motherhood is hard.

Last night we went to the emergency room (ER). I had a bit of brown spotting and my lower abdomen started to feel strange. It wasn’t exactly cramping, but it was tender and felt swollen; it didn’t feel right. We looked on the internet for information and everything we read suggested that we contact a doctor right away; in the second or third trimester, any type of bleeding was abnormal.

Unfortunately it was past 7pm and our ob/gyn’s office was closed. I paged the doctor through the message exchange center but hubby said we should just go to the ER anyway, in case the doctor takes too long to call back. (the doctor ended up not calling! I learned that apparently he was “not on call” that evening, according to the hospital staff.)

I wasn’t in a lot of pain, but it was uncomfortable to stand for too long, and I was more scared than physically suffering. My husband asked if baby J had moved at all; I said that I felt him move but it wasn’t vigorous and that baby J is most active in the middle of the night anyway. Read the rest of this entry →

We went to the ob/gyn yesterday for our monthly appointment.

After the typical (long) wait, we were called in. I gave a urine sample and got weighed – I’ve gained a total of 15 pounds since becoming pregnant. The nurse checked my blood pressure and then baby J’s heart rate. She was pleased with how strong his heart beat is. She measured my tummy and seemed satisfied with my girth.

My belly button has yet to “pop out”. I do not look forward to the day when my “innie” becomes an “outie”, but my husband sure is. He has a longstanding fascination with my belly button, namely, he wants to stick a q-tip in it to make sure it is nice and clean, and I don’t want anything of the sort near my belly button. Read the rest of this entry →