Letting somone else do it.

Poor Hubby. I apparently have been rather needy lately, and he could use a break. Fortunately, I have an excuse to get out of town this weekend. Not too far. My mother's prayer group really wanted to hold a baby shower for me. They all prayed for me throughout my IVF cycle, and now they want to celebrate the fact that there is a baby on the way.

I think this is going to be my last solo trip before the baby is born. Charlottesville is only two hours away from me, so it should not be too bad a drive. I can take things slow the entire time, and then I can let my parents fuss over me. Sounds like a good deal to me. And Hubby gets a break from pregnant woman whining and neediness. Poor thing. And I get a break from the dogs. I may leave after lunch. I seem to be better in the afternoons lately.

I hope that Hubby will start putting the baby furniture together this weekend. Hubby's dad wanted to help with that, too. I do not think he has an excuse to avoid it this weekend!

Results!

Echo went fine this morning. My heart still looks good. Heart rate was about 108 at the beginning of the procedure. So, I am still tachycardic, but not nearly as bad as it was! The cardiologist said that the OB should be able to follow me from here, and there is no reason to follow up with him.

OB appointment went fine, too. I got a note keeping me out of work until the baby is born! Hooray! I do not have to increase beta blockers, and I can relax during my third trimester. That makes me feel better. I do not have to worry about going back to a job which was making me miserable while I am feeling the misery of third trimester! The best part is short term disability will pay until six weeks postpartum. Nice to know that is there.

My work has the worst FMLA policy, though. Because I am starting FMLA so early, it is going to run out the middle of January. My benefits will go through the end of the month, though. After January, I will not have benefits until I start working again. Hopefully I will start working again in March (at a different job, hopefully!). At least we have time to plan for the lapse in coverage. I hope something works out.

Now I get to look for work while I am off...

Another doctor appointment tomorrow.

Actually, two appointments. I have my repeat echo first thing in the morning, than I have an appointment with my OB later that morning.

I hope the echo comes back fine. I suspect it will, but you never know until it done.

I think I am more worried about the OB appointment. The beta blocker did help my heart rate some. It now only goes to 112-115 with activity, rather than the 12o-140 it was before. Definitely an improvement. I am a little worried she might increase it. I would rather stay at the lowest dose and stay off work. As long as I do not move too fast, and can sit or lie down when I have to, I am fine. I think I am at the point where I would rather be off work than have to return to work. Things at work were bad before I left, and I suspect they have only gotten worse with the implementation of the computer documentation system.

Hubby is worried that I will get bored after a while if I sit at home. He may be right, but I can look for jobs, go to La Leche League meetings, clean house at my own pace, and so stuff to decorate the nursery. (Just as soon as Hubby puts the furniture together.) There is also all the holiday stuff to do. There is Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, and lots of stuff to do for those holidays! I may not be all that idle!

Cardiologist visit.

Well, today was my cardiologist appointment. The lowest my heart was in his office was 97, when I was lying down for the 12 lead EKG. It was about 108 when I was sitting up. The 12 lead EKG looked fine. A normal heart beat, just fast. The doctor felt like the heart rate was a faster than he would like. He decided to re-check my bloodwork, just to make sure that I am not anemic. He also wants to re-do the echocardiogram, just to be sure that there is no disease process going on. He also wanted to start me on a beta blocker to try to slow the heart rate. He checked with my OB before prescribing the medication just to make sure that it was all right. I walked out of the office with a presciption for metoprolol.

I took one dose, and I can actually walk around the house without shortness of breath and my heart racing. I tried taking my pulse, just to see what was going on, and my heart seemed confused. (I take my pulse with the doppler on my wrist, BTW. A little weird, but it works.) It ranged from 90s to 105. Not too bad, and definitely better than what it was! I think I am able to feel the heart rate going up and down. Sometimes I am fine, other times, I can feel my heart rate increasing and I get slightly short of breath. I was glad that I was able to clean our bathrooms and clean the kitchen without extreme shortness of breath. But I have only had one dose. We will see how I fare over time. Hopefully my heart rate will settle soon.

Hoping..

Tonight is the evening before my cardiologist appointment. I would like one of two things to happen. I would like some reason for the tachycardia. Or medication to control it. Unfortunately, I do not see an obvious answer, and many of the cardiac meds are not all that safe to take during pregnancy. This may be a weird third trimester thing. So, it may turn out that he does not put me on any medication, and I may end up off work until after my maternity leave. I would actually be all right (mostly) with that. I am not all that excited to go back to work. The environment sort of sucked and they implemented an online documentation system I would have to learn how to use. I was sort of planning on leaving that job anyway.

The only issues I have are really this month. I would like to travel to Charlottesville this weekend for a baby shower, and I would also like to travel to Arlington to see my grandfather buried. After those two events I am fine staying home and not doing much.

I guess all I can do is wait and see until tomorrow.

I think I had enough!

I finally broke down and called the OB. A resting HR of around 100 is not good. Not to mention the horrible shortness of breath and the dizziness, fatigue, and nausea. I am pretty damn miserable because I cannot really do anything without getting tired. Some of this is pregnancy-related, but I should be able to do things like let my dogs out without shortness of breath and heart palpitations. Just saying. At the moment, the only thing I can do is rest. I think I am getting a little tired of resting.

My OB saw me this morning. Heart rate was 112 in the office. Blood pressure was normal, fetal heart rate was fine, uterus measured normal. Everything is fine except for my heart rate, which is giving me fits. It is extremely frustrating. The good news is that the OB managed to get my cardiologist appointment moved up to Monday. Until then, I just have to live with it. Monday is much better than the 17th! Maybe the cardiologist will have some answers for me. Or at least a plan of action.

Limbo

I think the worst part about this situation right now is that I am in limbo. Just told to "take it easy." I feel like the next step will be either medication or bedrest. (Or both.) I doubt they will do much more than that. Bedrest would totally bum me out. I would miss my grandfather's funeral. I would miss the shower my mother's prayer group wants to throw for me. I could not travel for either of Thanksgiving or Christmas. (Well not traveling for the holidays does not upset me too much.)

It would also be nice to know if they will even let me go back to work. Or if they will have me out of work until I give birth.

I am still waiting for the cardiologist appointment. Until then, I am just spending a lot of time on the couch. I guess there is not much else I can do. Next OB appointment is Wednesday.

Just waiting.