Flashback Sunday

I will post pictures of the bangs tomorrow...I know you're all dying to see them.

Now that my moment of narcisism is over I will tell the story I came to tell.

I have thought many times today about the 16th of November 2005. Why is this day so significant in my mind? Will it always be? I am not sure as my mind gets older and perhaps more feeble (if that's at all possible) I may not remember the events of the 16th of November. Hence the blogging. I was 28 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I had a regular doctors appointment at which I was going to ask the doctors opinion about me travelling to Arizona in 5 weeks for Christmas at which time I would be 33 and 34 weeks pregnant. I went to the doctor and had gained 9 lbs since my last appointment putting my total gain to 20 lbs in 28 weeks. That's not a terrible number but I jumped from 11 lbs to 20 in just over 3 weeks. The nurse asked me if I felt okay. I said yes, I felt great, but now that I saw the scale I was feeling a bit fat. I did the pee in the cup thing (like at every other appointment). When the nurse called me to actually see the doctor she took my blood pressure. 163/90. High. Hmmm. The doctor comes in, asks me how I feel. I feel great I say. We listen to the heartbeat, perfect little flutter. A nurse walks in and gives him a paper and he reads it. He tells me I have protein in my urine. He said this, and my blood pressure being high and my weight gain (along the with obscene size of my ankles, feet and shins) could mean I have or am developing something called preeclampsia. Sorry dude, never heard of it. He told me to go to the lab and have some tests including picking up a giant bottle to collect 24 hours worth of urine in. GROSS! I was so grossed out by the prospect of this. Little did I know how much of my own pee I would collect over the next 16 months of my life. He asked if I had any questions. I asked about flying to Arizona for Christmas. He said to me "why don't you worry about still being pregnant at Christmas." What was THAT supposed to mean? Why wouldn't I still be pregnant? The doctor told me to take it easy and that he wanted to see me back in the office in one week. The day before Thanksgiving. I wasn't worried. Looking back I am amazed at how calm I was.
I decided to go to the lab the next day feeling absolutely no rush on this collecting the giant bottle of pee project. Plus, I felt absolutely fine. My feet were huge, but my husband was rubbing them daily so there were good things about looking like a Hobbit. I looked up preeclampsia on the Internet and was feeling only slightly freaked out. Mike was more worried than me but I was able to keep him calm by my ridiculous amount of surety that all would be well. He said "okay, if you say so I trust you." I still had the notion that no one as young and healthy who had taken as good care of themselves as I did would have anything but a natural delivery with a perfect 7 lb something baby. I still wasn't worried.

Emma was born exactly one week later on the day before Thanksgiving, and I didn't make the appointment with the doctor. I wasn't pregnant at Christmas either.....

But, that's next weeks story.