This week’s routine checkout was really an adventure!
My blood pressure was running a historical high: 160/95 and 140/85. The doctor immediately ordered a preeclampsia checkout (see PIH? Oh, no!!) at the Delivery and Maternity Center of the hospital. I really didn’t expect that: Grandma and I planned to go shopping after the doctor visit!
I was brought in a deliver room and ordered to lie down on the deliver bed. A nurse came in and put on three monitors on me: one was to check my blood pressure every 15 minutes, one was to check baby’s heart beating, and the third one was to check contractions if I had.
I looked around the room and suddenly found out this was the show room weeks ago when I had the birth education class. At that time I was quite impressed by the facility installed in this room. It looked like a 3-star hotel room, with private bathroom, good view windows, TV, VCR, spacious closet, rocking chair and a sink.
And I had a taste of the luxury and convenience of my future delivery, although not for a good reason.
The doctor ordered me to be monitored for two hours. During the two hours, my blood pressure fluctuated but didn’t jump to dangerous number any more. So he called the nurse and let me go home.
But he asked me to call him without any delay if I notice spots or wavy lines in my vision; I have increased swelling, especially the face; I experience severe pain in the upper part of the abdomen, especially on the right side; I experience a severe headache; I experience contractions that increase in intensity or frequency and are regular; my bag of waters breaks or I am leaking fluid; and I have bright-red vaginal bleeding.
He also asked me to limit my activities and drink 8-10 glasses of fluids every day.
So here I am. Still don’t finish Riding emotional roller-coaster yet. Hopefully I will have a safe, healthy and happy landing!
Since the doctor warned me Gaining too much weight, I have been always wondering how much is my baby’s weight.
I was afraid the baby had grown too huge. So I talked to her: “Hi, baby, mommy hope you will not become a super-size baby. Around 7 pounds will be ideal for you. ” But at the same time, I still follow the guidelines of Healthy Eating and Special Concerns, eat frequently, and pay great attention to give my baby a balanced diet. The only thing I did differently was cutting down the consumption of carbohydrate and my weight gaining was slowing down dramatically (see Gaining too much weight).
During one routine checkout, I asked the doctor about the fetal size. She measured my tummy by palpation and estimated the baby was around 6 and 1/2 pounds.
So small?! I was quite surprised, since my tummy seemed to show bigger than other mothers’.
The doctor ordered an ultrasound to double check.
And she was right on the money! Yesterday’s ultrasound result showed the baby was exactly 6 pounds and 8 ounces.
I was quite relieved to hear the result. Meanwhile I was also wondering where those weight went? Obviously I gained the weight on myself. It means I will need a good workout in the future…
Belgian poet and playwright Maurice Maeterlinck once wrote a fairy tale named the Blue Bird. In this work, the author describes how the soul of a baby, waits in the hall of the Blue Palace (Paradise) to be born, and comes down when called by the mother.
Although this is a fairy tale, it brings out a very interesting question: does the fetus have a soul before he/she is born?
It all depends on individual belief. To me, I think my baby already has a soul, although I don’t know when the soul enters her body.
I felt connected to her every time I talked to her. And it seemed she understood exactly what I meant.
For example, every time she was quiet and remained still for a long time, I began to wonder and worry. I either asked her telepathically and direclty:“Hi, baby, are you ok? Are you there?” She always returned me a response, either a gental kick or a small movement, no matter during the mid-night, in the early morning, or in the daytime.
Sometime when I rubbed my tummy and talked to her, she reacted to me by kicking or moving the area where I rubbed.
In my 7th month of pregancy, I found out my blood pressure was a little high and I was afraid to have PIH, which, if getting severe, might cause danger to both mommy and baby (see PIH? Oh, no!!). I talked to my baby and asked her to work with me and do our best to keep her in until full-term.
During my second glucose test (see Survived the GTT), I also asked her to understand and support me and cooperate with me to stay until the end of the test.
Most of the time she was very supportive and cooperative. Sometimes I could feel her trying to please me and work with me.
But when she had needs, she didn’t hesistate to express. When she was hungry, she was eager to let me know. If I ingored her message, she would kick, knock or wiggle persistently until I took actions. Once she got really frustrated, she kicked my tummy so hard that I jumped off my chair. Another time at the middle of the night, her kicks were so strong that I felt my whole body was shivering.
My belief is also confirmed by M’s personal experience. Years ago when his best friend’s wife was expecting their first baby, M went to visit this couple. At night he dreamed about meeting the baby’s soul. The baby was a girl. She told him she would be born at the early evening of the same date when M was born, his birthday.
When M told his friends about his dream, they laughed at him. At that time they didn’t even know the gender of their baby yet. Two weeks later, M received a phone call from his friend, telling him a baby girl was born at 5 pm, and that day was M’s birthday.
So far I didn’t dream about meeting my baby’s soul. But I do remember praying to God to give me a kind-soul baby at that special moment. Maybe the soul of this baby, waiting in the hall of the Blue Palace (Paradise), came down when called by me and fulfilled my wish to become a mother.
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