ChezPerky

DC Get-Together
I think I posted that I was going to get together with some DC-area bloggers. I almost chickened out, but I decided to be a grown-up and just walk up to a group of random women who looked like they might just be a bunch of infertility bloggers. Thank heavens I picked the right group! There were nine of us there, and we really had a terrific time. I felt a little bit awkward at first, being the token pregnant-lady there, and it’s not like I can even hide it at this point. I mean, I’m fat in the first place, but at this point, I definitely am visibly pregnant and I can’t just pass it off as too many pints of Ben and Jerry’s. Anyway, no one seemed too bothered by it. My husband had suggested I wear a nametag that said, “Hello My Name Is Myrtle” but I declined. 😉

At any rate, it was a fabulous group of women and I’m thrilled to pieces that I got over my ridiculous self long enough to take a deep breath and walk up to a group of strangers, because it was truly the most enjoyable evening I’ve had in quite some time. Even if I did have to get up to pee four times (and seriously, we could NOT have been seated further away from the bathroom!). Good thing I’d insisted on sitting on the end. What a fabulous group of women we were, though! I think we may have scared the waiter a little bit, but that’s okay. It just means he earned his gratuity, right? It was a touching and hilarious night. Lindsay was so sweet and perfect, and such a doll for organizing the group in the first place. I hope we do this again soon! (though I don’t know if I’ll be able to make the next one… it totally depends on whether I do get stuck on real bedrest… we’ll see) Maybe next time we can have pedicures and mojitos (virgin for me – oh the irony!) at my place. 🙂

Some Questions Answered

Are you going to find out the sexes? Most emphatically, no. I have no intention of finding out what flavor these babies are. I figure I should get to do at least ONE thing the old fashioned way! Plus, our lives will be upside down no matter what, I seriously doubt it’s going to matter whether they’re boys or girls, and it’s likely that we’ll have a mix regardless of how they’re distributed. My husband, I think, would really like to find out. But, well, I kind of have veto power when it comes to the dildo-cam. Plus, his logic with finding out with a singleton was that it would be easier to plan. I don’t think the logic holds with triplets. I don’t think you can really plan for triplets, you just have to pray a lot! 🙂

When are you due? Heck if I know. I don’t even know how to answer that question. I’m due November 6, technically. Except, that’s never going to happen. I will deliver no later than September 26, which is exactly 34 weeks (also erev sukkot). I hope to at LEAST make it to September 12, which is 32 weeks, which I don’t think will be a problem. My perinatologist gets almost all their triplet patients to 34 weeks, with very, very few exceptions.

When does bed rest start? Heck if I know. I was originally told that it would unequivocally start this week. However, that appears to be more flexible than I was originally led to believe. Apparently because I’m doing so well, I get to lead the decision on when bed rest begins. I believe most of why I’m doing so well is that with only a couple of exceptions, if I’m not at work, I’m at home on bed rest. The DC Get Together was one such exception. But I’ve otherwise gone straight home and curled up in a recliner or my bed and not moved until I have to (usually to pee! Gah!). I intend to remain relatively strict about this, because I do enjoy the flexibility to occasionally break my self-imposed rules. I would not be so cavalier about breaking doctor-mandated bed rest. So for the moment, I’m not on bed rest officially and won’t be until I feel it’s necessary or until the doctors get uncomfortable. And that’s all I know.

Some Sad Googling

heavy bleeding contraction-like cramps: I’m going to assume whoever wrote this query is pregnant. Even if you’re not pregnant, the best advice I can give you is to contact your doctor. It could be nothing serious. I hope it’s nothing serious. But your doctor should know what’s going on.

iui cycle failed: I’m so sorry. I’ve been there, and it’s no fun. The best thing for me after a failed cycle was knowing what would be happening next. A new IUI cycle? An IVF cycle? Same Protocol? Change in Protocol? I liked to know all of that ahead of time, before it failed, not because I wanted to be pessimistic, but because it helped me take a failed cycle and psychologically turn it into a new beginning.

cyst in ovaries while pregnant: I haven’t had this problem, and I know it’s not uncommon. But there are so many ways this could be read. It depends on how big the cysts are, how many, what kind of cysts they are, etc. The good news is that you wouldn’t know that you had cysts if your doctor didn’t know, so I don’t have to worry that you aren’t under a doctor’s care. I hope you are able to find out what your options/needs are from your doctor. If you aren’t comfortable with your doctor’s advice, please seek a second or third opinion.

