38 Weeks & New Pregnancy Symptoms*

Oh lovelies, it’s been a rough couple of days.

I’m approximately 12 days away from my due date (if it’s correct–it’s been in dispute) and I’ve had a few new pregnancy symptoms crop up.

On Monday I began my second week of maternity leave and went about my usual (albeit slowed down) routine. I did a bit of cleaning, had a rest with Ruby, and continued organizing what will be the new baby’s room.

When the Hubster got home from work, he played with Ruby so I could throw dinner in the oven. As we sat down to eat, I noticed my peripheral vision seemed a little off and I was having trouble focusing my eyes. I gave my head a shake and closed them for a minute, and when I opened my eyes my vision had become spotty–a bit like you feel after you’ve looked into a really bright light. My left eye was worse, there was a line or bright, flashing spots that was basically cutting my vision in half.

I found the whole episode a bit weird, so I went to lay down, fully expecting it to alleviate within five minutes. When it continued for almost 20 with little change I started to get a bit nervous. I’ve done all the reading about preeclampsia and what to watch for, and I knew that headaches and sudden vision changes can be an indicator. Combined with how rotten I felt most of last week (nausea and other associated symptoms) we decided it was probably a good idea to page my midwife.

She called me back within two minutes. (I love midwives!) After discussing what I was experiencing with her, she expressed that while she wasn’t overly concerned, she wanted me to go the hospital to get checked out by the OB on call as soon as possible.

I spent the next twenty minutes in a whirlwind trying to get organized. I’ve had the baby’s bag packed for a week or two, but had absolutely nothing prepared for myself. I think I’ve been counting on this little man holding out until Olivia’s return, and as I tried to remember what on earth I was supposed to have with me in case I was admitted, I realized how wholly unprepared I am. I managed to throw some things together (just in case) and our wonderful, amazing neighbours came straight over to hang out with our bean.

When we arrived at the hospital, the OB and nurses let me know that I would probably be there for a few hours. I was hooked up to a fetal monitor and had my blood pressure monitored for almost an hour, then they ran a bunch of blood tests to see what was going on.

The Hubster and I sat in our little room through it all, reminiscing about our experience giving birth to Ruby just down the hall while trying to mentally prepare ourselves for the idea that we would likely be back here shortly to do it all over again. Shortly before 10pm the OB came back in the room for a chat. He told me that all my tests came back normal, and that I was likely experiencing a form of swelling in my eyes that was related to the pregnancy. My legs and feet have been a little swollen for a couple of weeks, but he told me that light swelling actually takes place everywhere in your body–including your eyes–which I had never, ever considered. He told me that while I needed to monitor how often / how long my vision was disrupted and headaches occur, it was normal and should alleviate after the baby. They also found the beginning of a mild infection that he promptly put me on antibiotics for.

We went home that night grateful that it wasn’t anything more serious, and thankfully my vision went back to normal about 90 minutes after it all started.

I started my course of antibiotics yesterday, and felt the side effects almost immediately. The pharmacist warned me that I would feel tired and likely have a mild headache after taking them, and I spent most of yesterday afternoon on the couch. I was pretty tired by dinner and we opted to do take-out instead of trying to push myself. I’m glad we did, as my vision went wonky again for 30 minutes–almost at the same time as the day before.

I felt okay afterward, but as we were getting ready for bed, I got the worst nosebleed I’ve ever had in my life. Now then–I’m sure it wasn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things, but as I never, ever get them, it felt bad to me. I know they are a normal part of pregnancy for lots of people as your blood volume increases so much when you carry a baby, it has just never happened to me before.

I just feel a bit like I’m falling apart. Ruby’s pregnancy was so straightforward and by the book, and all these new symptoms are weirding me out. I had another visual “episode” first thing this morning, so I decided to call and check in with my midwife just in case, and am just waiting to hear back. I’m just so ready to feel “normal” again… between the nausea and now this, I haven’t felt right in almost two weeks.

Have any of you experienced any of these symptoms before? I’m trying very hard to take it easy today… maybe I need to scale back even further than I already have.

Twelve(ish) more sleeps, then hopefully this will all be over and our peanut will have arrived!