From Ugh! to Ooh!

My heartburn has returned.  Not that it was gone for that long, but absence does not make this heart grow fonder.  So last night when I got an invitation from Nance to come down early and have lunch at our favorite (Mexican) place, I couldn't even think about food long enough to come up with a response.  I opened and closed the email twice before going to bed last night.


Today was Mad's first trip down the hill with Daddy.  She goes down twice a week to keep her used to being at Grandma's, but last week I was able to take her both times.  Going with Daddy means leaving at 4:30 in the morning.  Once they had plenty of time to arrive, I called Tom to see how it went.  Twice.  No answer.  I wasn't exactly worried, just figured he was rocking the rest of the way to work.  When I hadn't heard from him by 7:15, I went ahead and emailed him.  As soon as I got a response, I was able to go back to sleep.  I slept until 10:45.  If you subtract the hours I waited to know Mad was safely at Grandma's, it was like getting up at 7:30.  I felt well rested; Mad rarely lets me sleep that late.


Nance had texted me to ask again if I'd like to meet her at Casa.  I really didn't feel like rushing, and I had to have a shower for today's big exam, so I scheduled a late lunch.


Corey and I jumped in the car, running a little behind, only to find that the car WOULD NOT START.  Again.


I called roadside assistance, again, and ended up with the same fabulous mechanic, Arturo, again.  His English was better than my Spanish, which wasn't saying much for either of us.  However, I was able to get his opinion; it was my car's standard battery, not the massive battery that makes it a hybrid.  The good news?  Quicker and easier to fix than the big one.  The bad news?  The standard battery doesn't fall under the warranty like the $8,000 massive one does.


The only problem with Arturo being done so quickly is that I forgot to bring my freshly printed birth plan with me when we left.  Once the car was running, Corey and I hopped in and headed out.  I wanted to get the battery resolved ASAP.


I called the Sears Automotive nearest my doctor's office.  (Note: I tried to call the one that was closest to my mom's place, so I wouldn't have to drop Corey off along the way, but Goog-411 has some serious limitations!)  The man who answered, Norberto, had some difficulty catching everything I was saying.  I attribute this to the fact that there was smoke off in the distance, and Verizon likes any excuse not to have clear calls.  We don't get that many clouds up here, which are sure to mess up reception, so it had to be the smoke.  Off in the distance.


In any case, he set aside a battery for me and I dashed over after leaving Corey near Mom's place.  Norberto was lovely.  Friendly and assured, but the man just would not take "it's a hybrid" for an answer.


"Is it a four cylinder or V6?"


"Uh, when we bought it they said it's like a V6 (which it's not, power-wise), but it's a hybrid."


"Oh that's okay, except for the hybrid part, the engine is the same."


We had that conversation a couple of times, both on the phone and in person.  When I arrived, he came over to greet me and took me to the wall of batteries.  He pointed out "the only battery that should go in your car" and explained the warranty.  As he keyed my info into the system, we chatted about where I live, which is not too far from where he owns a second home.  Apparently his wife was too smart refused decided not to move up the hill.


As I was leaving to go walk the mall like a good pregnant woman in the summer, Norberto decided to tell me that, ever since he was a little boy and he doesn't know why, "pregnant women are beautiful to me."


Then in the biggest bonehead move ever, he adds, "Even if they're not... uh... uh... not that you are this... you've got it... so not you... but you know some women might not be so... good loo... well, they are all beautiful to me."


Dude, did you just call me ugly?  Ugh!


Twenty minutes after I left, Norberto called to tell me that "the only battery that should go in your car" didn't fit.  They had the right one in stock, but it would cost more.  Oh, and the air filter for my car was different, "because it's a hybrid, it's not a filter, it's a cartridge" and so the oil change was going up, too.  Fine, they both had to be done.


Tom had to pick me up at the mall so we could make it to the appointment on time.  No problem there (which is impressive because Tom tends to be late more than he is anything else... I did not personally have this problem until I was pregnant with his child, so I blame him completely whether he's around or not).


As I was walking through the automotive department to catch Tom, Norberto stopped me.  "That other battery didn't fit either.  But we have the right one now.  And good news, it's less expensive."  Great.  I was in a hurry, so I refrained from asking if it was already in so they knew for sure it was the right one.


Tom and I headed off to the appointment, which was less than two miles away.  As I was stripping down for the big exam, I told Tom I'd be willing to bet money that I hadn't made any progress.  With Corey, I don't recall the doctor checking me for dilation at the 38 week checkup.  The following week I was 1.5 cm dilated (and somehow when I arrived at the hospital I was "barely one").  With Mad, there was no progress at 38 weeks and I was "a fingertip" at 39 weeks.


Today, however, I was found to be already a centimeter and thinning.  I would like to attribute this to the five very painful contractions I've had since Sunday night.  Please don't tell me anything else, because five contractions per centimeter seems like a completely rational equation to me.  As Doc said (and I already knew), this is minimal progress, but it's more than I've ever had at this stage in the game, so I'm excited.  Then he said he wanted to see me on Monday instead of Wednesday. 


Tom was excited, but I saw through Doc's plan immediately.  He'd given us the spiel two years ago, and despite the fact that we said then and we have said this time we do not want to be induced, he thinks he sees a "red, ripe apple, ready for plucking."  His routine is to check a woman on a Monday and then schedule the induction for Thursday.  As it turns out, his convenience isn't a medical reason, even if he is a doctor.  If I'd remembered to bring the birth plan, he'd have seen in black and lilac that I do not want any induction methods unless absolutely necessary.  On the other hand, I don't mind getting a little sneak preview of whatever's happening with my body, so we went ahead and scheduled for Monday.


When I returned to Sears, my car was waiting.  I paid and was very happy when the car started immediately, so I guess they did find something that fit.  And they checked the alternator, which had "no problems."  Tomorrow I'm making up a reason for a car trip just to be sure it's still working.