Week 17: Overdoing it (?)

I guess I have to start listening to my Italian gynecologist. She has been none too happy with my going to the gym but I truly felt I was "taking it easy" in the gym and doing only the things recommended in my stack of pregnancy books. Until Sunday. I guess I fell prey to the "if 30 minutes of walking is good for you, 60 minutes must be even better..." mentality because I just kept walking and walking on the treadmill. I felt energetic and fine and my iPod was cranking out the tunes. And plus the doctor had barred me from doing the bike so the treadmill was my only option for a bit of cardio. After I got off the treadmill, I began having shooting pains in my pelvic region. That freaked me out but I hoped they would pass if I just rested some. As the day went on the shooting pains got neither better nor worse. They came about once or twice an hour and were not all that painful but it was freaky nonetheless.

I did not sleep at all Sunday night. I was convinced I'd done something horrible to the baby and I was in a state of panic. Cristiano was not happy with me because, well, Cristiano gets worried if I walk to the corner lately in my pregnant state. Strangely, he does not seem to have a problem with my doing laundry. Hmm... Anyway, he eats up everything the doctor tells us and was giving me the "I told you so" face so I couldn't very well ask him to take me to the emergency room (I mean, I could have but I didn't want to see crossed arms and that face sitting next to me in the ER). Cristiano's mom and dad were just finishing packing for their trip to Cape Verde but they accompanied me to the hospital while Cristiano went to work. Fortunately I was not visited in the ER but sent up to the maternity ward. It was complete chaos but the doctors were very nice. I got my first taste of "sharing a room" as I was examined in a room right in the delivery ward with a woman in labor who was hooked up to all of the monitoring machines. Honestly, in that moment I couldn't have cared less. I just wanted to know what was wrong with me and know the baby was fine (he is!).

The very nice lady gynecologist told me that she thought I had overdone it at the gym on Sunday and had gone into contractions. She told me I could walk but NOT on a treadmill ("gym machines were not built for pregnant ladies," she said) but she'd prefer me to do yoga or swim. She also suspected I had a urinary tract infection, which was adding to the pains. She ordered me to go home and sit on the couch (I'm here now!) and gave me some medicine for the UTI. It was a very big scare but I hope to get better quickly and obviously be able to get on my flight next Wednesday. She didn't foresee any problems with my traveling. I just need a follow-up visit in ten days though I will be in the U.S. with, uh, no doctor and no insurance aside from emergency insurance. I guess I'll be hitting a Planned Parenthood.

I'm halfway done with the new Harry Potter. I've seen about five movies. I'm attempting to work a bit from my couch/office. And I'm resting a lot.