I am back in Italy. I had a great time in the U.S. though the trip took a lot out of me. I probably spent way too much time sitting crunched up at a 90-degree angle on long plane and car trips, and I basically got no sleep. This past week I had to return to the emergency room here (yes my third time in August...sigh) for yet another nasty UTI. This was my worst experience yet and, quite frankly, I don't want to get into it too much because it makes me upset and frightened to give birth here. I was in a lot of pain, and the pain so near my uterus sent me into contractions and it was horrible because they couldn't give me very much to ease my suffering. I was in a crowded ER with lots of other sick people and was "parked" for hours without seeing a doctor or a nurse or being given anything to eat or drink. I was in so much pain that I was crying and generally making too much noise, apparently, because a mean nurse told me to "Be quiet. You aren't the only one here." At one point, the ambulance drivers came to kick patients off their gurneys because there weren't enough gurneys for the ambulances to go out on their runs. Again, nightmare experience that I never, ever want to repeat and really don't want to talk too much about it because I'd like to forget it ever happened. I can only hope the maternity ward is more organized than the emergency room.
In any case, the baby seems to be doing fine despite all of my UTI traumas. Today we had the 21-week ultrasound and he's growing well and is within all of the normal parameters. Below are some profile pics. I know in the U.S. everyone is doing the 3D ultrasounds but, again, here I am in a country with a gurney shortage so as you can imagine, 3D ultrasounds are not yet offered. I offer a few shots of the baby in action. Cristiano insists he has my "Midwestern potato nose" but I really think it's too early to tell!
