Doc Visit Yields Updates

Thank you to everyone who sent kind words to my friend, Karen. I know your thoughtfulness meant so much to her (and to me.) Thanks again. =)

My 26-week checkup at the O.B. today went mostly normally, except for one glitch. Earlier this week, as I was sitting up in bed I noticed my stomach changed shape and became almost pointy. I was amazed, thinking Snippet couldn't possibly be that big already, but I didn't know what else it could be. Over the next few days, the weird bulge was still there, in the exact same spot, so I less and less believed it was the baby. When I showed it to my doc this morning, he broke the crummy news that I have an umbilical hernia. Boooo. He said it happens with some women that there is a gap in the muscle wall near the belly-button, and it spreads wider as the stomach grows. When I asked him what the bulge was he said casually, "Oh, it could be anything---an intestine, some other internal organ." He was very casual about this news, but I'm feeling pretty freaked out. An intenstine? It's definitely something big poking out, so I guess he's probably right. Thankfully, it doesn't really hurt---achey more than anything. He said after Snippet is born, I need to do some major ab toning to try to pull the muscles tighter and close the gap.

I also asked him about the swelling in my legs and ankles, and he wasn't much phased by that, either. He said if I ever have sudden swelling above the waist, then I need to call him right away, but it's not uncommon for some women to start having leg and ankle swelling early on. Unfortunately, he predicted I should brace myself for it to just get worse as things progress. By the time I'm term, I could probably sew a sail to my ass and just float on down the Chesapeake Bay.

They have me scheduled to go in tomorrow for bloodwork for my 1-hour glucose screening test. I'm already meditating hardcore on passing the test, since sugar deprivation is pretty much the ultimate torture for me. Sugar has always been my comfort, my ally. Whenever I'm sick, and can't touch real food, I can still dig into some cookies or ice cream. And, Snippet has been getting his fair share of that (and more!) with this pregancy, as I've lapsed on my hardcore dieting restrictions. The sundaes, brownies and cheesecake have been flowing in abundance, to say the least.

Which probably helps to explain my now 28-pound weight gain. Again, though, the nurse and O.B. seemed totally fine with it, and showed no concern with the gain. The O.B. was happy to hear that I'm still working out a few times a week, and didn't even pause over my latest report from the scale of doom. I still seem to be the only one nervous about it (although not nervous enough to cut out the ice cream!) I have greatly decreased the between-meal snacking down to almost nothing, and I figure that has to help. Otherwise, I still look basically like myself, only with a big tummy, so unless I start bulking up all over, I'll probably try to keep my cool about it, too. And, this weekend, my trainer is moving me into the pool for my workout, so I'll get to publicly display myself in my pregnancy swimsuit. I got the cutest one I could find, but the whole package is still pretty horrific.

Lastly, my doc signed off on my appointment for a 4D ultrasound next Saturday while we're visiting my family in Indiana. My parents have felt pretty left out of the whole pregnancy, so we scheduled the ultrasound so they could be there live and see all the coolness. We're keeping the appointment a surprise, though, so my mom's going to completely flip out. It'll be great!