It's Shrinking

I was really hoping for a (relatively) normal week.  I am super busy this week, what with the girls’ last trip to see their dad, dentist appointments, meet your teacher, and the first day of school, but I was anticipating no additional drama.  Boy was I wrong!  Nothing too disturbing, and it was a Monday after all, but it did throw me into a panic for a couple of hours.

I am determined to document as much as I can about this pregnancy.  For two main reasons. First – I have a terrible memory, and this way I can look back and say “Oh yeah!  I was 16 weeks when such and such happened” or “It was around the 3^rd month when I started feeling this way.” And second, maybe someday baby Shocker will want to read about this time in his/her life.  I have a journal I kept when I was pregnant with the girls, and this blog encompasses Jake’s pregnancy as well.  So, I have 2 events to record today one minor, and another a little more major.  Plus I had a couple of people ask about baby updates over the weekend, so here we go.

We had a crazy busy weekend.  Saturday, I spent 5 hours in the heat at my sorority house helping volunteer at Bid Day.  I have 81 new sisters, but I also had sore feet, a tired back, and a growing baby to contend with.  Then, as a family, we went to a birthday (pool) party Saturday night.  Then, I tried to rest on Sunday, but I served at church, then we went out to lunch (I took a 3 hour nap), then to my grandmother’s for her birthday.  WHEW!  Tired.  All of this to say that also sometime over the weekend, my baby and my belly “popped out.”  I went to get dressed Monday morning, and I was putting on non-maternity  jeans I had worn mid-week last week and was able to still button, and they were TIGHT and I could not even pull the zipper up more than a half inch!  I donned my belly band and my T-shirt anyway, but it is time to find some maternity pants.  UGH.  My boss mentioned it when I got to work and my mom even noticed when she saw me last night.

But the real drama came on Monday afternoon.  For 2 hours midday, I volunteered at OSU to work a registration table at Welcome Week.  Basically, without going into gory details,  I had some minor baby issues earlier Monday morning, then after my volunteer shift, they got bad enough I believed they warranted a phone call to the nurse.  I called in about 2pm, and then tried to distract myself with work while waiting for a call back.  I finally got a call about 4, saying to come in NOW for an ultrasound.  Britt and I only had one car on campus, and I had not alerted him to my situation.  So, I called him saying, don’t ask questions, I am on my way to pick you up, we are going to the doctor’s office, and I will explain on the way.  Once I got to my car, I called my mom to have her pick up Jake from day care.  Once at the doctor’s office, we got to see Baby Shocker on that wonderful little grey and black screen!  Baby looks great, heart rate is good, fluid levels normal, growing well.  And lo and behold, “The Spot” (that has been causing us some worry and lots of watching) is SHRINKING!  Bold Prayer is WORKING!   The sonogram tech was almost giddy with this discovery.  And of course, so were Britt and I!  We went to our doctor’s office for a few minutes to discuss, but this all seems so good!  I was told to take it easy (again) – and no more weekends like last weekend!  I am to monitor what’s going on, and if it changes or gets worse to call the doctor.  I will see the specialist in OKC a week from today, and I see my doctor here the week after that, so I feel well monitored for the next 2 weeks.

Did you see that?  It’s SHRINKING!  While I am still a medical anomaly, I am so excited to see this problem resolving itself.  God is good – ALL THE TIME!

At Convention

Two things I don’t recommend doing in the early weeks of pregnancy. A quick honeymoon to Los Angeles and Hollywood (8/9 weeks), and your sorority’s Grand convention (11/12 weeks)… in Phoenix… in JUNE! The air temp has been hovering right around 113/114 degrees, and it may be a “dry heat,” but it is still MISERABLE! Feels like a toaster out there! The a/c in our “villa” (fancy hotel room) cannot keep up, and even though we can view 2 of the Arizona Biltmore’s 8 pools from our room, they are not that tempting as the water temps is about 87 degrees! That’s like BATH water. Plus, our days start early and end later and later and later. Not much free time on this trip! We were in the pool about 30 minutes on Wednesday and about 45 minutes yesterday. And I think it’s already time to pack up the suit!

This has been an amazing experience. I am so lucky I am getting to reconnect with one of my college days sisters, and it is very entertaining and educational to see all the history and all the volunteer WORK that goes into runing an International sorority smoothly and efficiently. I am here representing the Alpha Omicron chapter of Alpha Delta Pi from Oklahoma State University in the capacity of Social Advisor. These last few days have been more emotionally charged that I expected, more intense than I expected, but mostly more FUN than I expected! I have really enjoyed getting to know our 3 collegiate members that are on the trip with us, and just to see that Alpha Delta Pi really is the First, the FINEST, and it’s FOREVER! I am so lucky to have this sisterhood, and I have been reminded of that time after time the last few days.

Now I am off to a day of workshops before our final formal dinner tonight. I am hot, swollen, dry (I am really TYRYING to drink my water – even bought a CamelBak water bottle with the sorority cret on it to help me stay hydrated), congested, and tired. By this time tomorrow, I should be at Sky Harbor airport ready to head back to Oklahoma to see my 2 favorite men, Britt and Jake! I miss my family SO MUCH – and I don’t get to see the girls for another 10 days after I get back!