Wednesday, September 18, 2013

28 Weeks-Living With a Hormonally Charged Pregnant Woman

Since I had the tooth pulled, things started to look up.  However, I had to eat on the opposite side of my mouth for two weeks, on a tooth that was also broken.  I have another molar that needs pulling, and I have to be put to sleep.  No dentist can get me numb enough to work on it or pull it.  Yay me.  What ended up happening?  A nasty infection putting me in more searing pain than I was in before.  I was hoping it was my sinus' acting up again so I took a trip back to the minute clinic, where they confirmed it was in fact my tooth and couldn't give me anything for it.  I called my OB, and they said take Claritin and Tylenol, and call my dentist.  Of course this was on the Friday before Labor Day and guess what?  The dentist was closed already.

So on Saturday night, through tears and ice packs and hot compresses, I made the decision to go to the ER.  I told them, I don't want pain medicine, I know I can't take it.  If I could still have ibuprofen I think I could survive.  But my face was swelling and it was obviously infected and I couldn't wait until Tuesday to see the dentist to get an antibiotic.  PLEASE for the love all holy give me an antibiotic.  They did.  By the next night I was feeling relief.

I finally saw the dentist and they took an x-ray showing me the fluid by the tooth and told me to see what my OB would let me do.  Of course the OB said it was better to wait but if it kept flaring up that I could be IV sedated and have it pulled.  In the meantime, I can take antibiotics if I have a flare up.  Praying I make it until after baby arrives.

So, for the title of my post.  I have been a raging hormonal mess this pregnancy.  Seriously, I can't stand myself some days.  My first pregnancy was a breeze compared to my last one and now this one.  My husband was on pins and needles waiting for me to go all psycho and I never did.  My second pregnancy was quite painful with the pressure and sciatic nerve acting up, but I still kept my cool most of the time.

Is it because I'm older?  Is it due to all the crap I have gone through so far this pregnancy?  Is it just the hormones taking over?  I may never know the answer to this one.  But good grief!  I've gone in to clean and neat freak frenzy.  I still have the nesting urge, but I don't have the energy.  Right now I can't seem to get enough sleep.  It drives me nuts that I can't do all the things I want to do.  My dear husband has to remind me that I'm pregnant and can't do it all.  But why not??  I'm pregnant, not handicapped.  If being pregnant means being handicapped then get me a tag for my car at least so I can park up front at the stores. 

Everything seems to set me off.  The dishwasher needs to be emptied.  The trash needs to go out.  Why are there dirty clothes all over the floor?  Why do I have to go into "mom's been possessed" mode to get anyone to help me?  Even then they just take cover instead of helping.  I feel like times running out and we are so not prepared for baby girl to get here.  The nursery hasn't even been started yet!  12 weeks to go and I have this fear that I will go early again.  If I go 5 weeks early, then that means I have 7 weeks to go and that's what I keep looking at.

No wonder I'm nuts.

I always felt like some women took advantage of being pregnant.  Being bossy, mean, moody.  All of it controllable if they wanted to.

I've had to re-think that matter.

The best thing I have found for me, is to go out to our little farm every night and sit in the bench swing.  It's cool enough now and the kids are in bed at an early hour for school, so I can enjoy some me time.  I sit out there for anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours.  It's how I unwind to sleep and so far it's helped.

Any suggestions for toning down the pregnancy hormones?  If you made this far, again, congratulations and thank you!

Amy

Third Trimester, The Dentist & The Birthday

I'm 24 weeks and officially in the 3rd trimester. Yay!  However the last few weeks have been rather rough.

Two weeks ago a crown on my bottom left became loose. It drove me nuts! Finally it broke off and I had an appointment scheduled to remove the tooth...in September, over a month away!  It had a rough edge and thankfully the dentist filed it down. In the meantime, I had to eat on the right side of my mouth where I also have a broken lower jaw tooth. It can't be filled or pulled with regular Novocaine.  I have to be put to sleep by an oral surgeon. This is not possible while pregnant. 

So, due to the broken crown, I ate on the right side down too with a broken tooth.  Total mess. Then last week I started getting an earache on the right and my right tooth hurt too. Bad. Really bad. I went to the minute clinic and was calling my ob after hours bad. Sinus infection and worse on the right. Antibiotic and nada for pain. 

Until my ob called back. 

He said ibuprofen was safe during the 2nd trimester only, which meant I could have it until Sunday. 

I could hear angels singing praise. 

The dentist got me an earlier appointment to have the broken crown pulled. Yesterday. I was relieved and terrified all the same. It was a nightmare to get it out. He had to cut it into 2 pieces by the roots and pull each one. Apparently the tooth under the crown had been bad for some time and I never knew it. It kept breaking as he tried to pull it.  An hour later it was out, but I wasn't so sure I didn't have a broken jaw!!

Interesting fact about dental work when pregnant: you can't have the regular Novocaine.  You know, the kind that leaves you numb for several hours.  The kind safe and approved for me lasted only about 45 minutes. Which meant by the time we made the 45 minute drive back home, sat in line at the pharmacy another 45 minutes, I thought I was dying.  It seriously felt like I had been in a boxing match and lost. 

At home, I let the approved pain medicine start to work and used cold ice packs. The downfall: the medicine kept me WIDE awake.  I was so sure that today would be horrible. 

Thankfully, today, my birthday, has been completely tolerable. I was pleasantly surprised. The kids were even on their best behavior for 24 hours before going bonkers tonight. And I was very selfish. I played the "it's my birthday, can't y'all please get along and mind?!" card tonight. 

If you made it to the end, congrats!  I should have posted more often and broken this in to multiple posts, but that medicine is not out of my system and I'm wide awake and mind is in overdrive!