Our trip to Labor & Delivery

It started out as a normal Sunday afternoon. Jason & I planned on getting some grocery shopping done, maybe a few loads of laundry, and then we were off to Quakertown. Well, it started out normal... but that's definitely not how it ended up.

While we were on our way to the grocery store I started having sharp pains in my left side. I figured it was probably nothing, just gas or something, so I ignored it and continued shopping. When I got home I thought I would lay down for a bit before we headed up to Q-town. But the pain got worse. So I put a call into the doctors office. 30 minutes later... no call back. So I tried again. Another 20 minutes and I just couldn't take it anymore, we were off to the ER.

Luckily at our hospital they take anyone over 16 weeks straight up to Labor & Delivery. I was 16 weeks 4 days... whew! So I was whisked straight upstairs where they tested my urine and did an ultrasound. The urine looked clean (no UTI or bladder infection) and the ultrasound showed that the baby was a-ok. They also ruled out kidney stones since there was no blood in my urine. So at that point, no one knew what the heck was wrong with me.

They thought it might be round ligament pain (RLP) which is when the ligaments that hold the uterus to the abdominal wall stretch when the uterus grows. But they wanted to do a more high-tech ultrasound to make sure it wasn't an ovarian cysts or something else. By the time the ultrasound tech from radiology made it up to our room we had been in the hospital for 6 hours and we were exhausted!

The tech said everything looked ok, but the doctor needed to look at the pictures. Apparently that takes 2 hours. Finally one of the residents came in and told us we could go home. "Um... so what's wrong with me?" She said it probably was just the RLP and to take some tylenol. So with that, we were off and on our way back home.

The highlight of the evening had to be on our drive home... the Phillies had just won Game 4 of the World Series, giving them a 3 to 1 advantage over the Tampa Bay Rays. The crowds were pouring into the streets. Everyone was screaming and cars were honking their horns. It was so cool to see the city so excited! Only 1 more win to go!

Don't smoke crack

During our most recent visit to the doctor, we met a different physician.  I think they want you to meet a few different doctors, because they can't predict which one will be delivering the baby.

This lady had a more relaxed attitude than our last doctor.  She was funny and a little sarcastic.  Here are a couple examples:

The doctor took a look at Lindsey's charts and said, "Well, this looks boring.  Nothing to see here.  In preganancy, when everything's normal and the charts are boring, that's a good thing.  And you guys are definitely boring."

Later, she asked if we had any other questions.  I said, "Just curious... We've heard a few different things... What's your opinion on drinking a glass of wine every once in a while during pregnancy?"  I asked because Lindsey has been very careful and conservative.  I was honestly wondering if the doctor thought it was necessary to be so cautious.  

The doctor responded, "There's no evidence that shows a single glass of wine will affect a baby's development.  There is evidence that shows drinking heavily is clearly a problem.  And we know for sure that not drinking is fine.  So - I'd never tell a patient it's okay to drink every day, but I think it's safe to say a glass of wine every once in a while is probably okay.  Oh - also... don't smoke crack."

Babies are big business

I'm learning a thing or two about the economics of parenthood.  Lindsey and I went to Babies R' Us and Buy Buy Baby this weekend to take a look at cribs and strollers and whatnot.  Lindsey has been researching online and keeping me in the loop - so we had a list of a few things we wanted to see.  But as much as we knew about this segment of the US marketplace, I had no idea what I was in for.

These stores are gigantic.  Like Best Buy or a Walmart - except they're filled with exclusively with baby stuff.  At first it seemed like these places were cutting down their target demographic dramatically.  The only people who might want to shop there are expectant parents and parents of very young children (and anyone who is provided a registry, I guess).  What I failed to consider was the fact that people LOVE to buy baby-related products.  By "people", I mean just about anyone who has ever been a parent or wants to be a parent.

The customers in these places had huge smiles on their faces as they tested out the glider chairs specifically marketed to nursing mommies.  They giggled as they played with the colorful, beeping, flashing "learning centers".  And they boasted about how very easy it is to collapse their favorite stroller with one arm while holding their baby in the other.

The sales reps were even more chipper.  They appeared to genuinely love their jobs.  They were encouraging, polite, and extremely helpful.  All that happiness was a little overwhelming.

We wandered around the store, taking a closer look at the products we picked out online.  Our list is pretty short.  We want what we need - not anything and everything that new parents could possibly own.   If every new parent were like us, the store would have been much smaller.  For example: you could buy an infant carseat, a stroller compatible with that carseat, a second carseat base for the other car, a bigger carseat for when your kid is bigger, a bigger stroller, an umbrella stroller for quick jaunts, and a jogging stroller (I almost forgot stroller toys and stroller accessories).  That's where Lindsey's research has been paying off.  She's been able to figure out what we really need and what would just be excessive.

Overall, I'm glad we had a chance to see all of these things up close.  And we'll definitely be back a few more times as we get closer to our due date.  But there's one thing I learned for sure: these baby-product megastores must be raking in the cash.

Maternity clothes are for suckers!

I finally broke down and bought some maternity clothes last weekend.  This was not as easy of a task as it sounds.  There are a lot of what I will now refer to as "regular people" stores that advertise that they also carry maternity clothes, but the selection is definitely not abundant.  I was already warned to stay away from the maternity specialty stores like Motherhood because the quality stinks and A Pea in the Pod because everything is extremely overpriced.  So with that in mind and a 15% off coupon for Old Navy/Gap/Banana Republic in hand, I decided to give the Cherry Hill Mall a shot.

All in all, the trip was not a complete failure.  I'm really hoping that it's ok if I only wear cordouroy's for the next 6 months because they are the only maternity pants that aren't jeans and that I don't think look hideous.  Jason assures me that I'll find some khaki's or dress pants that I like soon enough, but I'm not so convinced.

There was one silver lining to the trip... sizing in maternity clothes is AWESOME!  I've heard people say to buy the same size that you normally wear, but that is ridiculous.  If I did that I would be swimming in my clothes for the next few months.  I know I'll need a bigger size eventually, but I figure by then it'll be a lot colder and I'll need different clothes anyway.

I think Jason was a little shocked when I came home 4 hours later with an armful of bags.  I guess I should probably tell him about the package that's being shipped to his office (I did mention that the selection in the stores isn't great, right?).