Doctor-Prescribed Sloth

Source: http://eatourbrains.com/EoB/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/sloth.jpg
So I am, at last, a little bit pregnant. Yes, a little bit – I am a few days past “seven weeks” (which is hokum-counting, because I’m really only five weeks post-IVF-transfer). The news is thrilling, of course, but the roller-coaster reality of trying for so long to get pregnant is that, once prego, the ups and downs continue. At the first sono last week, the doctor located my new little passenger, but quickly turned grave, telling Mr. A and me that the heart rate of 95 bpm had him “concerned.” So I was to take it easy, and come back in a week. Easier said than done!

I actually asked the doctor whether my racing heartbeat during the exam might have affected things (picture my pumping heart: cranking up to maximum as doctor initially thinks he spots three embryos, then bang-banging again as he corrects himself to say there are two sacs, then dipping up and down after he declares that one sac is empty... it was like an elliptical workout in one long minute’s span.)

Anyway, back to taking it easy, doctor-style: no exercise, no hot baths, no extra-curriculars with Mr. A, bi-daily hormone shots, pills and suppositories, and, of course, no undue stress for this mother of active little Master K. We can all say ha! to that one, Mamas!

Wouldn’t just prescribing a beach getaway be a little easier? Oh, right – no flying until this first trimester is over at the end of February.

Mama H, yoga junkie, had to endure an extreme version of doctor-prescribed sloth for several months of her recent pregnancy. I am in awe of her (for many reasons) and wonder how she managed. I am antsy with the desire to run, or do some squats, or even a downward dog. I shall try to enjoy the downward gear-shifting, but can’t help but fret over my ever-decreasing muscle tone, especially when long-suffering Mr. A injects my posterior each morning with progesterone (in oil! Agh!) What a sight. Ladies, would love any ideas on how to embrace my inner sloth.