Doctors and sisters

Two of my sisters are teachers in North Carolina, and they had the same spring break as me. They drove up Wednesday, after a couple of days of uncertainty due to Kathleen's eight month old's teething, which had caused some congestion and vomiting. Until we were certain it was teething and not something contagious, we weren't sure if they'd be able to come. Fortunately, it was just his teeth, and he was far less miserable once he had a little Tylenol and Orajel.

I had my OB checkup and my oncology appointment Wednesday afternoon, so I spent the morning getting the house put together. Kevin left work early and came home to help finish up before the appointments. The OB appointment was fine; he isn't concerned that I haven't gained any weight, since my appetite is definitely strong and I'm eating plenty. I'll be induced at 39 weeks, since he's concerned about the baby's size due to my gestational diabetes (which continues to be well controlled, even with the stress and the steroids). As long as the baby isn't too big, I'll be induced rather than scheduled for a C-section, which would definitely be better in light of everything else going on.
At my next appointment, on the 13th, I'll get the RhoGAM shot since Kevin's blood type isn't compatible with mine and it's possible the baby's won't be either. I had the shot about a year ago, after we learned I was going to miscarry, and while it hurt a bit, it wasn't bad.

Much more exciting than a shot, we'll have another sonogram at that appointment. This one is to measure the baby's growth, but they'll also be looking closely at the baby's cleft to try to get a better idea of the severity of it. We won't be able to rule out a cleft palate until the baby is born, though they could rule it in if they are able to get the right view. We're praying for cleft lip only, as that will require far less intervention than a cleft lip and palate. Either way, baby and I will likely be having our surgeries within a few weeks of each other. We will know much more about the cleft after we meet with the cleft team; I'm planning to call this week to get that scheduled.

We'd gotten to the first appointment early, and we were finished within five minutes of when my appointment was scheduled to start. That gave us enough time to walk over to the lab to have my oncology blood work done before my next appointment. It went fast, and the phlebotomist was able to find my vein on the first try--it usually takes several attempts for them, even though they always tell me I have good veins. I still got a lovely bruise from it though.

The oncology appointment was scheduled with the PA, as my oncologist is on vacation this week. I liked her, and she answered my list of questions and reassured me about all of the symptoms I've experienced since the infusion. She thought my port was looking good and said the strange sensations, stinging, and pain that I get every once in a while is likely because of a nerve in the area. Hopefully it'll heal completely soon. It seems to be improving daily. She didn't see any issue with me having the RhoGAM two days before my next infusion, and she encouraged me to take a stool softener, since that has been one of the biggest issues I've had (pregnancy definitely doesn't help either). She said to call if I develop any mouth sores in the future; they'll call me in a prescription for Magic Mouthwash, which I've heard and read about from others who've gone through chemo. She said if they don't write it to have a steroid, insurance companies are far less grouchy about it.

We got home and had a couple hours until my sisters and the kids arrived, so we got dinner started (thanks to friends who brought us a huge lasagna) and took it easy for a bit. They got in just before 7, and we ate, played around, put the kids to bed, and then hung out in the basement (it's nice to not have to worry about keeping quiet, since we're far enough away from the bedrooms) and everyone but me enjoyed adult beverages. We decided to go to the aquarium in the morning, and Kevin and I decided it was worth it to get a membership for us--it will pay for itself the next time we go, and we both really enjoy going. We stayed up too late, especially Kevin, who still had to work the next day.