Small town life has its advantages (low crime rate, walking to work, low traffic, uh... I'm sure there are others) but the biggest disadvantage for my particular small town is that we are 3 hours away from any big city. If you want to travel anywhere you have to drive 3 or 4 hours first. So, when you have to catch a flight at 7:40 in the morning, you have to leave town at 3:45 am. And, when your body has decided for the past week or so that it no longer wants to sleep when you ask it to and you don't fall asleep until 1:30 am and then wake up at 3 am, that kind of sucks!!! So, that was the start of the longest 48 hour business trip of my life!! Add to it that we had to get up at 4 am (3 my time) for a 6 am flight again to come back today and then, of course, drive another 3 hours to get home. I think I've gotten a grand total of 10 hours of sleep the past three nights. Ugh. Any BTDTs have insomnia issues in the first trimester? I just cannot get myself to sleep anymore. It's killing me. I'm absolutely exhausted but can't seem to relax. Any ideas?
OK, sorry, I just had to share that -- if this post is incoherent, please understand.
Anyway... I just got back from my trip to DC. It was a whirlwind of a trip. We walked miles everyday and I think I overdid it a bit. I think my colleagues are getting a bit suspicious about something going on, but it helps that they were both guys and probably didn't really notice that I seem to gain five inches of belly girth by the end of each day. I was so bloated from the flight and high heat that I think any woman who knows me would have known I was pregnant (or really let myself go...and quickly). We had awesome food (I think I gained 2 pounds -- I'm going to say it's all bloat...uh, sure) and interesting meetings. And, we found the coolest bookstore that is named after me! (OK, so my last name is in the title...) They had a onesie with the logo on it and I so wanted to buy it but that would have definitely been suspicious as my colleagues were standing right there.
Anyway, we went to our first OB appointment today almost as soon as I got back into town. Kind of a weird appointment because it was sort of unnecessarily. They actually made me pee in a cup so they could make sure I was pregnant!! Uh, the three blood tests and the ultrasound are probably confirmation enough... I think their normal pattern is to check in with you at 4 or 5 weeks, confirm the pregnancy and tell you some dos and don'ts. Then they have the "real" first appointment at 8-10 weeks. So, for whatever reason, they decided we still needed the initial appointment and then we're trying to schedule my actual first OB appointment in the next two weeks (because, as hard as it is to believe, I'm 8 weeks today). I was glad to have a chance to talk with the doctor anyway, though, and ask a few questions. So, not really a loss, just a little odd.
He seems like a definite "hands off" kind of guy. Which, is OK, though I think it means we'll have to push for scans and things like that. He offers them, he just doesn't push. So, at the next appointment we'll schedule the NT scan for 12-13 weeks.
So, that's it. It was a little nerve-wracking because it is virtually impossible to go to the doctor and not run into half of the town. I was really worried who would see us there and overhear the receptionist going on and on about scheduling my OB appointment. Oh, and then the doctor had a student from my college shadowing him and they wanted to let her come in. In four weeks when we've come clean with everyone? Sure. Right now? Yeah, that's how I want my job to find out I'm pregnant -- the random student runs in and says "I saw Dr. Rebecca at the OB!!!" I didn't know the student (I saw her and kept trying to avoid her) but if she's pre-med and shadowing a doctor then it's virtually certain she knows who I am -- it's a small school and I teach in the sciences. I'm a little afraid that she's figured it out anyway and it's going to get around.
So, yeah, there are some disadvantages to living in a small town, too....
OK, I'm going to take a nap. Or at least try to take a nap. I think I may have crossed over a line where you don't actually require sleep anymore.
Ah yes, the sleep problems. I had them too. Pretty much what I had to do was get to bed by 8 or 8:30 and hope that even with the trouble going to sleep and staying asleep that somehow I would get around 8 hrs sleep. Not that I felt rested but it did help =) Happy your first OB appt went well...I found them SUPER boring compared to RE appts. There's just hardly any info given it seems. Enjoy the weekend and getsome rest!
ReplyDeleteThe OB appointments are not as much fun as the RE. I'm figuring that our quickly! I had trouble sleeping through the night, but would often oversleep for work! I hope you get some rest!
ReplyDeleteI live about 45 minutes outside of DC last year. I loved it!
Welcome to blessed insomnia in the first trimester. It sucks but you'll get through it. Everyone told me that the first trimester sucked but then once you got to the second tri you'd feel soooo much better. They were right! Because when you get back to the third trimester you start to fall apart. I even threw up on Wednesday night - WTF? And yeah, I was up at 4:30am today for NO reason at all - on a weekend for god's sakes!
ReplyDeleteGosh, too bad we couldn't have met while you were up here in DC! If you ever come back let me know!!!
Sorry about the insomnia!! If you can't order the onesie online let me know, my in-laws are in DC and I'll see if I can call in a favor.... :)
ReplyDeleteHope your secret is still safe!
Oh yes, insomnia has definitely taken over for me as well. I actualy fall asleep just fine - but then, at about 3 or 4 in the morning, I'm wide awake. I usually just start reading my book on my iphone, and fall asleep right before my alarm goes off in the morning - awesome! I feel fine when I get up in the middle of the night, like I could take on the rest of the day. But when the alarm goes off? EXHAUSTED!!! Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteI hope you can get some sleep soon!
ReplyDeleteThe cake on my blog was a giant coffee cake grooms cake. My husbands family loves the crumb cake from 1 particular bakery so I had it made for them as a surprise..and it was the cheapest thing we bought!
Aww 8 weeks already, yay! Crazy that you had to humor them with a pregnancy test and of course there would be a med student there! Glad it won't be too much longer before you can get it out in the open.
ReplyDeleteHope you can catch up on sleep this weekend!