Ailments and Remedies

I had my monthly checkup with my OB on Monday. While everything is going really well (my weight gain, size, baby movement, etc.), the couple of things that my doctor was concerned about was that a.) I am getting headaches almost daily that stick around and don't go away for 3-4 days, b.) I am still dealing with bouts of nausea. At almost 18 weeks, that shouldn't really be happening anymore, but I'm willing to bet it goes hand in hand with a., and c.) my shoulder/back muscles are very tense (which could also have something to do with a.). Dr. McNelis thought about prescribing physical therapy to get me feeling better/healthier, but I asked her to give me another month to figure it out. Besides, I still have 3 massage gift cards to use up from last school year (do you think the parents were trying to tell me something? Like perhaps last year was a stressful year?).

So, on Thursday, I decided to finally use one of these gift cards. Two were for day spa chains and one was for a lady that does massage out of her home. Since hers had an expiration date, I decided to try calling her first. She must've been with a client when I called because her husband called me back and said that she had plenty of openings on Friday, but that she would call back in a bit to schedule. Not sure if she would actually remember or not, I called the local day spa chain in Buffalo to book an appointment for Friday. I told them I was pregnant and they said, "Well, in that case, you have to have your dr. call us or fax over a note before your appointment saying that it's okay for you to have a massage." WHAT? I know about liability and could completely understand this if I was 8 months preggers, but I'm 4 months. What's gonna happen? I took the appointment at 1pm on Friday, but hoped that the lady would call back. She did and she also had a 1pm appointment available, so I took it and canceled the other one. Besides, the lady just asked me a few questions about my pregnancy, but never made it mandatory for me to get a dr. note (which wouldn't be a problem...my doc is awesome, but it's just the whole idea).

Friday morning, after going down to Mom and Dad's to work on some school stuff, I left Ethan with them and headed to my massage. I got to the lady's house and knocked on the door. I was a little skeptical as I walked in because the entryway of the house smelled like animal (which is a very familiar smell to me...thanks to my MIL-yuck!). We walked through the house and upstairs, where her massage room is. I didn't smell the animal smell anymore, so that made me feel better. We talked a little bit about how my massage was going to be administered and my ailments (tenseness in my shoulders, my sciatica, etc) before I got ready. See, typically a massage is done with you laying on your back, then your stomach (or vice versa). Since I'm pregnant, I would first lay on my back for a few minutes, then one side, then the other side. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I can honestly say I felt completely relaxed by the end of the massage (the drool on the pillow being the indicator) and my muscles felt so much better. I think it may have been the best massage I've ever gotten (though I've only gotten 3 others). After my massage, I went and picked Ethan up and came home with a list in my mind of things to do. Well, she must've relaxed my brain into mush, too, because I got NOTHING accomplished last night. Oh well! I can cut coupons and do laundry this morning. Last night was for me!

FYI-My 2nd ultrasound is set for November 9th. Please pray that the baby cooperates and shows us their stuff (or lack of stuff) so we can really start getting ready!