummy's itchy and feels like it's being stretched.......
Sleep: Not bad this past week. I get up to pee at least twice a night, sometimes more, but this week I was usually able to get back to sleep. My legs have been achy too, but no crazy leg cramps like some people get.
Best Moment of the Week: Surprising Andrew on Saturday...it was hilarious!
Miss Anything? Not really...
Movement: Still lots of movement, but not all the time. I read that as baby continues to grow, she doesn't have as much room to move and she'll be sleeping more. Some of her movements are huge, Andrew felt some good ones last night.
Food Cravings: I've been loving cereal this past week....yum, it's just cold and delicious!
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Showing: This question is getting silly.....
Gender Prediction: Girly girl!
Labor Signs: Nope...I wonder if this answer will ever be yes before my induction...probably not.
Belly Button In or Out? Still an innie, just a flatter one...
Wedding Rings On or Off: On most of the time, every once in a while I take them off for a few hours or overnight.
Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Happy :)
Looking forward to: Our baby shower this weekend....can't wait :) And hopefully getting an exact date for the induction.


Is it just me, or am I getting huge!!!! Let's see....what did I get up to this past week. I didn't do too much the first few days of the week. I was able to take Casey for a 5k walk, which is pretty amazing considering I couldn't walk at all a few weeks ago. I'll be honest, it was a slow walk, and I needed a nap as soon as I got home, but it was still a great walk.

Thursday I met some girls from work for lunch, and then I went to see my midwife, Jess, just to touch base. Jess offered to come to McMaster for the delivery, but said it will depend on what's happening the day I deliver. She will just be returning from holidays, and if someone else is delivering she may need to be there. She will still do the post-birth care for the baby assuming she is healthy. Once we get home, she will come to our house to see me and baby girl. She was clear that she would not be caring for me, just the baby. So, I have to talk to the OB at Mac to find out who will do my post-birth care/6-week follow-up. Jess confirmed that my chances of having a c-section will be much higher now, given that I'm being induced early, it's my first delivery, and my body may not be ready. She also confirmed that contractions can be a lot more intense when being induced. She assured me that if I need to get an epidural that is absolutely fine, and nothing to worry or feel guilty about.

I spent a of time looking for a dress to wear to the baby shower this weekend. I actually bought a few that I ended up returning, but I think I found a good one yesterday.

On Friday, I had my follow-up appt. at the thrombosis clinic at Mac. Andrew was off on Friday, so he was able to come with me. I got a new prescription for an injection that I only have to do once a day instead of twice. Because I'm changing medications, I have to go back again in a few weeks so they can check the medication levels and ensure everything is ok. We talked again about the delivery, and how it will be planned out. The dr. said that hopefully I don't go into spontaneous labour before my induction. She said that if I've taken my injection and go into labour, I definitely won't be able to have an epidural, and they'll be worried about excessive bleeding. That also means if I needed to have a c-section, they would have to put me under because an epidural won't be an option. Anyway, the odds of me going into labour prior to 38 weeks are very low, so I'm not overly concerned. 

We had a busy weekend cleaning the house and running a bunch of errands. Also, Andrew's sister Alex came home from Australia and it was a complete surprise. She called me on Wednesday night and I was so shocked. She wanted to surprise Andrew, so I didn't tell him. On Saturday, she showed up at the house with Andrew's parents, and he was definitely surprised! Hahaha.....Andrew can never keep a secret and likes to know everything, so it was really fun to actually surprise him for once! He kept saying to me all weekend "I can't believe you didn't tell me".

This week shouldn't be too busy. I'm going back to see the OB on Wednesday. I'm really hoping to get our actual induction date. I'm also going to tell her what the thrombosis dr. said and ask if I should be concerned. It should be a fairly quick appointment, as I don't have an ultrasound or anything. I'll probably spend most of the week getting the house ready for the baby shower on Saturday. As of now, the weather is supposed to be nice, so I'm hoping it stays that way!

Until next week....

