The blood and the dream

Hah - dramatic post title just to draw you in.

I got some blood test results on Friday evening. It was kind of good that three different doctors co-ordinated on tests they wanted so that I only got stuck with the needle once.

Since I felt dizzy several times towards the end of our trip to New York (which resulted in DH going to see Beauty and the Beast on his own!), and I don't eat meat, my family doctor wanted my iron levels tested. They're fine and I haven't been feeling dizzy since. I told her they would be since I'm already taking prenatal vitamins with iron in them. I chalk it up to the fact that my period was about to start and walking all those blocks in NYC.

My OB also had my toxoplasmosis checked again since we are starting TTC again. Still negative.

But the real reason for the blood test was to check my D-dimers (this one ordered by the hematologist). D-dimers are fragments of fibrin, which is, as I understand it, a by-product of blood coagulation. I think the higher your D-dimers are, the more likely you are to have a blood clot or to have had a blood clot. Since pregnancy hormones make your D-dimers rise, they wanted to wait four months after Moksha's birth before checking them in order to ensure that the level wasn't affected by my pregnancy.

My level was at the top limit of normal. Still normal, though, I hear you cry. Yeah, I suppose so. Strange how I started illogically thinking to myself that I might just keel over dead from a pulmonary embolism whilst walking down the street. My OB called the hematologist before calling me with the results. There is nothing to do now, but as soon as I get a positive pg test, I should call her. Duh, I would do that anyway but I guess she means she will see me immediately. They will closely monitor my D-dimers and I will probably start taking aspirin cardio (that's low dose aspirin by the way, I get all these terms in French from my doctor and absolutely could be translating them into English wrongly) right from the start and will eventually get low molecular weight heparin shots. Which I will learn to give to myself. Daily. Whatever.

On Friday night I had a strange dream. I dreamt I had quadruplets. I don't know why. Maybe unnecessary subconscious multiple one-upmanship over a certain mother of twins? Or should that be two-upmanship? Anyway, all I can remember of the dream starts from giving birth in the hospital, so I don't know how the pg went.

The birth was a strangely anticlimactic event. There were three girls and a boy. ?? Is that even possible with quads? Anyway I just gave birth to all of them and I didn't even see them or hold them. They were all immediately put into a special incubator, which was hermetically sealed. And wasn't transparent, so I couldn't see them. In the dream I just assumed this was normal and was sad but not panicked, as apparently there was nothing I could do about it. Or maybe I was just relieved that they were all alive.

Anyway, then for some reason I was immediately separated from them and ended up walking all round different floors of the huge hospital (yeah right, after giving birth to quads) dealing with administrative papers with the very stiff-backed female obstetrician. At one point I ended up in the hospital cafeteria and the midwives who were there during Moksha's birth were in the lunch queue. They asked me about Moksha and were happy to know about the quads. In the back of my mind I kept thinking, I want be with the quads, not traipsing around the hospital.

Then I woke up. Sorry, no big ending to that dream. Strange, huh? When I woke up, I thought, does it mean that I will have three girls now, since I already had a boy? So, if it comes true, you read the premonition here first.

Nothing more exciting to say. TWW. Trying not to get any hopes up. But that's bullshit, as you know.