Christmas

Christmas was a little different this year. We had 2.5 less people at the traditional Christmas Eve movie, which stunk. And Chris and I didn't make the trip up to Nashville this year, which stunk.

Things change over time. People get busy, etc. It's just a part of life. I know everything can't always stay the same, but it doesn't make it stink less.

We plan on making the trip to Nashville next Christmas for sure. This year, we just wanted to save some gas money and stay at home to relax. I'm not sure how awesome 4.5 hours in a car would have been for me. Back pain, motion sickness, all that fun stuff. Plus, staying at home for several days in a row means I got a lot of rest.

I'm off work again today, but have to run some errands and then get dinner going for a few friends we're having over tonight. Oh, and finish the laundry. Not so relaxing, but I guess it's time to get back to real life.

Well hot damn!

My follow-up doctor's appointment this morning was....interesting.

Martha refuses to let the ultrasound tech see her face. It's just not going to happen. There was lots of shaking my belly around to get her to cooperate, but nope. Nothing. She did let us see her heart today though and all 4 chambers are beating perfectly. No problems there, thank goodness.

The medical assistant lady checked my blood pressure and it was an amazing normal number of 120/70. That's in the "perfectly normal" range. A big difference from my 140/80 just two weeks ago. I'm happy about it, but skeptical.

Then I saw the nurse practitioner, which usually I like, but this woman was terrible. I'm convinced that she didn't look at my chart AT ALL because all she did was listen to the baby's heartbeat and then hand me my check-out papers. I had to ask her about my pee in a jug test results and she said "Oh, they didn't call you?" Nope. She said a normal number is 100 and mine was 124, so it's nothing to be concerned about. And then she spatted off a bunch of big medical words that I couldn't understand and then didn't bother to try and explain anything when I said, "huh?"

I think I'll be happier when I go back in 4 weeks and see one of my normal doctors and hear that my blood pressure is still as low as it should be.

I'm still having my mom check it tonight though...just to make sure.

One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten.

1.) I really should stop trying to do so much. I felt like death yesterday after throwing a dinner party on Saturday night and then going out shopping on Sunday. It doesn't seem like much, I know, which is why I did it. But it caught up to me and I seriously felt like dying by Sunday afternoon.

2.) I'm currently using an empty copy paper box at work to prop my feet up. I think I might invest in a foot stool.

3.) So, Brittany Murphy died. It seems like every time a celebrity dies, there are always 1,000 prescription pill bottles found near them/in their house. Celebrities need all these different pills? Why? And did anyone else see pictures of her husband and wonder what the heck is up with that? He must have a REALLY awesome personality.

4.) I go back to the Dr. tomorrow for my "pee in a jug" results and another ultrasound.

5.) Despite Meineke telling me TWO SEPARATE TIMES that there was no anti-freeze leak that they could see, I'm seeing anti-freeze puddles on my garage floor and my car continues to overheat. Obviously, if they actually saw a leak, they'd tell me because it'd make them some money if they needed to replace whatever is leaking. So, my confidence in their skills as mechanics is dwindling fast. I guess I should take my car somewhere else now...

Listen.

Listen. Pregnant women do not respond well to people (especially males or females who have never been pregnant) telling them that they cannot consume something.

Please, do not tell me what I'm not allowed to have caffeine or fish. It makes my blood boil, and these days (ok, I'll be honest - even before I was pregnant) I have little patience for people trying to talk to me about something that they know nothing about.

So, yes. I can have SOME caffeine. And I can have SOME fish. I am aware of the amounts/types that are considered to be acceptable. I, unlike these people, have done the research.

Also, am I the only one that finds it a little bit offensive that someone would ask us if we're planning on taking Martha to church and then have them tell us that we MUST take her to church? I was raised in church. I know it's important. But I don't think it's that important to bring my baby to church so they can sit in childcare. We will bring her to church when she's old enough to understand why she's in this big building with a bunch of dressed up people. Before that point, we will teach her about Jesus at home. (Just like how Cohen can pick out the baby Jesus out of a line-up of wise men). If we bring her to church before then, it will be so Chris and I can go. So, I don't think we MUST take her to church right when she's born. Also, I don't think I need people telling me that I must. Believe it or not - I do know a little bit about what I'm doing. And those times that I don't, I will ask someone. (And that someone I ask will probably be my Mom because she's been doing this a long time and I trust her opinion.)