triplet pregnancy blogs: This, of course, isn’t one of the sad ones. You got me. I’ve definitely got a triplet pregnancy blog.

ovaries and kidneys picture with uti: I’m not quite sure what to make of this one. Anyone got any help on this one?

my ovaries hurts is that a sign that i might be pregnacy: More likely your ovaries being sensitive is a sign that you ovulated. The surest sign that you’re pregnant is the presence of hCG in your blood and urine by about 14 days post ovulation. So wait a week or two and POAS.

ovary uncomfortable: That certainly sounds unpleasant, though I often wonder how women know that it is specifically their ovary that feels uncomfortable.

severe pain in my ovaries: Any time someone suggests “severe” pain to me, I suggest contacting your physician. Anything that far outside the range of normal should be reported to your doctor.

cramps near ovaries during early pregnancy is it normal? Yes.

menstrual cramps worse after iui: This is also normal. I didn’t have cramping after all of my IUIs, but I did after a few of them, and it’s very normal. Introducing anything into the uterine environment can cause it to contract, which will cause that cramping feeling. Now if what you meant was after a failed IUI the cramps associated with the subsequent period are worse than normal… well, that’s normal too… especially if you were on progesterone supplements. It’s really unfair.

Something that Shocked Me (in a good way)
I forgot to mention that at my perinatology appointment last week, I’d made a crack at Dr. G about being bitter that they weren’t going to let me push these babies out the old fashioned way. I gave my usual shpiel about how I figure the babies are going to be so tiny that they’ll just come right out, no problem!

His response astounded me. Instead of their usual bit about “fetal distress”, “maternal hemmorhage”, “healthy outcome” and all that rational, logical stuff, he said, “well, it’s just that to do a vaginal triplet delivery everything has to line up perfectly and the odds are really low that it will, especially since you don’t have a lot of room for them to move around in there, but I’ve done it. Both Dr. P and I have done vaginal triplet deliveries.” Really? I mean, REALLY? Here I was just giving my usual joke figuring on the usual rational, logical answer, and I’m hearing that it STILL DOES HAPPEN?

“Look,” he said, “when the time gets closer, if everything is lining up perfectly, which it probably won’t, and you still want to talk about it, we can absolutely do that, but you have to understand how low the odds are of it happening that way, and you have to understand that we reserve the right at all times to tell you that we’re not going to do it.” I totally get that. But I mean… really? It could happen? Even just that 0.0000000001% chance? Really? Sure, but don’t count on it. Especially if the previa doesn’t completely resolve itself (it’s moved significantly, but it’s still in the way a bit).

Still, something about the c-section not being completely written in stone makes me feel a zillion times better. I have the absolute dumbest reason for not wanting a c-section. I want nothing to do with an epidural. Now, if I did a vaginal delivery, I’d still have to have an epidural in place, though I wouldn’t have to have drugs running through it. But my fear of the epidural is two-fold: First, I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever want a needle in or near my spinal column ever. Second, I don’t want to not be able to feel the lower half of my body. This terrifies me. I had a TIA when I was 23, and it was terrifying not to be able to move or feel my left side. I never want to purposely experience that again. So while I wouldn’t get out of having the needle in/near my spinal column, I COULD get out of having to be numb in my lower half. I mean, it’s NEVER going to happen. There is no possibility that I’m not having a c-section. But there’s something comforting about being able to pretend for a few weeks that I have options.

Update: Carol mentioned that she’d been wondering why a c-section seemed to be the default for triplet deliveries on TV… e.g. is it because it’s easier for the doctors or because vaginal triplet deliveries aren’t possible? The answer is that in MOST cases, vaginal deliveries aren’t safe for mother OR babies. Certainly it IS easier for the doctors (and less liability), but there’s mostly the fact that very few triplet pregnancies really are conducive to safe vaginal deliveries. I’m very certain that I will not be allowed to have a vaginal delivery, but I still find it oddly comforting that my doctors are willing to consider the conversation if by some miracle everything really did line up perfectly and the stars were perfectly aligned and the moons were in all the right houses and I sacrified the right color goat…

Advice Sought re: Childbirth Class
Here’s the thing. I feel like if I were a responsible parent-to-be, I would take a parenting/childbirth class. Except that they are largely geared toward women having singleton, vaginal deliveries, which, we all know, I am not. So there are multiples classes available, except not so much. The closest class to me that’s a multiples class is in Baltimore and it’s only offered on Saturdays, which doesn’t so much work for me. (My rabbi doesn’t seem to want to give me one of those “Get out of being Jewish for a Day” cards… drat!) Okay, so to heck with those options.

