From Cucpakes to Murder... all in one week

Read ahead and you'll see why I nearly lost it several times this week... in fact, I'm pretty sure I did a time or two...

Last Monday, my parents were in town visiting and marking items off my to do list. My nursery is now complete with a dimmer and smoke detector, my stroller is put together, my house is decorated for Easter and all of Masarra's clothes for the first few months are washed and put away. I was excited that they got to stay until Tuesday as it meant that they could go with us for our sono and Dr visit on Monday and see their grandbaby.

Strike one for Sami:

Now, I've been on strict bedrest for 6 straight weeks now, and it feels like it has been 3 months... or more... So, I decided, after 4 weeks of strong cervical readings on the sono and negative fFN's (test to predict risk for PTL) that I was going out to lunch to celebrate with my family before we went to the OB for my weekly checkup. There's this great seafood restaurant by the hospital, Papadeux's that Sami and I ate at a while back and decided we wanted my parents to try when they were here. Granted, that was before our nightmare over 5 weeks ago, but still... So I told Sami Monday morning that we were all going out to eat before my doc appt. And I told my parents. They asked if I should sit up that long, but I was convinced that my cervix had proven itself again. Sami was upstairs studying for a midterm, so I told my parents that we'd leave at 12:30 to give us 2 hours before my appointment...plenty of time.

Around 11:30, we had just started watching the Young and the Restless downstairs, Sami came bounding downstairs and got his backpack and was halfway out the door before I could stop him. He said he was going to the library to study for his test. I was like "What about lunch and the Dr?" He said he thought I was kidding... and I LOST IT! Call it hormones, call it cabin fever, there was no way I was not going out in public for a few precious moments. So, after I calmed down, he realized how important it was to me (I may have threatened him with bodily harm, who knows?!). And I got my outing! It was awesome!

Sure enough, even after sitting up for 2 hours before our appointment, my cervix was measuring just fine, and the funneling was actually better than it had ever been. My OB was pleased with the results and said our next milestone was getting to 36 weeks. He told us it is time to decide if we take the cerclage out at 36 weeks, or 37, so I plan to seek my Peri's opinion on the topic a week from Monday when I see him again. So, I thought that meant I could get out of bed a little more; I mean, I'm doing great, and we'd originally talked about strict bedrest from 21-26 weeks, but no, that was not to be. My OB says I get to remain stranded here until at least week 32. FUN FUN! Let me tell ya!

My OB asked that we return yesterday to do our fFN since we are due every 2 weeks now. Sami and I decided we'd take our favorite cupcakes in to the office to celebrate us having hit the 26 week milestone. And that was Sami's second chance to drive me up the wall. We agreed to take cupcakes after our appointment Monday, and I mentioned it several times during the week. I told him Thursday evening we had to leave the house 15 minutes early to be sure we got them. And he was like yeah, yeah....

Stike Two:

Friday morning rolled around, and he was the bear he normally is when trying to get him out of bed. He won't use an alarm clock so I have to remember to wake his butt up each day, and he's grumpy, let me tell you. When we got in the car, me lying down mind you, he asked me if I was serious about the cupcakes. Really!?! How many times do I have to mention it to be serious? But he agreed we would stop by the Cupcakery on the way.

Now, lying down, it is rather difficult to really know where in the heck you are on the road. But, I had a feeling we had driven to far, so 10 minutes into our trip, I raised my head and saw he'd missed the exit for the Cupcakery by about 3+ miles. I asked him where he was going and he yelled "To get the cupcakes!". I asked him if he knew where it was, and he insisted he did. So, I then asked how come he'd passed it. He was shocked. The Cupcakery is on Lebanon road... Surely after 4 years in Texas and him being Lebanese, he should know where in the heck Lebanon road is, right? I mean, we've been there quite a few times and pass Lebanon road all the time. But no, he forgot, and drove past it when we were already short on time.

