March seemed to fly by! It seemed like one day I was processing that February was over and the next day it was April 1. They say time flies when you're having fun, but I really think it flies by when you're insanely busy, which we were!
Most days I feel consumed by my role as a homemaker and mother, trying to keep up with cleaning, laundry, dishes, the guinea pig cage, the garden, the groceries, the activities, going to the gym, and keeping my toddler from watching TV as much as possible. It's exhausting. But then, we added two more people plus two dogs to our tiny house and started a renovation and I learned a new meaning of pregnant and exhausted.
My mom and stepdad came to stay with us for two full weeks and we began the project. Between snow up north and work for my stepdad's business, their trip kept getting pushed back week after week, until they came during the absolute busiest time of the year for Brian work-wise. On a bright note, they arrived the Sunday before my birthday so we had free babysitters that day and night while Brian and I went to my 20 week anatomy ultrasound for baby boy (1 week early at 19 weeks) and out to dinner for my birthday. We hit up Brio for some yummy Italian food and I had my mom here to make my birthday cake: a three tiered strawberry and cheesecake layered cake with cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberries-- the BEST.
We had a little scare when we went in for our ultrasound. First of all, it was a false alarm, but I want to jot it down because I don't want to forget it happened. At the beginning of our ultrasound, the first thing the tech said to me was, "It looks like your placenta is on top of your cervix." What? So basically, the placenta is filled with billions of blood vessels and she was telling me that mine wasn't where it was supposed to be. She started explaining that if I went into labor and my cervix started opening, with the placenta right there I could lose a lot of blood, it would be dangerous for myself and baby, blah blah blah, etc. I panicked. She went on to tell me that 99% of the time, this issue fixes itself, but the way to do that is by being put on pelvic rest. She assured me it was "way better than bed rest," I just couldn't pick up anything heavier than 7.5 lbs.
I'm sure she thought I was an idiot because without meaning to say anything, I heard myself reply with, "that doesn't work for me, I have a two year old." Then I started spiraling, telling Brian we had to put Tatum in a big girl bed earlier than we wanted to and that would have to be now because I couldn't pick her up and down from her crib for naptimes, etc. My child's new favorite saying is "pick me up" so this was looking really good for me... She told me I could come back in 4 weeks and they would do another ultrasound to see if it had changed. When I asked what would happen if it didn't fix itself, she told me I would have to have a scheduled c-section. I STARTED SOBBING.
For starters, the only surgery I've ever had was my wisdom teeth removed. Second, I'm terrified of being cut open. Third, this is not what I planned.
Brian was so sweet and supportive, trying to calm me down but the entire hour we sat there looking at all his perfect little organs, I was silently crying, tears just streaming down my face. Mourning four weeks of not being able to pick up my first baby anytime I needed to. Terrified of the impending c-section. Absolutely thinking the worst. Then, something (not so) funny happened.
We got to the end of the ultrasound and during the hour I had been laying there, my bladder had been steadily filling up. The tech goes back to my placenta/cervix issue and tells me that while my bladder was filling up, it created more space to show that MY PLACENTA WAS NO WHERE NEAR MY CERVIX. She then told me that I could go to the restroom, use the bathroom, and they would perform a quick internal ultrasound to make SURE that there wasn't any issues. So we did that, and guess what? I WAS PERFECTLY FINE. NO PLACENTA ISSUES, NO SCHEDULED C-SECTION, NO PROBLEMS.
I. WAS. LIVID. I was so angry that she hadn't just suggested the internal ultrasound immediately instead of making me wait and not pick up Tatum for 4 weeks. She was actually going to let me think I had this issue for a month. Then she was going to let me believe it had "fixed itself" when in reality, there was never an issue. I'm so grateful that everything is normal, but I learned a valuable lesson. I will never schedule an ultrasound or appointment on my birthday again, because I was positive my day had just been ruined.
I'm so grateful for my parents being here, because I no doubt would have called my mom anyway immediately following that ordeal. But it was nice to go home and have them there playing with Tatum when I got back. They got to come to Tatum's gymnastics lessons with me twice, we went to the Saturday morning market in St. Pete twice, and we took them back to one of their favorite Florida spots, Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks, for some delicious authentic Greek food. Tatum loved having Mom Mom and Pop Pop here, especially because she spent 80% of every day running around our backyard like a crazy person with their dogs and laughing hysterically, and because Pop Pop took her on lots of bike rides! Plus, we couldn't leave out a few trips to the beach!
I'll make a part two for the renovation deal. I just can't believe how quickly March flew by and how much we packed into it!
