4 Miles

I went back to the doctor this afternoon, and once again we talked about the itchy skin I’ve had the last few months of this pregnancy. They had done a blood test to check my liver levels, and the results were “higher numbers” then they like to see. That, plus the fact that my itching has seemed to be worse, made the Doctor decide to send me over to the hospital for the blood work, so we could get the results back right away. Plus, he wanted to do a Non-Stress Test to make sure everything was ok with the baby. He said the most extreme situation could cause the baby to be stressed, he didn’t think this was the case, but wanted to make sure. The office is just a building down from the hospital, so I just drove the car around, and went in. I DID NOT realize they would be admitting me to do all these fun things. Since I hadn’t done the “Early Admission” they want all pregnant women to do (I filled it out, just can’t find the envelope for it, so was going to mail it when I found it!), I got to do all that great stuff in the room with a nice lady.  Then they hooked me up to a fetal monitor. I was to push a button every time the baby moved (I’d never done one before, so I didn’t know—so I’m sharing for those of you who don’t know.).  They were looking at the baby’s heart beat just before/after he moved. Within 10 minutes, the nurse told me he’d passed that and was find. Actually, she was amazed at how active he was.  The entire time she was there, from 6-7, he never stopped moving, kicking, turning, or hiccupping.  (I KNEW he seemed more active then Will! I’m glad I wasn’t just imagining it!)  They did all the blood tests and by 8 pm had ruled out almost all the serious things that would be really bad (I won’t bore you with details, plus, I don’t remember all the options aside from preeclampsia, and “Fatty Liver Disease (? Or Syndrome)”, but I do know we’re still waiting on Hepatitis tests).  The Doctor (different one, but one in my group who’ve I’ve seen before) admitted he had no idea what I had. He had a big stack of papers he’d printed off from doing research trying to figure it out, but I don’t have all the symptoms that go with the different diseases.  He called a specialist who recommended a few more tests. I get to go in tomorrow for another blood test because it required fasting before it (and while I was STARVING since it was 8, and the last thing I’d eaten was a popsicle at 3, that didn’t count as a fast), plus an ultra-sound to make sure baby is growing well. 

Worse case scenario, at this point, is there’s nothing they can do until I deliver. Which is what I was told with Will, without all the tests (but I didn’t have the itchy skin starting as early with him, or a few other things I’ve had this time). 

So, please pray with me that I can take this day by day, not getting frustrated that I have ONE MORE MONTH of this! (I really have tried not to whine here or fuss, but some of you have heard me complain enough about it and are sick of it too!)  Pray for strength & patience for James, since I’m not sleeping well, and that results in lots of other issues, as you can imagine.  And, also pray for me, that I can be patient with Will (lack of sleep makes that hard!).

For all of you who have seen our house (old or new), and James’ college friends, we are sad to announce the loss of the “fireworks” or “peacock” couch. (If you never have been to our house, you missed out.  I included a picture of it in the background below. I called it the “peacock couch” in reference to the colors…the “fireworks couch” was in reference to the patterns the colors made, it looked like fireworks exploding.)  Yes, it was an ugly couch, but it was VERY comfortable.  We had tried to keep it at this house, but there just wasn’t room for it. So, it was donated today to a family who needed a couch, and we have more room in our living room (even after we moved a desk in & now have the computer in the corner).  It was a sad passage…more because it was the end of an era, not because we liked the couch THAT much. I do still need to rehang the pictures on that wall.