31 Weeks!

How Far Along: 31 Weeks!
Maternity Clothes: Yep
Stretch Marks: still nothing, but my tummy's been really itchy so I think they're coming...
Sleep: So-so, half the nights have been terrible and half have been ok
Best Moment of the Week: Finding out that baby girl is perfectly healthy despite all my recent health issues!
Miss Anything? Fitting in my clothes and sleeping well
Movement: all day, every day
Food Cravings: Ice cream....I could probably eat it every day!
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Showing: Definitely.
Gender Prediction: Girl!
Labor Signs: Nope...
Belly Button In or Out? Still an innie...
Wedding Rings On or Off: On
Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Happy :)
Looking forward to: A laid back week this week!

I had my appointment at McMaster on Wednesday to meet my OB. Andrew's back to work at Bruce Power, so my mom came with me. I had an ultrasound at 8am, it was nice that they don't make you put on a gown like they do in Waterloo. Anyway, the ultrasound was fairly quick, but I kept having to reposition and go on my sides because I was getting light-headed. Baby's heart rate was 154 which was perfect, and the tech pointed out her hands, feet, spine, heart, and face. She explained that the bigger baby gets, the harder it will be to see things on the ultrasound.

My appointment with the OB wasn't until 11am, so we had a bit of a wait. We didn't actually get called in for the appointment until after 12! It was good my mom was there or it would've been a very long wait alone. We met with a nurse practitioner first, and went over my medical history again. She reiterated what I already know, that I'll be induced around 38 weeks. I asked if I should be concerned about the clot moving during labour and delivery. She said no, that the clot is likely too big to move, and the medication should prevent pieces from breaking off. We also went through the ultrasound results. Baby girl was given an 8/8 overall health score, and she is just above the 50th percentile on most things - so perfectly average. However, her femur bones are measuring at the 97th percentile...hahaha...I guess our girl is going to be tall!

We waited again for a few more mins., and then met my OB, Dr. Winsor. She was very nice and seemed very approachable and open to answering questions. Unfortunately, she said she likely won't be the one to actually deliver the baby. Either way, a high-risk OB will do the delivery, so she said not to worry. She said there wouldn't be much point in Dr. Stewart doing shared care, as she'd only be able to let me see him for one more appointment. I'll be going to see her every two weeks until 36 weeks, and then I'll go every week (which will really only be two weeks). We talked about picking an induction date, but didn't actually pick one. The nurse practitioner said it would likely be right at 38 weeks the week of June.10. We will probably pick the exact date at my next appointment. Dr. Winsor also explained that after baby's birth, the thrombosis clinic should continue to work with me to determine why I developed the blood clot in the first place.

So...I go back to McMaster on Friday to the thrombosis clinic - I'm hoping to change prescriptions to the once a day injection. Then I go back again on May.1st to see the OB again. Then back again on May.15 for another ultrasound and to see the OB again.

On Friday I went out for lunch with my team from work. It was originally supposed to be a goodbye lunch for my friend Daniela whose contract ended, but they extended her contract the day before. It ended up being more of a lunch for me...haha! It was really nice, almost everyone came and they gave me a nice card, a cute little top, and a gift card for babies r us. Super nice!

This weekend we had our prenatal classes, they were both Sat and Sun from 10-3. Unfortunately, given all these new developments, I felt like a lot of it didn't really apply to us. The lady running the class said that because I am getting induced, I will probably skip the long phase of minor, gradual contractions and go straight to the intense, hard contractions....yikes! She also said her sister was induced twice, and had one natural labour. Her sister described the inductions as much more intense, difficult labours, and she would definitely get an epidural if being induced again. So anyway, if I get an epidural I won't be able to use any of the pain management techniques or anything we learned about because I won't be able to walk.

We also learned that there is a greater chance of c-section after being induced, and that an epidural often leads to other medical interventions such as forceps, vacuum, episiotomy, etc. So yeah, feeling a bit disappointment that I may not have the delivery I'd originally planned on, but I have no control over it so I just have to roll with the situation and deal with things as they happen.

That's all for now.....only 7 more weeks.......AHHHH!

