Oh my aching back...

I have struggled with back issues since I was 17 (in case you forgot, I'll be 24 in less than 2 months).

It was when I was 17 that I herniated two discs in my lower back.  In case you didn't know, a herniated disc is when part of the disc (or the squishy part that sits in between all your vertebrae) gets forced out of its proper place.

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This usually happens from an accident where your spine gets seriously jolted somehow.  Mine happened when I was playing the Juniors versus Seniors powderpuff football game and I got picked up and thrown by two Seniors.  The real issues arise when the part of the disc that is sticking out presses up against the nerves in your spine.

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My doctors advised me NOT to have surgery since my sister happened to herniate the exact same two discs (trampoline accident), had the surgery, and the discs just re-herniated.  I just did intensive physical therapy for almost a year and was able to manage the pain.

Fast forward to last year - my back was getting REALLY painful again, so I went and so a specialist.  Turns out the existing herniation lead to "degenerative subluxation" in my lower spine.  Basically a "normal" spine would look like an S from the side, mine looked like a question mark since the lumbar (aka lower part) of my spine was straightening out.

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My back was in between "Phase One" and "Phase Two"

Again, I did 6 months of intense physical therapy and I was able to manage the pain.

Well pregnancy is doing horrible things to my back!  And I can't do my normal exercises anymore because, well, I'm pregnant (they're all ab exercises, basically) and my belly just doesn't do that anymore.  And I've been bad and haven't been stretching properly.  Well, it got to the point where sometimes I can't even carry my own weight (there have been a few mornings where I couldn't walk down the stairs so I had to sit and scooch down like a small child) so I brought it up at my OB appointment yesterday.

The doctor (my Old Swedish Midwife wasn't available so my appointment was with another doctor) did some basic reflex tests and turns out I have a reverse reflex on my right side (instead of my leg kicking forward, it swings back) which is a sign that the herniation is back and better worse than ever.  We want to avoid doing any other diagnostic tests (MRI, x-ray, etc) since I don't want to expose the baby to that kind of radiation so I'm just going to start physical therapy again ASAP.

Physical therapy means seeing a doctor "in town" (aka a civilian doctor) since there aren't any physical therapists at the hospital on base.  That means I'm waiting on a referral, which kinda stresses me out since we all know how well that went last time I needed a referral from the OB clinic on base!  Hopefully this referral will go smoothly and I'll be able to start physical therapy within the next few weeks.

On top of that, I need to meet with the anesthesiologist sooner rather than later because herniated discs and epidurals don't really get along.  Even though I would like to have a natural childbirth (mainly because of my existing back issues) if I change my mind the anesthesiologist is gonna have to know my spine inside and out in order to be able to give it to me.

Oh, and if I lose feeling in either of my legs I have to go straight to labor and delivery because it could trigger labor and I might not even know it.  Since The Sailor isn't here and if that were to happen I wouldn't be able to walk (or drive) I'm gonna have to casually bring it up to some of my friends on base so if I call them and say something along the lines of, "hey, my right leg doesn't work anymore, will you bring me to the hospital?" they will know what's going on.  I still haven't decided if I should warn them that if my back gets that bad, it isn't uncommon to shit your freaking pants (literally - since you'll lose control of your sphincter muscle), hahahahaha.  That could be a really fun surprise during an emergency trip to the hospital.

This is all really overwhelming.

So, has anyone else struggled with serious back problems during their pregnancy?  Did you have to do physical therapy?  What the hell do they have pregnant ladies do during physical therapy, lol?

By the way, I'm counting this as my "week 25 update" since this is really all I care about that's going on; nothing else has really changed!

Until next time...

Don't forget, if you want to see the whole progression of belly photos, you can do so here!

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So, I Met My Midwife

And I think she and I are gonna get along just fine.

Which is good, because you don't really get many choices at a Navy Hospital.  There's one normal OB, and one midwife to choose from.  Yeah, that kinda sucks - but it's the price you pay to not have to pay anything to have a baby!

