Baby, Moles and Books

I have a plethora of subjects to write about. To name just a few:
The escalating mole problem in my yard.
The wonderful books I’ve read recently.
The upcoming birth of my grandchild.

Of course they are not listed in order of importance. Society and political correctness would dictate that the birth of my first and probably only grandchild would be my main concern. However the constant visual reminders erupting in my front and back lawns are a thorn in my side that I can’t dislodge.

I have resorted to a new and gross means of ridding my yard of the destructive little devils. I spray the mound until the tunnel is open then I put small nails or stick pins in the hole followed by what ever dog poop I can find in the yard. The idea behind this is: the moles will get puncture wounds then the wounds will get infected with e-coli bacteria and the moles will die. It has only been marginally successful. I’ve found (with my cat, Patty’s help) two dead baby moles. However the mole mounds and tunnels have gotten worse.

For the last month, when I wasn’t torturing moles, I was getting ready for my step daughter – Denise’s baby shower and then driving up to her home in Everett several times a week to help out while she was on bed rest due to loosing her mucus plug and going into premature labor six days after the shower. How exciting!

My first experience was observing a NST (a fetal non stress test). Denise reclines and a nurse straps some monitors on her belly and wal-laa, you can hear the baby’s heartbeat, see an squiggly line that shows the baby is moving and another squiggly line that shows Denise’s contractions. Oh my.

The next day was an ultrasound, not just the grainy black and white picture but also a beautiful 3-d picture of Coryn’s face. Oh my God! The technician said the data collected indicates the babies weight is 7 lbs 11 ounces. This would be great if Denise was full term but she is only at 34 weeks, (six weeks shy of full term). Yikes!

The next day is the doctor appointment. Denise is hoping he’ll say she can have the baby NOW. She feels awful, she’s afraid the baby will be to big for her to have naturally if she waits any longer, she can’t stand being on bed rest and she doesn’t want to use up her maternity leave sitting around the house. Denise’s hopes of having the baby now aren’t only dashed but she’s dealt a double whammy. The baby is not ready, it’s lungs are not mature, the belly is almost full term but the head is only at 34 weeks and the worst news of all for Denise is that in all likelihood she will have to have a caesarian section because the baby is large and there is a substantial risk the baby will injure her shoulder going through the birth canal. The injury could cause paralysis. Not a stellar day for Denise. She’s told she has to stay on modified bed rest for two more weeks so the baby’s can finish developing. The doctor said her contractions are probably due to the fact she has extra amniotic fluid in the womb and the baby is big. He explained that when the baby was physically ready it would send out hormones that would start labor contractions and get Denise’s body ready to deliver. Wow, is that amazing or what?

Since then I have accompanied Denise to four more fetal NTS’s two-doctor appointments and had the opportunity to see Coryn via an ultrasound in the doctors office. Denise has made it to 36 weeks, Coryn is now mature enough to be born, her estimated weight is a little over 8 pounds and Denise doesn’t have to be on bed rest any longer. (Not that she was following doctors orders anyway – but now she can go back to work and not use up her limited amount of maternity leave.) If she goes into labor now he won’t stop it and there is a chance she may be able to deliver Coryn naturally, although caution dictates a c-section. If Denise doesn’t go into labor by week 38, she will make an appointment to deliver on the 21st or 22nd of August. Ohhhhh, we can’t wait.

Last but not least, I had the opportunity to see one of my favorite authors: J.A. Jance. She happened to be at the Everett library on a day Denise had an appointment. She entertained a packed hall of her fans for an hour then signed her new book, Damage Control. I loved the book, I would rank it her best so far.