30 Weeks!

How Far Along: 30 Weeks! Umm, holy crap....we're officially in the 30's and the final home stretch!!! I'm going to have to deliver this baby soon....ahhhhhhhh!
Maternity Clothes: Yep...only bottoms I can wear...
Stretch Marks: still nothing, but my tummy's been really itchy so I think they're coming...
Sleep: Terrible this week due to heart burn/acid reflux
Best Moment of the Week: 3D ultrasound....so awesome to see our baby girl!
Miss Anything? Sleeping well...
Movement: all day, every day
Food Cravings: Sweets....baked goods....yummy!!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Showing: Definitely.
Gender Prediction: Girl!
Labor Signs: Nope. I keep reading about Braxton Hicks, but I don't think I've had any...
Belly Button In or Out? Still an innie...
Wedding Rings On or Off: On
Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Much happier this past week!
Looking forward to: Meeting my OB at McMaster this week

On Monday, I felt like I needed to be useful, and accomplished everything I needed to for the whole week in about two hours....haha!

On Tuesday, Andrew and I headed back to McMaster for bloodwork. When we got to the Thrombosis Clinic, they had no idea what I was talking about, and the nurse asked if we came all the way from Waterloo just for the bloodwork. That was kind of annoying, because the other nurse had called me just the day before, and said that I had to get it done before the end of the week. Anyway, no big deal, we went and now it's done.

Wednesday, two of my friends from work, Katie and Daniela, came over and Katie brought dinner - lasagna and homemade bread....yummy!!! It was very thoughtful and nice to actually socialize a bit since this all began. Daniela's last day of work is next Friday and they are going to Jack Astor's for her goodbye lunch, so I might go to that this week.

I got a call from McMaster letting me know that I have an appt. with OB Dr. Winsor at McMaster on Wednesday. I have to go for an ultrasound at 8am, and then my appt. with the OB isn't until 11am. My mom is going to come with me since Andrew will be out of town. I am looking forward to actually meeting the OB and hopefully getting a clearer idea of what their plan will be for the delivery.

On Thursday, we went back to see Dr. Stewart, the OB in Kitchener. I explained to him that McMaster wanted to take over my care and wanted me to deliver the baby there. He was surprised, as he felt he was capable of looking after me locally. Anyway, he was super nice and offered to do shared care with McMaster, so that I could go see him for every other appointment instead of going to Hamilton every time. He said to ask McMaster about it and see what they say. He thought that would also be good in case there are any issues with the blood clot or anything else, at least he knows me. He was great about the whole situation. He measured my belly and listened to baby girl's heartbeat, everything was perfect!

We had our 3D ultrasound yesterday morning, it was really great to see that baby girl is a healthy, busy baby despite all the recent craziness. She had her hands in front of her face most of the time which the tech said is pretty normal. She was moving like crazy, and yawning, and trying to put her whole hand in her mouth...haha! It was pretty neat that our families were able to watch it online. Of course, both of our families think she looks like us. Andrew and I just think she looks like a baby....hahaha!

Here's some of the pics we got:

Mouth open:

No hands in front of her face!:

My mom and sister think she's got my nose:

Thumb-sucking:

Andrew's sisters think she's got Andrew's cheeks:

Yawn:

As for the blood clot, still doing the injections twice a day. The pain is so much better, I'm just taking extra strength tylenol now...no more narcotics...yay! I even went out for a bit on my own yesterday. I can't walk for long or my leg/hip gets sore, but it's still a major improvement!

That's all for now....until next week!

29 Weeks!

How Far Along: 29 Weeks!
Maternity Clothes: Yep...however, clothing has been an issue this week.
Stretch Marks: Not yet...
Sleep: Not so great this past week, I spent a few nights on the couch on pain killers. Hopefully this week will be better. 
Best Moment of the Week: The pain finally starting to improve, and cleaning out of my office.
Miss Anything? Nothing in particular
Movement: all day, every day. It's been weird this past week, sometimes the movement is really high, and other times its super low.
Food Cravings: Sweets....
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Showing: Definitely.
Gender Prediction: Girl!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button In or Out? In....for now...
Wedding Rings On or Off: On
Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Moody
Looking forward to: Our 3D ultrasound on Saturday!!!!!!!!

So, as you can imagine, this has been another eventful week! 