I COULD take a caesarean class. EXCEPT, honestly, those are basically about what to expect from the procedure, the anesthesia, and recovery. Oh, and you get to watch a video of a c-section. Now, I’ve seen LOTS of videos of c-sections. I have had surgery before. I am not freaked out or anxious about the c-section per se. My irrational fears of the epidural aside, I have no anxiety about this in the least. I know what is going to happen, I understand my role (“lay there and do what we say”), I know what recovery from abdominal surgery is like, and I know it will suck a lot more than recovery from having my gall bladder removed laproscopically. So what’s the point? Even the nurse at the perinatologist’s office said if I wasn’t feeling anxiety about the c-section, I probably wouldn’t get much out of any such class.

So aside from getting my infant-CPR renewed, which I’d rather do closer to the delivery anyway, what should I do? Should I just accept that you don’t have to take some ridiculous class in order to be a responsible parent-to-be?

My husband also wanted to take a “Daddy Boot Camp” type class but every area hospital that has a Dads 101/Daddy Boot Camp/whatever you want to call it class offers it only on Saturdays, which, again, doesn’t work for us. So now he’s looking for some sort of book, but from what I can tell, all the dad-centric books are awful, so I think he’ll just have to wing it, unless you all have any suggestions.

Read Full Post »

DC Get-Together
I think I posted that I was going to get together with some DC-area bloggers. I almost chickened out, but I decided to be a grown-up and just walk up to a group of random women who looked like they might just be a bunch of infertility bloggers. Thank heavens I picked the right group! There were nine of us there, and we really had a terrific time. I felt a little bit awkward at first, being the token pregnant-lady there, and it's not like I can even hide it at this point. I mean, I'm fat in the first place, but at this point, I definitely am visibly pregnant and I can't just pass it off as too many pints of Ben and Jerry's. Anyway, no one seemed too bothered by it. My husband had suggested I wear a nametag that said, "Hello My Name Is Myrtle" but I declined. 😉

At any rate, it was a fabulous group of women and I'm thrilled to pieces that I got over my ridiculous self long enough to take a deep breath and walk up to a group of strangers, because it was truly the most enjoyable evening I've had in quite some time. Even if I did have to get up to pee four times (and seriously, we could NOT have been seated further away from the bathroom!). Good thing I'd insisted on sitting on the end. What a fabulous group of women we were, though! I think we may have scared the waiter a little bit, but that's okay. It just means he earned his gratuity, right? It was a touching and hilarious night. Lindsay was so sweet and perfect, and such a doll for organizing the group in the first place. I hope we do this again soon! (though I don't know if I'll be able to make the next one… it totally depends on whether I do get stuck on real bedrest… we'll see) Maybe next time we can have pedicures and mojitos (virgin for me – oh the irony!) at my place. 🙂

Some Questions Answered

Are you going to find out the sexes? Most emphatically, no. I have no intention of finding out what flavor these babies are. I figure I should get to do at least ONE thing the old fashioned way! Plus, our lives will be upside down no matter what, I seriously doubt it's going to matter whether they're boys or girls, and it's likely that we'll have a mix regardless of how they're distributed. My husband, I think, would really like to find out. But, well, I kind of have veto power when it comes to the dildo-cam. Plus, his logic with finding out with a singleton was that it would be easier to plan. I don't think the logic holds with triplets. I don't think you can really plan for triplets, you just have to pray a lot! 🙂

When are you due? Heck if I know. I don't even know how to answer that question. I'm due November 6, technically. Except, that's never going to happen. I will deliver no later than September 26, which is exactly 34 weeks (also erev sukkot). I hope to at LEAST make it to September 12, which is 32 weeks, which I don't think will be a problem. My perinatologist gets almost all their triplet patients to 34 weeks, with very, very few exceptions.

