It came and went

Saturday came and went, with no baby.  La sigh.  Unfortunately, it also came with another gall bladder attack. . . at 3 in the morning.  And it was accompanied with nausea and Braxton Hicks contractions.  So unfortunately we didn't make it to church this morning because instead I was trying to catch up on some sleep since I had missed out on a few hours during the night.  Aaron stayed up with me during the first hour or so and I know that God has provided my wonderful husband for me on purpose.  He's so wonderful to me!  He comforts me like nothing else.

I also found that drinking water helped out a TON this time.  It was painful but not unbearable.  Unfortunately though I drank a TON of water (not kidding, I drank nearly half a gallon in 2 hours), which lead to me constantly in the bathroom.  I finally realized I could go to bed when I was falling asleep in the bathroom. I realized the pain was gone and it was ok to return to bed.  Praise God.

Although that was not very fun, Aaron and I had a very nice Saturday.  We visited his momma and sister Courtney because we needed to do some laundry and we just miss them.  So we did laundry throughout the day, watched some tv, played Settlers of Catan with Court (she loves it as much as we do), and Aaron and I had a great time of prayer and Bible study.  Oh and of course there was doggie and kitty snuggles in there.  =D

Today we spent some more time with Aaron's family before returning home.  They are so cute together. All three of them were snuggling on the bed together when Aaron woke up.  And of course some of the doggies had to join in the snuggles.  I wish I would have had my camera.  Too precious!  I'm thankful for the sleep I was able to get and the restful day today after a somewhat stressful night.  I was so afraid the GB attack would send me into labor.  Perhaps that's silly but I was a bit worried.  Thankfully it did not.  As much as I'd love to meet our little one, I'm glad our meeting wasn't the result of my attack.

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I wasn't home yesterday to mention this, but head on over to my friend Jana's blog to see her adorable little one Emily modeling the headbands I sent her! :)

Reaching a decision

Today I experienced my third gall bladder attach during this pregnancy.  Am I happy that it occurred? Absolutely not.  They are ridiculously painful.  However, I am thankful that our midwife provided us a method of treatment.  

I tried finding a comfortable position. Yah, no, I couldn't sit, stand, or lay without crying.  And crying only made it worse as it made it difficult to breathe. 

Up next, Cold compress on the area of pain.  Er, yeah still not working.  Trying very hard not to sob as husband is on the phone with midwife. 

Try taking a hot bath.  

Ok, so at first all it did was make me stop crying, THIS IS HUGE.  

Praise God. 

I was still having trouble getting comfortable, but finally I was able to find out what didn't work (lying on my side was the worst).  Then I discovered what did work, and I didn't move.  I sat in the tub for about 45 minutes.  

After about 15 minutes, I looked at Aaron and said, "we're having a water birth."  He concurred.  We had also learned at our appointment today that tearing is less common with a water birth. 

So thank you gall bladder attack for helping us make that decision! :) 

However, please don't return anymore.  K?  Alright great! Thanks!

Oh and can I say how much I love this man??? He's just the best.  He took such great care of me today! I loff him. He worked very hard to calm me and to try to make me laugh once I calmed down. He's the best. 

Photo used courtesy of Kat Ritenour Photography

Gall Bladder Attacks

stink almost as much as a toothache right before you need a root canal.  Thankfully they don't last as long. 

Well how would you know this, Amanda, you ask.  Well last spring I had to have a root canal done because of a terrible toothache.  That was just awful.  The night before they put in temporary filling I literally cried all but 1.5 hours of that night (when I finally got some sleep).  I went to work and the sweet little girl I watch kept saying, "Madda, oo cying! What wong Madda?"  (Manda, you're crying! What's wrong Manda?) Sweetest little girl ever. 

Source

Anyway that was the most painful thing I've ever gone through, yet.  Not very much fun! That's how I felt, only imagine tears and red blotchy eyes.

Anyway, all that to say that today, I had a similar experience on the pain scale.  I was feeling super hunger and thought, hmmmm if I don't eat I'm going to be sick. So I made a baked potato (or 2. . . What? I'm pregnant and they were fast and I needed fast or so I thought.)  So I ate my baked potato and still felt "yucky".  

Then the pain started. 

 I tried going to the bathroom to see if that was it.  Nope, no dice.  

I tried laying down to see if that would help.  Would screaming count as helping?  Probably not. 

Then of course the tears started coming.  I was in agony.  The pain is right under your ribs and then spreads to your back in the same area.  

After 20 minutes, it still hadn't gone away, so I had Aaron call our midwife.  The 4-year-old adorable little girl picked up. "Can I talk to your mommy?" No response.  "Can I talk to your daddy?" Yeah, nothing.  

Apparently our midwife was actually at another appointment and had no reception.  Finally we were able to reach her husband who said as soon as he reached her, he would have her call us and took notes on all my symptoms.  

By the time she called back, I had finally been able to lay on my side enough to get some relief.  And fell asleep.  But when she called I woke up.  I told her my symptoms and she said, "Yep, I thought you were having a gall bladder attack based on what my husband said.  Did the pain come very suddenly, knock you to your knees and make you cry?" HMMMMMMM YES!!!

She sympathized with me, asked if I had any contractions or spotting (just to make sure baby is ok) and then told me some things I can do to prevent future attacks.  Apple Cider vinegar is good for my diet apparently and will help.  So will Olive Oil and some of the B Vitamins.  Then she gave me a list of things to avoid.  Uh oh.  I'm pregnant.  Things to avoid??? 

Black Pepper, ok, not so bad.  Apparently I can have cayenne. 

Coffee, no big deal don't like it.

Tea, that might be harder when it starts getting colder or I go to Chick-Fil-A.  Who doesn't love their sweet tea? 

Chocolate? JAW INSTANTLY DROPS!!! WHAT???? YOU CAN'T SAY THAT TO A PREGNANT LADY!!! You mean no more mint chocolate chip ice cream? brownies? nutella? wafernusse? NOTHING???? ***wail cry flail*** (No, I actually calmly said, OK, however, I did feel all those things).

Ok, after my heart attack, I convince myself it won't be terrible. 

Oh and avoid fried foods.  Not so bad. Trying to eat better anyway. 

Source

So that has pretty much been my Thursday.  I had an attack previously and then forgot to mention it during my appointments.  Now I know though which is great!  

Wonderful, now I want a sweet tea. . . ugh!

Who am I kidding, I need to just be praising God that all that happened was me having a gall bladder attack, it was pre-term labor, not a panic attack of baby, nothing truly wrong.  Praise God for that.

I hope your Thursday was better than mine!  I'd love to hear about it.