My first trip to L&D. Or, the Mesh Panty Experiment.

Yesterday, I woke up with a headache and my head was pounding all day. Tylenol, rest, and lots of water were doing nothing, and my feet started to swell a bit, so at about 10pm I called my OB, who wanted me to come to L&D to get checked out in just in case, since my blood pressure was a little high for me at my visit on Wednesday (130/80, when I normally run 110-120/70-80). Everything checked out fine - blood pressure was 115/75, urine and labs were good. Cervix still high and totally closed (grrr!!) Got percocet for the headache, which is gone now except for a little residual from being tired.

Dr. Burstyn had me go into Bellevue, since she had 4 or 5 patients she was delivering there last night, and let me tell you, I do NOT want to deliver at Bellevue. Don't get me wrong, the staff was nice, but the whole place was WAY too "homey" and outdated for my comfort. Some parts of the room looked old and dingy (especially the carpeted areas, the bathroom/shower area, and the edges of the wallpapered walls). I'll take the big, modern, industrial, sparklingly sanitized Albany Med any day of the week.

I figured while I was there, I'd rifle through stuff and see what I could find. There were like 800 nasal aspirators in the bassinet, so I took one. I also decided to check out these famous mesh panties that they give you postpartum. I've heard about them, and have had some concerns about my ass fitting into them, and whether or not I'd look like a bag of suet. Well, they're pretty sweet. When I heard "mesh", I was thinking like, tulle fabric, or one of those bags that oranges come in. These are a really soft, EXTREMELY light... well, mesh. That's the only word I can think of to describe them. Ok, maybe like a really stretchy, soft cheesecloth? Anyhow, they TOTALLY fit my ass and are actually way more comfy for me than regular underwear with a butt (I only wear thongs because regular underwear just ends up in my crack anyway. My hips measurement is 10 inches larger than my waist measurement, so the butt of the underwear is always tight, while the waistband is big. It's just one bunchy, ill-fitting mess. The thought of wearing a pair of briefs, bikinis, or hi-cuts under any kind of pants makes me cringe). So I'm TOTALLY unpacking the Hanes and pads that I have in my hospital bag and will take as many pads and pairs of these mesh panties that the hospital is willing to give me (or that I happen to find) during my stay there. For all you other first-timers, here they are! If you weren't sure they'd fit you, oh, they will... lol