When does bed rest start? Heck if I know. I was originally told that it would unequivocally start this week. However, that appears to be more flexible than I was originally led to believe. Apparently because I'm doing so well, I get to lead the decision on when bed rest begins. I believe most of why I'm doing so well is that with only a couple of exceptions, if I'm not at work, I'm at home on bed rest. The DC Get Together was one such exception. But I've otherwise gone straight home and curled up in a recliner or my bed and not moved until I have to (usually to pee! Gah!). I intend to remain relatively strict about this, because I do enjoy the flexibility to occasionally break my self-imposed rules. I would not be so cavalier about breaking doctor-mandated bed rest. So for the moment, I'm not on bed rest officially and won't be until I feel it's necessary or until the doctors get uncomfortable. And that's all I know.

Some Sad Googling

heavy bleeding contraction-like cramps: I'm going to assume whoever wrote this query is pregnant. Even if you're not pregnant, the best advice I can give you is to contact your doctor. It could be nothing serious. I hope it's nothing serious. But your doctor should know what's going on.

iui cycle failed: I'm so sorry. I've been there, and it's no fun. The best thing for me after a failed cycle was knowing what would be happening next. A new IUI cycle? An IVF cycle? Same Protocol? Change in Protocol? I liked to know all of that ahead of time, before it failed, not because I wanted to be pessimistic, but because it helped me take a failed cycle and psychologically turn it into a new beginning.

cyst in ovaries while pregnant: I haven't had this problem, and I know it's not uncommon. But there are so many ways this could be read. It depends on how big the cysts are, how many, what kind of cysts they are, etc. The good news is that you wouldn't know that you had cysts if your doctor didn't know, so I don't have to worry that you aren't under a doctor's care. I hope you are able to find out what your options/needs are from your doctor. If you aren't comfortable with your doctor's advice, please seek a second or third opinion.

triplet pregnancy blogs: This, of course, isn't one of the sad ones. You got me. I've definitely got a triplet pregnancy blog.

ovaries and kidneys picture with uti: I'm not quite sure what to make of this one. Anyone got any help on this one?

my ovaries hurts is that a sign that i might be pregnacy: More likely your ovaries being sensitive is a sign that you ovulated. The surest sign that you're pregnant is the presence of hCG in your blood and urine by about 14 days post ovulation. So wait a week or two and POAS.

ovary uncomfortable: That certainly sounds unpleasant, though I often wonder how women know that it is specifically their ovary that feels uncomfortable.

severe pain in my ovaries: Any time someone suggests "severe" pain to me, I suggest contacting your physician. Anything that far outside the range of normal should be reported to your doctor.

cramps near ovaries during early pregnancy is it normal? Yes.

menstrual cramps worse after iui: This is also normal. I didn't have cramping after all of my IUIs, but I did after a few of them, and it's very normal. Introducing anything into the uterine environment can cause it to contract, which will cause that cramping feeling. Now if what you meant was after a failed IUI the cramps associated with the subsequent period are worse than normal… well, that's normal too… especially if you were on progesterone supplements. It's really unfair.

Something that Shocked Me (in a good way)
I forgot to mention that at my perinatology appointment last week, I'd made a crack at Dr. G about being bitter that they weren't going to let me push these babies out the old fashioned way. I gave my usual shpiel about how I figure the babies are going to be so tiny that they'll just come right out, no problem!

His response astounded me. Instead of their usual bit about "fetal distress", "maternal hemmorhage", "healthy outcome" and all that rational, logical stuff, he said, "well, it's just that to do a vaginal triplet delivery everything has to line up perfectly and the odds are really low that it will, especially since you don't have a lot of room for them to move around in there, but I've done it. Both Dr. P and I have done vaginal triplet deliveries." Really? I mean, REALLY? Here I was just giving my usual joke figuring on the usual rational, logical answer, and I'm hearing that it STILL DOES HAPPEN?

"Look," he said, "when the time gets closer, if everything is lining up perfectly, which it probably won't, and you still want to talk about it, we can absolutely do that, but you have to understand how low the odds are of it happening that way, and you have to understand that we reserve the right at all times to tell you that we're not going to do it." I totally get that. But I mean… really? It could happen? Even just that 0.0000000001% chance? Really? Sure, but don't count on it. Especially if the previa doesn't completely resolve itself (it's moved significantly, but it's still in the way a bit).