Monday - Was planning to go do my glucose test at the lab, but realized that my requisitions for both the glucose and rhogam were on the same hospital form. I got up and got ready, but wasn't feeling well at all, so we decided not to go. The percocets were really knocking me out and making me feel dizzy/uneasy. I also could still barely walk to the bathroom, so I decided we would just go on Tuesday instead. 

Tuesday - Still in a lot of pain, Andrew had to help me get dressed, put my shoes on, etc. Also - because my leg is swollen, I realized that none of my maternity pants fit. I only have two pairs of sweat pants I've been able to wear. It was time to take my pain meds before we went to the hospital, but taking them was a bad idea. I was so out of it at the hospital, that I could barely sit there for the hour after drinking the sweet orange drink for the glucose test. I've heard so many people complain that the drink is disgusting and so hard to get down. I really didn't find it that bad at all. They gave it to me, and told me to finish it in less than 5 mins., no problem. Then we had to sit there for an hour without eating or drinking anything. I felt like the room was spinning and wasn't feeling well at all! Somehow the hour passed, and I had the bloodwork done. I asked the nurse to do it while I was laying down because I was feeling so dizzy. She was really nice, and I ended up being perfectly fine. She told me to call back the following day to confirm I was eligible for the rhogam injection, and they would give me an appointment. I had to wait at the hospital entrance for Andrew to pick me up because there was no way I could walk to the car.  I just laid around for the rest of the day, still in pain and not feeling well. I also called the OB, and got an appt. for the following morning.

Wednesday - Went to the OB first thing in the morning, and again, I wasn't feeling well and felt really dizzy in the car and waiting for the doctor. We finally got called, and were seen by a resident. Andrew and I were both unimpressed because we were hoping to get a lot more answers from this appt. The resident checked baby's heartbeat which was perfect, it is always so nice to hear it! I told the resident that I needed a note for work, and another prescription as I only had two pills left and was still in a significant amount of pain all the time. She left, and luckily returned with Dr. Stewart. He seemed a bit more rushed than when we met him at the hospital, but he was still lovely. He told me the pain should improve in a week or so, and he didn't want me on pain meds for the next 10 weeks. He said the plan would be to induce me at 38-39 weeks, and the blood thinner injections should not impact my ability to get an epidural or anesthesia if I need them. He said he had already done a referral to a hematologist in Kitchener, and I should be expecting a call. He gave me another prescription for percocets, and gave me a note to be off of work for the rest of my pregnancy! I was not expecting that! I told him that we had an appt. booked at McMaster for Friday. He said we would likely only need to go there one time, and then he and the hematologist could follow me. I scheduled an appt. to go back this Thurs.

I called the hospital and booked an appt. for the following day to get my rhogam injection.

Thursday - Back to the hospital for my rhogam shot. I thought I'd be tough and try to walk to the labour and delivery unit instead of using a wheelchair....big mistake. I barely made it, and when we got there, there were no empty chairs so we had to sit outside in the family waiting area because I could not stand. Then, as luck would have it, one of my old clients was there. He and his gf had just had their 5th baby and were getting discharged. He immediately recognized me but luckily didn't say anything, it was really awkward. We ended up waiting quite a while considering we had an appointment. When they finally called me in, the nurses were all shocked to hear about my blood clot and were full of questions. They give the rhogam injection in your hip/butt area, so the nurse got me to bend over the bed. It wasn't that bad, but the needle caught me off guard and I jumped/gasped a bit (a lot)! They told me I would need to return for another bloodtest in May to ensure the injection had been sufficient, if not, I would need another injection. We walked back to the elevator, and I swear we waited almost 10 mins. for it to arrive. I was seriously considering sitting on the floor because I was in so much pain. And again, my client ended up waiting at the elevator with us. I sat at the doors again and waited for Andrew to pick me up.

When we left the hospital, it was the first time I had been hungry in almost a week. We went out for lunch, and it was the first meal I've enjoyed since this whole mess started! By the end of lunch, I was completely exhausted, so it was back home to bed for me.

Friday - We had our appt. at McMaster in the afternoon, but I had to go into work first to drop off my things, clean out my desk, and sign some court papers.

