That's me. I knew that some swelling was to be expected in pregnancy, but I had no idea that feet could look like this! Really. Absolutely no idea. I don't seem to have ankles anymore, and the only shoes I can wear (as of yesterday) are my crocs--and those just barely fit! It's very odd. I actually thought about taking a picture of my feet for the blog, but then I reconsidered. Nobody should have to see that. My hands, too, are pretty crazy. Today they look better than my feet, but most of the time I can barely use them!
All that to say: Tomorrow, at 11 AM, I begin acupuncture. A nurse at the Frauenklinik suggested it after seeing my swollen hands and feet. I said "that sounds interesting, I'll think about it." She pointed out my due date and noted that "you still have a lot of time left, and it's pretty bad!" I agreed. She told me that the acupuncture sessions are on Monday, and she could just set up an appointment right now. After much more of this, I eventually got the point (which was that I was not going home without an appointment) so, as of tomorrow, I begin my acupuncture treatments!
We actually had a pretty funny experience at the Frauenklinik yesterday. I got myself kind of nervous about all this swelling, worrying that maybe I had preeclempsia. We spoke with Michael's mother, and she was very reassuring-- giving us the signs to look for and noting that swelling of the hands and feet, absent any other symptoms, is very common and not something to really worry about. Well, of course, once I knew the other symptoms (headache, just not feeling well), I couldn't be
certain that I didn't have those too...I did
kind of have a headache, and I certainly didn't feel
super well. (It was extremely hot, and I was cranky as all get-out.) The problem is, at home you could just run to a CVS and check your blood pressure with one of those free machines. Not so in Germany. (Or, if so, I don't know where to go!) So, after deciding early in the day not to worry about it, I changed my mind at about 10pm just as Michael and I finished a lovely dinner at a sidewalk cafe. We were pretty close to the clinic, so we (which is to say, I and my very accommodating husband) decided to just go and ask for a blood pressure check.
In the end, all was well. My blood pressure was a little high for me, but I typically have very low blood pressure and it's still in a fine range. They did a non-stress test on the little guy and he looks perfect; he spent the whole 20 minutes kicking the sensors, as he really does not like to have anything pushing against him. And, as you now know, I was (strongly) encouraged to seek acupuncture treatment for my ridiculous looking hands, feet and (former) ankles.
Here's the funny part, and the reason why this seemed to merit a post: After all was said and done, the nurse got a very apologetic and embarrassed look on her face. "Well," she said, "It's just...this counts as an 'emergency'"... I got a little nervous, thinking about emergency room fees and all that. "I am sorry," she continued, "but you're going to have to pay 10 Euros."
I nearly laughed out loud. I'm pretty sure we can handle this unexpected medical expense. Then it got better. She gave me a form to sign and then, now blushing with embarassment,
another form to sign. That's right, I had to give my signature in TWO places.
"I really am sorry" she said "So much bureaucracy!" For the record, when we arrived at the hospital all we had to do was hand in my Mutterpass and that was that. I hope this woman never has to work at an emergency room in the States!
On a much happier note, Michael and I have expanded our apartment! It's been very warm lately, and we had been planning on buying a little outdoor table just as soon as we could get ourselves to Ikea. It turns out, the former tenant (our "benefactor") left a small table and chairs in the basement of the main building! Our neighbor showed us where it was, and said it was ours for the taking. It's not nearly as cute as the Ikea set we had our eye on, but it has the definite advantage of being (a) free and (b) already here.
(The big pillow on the third chair is for my beastly elephant feet, which now require their own chair.)
So, we have been spending quite a lot of time outside, eating, reading, and playing Scrabble. It's amazing what a difference it has made!
The one funny side effect: Because we are in a hinterhaus, and situated inside a square of buildings, it turns out our little yard is rather noisy in
the summertime. Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful to have a little yard, but we were subjected to quite a lot of music that we might not have chosen for our own afternoon enjoyment :) Also, one woman had a series of very, very loud phone conversations while hanging out of her window, and they seemed to be in Russian!
Please forgive the randomness of this post :)
hospital on Monday They released me with a prescription for a very hefty dose of blood pressure medication and instructions to be checked by my doctor during the week and return to the hospital on Friday. The good thing about the medication is that it keeps my blood pressure in an acceptable range. The bad thing is that it makes me extremely drowsy, sleepy, and just plain dim-witted. I'll be mid-sentence and forget what I was saying...I'll just sort of fade off wondering what that was all about. It's no fun!
Frauenklinik at 10:30am and, if things go as expected, they will induce me sometime tomorrow. My labwork has been changing, and I think this is pretty much preeclempsia now. The little guy will only be about 2 1/2 weeks early tomorrow, so the plan is to get things started. It is so hard to believe! It is particularly strange to know, more or less, when the baby is coming.