Still, something about the c-section not being completely written in stone makes me feel a zillion times better. I have the absolute dumbest reason for not wanting a c-section. I want nothing to do with an epidural. Now, if I did a vaginal delivery, I'd still have to have an epidural in place, though I wouldn't have to have drugs running through it. But my fear of the epidural is two-fold: First, I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever want a needle in or near my spinal column ever. Second, I don't want to not be able to feel the lower half of my body. This terrifies me. I had a TIA when I was 23, and it was terrifying not to be able to move or feel my left side. I never want to purposely experience that again. So while I wouldn't get out of having the needle in/near my spinal column, I COULD get out of having to be numb in my lower half. I mean, it's NEVER going to happen. There is no possibility that I'm not having a c-section. But there's something comforting about being able to pretend for a few weeks that I have options.

Update: Carol mentioned that she'd been wondering why a c-section seemed to be the default for triplet deliveries on TV… e.g. is it because it's easier for the doctors or because vaginal triplet deliveries aren't possible? The answer is that in MOST cases, vaginal deliveries aren't safe for mother OR babies. Certainly it IS easier for the doctors (and less liability), but there's mostly the fact that very few triplet pregnancies really are conducive to safe vaginal deliveries. I'm very certain that I will not be allowed to have a vaginal delivery, but I still find it oddly comforting that my doctors are willing to consider the conversation if by some miracle everything really did line up perfectly and the stars were perfectly aligned and the moons were in all the right houses and I sacrified the right color goat…

Advice Sought re: Childbirth Class
Here's the thing. I feel like if I were a responsible parent-to-be, I would take a parenting/childbirth class. Except that they are largely geared toward women having singleton, vaginal deliveries, which, we all know, I am not. So there are multiples classes available, except not so much. The closest class to me that's a multiples class is in Baltimore and it's only offered on Saturdays, which doesn't so much work for me. (My rabbi doesn't seem to want to give me one of those "Get out of being Jewish for a Day" cards… drat!) Okay, so to heck with those options.

I COULD take a caesarean class. EXCEPT, honestly, those are basically about what to expect from the procedure, the anesthesia, and recovery. Oh, and you get to watch a video of a c-section. Now, I've seen LOTS of videos of c-sections. I have had surgery before. I am not freaked out or anxious about the c-section per se. My irrational fears of the epidural aside, I have no anxiety about this in the least. I know what is going to happen, I understand my role ("lay there and do what we say"), I know what recovery from abdominal surgery is like, and I know it will suck a lot more than recovery from having my gall bladder removed laproscopically. So what's the point? Even the nurse at the perinatologist's office said if I wasn't feeling anxiety about the c-section, I probably wouldn't get much out of any such class.

So aside from getting my infant-CPR renewed, which I'd rather do closer to the delivery anyway, what should I do? Should I just accept that you don't have to take some ridiculous class in order to be a responsible parent-to-be?

My husband also wanted to take a "Daddy Boot Camp" type class but every area hospital that has a Dads 101/Daddy Boot Camp/whatever you want to call it class offers it only on Saturdays, which, again, doesn't work for us. So now he's looking for some sort of book, but from what I can tell, all the dad-centric books are awful, so I think he'll just have to wing it, unless you all have any suggestions.

Read Full Post »

DC Get-Together
I think I posted that I was going to get together with some DC-area bloggers. I almost chickened out, but I decided to be a grown-up and just walk up to a group of random women who looked like they might just be a bunch of infertility bloggers. Thank heavens I picked the right group! There were nine of us there, and we really had a terrific time. I felt a little bit awkward at first, being the token pregnant-lady there, and it's not like I can even hide it at this point. I mean, I'm fat in the first place, but at this point, I definitely am visibly pregnant and I can't just pass it off as too many pints of Ben and Jerry's. Anyway, no one seemed too bothered by it. My husband had suggested I wear a nametag that said, "Hello My Name Is Myrtle" but I declined. 😉

At any rate, it was a fabulous group of women and I'm thrilled to pieces that I got over my ridiculous self long enough to take a deep breath and walk up to a group of strangers, because it was truly the most enjoyable evening I've had in quite some time. Even if I did have to get up to pee four times (and seriously, we could NOT have been seated further away from the bathroom!). Good thing I'd insisted on sitting on the end. What a fabulous group of women we were, though! I think we may have scared the waiter a little bit, but that's okay. It just means he earned his gratuity, right? It was a touching and hilarious night. Lindsay was so sweet and perfect, and such a doll for organizing the group in the first place. I hope we do this again soon! (though I don't know if I'll be able to make the next one… it totally depends on whether I do get stuck on real bedrest… we'll see) Maybe next time we can have pedicures and mojitos (virgin for me – oh the irony!) at my place. 🙂