I actually did work from home quite a bit during the week trying to prepare my files for the worker who was getting them. I felt bad as I hadn't had a chance to prepare them at all, and I know how much of a nightmare it would be to inherit 20 files out of the blue. So I went through each file and wrote a summary for the new worker with all of the important info about each family. I also did as many of the recordings as I could, and was sure that all phone calls, etc. were documented. I had to do two sets of court papers also. I think I ended up working about 14 hours last week. 

I spoke with my HR dept. a few times, and told them that I had a note to be off work for the remainder of my pregnancy. They were really nice about it and helped me figure it out. Turns out, I have enough vacation/sick time/and over time that I can be off with full pay until June.5, at which point I'll be applying for mat leave anyway. 

So...Friday morning I went in and cleaned out my desk. I still don't think it's sunk in that I will be off of work now until Sept/2014!!!!!!! What am I going to do with myself? I feel like a huge weight has been lifted, but I also feel a bit of a void too.

Friday afternoon we had our appt. with the Thrombosis Clinic at McMaster, my mom met us there for the appt. Again, we saw a resident first, however, he seemed to have a lot of knowledge. He basically asked me all the same questions I've answered for everyone else, and said they are assuming that the pregnancy caused the clot as I have no other risk factors. He also said that we shouldn't be worried about the clot moving to my heart/lungs now that I am being treated. He actually seemed to think there was no chance of it happening at all, which was much different than the ER dr. who told me I could die. He said that they would send all of their info to my OB and I would deliver in Kitchener.

Then the doctor came in, and she said they would be doing a referral for me to be followed by an OB there and to deliver there since I am now considered to be high-risk. She explained that they would work with my OB to determine when exactly I will need to stop my injections to prepare for delivery. She expected I would be induced at 38 weeks, but said this would be up to the OB. She said the only complication will be if I go into labour naturally prior to being induced, as this could cause complications if I want/need an epidural or anesthegia, and would put me at greater risk of blood loss.

She also said that once I run out of my injections, they can write me a new prescription for an injection that I only need to do once a day instead of twice. She said they may also put my on Warfarin after I have the baby, as it treats blood clots more aggressively. I will have to continue treatment for a few months after the baby is born. And, if I get pregnant again, I will have to be on the injections throughout the pregnancy.  Both the resident and doctor felt that my pain should be better within one-two weeks, and said that if it's not, to call the clinic.

So....looks like we've having this baby at McMaster! I actually feel good about it, and think it's better to have everything being looked after at one hospital rather than trying to communicate between McMaster, the OB, and the hematologist. I know we'll get the best possible care at McMaster.

The only other weird thing is that my left foot has been swelling pretty badly, but only since Thursday. The doctor at McMaster said that if it gets much worse, to go to Grand River for another ultrasound. If I stay off my feet, it's ok. But if I walk or stand at all, it immediately starts to swell...so I'm keeping an eye on it.

The pain has improved a lot over the weekend. Yesterday I was able to take only two morphine tablets all day, as opposed to taking a percocet every four hours. I'm hoping that things will continue to improve and I'll be off the pain killers altogether by Wed or Thurs.

This week should be much less eventful. I'm seeing the OB again on Thursday, they said to keep seeing him until I've been seen by an OB at McMaster. And McMaster called this morning and said that I need to go there for bloodwork one day this week exactly 4 hours after my injection, so looks like I'll be going back to Hamilton. Other than that, we don't have too much planned. Andrew might be going back to work this week or next, but I should be fine by then. He has been so incredibly helpful over the past week, he's had to do everything including taking care of me. His mom also came down the last two Saturdays and cleaned our house which was so nice and greatly appreciated!


I've forgotten to update about our basement renovations! The thing sitting in the middle of the living room is the bathroom vanity that was delivered last week. There's still lots to be done, especially in the bathroom, but it looks great so far! We've made tons of progress, here's some photos:

Anywho...I'm sick of writing....until next week....

28 Weeks....(I have a freaking blood clot!)

Sorry guys...no pic this week, too much craziness going on!

