As a rather petite person I had always worried what a baby would do to my body. Yesterday, the freaked out look on my obstetricians face said it all.
Let's rewind a week, I had been feeling crampy and uncomfortable for quite some time, but thinking it was quite normal (because in most cases it is!). I was working as I normally do, and my routine was much of the same before I was pregnant.
On Thursday I felt very, very strange. A hot flush came over me suddenly, my eyes blurred and I saw stars. The most bizzare thing was that I wasn't even moving! I was sitting at my desk and then bam! There was no stopping it. Of course, it's only natural to question every single little thing that happens to you when it's your first pregnancy, so I quickly rang my OB & she told me to come in, which I did. I was then tested for pre-eclampsia. I'd never really heard of it before so it was all news to me. She explained that it can be quite dangerous for the baby and for myself. (another post on pre-eclampsia to come)
I didn't have ALL of the signs, but did have a few.
I went downstairs, had some blood tests and a urine test, and headed back to work. Thursday night I couldn't move - and by Friday I was done.
The weekend was quiet, I was enjoying my yummy lunch on Sunday with my family when I went to stand up. Who would of thought such a simple task would become such a disaster.
I felt something rip under my left rib - and quickly sat back down. I then tried again to get up, and couldn't move without help. Trying not to freak out, I went into the bedroom and thought - the little guy must be in a weird position, so let's try to move him. I tried to sit straight, nope, I tried to get down on all fours to wiggle him over, nope, tried to lay down on my side, nope, stand up, nope, tried a heat pack, nope, nothing seemed to be working. The only way to stop the pain was to stay in one position and not move, and definitely no breathing deep.. Every breath I took was like a stab to my body.
This all happened at about 4pm, I tried to put up with the pain but at about 10.30pm at night .. It was time to go to the hospital.
It's a very confronting feeling when you realise you don't care about what happens to you, as long as your baby is okay. I guess that's one of the first things we learn about being a parent; it just comes so naturally that you care for them more than you do yourself. It's pretty amazing if you ask me.
Then came the bombardment of questions. Have you had any bleeding? Are you feeling what you think may be contractions? Are you on any medication? Is the baby moving? If I poke your stomach here, does it hurt? What about here? What about here..? Are you light headed? Have you noticed anything strange? Are you allergic to anything? Your stomach feels very firm, does it normally feel like this?
I was so out of it I actually don't even remember what I told the nurse!
After many tests and monitoring the baby's heartbeat for 20 minutes - we then waited.
What is it about hospitals and waiting that makes you so nervous and tense?
Finally, I was told by our obstetrician that our 'not so little' man had grown very quickly and was weeks ahead of what he should be. We knew he was a bigger baby already but assumed he would slow down a little, as it's very common to have a few growth spurts, and then a slow growth period where days catch up to weight. But no, not our son!
Because of his quickly growing size and my petite frame - he had completely ripped the muscles on the left of my abdomen to shreds.
So how do your muscles heal and recover from this when your baby is still growing?
They don't.
There is absolutely nothing I can do but try to manage the pain and not do anything strenuous.
No more work, no more shopping, no more crazy excerises, nada! Unlike a normal torn muscle that can rebuild and heal, there is no opportunity to do so, because our baby is still growing, the muscle will only continue to tear until I give birth.
Speaking of giving birth, now we know our dude is a lot bigger than he should be, and not only do I have an unbalanced pelvis but also a petite frame, we are going to have to look at delivering earlier, and most probably by a caesarian. I'm currently just over 33 weeks, and in two weeks we will be heading back to the hospital to make a decision. I am not fussed if I end up having a caesarean - to be honest, all I care about is knowing he is healthy and okay. I have no issue with having the decision made for me, I just want what's best for him. As I said, in pregnancy, expect the unexpected.
Bed rest has already proven to be quite boring & I don't know how much Foxtel I can watch - but it's all worth it in the end, right? I mean - look at that face!!!!! Not too long until we meet, and I can't wait!
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