"...it's good because it means she's strong."

Thu., April 4, 1991

     Mon. the place I hurt from coughing Sun. night was still hurting on the left side.  It's down at the bottom of my ribs just in front of my exact side.  It hurt most when I took a deep breath or coughed & I was trying not to cough so hard cause I didn't want to tear anything.  But Tues. morning while Guy was in the shower it happened.  I didn't think I was coughing very hard but I felt it move when I did.  I was trying to reach my bell and by the time I got hold of it, Guy turned the shower off so he heard it right away.  He helped me hold it while I had to cough then brought me some extra-strength Tylenol to take.  I think I used the heating pad on it for awhile.  I just took it easy all day Tues. and it didn't get any worse or better.

     Since it was on the left side I figured I'd be ok to drive myself to the dr. Wed.  I had the non-stress test at 1:00 & saw Dr. Rand later (drs. are always running late.).  My NST was ok but it was the hunchbacked girl that did it.  My weight was down another pound.  And this was on the scales on Dr. Rand's side.  He said I should try not to lose any more but that the baby is a good size so don't worry about her.  I had lots of questions for him.  He'd said I was 1-2 cm & I think he said the cervix was starting to thin out.  But I forgot to ask about that later.  He said I'd have some spotting from the exam & I have but it hasn't been too bad.  

     He said he doesn't think I'll make it to my due date.  He also said he might consider inducing me so that it would be scheduled so all the drs. I need would be there.  I'm not sure I want to do that so I kind of hope labor starts before he has a chance to induce.  He still thinks it would be best to avoid a C-section if possible.  I asked about rooming in & he said it might be best to do it in the daytime and leave her in the nursery overnight.  I may do that if I'm sure they'll bring her in to nurse overnight & not give her any bottles in the nursery.

     I asked if, considering our past history of infertility, we should worry about using birth control & he said yes.  He recommended an IUD, which I definitely don't want, or depo-provera, which he said is a shot you get every three months.  The name sounds familiar but I need to ask Carole & find out more about it.  I really don't think I could get pregnant again without any help but you never know.

     I asked him about using my tobra & other meds. in the hospital and he said to bring everything with me cause it might take them awhile to get it there.  They're probably not used to having anyone on maternity taking medicine not related to the baby.

     When I asked if he could tell if she'd dropped he said she has some but not completely.  She still moves around a lot & keeps kicking the same spot on the right side.  Guy says it's good because it means she's strong.  That doesn't make it hurt any less.

     I'll have to go over my list again to see what else he said.

Later

     The only other thing he said was to bring copies of my records of my pulmonary treatments during the pregnancy so whoever's there can see what's been going on.

     Marian had called that morning & said for me to call her at home after my appt. & let her know about my weight.  When I did, she wasn't too happy about it.  She asked about how often & how much I've been eating.  Then she recommended that I eat more at my second breakfast and have a milkshake in the afternoons.  I'm supposed to stop by & see her after I see Dr. Rand next week.  If she's there; she's due on the 12th I think.

     Guy had this aft. off cause he has duty tomorrow.  He went to the commissary without me.  He did a good job though.  He said he breezed through cause he didn't have to ask me about stuff.  What took him so long was that they sent him to a line where there was a trainee working.  So he was frustrated from that then got caught in the beginning of the aft. rush.  So he wasn't in a good mood when he got home.  He put away the cold stuff & relaxed a little.  We'd planned on going shopping when he got back but it was almost 5:00 by then.  So he went ahead and fixed supper and we left after the news & weather.

     We went to the Baby Superstore first to get the basket & stand.  They don't sell them anymore.  At first I thought we were talking about two different things (me & the sales lady) cause she said they'd put them on clearance sale from $149.99 to $79.99.  The stands were $25.99.  They had the one left that had been the floor display.  It had a white eyelet cover and there was a wire frame attached that opened up to form a cover like a bassinet.  But I still thought that was too much to pay for it.  We looked at some cradles but they would take up too much space and cost over $100.00.  We looked at a Fisher-Price portable playpen that can be converted to a bassinet.  It was $89.95 and would be good for trips too.  We checked the price at K-Mart later (84.95) but didn't get it yet.  

     At the Baby Superstore we got one of those "pillows" that fit around their head in the car seat to keep it from flopping sideways, and a changing pad that has a stuffed edge all around to keep them from rolling off.  Both in pink terrycloth-like fabric.