How Far Along: 28 Weeks!
Maternity Clothes: Yep..
Stretch Marks: Not yet...
Sleep: So-so....some nights good, some not so good. 
Best Moment of the Week: Getting my hair done
Miss Anything? Feeling relaxed...
Movement: all day, every day!
Food Cravings: nothing
Anything making you queasy or sick: haven't been feeling great the last few days, but nothing in particular
Showing: you betcha
Gender Prediction: Girl!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button In or Out? In....for now...
Wedding Rings On or Off: On
Happy or Moody Most of the Time: Moody, emotional wreck!
Looking forward to: Getting a better idea of what the future holds for me and baby girl...

So, here's a play-by-play of the past few days:

Sunday to Tuesday: I was experiencing some hip pain that was making it difficult to sleep. It felt like a pinched nerve in my hip.

Wednesday: I though I pulled a muscle in my left thigh while trying to reach into my back seat to get my purse, thought nothing of it.

Thursday: Had the day off, got my hair done. In the afternoon, Andrew and I started putting down the flooring in the basement. My left thigh was feeling kind of heavy and tense, I thought it was from my pulled muscle.

7pm - Andrew and Rob went out to watch the hockey game. I had difficulty walking around the house. When they got back, I went upstairs and had a bath hoping that would relax my leg. When I got out of the bath, I realized that my left leg looked bigger and redder than my left, and it felt like it weighed 100 lbs.

9pm - Debated whether or not to page my midwife or go to the hospital. I called telehealth, and they recommended that I go to emerg right away.

Approx. 11pm - Arrived at the hospital. The triage nurse looked at my legs and immediately stated that she thought there was a good chance I had a blood clot. We were called back into a room where we waited for 6 hours!!!! Some nurse checked my vitals a couple of times, but no one checked baby's heartbeat or anything. Also...the room was 27 degrees...we were dying!!!! Around 2-3am, all the drunken crazies started to be brought in, it was quite entertaining but we were over it because we were so tired.

Friday 

4am - Doctor finally comes in to see me and says that blood clots are rare, but she would like me to get an ultrasound anyway. And oh by the way, the hospital doesn't have 24-hour ultrasound so we have to come back for 9:15am. So, I did some bloodwork, we left around 5am and went home until 8:30am.

9am - Went back to the hospital for my ultrasound, by this point I was in pain and having a lot of difficulty walking. The ultrasound was actually pretty painful, the tech was really pushing on my legs and particularly into my groin which killed!

10:15am - We were taken back to emerg to wait for the ultrasound results. We were again taken into a room to wait. 

Approx. noon - A nurse practitioner came in and she was lovely. She told me she had reviewed the scans and read the technicians notes, and that I did appear to have a substantial blood clot. I immediately began to sob. She explained that this would mean giving myself daily injections and a lot of other things also. She told me that she still had to wait for the official results, and would come back with the doctor once they received them. I asked her if someone could check the baby, as no one had checked her yet. Less than 5 mins. later, two nurses came in and checked baby's heartrate, she was all good.

Approx. 2pm - the nurse practitioner came back with the doctor. The doctor was good, but extremely blunt. He immediately told me that they had to explain the risks of blood clots, and that there was a risk the clot could move into my lungs and I could die. He then said that I was young and we would begin treatment right away to hopefully stop that from happening, but it would continue to be a risk.

They then advised that my clot was very large and in the largest vein in my thing/groin area. They explained that most people would be given two blood thinners for treatment, but I could only take one due to the pregnancy. They explained that they would be consulting with the OB on call and McMaster before prescribing anything.

While we waited for them to speak with the other doctors, the pain through my hip/groin area continued to increase. At this point, I could barely walk across the hall to use the bathroom. A nurse came in and did an ECG.

The nurse practitioner came back and explained that I would be sent to McMaster to their thrombosis clinic for pregnant women which is on Mondays. She said they would call me. She also said she had consulted with OB Dr.Oliver, and she would be taking over my care - her office would also call me. They would be prescribing Lovenox (blood-thinner), and I would be taking two injections a day for the first two weeks, and then likely down to one per day after being assessed by McMaster. They would arrange for a nurse to come to our house the first few times to teach me how to do the injections. They also prescribed Morphine tablets, which they explained are actually considered safer that tylenol with codeine, and gave me a note to be off work until the end of the week.

