Updates galore

So quite a bit has happened in the last week--before I start, everthing is just fine. I'll start with the good and then move on to the not so good.

Good:

We finally got the changing table and Al put it together today! I am quite excited, makes it feel like things are getting close. Which, really, they are--12 weeks from now she's full-term, and when I look at 12 weeks ago, it was Thanksgiving time. Madness. So, anyways, put the changing table together and put what little stuff we have in/on it. The drawer is full of little onesies that we've accumulated, from friends or from me doing my nesty thing.

I think it looks pretty good. :)

So onto the not-so-good:

Thursday night Al took me into the hospital because I was having some funny aches that made me worry that things were not alright. We went in, and they hooked me up to a monitor and checked me out. The good news was, no contractions, but the bad news was that Rhia is sitting super super low--when the doctor checked me out he could actually feel her resting on the bottom of my pelvis, partially because she was so low, and partially because the muscle wasn't as strong as it should be to keep her off of my cervix, which, if she stays there, would cause me to go into labor too early. So I was ordered to not go to work yesterday and to stay horizontal until my regular appointment at 4:00. We went to the appointment yesterday afternoon, and the doctor checked me out again, and things still looked fine and all closed up, and she had moved up a bit higher (all really good news). He did some tests to make sure nothing is leaking, and is supossed to call this weekend with the results, but he said things look good. We're doing another ultrasound on Thursday so he can get a look at the inside--Rhia is just fine, though, he said--so that's not a concern, just making sure that everything looks the way it should on my end. She has a good strong heartbeat and moves around all of the time.

However, I don't know if I'm going to be able to go back to work or not. He strongly recommended me only working part-time, if at all, which doesn't really work out so well, considering I work so far away and since my job isn't exactly part-time. I'm supossed to stay mainly horizontal this weekend, and he said that he'd be willing to let me try to work this week, so long as I stay off of my feet (because apparently that's what's sort of caused this issue in the first place--the fact that I'm on my feet ALL of the time). At this point I'm not on bed rest, persay, but I am supossed to limit my activity and monitor where she is closely--if she sits too low too much it could put too much pressure on my pelvic floor and start things waaay too early. He said 36 or 37 weeks is how long we need to hold out for, and that's not until the beginning of May...so I am worried and freaked out, but everything is ok and looks good right now. I didn't plan on going on maternity leave until the first week of May, so that part is a bummer, but if I need to take off to keep her in there, then that's what I'll have to do. I had a chat with her about staying in until at least May, so we'll see if she listens. The doctor said that everything looks good so far, it's more precautionary that I slow down/not work as much, to make sure that nothing starts to look not-so-good.

I am already sick of laying around, so I'm hoping that I don't get put on full-blown bedrest--I'm not sure my (or Al's) sanity could handle it. So, to end on a more happy note: a picture of my 25 week belly, getting bigger!

And, just for fun, the outfits Al and I picked out after we found out we were having a girl: