Week 36 Update

I had quite a busy week so I thought I would give a quick run-down of all newsworthy events from my 36th week of pregnancy.

Adventure 1--The Finger

The week started off a little shaky with a trip to the hospital. No, not for anything with Baby Girl, but for my left index finger. Tuesday morning, I got up and was busy cleaning up the kitchen from the previous night's dinner when I clumsily dropped a water glass and cut my finger pretty badly.

Good News: Corey hadn't left for work yet and was able to drive me to the ER. There would have been no way I could hold a bandage to my hand and steer at the same time.

Bad News: When I walked into the ER, there was no one to be found. Some random guy in the waiting room had to help me find a nurse.

Good News: I got checked in right away (once I found the nurse). I guess Tuesday mornings are a good time to find yourself at the ER.

Bad News: We were reviewing my medical history and the computer said that I was last treated at the hospital for "a whole in the head."

Um... what?

First of all, the only holes I have in my head are purposeful (like nostrils) or are self-inflicted (pierced ears). Secondly, hole isn't even spelled right on my chart.

I started to explain to the nurse that the last time I was at the hospital was about 2 years ago for sitting on a knife. When I saw the look on her face, I said, "You know what, just leave 'whole in head.' That's fine."

(For those of you who don't know the story of me stabbing myself in my ass-cheek, wait until you do something really stupid and embarrassing and then call me. I guarantee once I tell you my story, you won't think what you just did was bad at all. I've got you beat, I'm sure.)

Good News: I was taken back and put in a single room, and a nurse came right in and checked the wound. "Yep, you cut yourself alright." Gee, what a brilliant diagnosis.

Bad News: I ended up waiting for close to an hour for the doctor to come in and do his magic. I should have lied and told the nurse that on a scale from 1-10 with 10 being the worst pain I've ever had, that my finger was more like an 8 than an honest 2.
Good News: Dr. Azie didn't have to stitch me. Because I had a nice, clean cut, he was able to use glue.
Bad News: He used about a mile's worth of gauze to wrap my finger and I have to wear this ridiculous bandage until tomorrow (Friday). Check it out.

Adventure 2--Appointment with Doc

At this visit, in addition to taking the vitals, listening to the heartbeat and getting my fundus measured, I had my first internal exam. Not exactly the most fun I've ever had, gotta tell ya, but a necessary procedure to see if I have dilated at all at this point.

Doc said to forget about an early arrival--my cervix was almost fully closed and the baby's head hadn't dropped deep into the birth canal yet. No worries, though. Doc explained that some people dilate gradually until their due date, and others don't dilate at all until their water breaks and they go into labor. He'll check me again next week and every week thereafter to monitor my progress, and hopefully get a better idea of when this baby might come. But for now, he told me to plan for a September birth.

Cool, because a) Doc is going on vacation in a couple weeks and b) we still have no furniture for the baby's room.

Adventure 3--Shrinking Boobs

I've decided that I'm going to give the whole breastfeeding thing a try. If it works for me and Baby Girl, then great. What I'm not going to do, however, is pressure myself to keep doing it if both me and B.G. are miserable. But since I'm going to give it the ol' college try, that means I need to stock up on nursing bras.

I made an appointment for an official bra fitting. Unbeknownst to me, the shop where I made the appointment was actually part of an office dedicated to the breastfeeding cause. There was a ton of literature on the subject scattered all over, and all sorts of newspaper articles posted that were so severe that they almost suggested that anyone who formula-feeds is a terrible mother. As if! Luckily, I was able to sneak past the lactation consultants and the 'boobies are best' cheerleaders and go directly in for my bra fitting, avoiding any unwanted confrontation.

The woman running the desk came right over with her tape measure and asked me to lift my arms to she could determine the right bra size for me. She came up with 34 B.

How could my boobs have shrunk?? I've always been a 36 B or, according to those women at Victoria's Secret who love to flatter me, a 34 C. But 34 B?

Oh well. I ended up buying 2 sleep bras (size small) and another nursing tank that I thought will be great for layering come the fall.

Successful shopping, especially since I had a coupon for 20% off, but a little discouraging.

34 B, eh?

Adventure 4-- Baby Girl's First Massage!

Today, I had a prenatal massage with Traci, one of the massage therapists at my yoga studio. She made me feel so good last time I saw her that I couldn't wait for today's appointment. Traci focused on my neck and back, as requested, and ended with my favorite-- the scalp massage. But she also changed things up this time and massaged my belly, essentially giving Baby Girl her first massage. I'm already turning this little girl into a spa-junkie like me!

Adventure 5-- Accused of being a "Bad Shopper" at Pottery Barn Kids

Now that I've had all of my baby showers, I have spent a lot of time this week organizing and taking inventory of all my loot. Turns out that I have gotten a lot of duplicate gifts. And since I still have some things outstanding on my registries that are necessities, I decided to make some returns and exchanges.

I first hit Babies R Us. They barely even looked to see if I had the receipts to go with the merchandise I was returning and gladly issued a hefty store credit. Nice!

My next stop was at Pottery Barn Kids. I was quickly greeted by a bubbly sales associate who offered to help me. When I told her that I had several gifts to return, she admitted she was new and had to ask her manager to step in.

Manager was a total monster.

Monster: "What's the reason for all of these returns??"

Me: "Well, some are duplicates. And some are things I registered for, but I've changed my mind."

Monster: "Changed your mind? I shouldn't even agree to take these things back. You asked for them, and now you're returning them? That's just bad business. Bad shopping."
Me: "I'm not allowed to change my mind?"

Monster: "I'll honor these returns, but just know that we wouldn't normally do this."

I felt like telling her to go F herself. A bad shopper? I've never been so insulted. I'd say I'm a great shopper because now I know never to buy anything from them again since their customer service sucks!