4:30pm - We left the hospital with our prescriptions and very worried. I was prescribed such a high dose of the injections, that none of the pharmacies in KW were able to fill it. One pharmacy had 5 days worth, so that's all we have for now.

We came home, I took morphine, and attempted to sleep. I didn't leave bed again until the following morning, but only slept a total of about 3 hours. I was in pain all night, couldn't walk, and had no appetite.

Saturday

The nurse came late to give my injection. When she left, I took morphine and tried to sleep again, however, the pain never decreased and continued to get worse. I was in tears several times due to the pain. Andrew was gone during the day, and I talked to people on the phone and tried to sleep here and there.

Around 8pm, I was crying because I was in so much pain. We had decided to just go to McMaster, but I called and they don't accept pregnant women in emerg unless there are already registered to deliver there. I cried more. The lady finally came to give my evening injection.

9pm - We headed back to the hospital in Kitchener. I called labour and delivery before we left, and they said I could go to triage on the 4th floor instead of emerg. This was the best thing that happened throughout the experience.

The nurse and nurse practitioner were amazing. They immediately checked baby and had me do a stress test where I pressed a button each time baby moved. I told the nurse that the morphine wasn't doing anything, and that I hadn't been able to eat, sleep, or walk since going home the day before. The nurse looked at me and said she understood I didn't want to drug the baby, but I needed to "drug the shit out of myself". She explained that it is more harmful to the baby for me to be on a rollercoaster of pain and not managing it consistently. She also told us that when women get kidney stones or other conditions that hospital drugs them to the point they can barely walk.

Then, the most amazing OB, Dr. Andrew Stewart, came in and he was the loveliest doctor I've ever met. He seemed genuinely concerned for us and listened to our worries. He located my ultrasound, and confirmed that my blood clot was very bad. He prescribed me percocets, and gave me the same speech as the nurse about being sure to take them as prescribed. He confirmed that I would be induced, and that I would need to be monitored closely. At this point, it's possible we could be having our baby girl in 9 weeks, or possibly sooner. When he left, I told the nurse I wanted him to be my OB. She leaned out and asked him, and he said sure, and told me to call his office on Tuesday morning and he'd see me before the end of the week. He also said he would refer me to a local hematologist on top of the clinic at McMaster. 

So one hour later, we had more answers than we had received from the previous two days. And I have an OB who seems amazing. The percocets have definitely helped with the pain, but I don't like feeling drugged. I will have to take these injections for the blood clot until at least 6 weeks post-delivery. Andrew and I did the injections yesterday and today, and they went fine, so I'm not stressed about that anymore. Once I've had the baby, they will likely put me on a second injection which is more aggressive and should help to break down the clot faster. Also, the biggest risk is if the clot moves into my lungs. The OB told me that if I experience any shortness of break, any dizziness or tightness in my chest, to call an ambulance immediately.

Also, the whole situation means no more midwife. Again, I've just accepted that because there's nothing I can do about it, and given the seriousness of the situation I'd rather have the best possible care.

At this point, I have no idea what all this means for work. As of today, I can't imagine going back. However, who knows how I'll feel at the end of the week. The nurse practitioner in the ER told me not to expect to be better in 3-4 weeks...so that was discouraging. Even if I physically feel better, I'm not sure that emotionally I can handle the stress of my job right now. Andrew is going to pick-up my computer for me tomorrow so that I can at least get the rest of the week sorted out, then we'll take it from there.

As of now, the pain is better, but I still have no appetite, it's very painful to walk, and I'm not sleeping well. Tomorrow I'm going to do my glucose test and my rhogam shot at the hospital. Also, I'm hoping to have my appointments with the OB and McMaster booked.

This has been by far the most stressful few days. Andrew has been amazing and has been the best caregiver ever, I wouldn't be able to function without him right now. Everyone else has been great too, and I really appreciate all the supportive phone calls and texts. I promise to keep everyone posted.

These are the only pics I have this week.

Andrew waiting impatiently at the hospital:

And me freaking out waiting (with newly done hair).

I truly hope that next week's update will be much more positive than this one and that we'll have more answers by then. Please keep us and baby Cummings in your thoughts!!!