Sidelined

Thank you for the kind words and encouragement after our (very, very, VERY) minor accident.  I survived the four hours of monitoring, and Ella was very sweet that evening when I picked her up from our friends' house.  When I mentioned that I had missed her, she suggested that we sing "You Are My Sunshine"...which we did.

In my previous post, I said that all my labs and tests were coming back normal--which is what the nurse had told me.  I guess that the OB Resident was a little bit concerned about a couple of my blood pressure readings.  I'm guessing that some of my initial blood pressure readings--when I was still a little perturbed that I had to be there for four hours and was frustrated that I couldn't get my wifi working properly--were a bit on the higher side, and that they stabilized once I was able to relax a bit.  But, in the spirit of being "better safe than sorry", she asked me to do a 24-hour urine test, just to rule out preeclampsia.  So I agreed--but try explaining why you are collecting a day's worth of pee to a curious two-year old!

I submitted my sample Saturday evening, and was told that I would get a call within 4-5 hours if the results were concerns, but that "no news was good news" if I didn't hear anything.  I never got a call that night, so called to confirm on Sunday morning.  Sure enough, the results came back with only trace amounts of protein, so I feel that I can officially say that I got the "all clear" from the accident (though Ella still expresses a little bit of concern while we're driving).

However, I'm feeling sidelined from my running with another injury.  I'm so close to getting my 200 miles--only 10 more to go--but I'm in too much pain right now to run.  I think it may have pulled my hamstring while pulling weeds, but it could have been anything related to:

a) being 37 weeks pregnant,
b) carrying a toddler around,
c) running,
d) sitting in a hospital bed for four hours, or
e) any combination of the above. 

Either way, I hurt.  When I hurt, I have to convince myself that I'm not allowed to run.  When I don't run, I miss out on all those happy endorphins.  When I miss out on those happy endorphins, I'm not my usual cheerful self.  When I'm not my usual cheerful self...well, let's just say that this is an opportunity for me to truly practice being patient. 

I'm 37 weeks today.  In theory, I've got three more weeks to go in this pregnancy (give or take).  At this point, I have no indication that she's coming anytime soon (though we are now considered "full-term", so she now has my permission to come early, if she chooses).  I'm trying to remind myself that if I let myself rest and heal, I can knock out the last 10 miles in about a week.  We shall see...

Today's blessing was that Ella was very obedient and cooperative this morning while getting ready to go to school.  As she gains more and more independence (which is great, developmentally...but frustrating at times too), we've been struggling to get out the door on time.  I don't want to be the mom who screams and yells at her to get her butt in the car every morning, so we've been talking a lot recently about responsibility and making wise decisions that will help the family.  And this morning, something must have clicked, because she put down her toys and came right away when I asked her to get in the car.  What a tiny little thing, and yet still so so so significant!  It felt good to drive out of our neighborhood without worrying about being late!