Some Questions Answered

Are you going to find out the sexes? Most emphatically, no. I have no intention of finding out what flavor these babies are. I figure I should get to do at least ONE thing the old fashioned way! Plus, our lives will be upside down no matter what, I seriously doubt it's going to matter whether they're boys or girls, and it's likely that we'll have a mix regardless of how they're distributed. My husband, I think, would really like to find out. But, well, I kind of have veto power when it comes to the dildo-cam. Plus, his logic with finding out with a singleton was that it would be easier to plan. I don't think the logic holds with triplets. I don't think you can really plan for triplets, you just have to pray a lot! 🙂

When are you due? Heck if I know. I don't even know how to answer that question. I'm due November 6, technically. Except, that's never going to happen. I will deliver no later than September 26, which is exactly 34 weeks (also erev sukkot). I hope to at LEAST make it to September 12, which is 32 weeks, which I don't think will be a problem. My perinatologist gets almost all their triplet patients to 34 weeks, with very, very few exceptions.

When does bed rest start? Heck if I know. I was originally told that it would unequivocally start this week. However, that appears to be more flexible than I was originally led to believe. Apparently because I'm doing so well, I get to lead the decision on when bed rest begins. I believe most of why I'm doing so well is that with only a couple of exceptions, if I'm not at work, I'm at home on bed rest. The DC Get Together was one such exception. But I've otherwise gone straight home and curled up in a recliner or my bed and not moved until I have to (usually to pee! Gah!). I intend to remain relatively strict about this, because I do enjoy the flexibility to occasionally break my self-imposed rules. I would not be so cavalier about breaking doctor-mandated bed rest. So for the moment, I'm not on bed rest officially and won't be until I feel it's necessary or until the doctors get uncomfortable. And that's all I know.

Some Sad Googling

heavy bleeding contraction-like cramps: I'm going to assume whoever wrote this query is pregnant. Even if you're not pregnant, the best advice I can give you is to contact your doctor. It could be nothing serious. I hope it's nothing serious. But your doctor should know what's going on.

iui cycle failed: I'm so sorry. I've been there, and it's no fun. The best thing for me after a failed cycle was knowing what would be happening next. A new IUI cycle? An IVF cycle? Same Protocol? Change in Protocol? I liked to know all of that ahead of time, before it failed, not because I wanted to be pessimistic, but because it helped me take a failed cycle and psychologically turn it into a new beginning.

cyst in ovaries while pregnant: I haven't had this problem, and I know it's not uncommon. But there are so many ways this could be read. It depends on how big the cysts are, how many, what kind of cysts they are, etc. The good news is that you wouldn't know that you had cysts if your doctor didn't know, so I don't have to worry that you aren't under a doctor's care. I hope you are able to find out what your options/needs are from your doctor. If you aren't comfortable with your doctor's advice, please seek a second or third opinion.

triplet pregnancy blogs: This, of course, isn't one of the sad ones. You got me. I've definitely got a triplet pregnancy blog.

ovaries and kidneys picture with uti: I'm not quite sure what to make of this one. Anyone got any help on this one?

my ovaries hurts is that a sign that i might be pregnacy: More likely your ovaries being sensitive is a sign that you ovulated. The surest sign that you're pregnant is the presence of hCG in your blood and urine by about 14 days post ovulation. So wait a week or two and POAS.

ovary uncomfortable: That certainly sounds unpleasant, though I often wonder how women know that it is specifically their ovary that feels uncomfortable.

severe pain in my ovaries: Any time someone suggests "severe" pain to me, I suggest contacting your physician. Anything that far outside the range of normal should be reported to your doctor.

cramps near ovaries during early pregnancy is it normal? Yes.

menstrual cramps worse after iui: This is also normal. I didn't have cramping after all of my IUIs, but I did after a few of them, and it's very normal. Introducing anything into the uterine environment can cause it to contract, which will cause that cramping feeling. Now if what you meant was after a failed IUI the cramps associated with the subsequent period are worse than normal… well, that's normal too… especially if you were on progesterone supplements. It's really unfair.

Something that Shocked Me (in a good way)
I forgot to mention that at my perinatology appointment last week, I'd made a crack at Dr. G about being bitter that they weren't going to let me push these babies out the old fashioned way. I gave my usual shpiel about how I figure the babies are going to be so tiny that they'll just come right out, no problem!