So, he made a U-turn and headed back on the tollway towards Lebanon. I sat up again when he started slowing down to be sure he was at the Lebanon road exit. And HE WAS! YEAY!!!! But, once I laid back down, I felt the car turning, and knew it was too soon. He'd taken the under Tollway road that takes you away from Lebanon road. So I asked him again, did he know where he was going, and he was like "YES!" So, I said, "How come you missed it again then?" Next came a slew of expletives in Arabic. I calmly told him to make yet another U-turn and to drive straight until he saw an actual sign that said "LEBANON ROAD". He asked me if I really wanted the damned cupcakes that bad and I was shocked/ready to kill him. Of course I did!!! It was my 26 week mark and a day to celebrate! I had already picked out exactly which ones I wanted, all in shades of pink to celebrate our little girl reaching viability.

The third time was the charm, and when he followed my directions, he found the place. And we actually made our selections (and got him a double espresso next door) and still made it to the doctor's office on time (well, a minute late, but that's ok). The office was thrilled with the treat. The Cupcakery's cupcakes are sooooo good, and the presentation is beautiful in and of itself. My OB was just getting back in from a procedure at the hospital when we got there, but took time to eat a cupcake himself before he came to see us for our exam. :) He wanted to know if we were trying to kill him by upping his cholesterol. lol I told him we just wanted to celebrate and he agreed, 26 weeks is worth celebrating! My exam went great, we had lots of people popping in to thank us for the cupcakes.

Next, our doc told us we'd get our results back from the fFN same day (since it was a Friday they put a rush on them, and thankfully they came back negative!), and that our next milestone to focus on was delivery. Over the next few weeks, we have to decide if we are going to delivery at 36, 36.5 or 37 weeks. Originally, he had said 36 weeks, but now he wants to get my Peri's opinion since me being on insulin means it may take a little longer for Masarra's lungs to develop. Either way, we will be having a baby in our hands in late May. After such a looooooooong journey, that seems unbelievable honestly.


Strike Three:

So, with Sami having survived his two strikes for the week, it looked like we were on our way to a new week without issue. But no... that was not to be. Every Friday, since the 16 week mark, Sami has been giving me a super progesterone shot that acts as a muscle relaxer from my uterus and keeps the contractions at bay. Not only does the shot relax my uterus, it also knocks me out like a light. The first time I took the shot, I slept for 24 hours with breaks only to eat because my blood sugar was dropping. I've gotten better at staying awake during the day on Saturdays now, but it is still tough. By 8 o'clock last night, I was ready to call it a night, and went to bed. I could tell that this shot was hitting me hard after a light week last week.

Imagine my surprise then to be woken from a deep deep slumber around 1:30 in the morning. Was it the dog next door that has suddenly decided to bark at all hours of the night? No, that would be too easy/predictable. I awoke startled by a jackhammer (or so I thought) right next to my head. A jackhammer named Sami! He was snoring louder than I have ever heard any human possibly do. And while we have a king size bed which I take up very little of, he'd somehow managed to get right next to my ear and do it!

I started putting my hands on his face to try and make him stop, but it wouldn't work. He'd stop for a second and then start right back up! I listened to him for 20 minutes before getting up to use the restroom and contemplate ways I could kill him and not get busted. Ironically, he said later today he heard me get up and go to the bathroom and heard me mumbling something about a dog. Yes, I was mumbling that at least I could call the cops on the damned dog, but what the hell was I supposed to do with a husband that wouldn't stop snoring?!

So, I got back in bed and tried to go back to sleep. I was sooooo exhausted. But the jackhammer would not stop! After it had been over an hour and I was in tears, I shook him awake. He was upset to begin with for me having woken him up. Once I explained that he'd had me awake for an hour though, he shut up and turned over and let me go back to sleep before he started snoring again. Thus, he walked away with his life! He woke up early this morning, but was nice enough to leave the bedroom and let me catch up on my much needed sleep.

Sami came to join me in bed around noon today, and we both got a good laugh out of how loud he'd been. I was in tears with laughter this time instead of from frustration like I was last night. I confessed that I'd actually contemplated murder last night after it was his third strike this week. I couldn't do that though, because no matter how much he has gotten under my skin this week, I realize that he's been a sweetheart and has taken care of everything I need... waiting on me hand and foot for the past 6 weeks. How can you stay mad at someone like that? So I will wipe his slate clean... for another week. :)