Ok, so just a little lesson for anyone that might want to talk to a pregnant woman about anything pregnancy or baby related:

1. Do not say "You can't have caffeine!" when you see me drinking my Dr. Pepper. If you decide to mention anything about it, I'd recommend saying something to the effect of "Oh, I didn't know it was ok for pregnant women to have caffeine."

2. When a pregnant woman is complaining about something - we'll use nausea for this example - don't say "You should try drinking ginger ale." Because, most likely, this woman has already tried EVERYTHING in her power to stop the nausea. If you want to say something about ginger ale, ASK HER if she's tried it. Don't assume that she has never heard about it. I'm appreciative for those (Kimberly, my Mom, Meredith) that have used this rule wisely. I'm assuming that's because they've all had babies and know how annoying it is for people to tell them what to do.

3. When in doubt, shut your mouth. It's better to say nothing then to piss off someone that probably weighs a lot more than you right now.

Pee in a jug.

I went to my normal, monthly doctor's appointment last Thursday. My blood pressure is up 2 more points. 142/80 this time. My doctor asked me if I had done the 24 hour urine test that she gave me at my appointment the month before. I told her no. That I'm never in one place all day and that I wasn't able to do it. For those of you unfamiliar - the 24 hour urine test is where they give you a big jug and you have to, for an entire 24 hours, collect every single bit of pee in this jug, and keep the jug refrigerated. If for some reason you're out somewhere and you can't wait until you get home to pee in your jug, you have to completely start over the next day.

Let me tell you...it's a hassle. Which is why I didn't do it the first time the doctor told me to. So, at my appointment last week, when my blood pressure clearly isn't getting any better, she told me that I REALLY have to do this test. They're looking for protein in my pee, apparently. I don't know what that means, but I guess it's not good.

So, I stayed home all day on Sunday and peed in my jug. I dropped it off on Monday morning on the way to my final (which I passed), and I have to go back to the doctor on the 22nd. That's in 2 weeks, rather than my usual 4. They'll have my pee results by then and they'll do another ultrasound because Martha wouldn't get her hands off of her face last time.

I'm not sure what the next step is in this whole blood pressure thing. Possibly medication? But is it really that bad? I'm still in the pre-hypertension stage. Not quite high enough to be worried, but not as low as I should be. So, I don't know. I guess I'll find out next Tuesday.

When things happen like they're supposed to.

These past few days have been pretty crazy. Work is piling up, I have a final in a few weeks that I need to study for, and our insurance and trash company decided to mess with us.

A few weeks ago our trash company said that we didn't pay our last payment that was due several months ago, so we needed to pay them within the next couple of weeks or be charged a fee and have our service cut off. I looked back at my records (I pay them through Bank of America Bill Pay) and realized that I'd somehow forgotten to send the payment. It happens sometimes. (Although I think this is my first missed payment for ANYTHING.) So, I promptly paid them to avoid the penalties mentioned. Fast forward yesterday. Got another letter saying that since we didn't pay them, the things they said would happen have happened. Um....excuse me? I looked at my bank info online and sure enough there is a receipt of payment including confirmation number. Chris called the trash people, explained to them that we have paid and have proof. We faxed over the proof, but now they need an actual physical address to where the payment was sent so they can find it. I was just tired with all of it so I contacted the Bank of America customer service and within an hour I had an email back to me saying that they've spoken with the trash company (also providing a name of the person who they spoke with) and that they have provided them with a copy of the check and the issue should be resolved within 5-7 days. I'm REALLY glad that I used the BOA Bill Pay.

THEN - if that weren't enough. I got a call from my lady Dr's office. Our insurance company (that I have through Chris's work) is denying over $2000 worth of claims because they're saying I have no maternity coverage. Trust me, if we didn't have maternity coverage, we would not be having a baby right now. Shit's expensive. So, I had Chris call them and, of course, we do have coverage and they don't know why the claims were denied. They have to re-process everything which will take 45 days, so they said they would call my Dr. office to let them know. I called my Dr. back a few minutes later and they'd already received the call from our insurance company. So, that's all worked out.

These two things took a huge chunk of time out of mine and Chris's days. If things were to happen like they're supposed to, I would be a much happier person.

I'm just glad it's over with. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed for no more mishaps in the near future.