So, my Midwife.  She's Swedish.  Like, fresh off the boat Swedish.  Like has an accent.  And she's pretty old.  I can't say for sure, but she looks pretty old.  And she's very to the point.  I like that.

See, when I'm pushing this baby out of me, I want a coach, not a cheerleader.  I have no desire to have someone telling me how great I'm doing; I want them telling me I need to push harder.  And if I bring up suddenly wanting an epidural, I want them to look at me like I've suddenly grown a second and a third head.  Basically, I need a Jillian, not a Bob (yes, that was a total Biggest Loser reference - and if you don't understand it, you must live under a rock).

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"Roar - get that baby out of you!"

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"You're doing a great job, keep it up!"

I think those pictures explain what I mean perfectly.

I don't know exactly how I can express this to a midwife, because I don't think the old Swedish lady would have any idea what I meant if I said "I need a Jillian, not a Bob" but I'll figure that out eventually.  I still have like 25 and a half weeks till the Sea Monkey is due to arrive.

So, apart from actually getting to meet the lady who will pull the Sea Monkey out of my hoohah we went over my bloodwork.  Which apparently, I have great blood.  And, she was super impressed with my hemoglobin levels.  I am apparently a hemoglobin producing machine.  Which leads me to the whole fainting in Home Depot thing...

We're not concerned.  If I wasn't a hemoglobin producing machine we might be getting more bloodwork done to see if I may be anemic.  But, since my blood is awesome, it was probably a early-pregnancy-blood-sugar-drop and we have nothing to worry about unless it starts happening more regularly.  Basically, I ate a big ass lunch, my blood sugar spiked, and then it proceded to drop.  And then I dropped.  In a Home Depot bathroom.  Gross.  So, I need to not eat big ass meals, instead eat a bunch of baby sized meals.  And if I do feel the need to eat a big ass meal, go home right afterwards instead of standing in line for paint at Home Depot forever (the standing didn't help the whole situation).

Not only do I have awesome blood, I'm also just great at growing babies.  Exhibit a) the Sea Monkey is growing right on schedule.  I didn't get to have another ultrasound today (just got to hear the heartbeat, which was awesome), but this is solely based off my two previous ultrasounds.  Exhibit b) my weight gain could be a chart in a text book for baby delivering doctors and nurses.  At this point, I've gained 7 pounds.  I'm at that point where you should gain a pound a week.  My last appointment was 4 weeks ago - I've gained exactly 4 pounds.  To the tenth.  So yeah, I'm awesome, hahahaha.

Up until that point of the appointment I felt great.  Then she brought up whether or not I've gotten a flu shot.  I had not.  She didn't like that.  I tried to trick her into telling me I don't need one by saying I've never had a flu shot, and I've never gotten the flu (not to mention we just went over how awesome my blood is, sooooo). But she wasn't buying it.  I'm growing a baby, I need the flu shot.

Its not that I'm against vaccinations.  I'm all for them.  For the important stuff.  But I don't want to get extras, and to me the flu shot is an "extra." But since the Midwife gave me a Swedish death stare when she could tell I was apprehensive, I caved. 

What's cool about the hospital here is it's a one stop shop.  The "immunization clinic" is two doors down from the Ob clinic.  Its basically a super long hallways with different offices on either side.  Then upstairs is where they pull babies out of women and cut people open (aka where they perform surgeries).

So, I left the Ob (I don't have to go back for another 6 weeks since I'll be going to get my anatomy scan at the other doctor in about 4 weeks) and walked past the "family" clinic (aka Pediatrician) to the immunization clinic and got my flu shot.  Easiest vaccine ever.  I seriously didn't even feel it.  If you're afraid of needles, I think a good first step would be a flu shot, because it's honestly that easy.

And that's really it; overall it was an awesome doctor's appointment.  Any advice on how to translate "I need a Jillian not a Bob" to an old Swedish midwife?

Until next time...