3 AM -- No party in her crib

Thursday, November 20th was the night before the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. For 5 years we've both participated: me through walking 60 miles or crewing on a pit stop and my husband through crewing gear and tent. Even when our daughter arrived 2 years ago, I still walked and he cheered us on from the sidelines. So this year, it was obvious that I would not be able to crew being 9 months pregnant and we would cheer him on from the sidelines. Hadarya had other things in mind.

While I was a bit nervous about the weekend by "myself" with her (and grandma and savta) I figured we'd make it happen somehow. But Tuesday's doctor's appointment, putting me on bedrest, changed everything. I was now out of commission and we needed to make changes.

Savta agreed to spend the night on Thursday night and help get Hadarya to daycare in the AM. She sleeps until about 7 AM and that would work out perfectly. Yiftach was set to leave at
4 AM to get to the fairgrounds for day zero to join his crew members lugging gear and tents.

Hadarya had been sleeping through the night for a couple of nights in a row and even if she woke up for milk or from a dream, it was usually around midnight, 2 AM, or 5:30 AM. So at 2:55 AM when she called out for Aba, we were a little unnerved.

For almost an hour she cried, whined, fussed, drank milk, fell asleep on Aba's shoulder, refused to come to Ima or Savta and generally acted uncharacteristically of our amazing child. It was bizarre. If you were not in our house you would never believe that our 2 year old knew Aba was leaving the house and she wanted to be part of it. It was just so uncanny.

He finally got her back in her crib at 3:50 and left with Grandpa to pick up Auntie Kimber. As soon as I shut the door and locked it, she woke up calling out for Aba. She let me pick her up (I haven't done that in a very long time due to growing belly and her lack of comfort!) and we laid on the couch together. I thought she was falling asleep but Savta said she was wide-eyed. She allowed Savta to carry her to our bed and she laid down between us and closed her eyes.

I called Yiftach to tell him (4:20 AM) that she was good...did not use his name but just said she's on her way to sleep in our bed; and she popped up and called for him. He did not make it to Del Mar and the beginning of the 3 day.

Our daughter has a sixth sense about things and she knows when things are not exactly as they should be. She totally knew that our lives had turned upside down on Tuesday at the doctor's and she was trying to figure it out. This was not a party that we were glad to be invited to!

0 to 60 in 1 Doctor's Appointment

Tuesday, November 18th started off like any other day but ended with a new plan for our lives for the next month. We carpooled to work and I had my typical 1/2 day with students. I knew that I only had 4 more teaching days left until I was on maternity leave and so we made the most of our day and ended with sharing. I had a one hour inservice (sitting and listening and participating) and then left to pick up Yiftach for our 4 PM regularly scheduled Doctor's visit.

Long story short, my blood pressure was way too high for my doctor's liking and my feet and calves were very swollen. Not surprising at the end of the day, sitting half naked on a small doctor's examining table with my feet dangling and waiting over 30 minutes to be seen...but the blood pressure wouldn't come down as she continued on with her exam and measurements.

My parents had picked up Hadarya for the doctor's visit and we called to ask them to keep her longer as we were headed to the hospital for further testing for preeclampsia. The doctor gave us 30% chance of being admitted and induced that night and that was a little much for us! We're not ready for this baby yet and it's not ready for us!

Blood was drawn and sent to the lab. We waited for a room in an office as there were too many people who came to triage right before us. I was hooked up to fetal monitoring machine, blood pressure machine, and contraction machine. Told to rest, lie still, and hang out. It took awhile but I finally got comfortable after Yifach piled a few more blankets on me to make me warmer and propped up my arm on a few folded sheets to keep it steady.

My blood pressure came down significantly and the baby's heartbeat was fine. The blood work came back clear and I had no extra proteins floating through my liver and kidneys! YEAH... we were sent home. No more work, no cooking (standing on my feet) and no significant anything but laying around on the couch on bedrest.

Life has changed. Dramatically. I sit on the couch all day. My mom comes over. My mother-in-law comes over. My daughter cuddles near me. I do not do a whole lot but flip through the channels and check my email! Our hope is to continue this lifestyle, as hard as it has been on my husband, and figure out how to keep my BP down and let the baby wait until it's really the right time....4 more weeks to go. We'll see what the doc says on Monday AM.

Do You Want...

So our daughter has a very smelly poopy diaper and refuses to change it. She thinks it's a game. She really wanted her bitzy (pacifier) and I told her only if she got the wipes and pad. Usually she complies and is very helpful. Today, not so much. Probably because she refused a nap and is being 2.

Here is the conversation we had with our 2 year old:

Me: Do you want to change your diaper?

H: Nope

Me: Do you want to go to Target?

H: No

Me: Do you want to go to bed?

H: Nope

Aba: She's going to say no to everything you say.

Me: Do you want to go in the car?

H: No

Aba: Do you want to go to skydiving?

H: YES!