I spent half of last week riding 2500+ miles in a tractor trailer, voluntarily.* Why, you ask? You mean other than the obvious (that I must be a masochist)? I was on the truck acting as an art courier, tasked with making sure that a bunch of crates packed with loaned art made its way safely back to its owners. The museum I work for organized this traveling exhibition, and as the current Registrar-in-Charge (well, technically, I'm not anymore, as my boss is now back from maternity leave) it was my job to make sure all the return shipping was arranged and everything got back to the lenders where it belonged. Fun times full of mental gymnastics. Reminds me of why I loved doing logic problems as a kid. Yup, masochist. *The truck you see above is the actual tractor trailer.
The road trip was uneventful, for the most part. The drivers were friendly and the truck was pretty well tricked out; all I can say is, thank God it had a toilet on board (I am convinced I have a bladder with compartments)! The flat screen satellite television was a nice touch as well.
Warning: this next section contains some pregnancy-related TMI.
I did freak out a bit on Tuesday (day 2; we left Monday afternoon) when I discovered some pink spotting upon using a truck stop rest room. A short time later I experienced some cramping that was stronger than normal, but it lasted only about a minute or so. The spotting continued on and off through Thursday afternoon, though the stronger cramps never made a repeat appearance - whew!
I've been off the truck since Thursday, and haven't had any spotting since - YAY! I also called my doctor's office yesterday (Friday) morning, just to be on the safe side, and they sent me to get blood drawn for an hCG beta and to check my progesterone level. Had pretty much given up hope that I'd get results when the doctor-on-call finally rang me, an hour after the office had closed (very sweet of her)! The numbers:
hCG: 51,265
progesterone: 30
The doc said that these were really good numbers, indicating a nice and healthy pregnancy - YAY! I was so relieved that I forgot to ask her if it means anything that my progesterone number is lower than it was three weeks ago (it was 43.5 at 12 dpo), and I sort of wonder if I ought to do another beta to make sure things are still progressing at the right pace since the cramping on Tuesday.
BUT, the progesterone is still at a normal and healthy level, even if it's lower, so I think I might be all right with waiting until my first ultrasound on the 18th. I'm so tired after the past two busy weeks on the road I kind of don't feel like worrying too much right now. AND, I hear the level tends to fluctuate too. If there's any more spotting, though, I will be calling my doctor pronto!
In the meantime, I will try to enjoy the company of my new BFF, Morning Sickness (total misnomer: mine hits in early afternoon and kicks it with me for the rest of the day)! To be honest, though, feeling sick is actually the most reassuring thing of all...
Is it nap time yet?
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