The incubator speaks

I went to see Dr D today to check on my blood pressure and Bump progress. Good news, blood pressure is stable and Bump performed wonderfully and boogied her way through the scan. Bad news is that my kidneys seem to have joined the breakdance party now and I am having lots of tests. The later stages of pregnancy seem to be a succession of body parts giving up on me.

Sadly, however, Bump seems quite happy where she is. After Dr D saw my glee when he said she could come out now and be fine (perhaps it was me jumping up and down and punching the air that gave it away), he then spent 20 minutes telling me the benefits of keeping her in there for a few more weeks. This seemed to almost entirely involve referring to me as an incubator and describing me in terms more akin to a petri-dish than a living, breathing person.

Somewhat affronted, I left, promising to come back on Monday for my test results and went and bought 4 mince pies and ate all of them when I got back to the office.

Back on the water

It has been a tough week with lots of uncertainty over my blood pressure, not drinking anything at all (horrid during the Christmas season and on your birthday), and not being able to exercise. So it was with some worry that I set off to Dr D yesterday to find out whether my bp had dropped. I was all prepared to be told it had gone up again and that I would need to go in and have her out before Christmas. I had convinced myself a c-section would be fine, and my sister in law had even called me to tell me how much easier she found the c-section with her second child than the natural birth of her first.

So, it was with some surprise for both me and Dr D that we found the pills have been working brilliantly and not only has my bp stabilised but it has actually fallen back down to the higher end of what is deemed acceptable.

Rather than asking Dr D any sensible questions such as the implications this may now have for the birth, what I should plan for, whether they still might take me in early, I asked the most important question - "Does that mean I can row this weekend then?"

The answer was yes, as long as I take it easy.

A night at the theatre

Now that I know there is a high likelihood that I will end up having a c-section I have started to do a bit more about finding out about what is involved other than just saying "ouch" a lot. It is not a pleasant experience, but neither would a normal birth be so it really is a case of it being pretty miserable either way. I am also so worried about my health now (Bump will be fine, the doc gets her out at the first sign of trouble, it is her large incubator who is the one at risk now) that the option of just getting her out as soon as she would be able to survive safely seems rather appealing.

So I found myself this lunchtime on a very good, British, baby website that has been very helpful throughout when I have had a quick question or worry at work and need some perspective. However, when looking at its description of a c-section I did start to wonder who wrote it.

"A screen will be put up while the procedure is taking place. Some partners like to peek over the screen but others prefer not to see what is happening. You may like your doctor to tell you what he is doing, so that you know the minute your baby is born. Many parents like to have music playing in the theatre as well."

This makes it sound like we are going for a night at the opera rather than major surgery. Although I do remember once seeing a dreadful rendition of Wagner and it was a very painful and traumatic experience.

Side effects

After the general panic that was this afternoon after I was told my blood pressure was getting too high too fast and being told all of the wonderful complications that go along with it, I sensibly took myself off to the pharmacy to get the magic pills that might help, or might not, but it's worth a try.

Anyway, being the child of a scientist father and a mother who spent most of her working life working in hospitals I googled the drugs I had been given to see what they are and whether there are any side effects.

Amongst other side effects, they are likely to cause nausea, dizziness, fatigue, swelling of the ankles and problems with the movement of ones bowels.

So, just like being pregnant then.