Next Things

Last night brought us some mixed news. Daniel's dad, Gordon, seems to have passed into the final stages of Alzheimer's and, ultimately, of life. He's not taking anything by mouth, and he didn't wake up all day yesterday, which may be something of a mercy, since recently his waking hours have been filled with signs of suffering. He's in hospice care, and he's not expected to live more than 2 weeks at the very most if his failure to take fluids continues. Considering his long battle with the disease and the fact that he has not been able to live in a way that most of us would consider fulfilling for many months, if not years, his relief from suffering would be a blessing for the family, and for him. Still, it is always so hard to let go. I'm sure the extended Johnson family would appreciate prayers that he will have, as the Orthodox consistently pray, "a Christian ending to his life: painless, blameless and peaceful," if God chooses to call him home in the days to come, and that the family will have divine comfort and peace as they say goodbye.

By God's grace, the news was not all mixed yesterday. I got a clean bill of physical health from the OB, which means that unless I have gestational diabetes (test results are pending on that), I don't have any known complications remaining.

This particular visit was with a young female OB who just came back to work after having twin girls. Last time I saw her in the hallway, she cut a much more rounded figure. I had my usual battery of questions to ask -- ranging from the sensible to the paranoid -- and through the course of our conversation she picked up one of the truths about me: "You've been reading a lot, haven't you?" I assented and then joked that I was just becoming a sort of junior OB in my free time. That was only the beginning.

For instance, she began to tell me that I should be starting to do kick counts, and I pulled out the chart I had been using for the last two weeks to do just that. "Ah, I see you have a chart," she says. "Yes," I replied. "I figured that since I would be asked to do it sooner or later, I might as well try to make it part of my routine before it becomes necessary." Much of the visit went about the same way, until she began to preface much of the information with "Did you read about _____ already?" to which I answered, "Yes."

She said the reading was a good thing as it allowed me to make sure they are doing their jobs thoroughly and well. What a refreshing attitude in a doctor! I think I like her, not the least because, when we were done, she wished "Ms. Junior OB" well.

The visit featured a new experience: the glucose challenge screening. I must say that it was one of the least pleasant things I have gone through with this pregnancy so far. First off, the glucose drink, which packs 50 grams of glucose in about 8 ounces of mouth-smarting fruit-punch-ish liquid was enough to set my acid reflux to high and leave my taste buds feeling wounded. Then there was the hour-long wait, followed by the blood letting, oops, I mean drawing. I have to hope that I don't get a positive result to this test, because a 3-hour test with more of the same (plus fasting and diet restrictions for 3 days prior) would be the next step. Yes, I'm a wimp. But no, I don't imagine this will remain among the least pleasant experiences of pregnancy. After all, I have done my reading!

Keeping the image of future pain in mind is the class we are going to tonight on "pain management options" during childbirth. I would have preferred to wait on this class until closer to birth since I have been staving off the thoughts about actual labor thus far, but considering that the next class is scheduled a few days after the baby is due, this would most likely be a case of waiting too long... so, off we go to ponder epidurals.

Tomorrow night we go to the first of two breastfeeding classes. Daniel is ready for this one. We have a book on the topic that he has made his reading material of choice for the last several days. And, no - it isn't even illustrated. (Can you tell I'm proud of my involved and supportive husband?) For my part, I've been reading novels when not reading up on pregnancy issues. I had the thought this morning that perhaps I should start thinking about reading more about actual birth and newborns and their needs, but I am still stuck in current-phase pregnancy. I happen to like it here for now.

We're debating when to set up the house for baby's arrival. It's no small thing to think about, because it means moving everything in the entire upstairs so that our room (where baby will start out) ends up in what is currently the office/guestroom and the office/guestroom is reassembled where our bedroom is now. I'm not wanting to do it too soon... while I like to be forward-thinking, I'm torn about when is the best time to up-end life as we know it in favor of life as we think it will be. Then again, if I wait until I am about ready to pop, I will probably be much less able to participate in the process physically. I'm sure we'll figure something out!

The encouraging thing about all of these things is that they are in God's hands. While some aspects of our lives will feel a bit up in the air for a few weeks, it's nice to know that they are all planned out rather carefully by someone who knows exactly what He's doing.

In the meantime, I'll keep reading.

*Postscript* (added after the pain management class)
Dan and I learned a lot about medication options in the class, but the best part was when we got a chance to talk to the anesthesiologist after the class. It turns out he really likes the OB group we've chosen and said that while some of the groups have "weak links," he would trust any of the doctors at that office in the delivery room. He also said that my chosen primary OB is very good: "He's a bit old school, but he does not make mistakes." That sounded like an excellent endorsement to me. I'm grateful for the great gyn who treated me and then referred me to such an excellent OB. I'm always pleased when I'm being treated by people who have the respect of their peers.