Monday, March 16, 2009

37 & 1/2 Weeks

Warren had to return to MB Wed. AM and I felt "funny" all day. I don't really know how to describe it, but I felt almost a little lightheaded and had some weird downward sensations and my lower back was aching. So, I called the doctor's office. Have I mentioned how much better this ob/gyn practice is than the one I went to with Eason?

When I was pregnant with Eason, I called in one time after hours because I was afraid I was leaking amniotic fluid. The oncall doc made me feel like an absolute idiot and dismissed my fears as foolish. I called my stepdad, who is an amazing doctor with a very kind bedside manner, and expressed my fears to him. He said that when he practiced Ob and had a woman call in with concerns such as mine he would allow the patient to be admitted and checked on to assuage her concerns and fears. So, I called that snooty doc back and told him that I would like to be admitted to the hospital and checked out. He was hesitant, but complied. Now, as a first time pregnant lady I was reading up on anything about pregnancy and had essentially self-diagnosed myself as leaking amniotic fluid. Warren, who had been home everynight during that pregnancy was conducting interviews for the insurance company that he worked for in the upstate. Since he had to be there early the next AM, he was going to spend the night up there. We were several weeks away from our due date, but I was feelin' weird and he came home to take me to the hospital. What a sweet and precious man the Lord has given me.

When we arrived at the hospital a young nurse helped me change into a gown to set me up on the monitors. As she was helping me change, she noted that I was wearing a Young Life t-shirt. She remarked about being invoved with YL in college. It was nice to know I was being taken care of by a fellow sister in Christ. As she began helping me into the bed I asked for Warren to hand me my water bottle. The water bottle I used was a Silers Bald (SB) bottle from their debut of Thirst. As Warren handed me the bottle the young nurse noted the SB on it and, recognizing yet another thing we had in common, began to say, "don't tell me you're a Silers Bald fan too?!" Up to this point, she had not really noticed Warren and he was still wearing a suit from having conducted interviews all day, so he was not looking like band-Bazemore, but rather like business-Bazemore. However, as he handed me the bottle, she began her remarks and then...it clicked - standing before her was the Warren Bazemore of Silers Bald.

The nurse's comment "don't tell me you're a Silers Bald fan too?!" trailed off into rising decibles of "oh my god, oh my God, OH MY GOD...I hope you are ruptured" [which translates into, I hope your water has broken so I can be your nurse]. It was hilarious and awesome. I always enjoy running into fellow SB fans that appreciate my husband and the talents the Lord has given him. Turns out that she graduated from Clemson and was a huge SB fan. It was later determined that I was not leaking amniotic fluid and we were discharged to go home and wait several more weeks for Eason's arrival, but it sure made for an memorable experience. While that nurse and the hospital staff were great, the doctor's practice left much to be desired.

This new practice is wonderful though! And when I called in with concerns, they not only did not dismiss me, but also invited me to come in and get checked to assuage my fears. I took some tylenol first and put my feet up, but by that afternoon I was still unsure and decided to go in for a check. I arrived around 4:10 and the ob side was already shut down for the day, with the exception of the ob nurse, Sharon. She was so sweet and precious to me, she is invaluable to that practice! I said, "I'll just go home, I'm sure I'm fine," as I was starting to feel very silly for coming in. She refused, "Now honey, you came in and we are gonna take care of you, let me put you in one of the rooms and I'll get a doctor to come and check on you." Then she smiled and said, "I bet you're nervous cause hubby is so far away." She totally hit the nail on the head. With Warren in MB, he needs at least 2.5 hours to get to me and I keep hearing stories of labors going really fast. So, I am trying to stay tuned to the first sign of labor to get him on the road.

Well, the same doctor checked me that I had seen the Friday before, and he and his assistant were so sweet. They did not make me feel like a silly girl and as it turned out nothing had really changed. But the doctor remarked that I probably was feeling funny and that was probably because my body was getting ready for me to have the baby in the next week or so. I so appreciated their time, compassion and not dismissing my fears. I had my next appointment set for Friday and instead of telling me, "no need to come back." The doctor said, "Yeah c'mom back in on Friday and we'll check you again." I am sure knowing, that at this stage of pregnancy, women want as many updates as possible.

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