His response astounded me. Instead of their usual bit about "fetal distress", "maternal hemmorhage", "healthy outcome" and all that rational, logical stuff, he said, "well, it's just that to do a vaginal triplet delivery everything has to line up perfectly and the odds are really low that it will, especially since you don't have a lot of room for them to move around in there, but I've done it. Both Dr. P and I have done vaginal triplet deliveries." Really? I mean, REALLY? Here I was just giving my usual joke figuring on the usual rational, logical answer, and I'm hearing that it STILL DOES HAPPEN?

"Look," he said, "when the time gets closer, if everything is lining up perfectly, which it probably won't, and you still want to talk about it, we can absolutely do that, but you have to understand how low the odds are of it happening that way, and you have to understand that we reserve the right at all times to tell you that we're not going to do it." I totally get that. But I mean… really? It could happen? Even just that 0.0000000001% chance? Really? Sure, but don't count on it. Especially if the previa doesn't completely resolve itself (it's moved significantly, but it's still in the way a bit).

Still, something about the c-section not being completely written in stone makes me feel a zillion times better. I have the absolute dumbest reason for not wanting a c-section. I want nothing to do with an epidural. Now, if I did a vaginal delivery, I'd still have to have an epidural in place, though I wouldn't have to have drugs running through it. But my fear of the epidural is two-fold: First, I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever want a needle in or near my spinal column ever. Second, I don't want to not be able to feel the lower half of my body. This terrifies me. I had a TIA when I was 23, and it was terrifying not to be able to move or feel my left side. I never want to purposely experience that again. So while I wouldn't get out of having the needle in/near my spinal column, I COULD get out of having to be numb in my lower half. I mean, it's NEVER going to happen. There is no possibility that I'm not having a c-section. But there's something comforting about being able to pretend for a few weeks that I have options.

Update: Carol mentioned that she'd been wondering why a c-section seemed to be the default for triplet deliveries on TV… e.g. is it because it's easier for the doctors or because vaginal triplet deliveries aren't possible? The answer is that in MOST cases, vaginal deliveries aren't safe for mother OR babies. Certainly it IS easier for the doctors (and less liability), but there's mostly the fact that very few triplet pregnancies really are conducive to safe vaginal deliveries. I'm very certain that I will not be allowed to have a vaginal delivery, but I still find it oddly comforting that my doctors are willing to consider the conversation if by some miracle everything really did line up perfectly and the stars were perfectly aligned and the moons were in all the right houses and I sacrified the right color goat…

Advice Sought re: Childbirth Class
Here's the thing. I feel like if I were a responsible parent-to-be, I would take a parenting/childbirth class. Except that they are largely geared toward women having singleton, vaginal deliveries, which, we all know, I am not. So there are multiples classes available, except not so much. The closest class to me that's a multiples class is in Baltimore and it's only offered on Saturdays, which doesn't so much work for me. (My rabbi doesn't seem to want to give me one of those "Get out of being Jewish for a Day" cards… drat!) Okay, so to heck with those options.

I COULD take a caesarean class. EXCEPT, honestly, those are basically about what to expect from the procedure, the anesthesia, and recovery. Oh, and you get to watch a video of a c-section. Now, I've seen LOTS of videos of c-sections. I have had surgery before. I am not freaked out or anxious about the c-section per se. My irrational fears of the epidural aside, I have no anxiety about this in the least. I know what is going to happen, I understand my role ("lay there and do what we say"), I know what recovery from abdominal surgery is like, and I know it will suck a lot more than recovery from having my gall bladder removed laproscopically. So what's the point? Even the nurse at the perinatologist's office said if I wasn't feeling anxiety about the c-section, I probably wouldn't get much out of any such class.

So aside from getting my infant-CPR renewed, which I'd rather do closer to the delivery anyway, what should I do? Should I just accept that you don't have to take some ridiculous class in order to be a responsible parent-to-be?

My husband also wanted to take a "Daddy Boot Camp" type class but every area hospital that has a Dads 101/Daddy Boot Camp/whatever you want to call it class offers it only on Saturdays, which, again, doesn't work for us. So now he's looking for some sort of book, but from what I can tell, all the dad-centric books are awful, so I think he'll just have to wing it, unless you all have any suggestions.

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