Bell's Palsy

Monday my mom offered to keep Luke so that I could go to my doctors appointment the next morning and not have to worry about him.  So Luke spent his first night away from home without his mom and dad on Monday night.  I knew he would do great - he's so easy going - but it sure was strange not having him home.

Tuesday morning I had my 34 week appointment and we found out that my bp was a little too high and i had some protein in my urine - more than normal - so I was sent home with a jug and instructions to catch all my urine for the next 24 hours.  When we left, I had a bit of a breakdown because this is exactly what happened when things spriraled out of control during my pregnance with Luke - except it happened 2 weeks prior. 

When I arrived at work, things got even more stressful and it added to the morning and at lunch I just broke down into full out bawling my eyes out.  I managed to make it through the day and when Luke and I got home, Chris was cooking dinner for us - he's so great!  I recapped my day to him which brought more tears and more anxiety, we had dinner and settled in for the evening.  When I went to brush my teeth, I noticed that the left side of my face wouldn't budge, which scared the crap out of me and I had Chris come to confirm.  Sure enough, no movement no matter how hard I tried.  Chris immediately dialed my older brother (thank God for M.D.'s in the family) and he said to come on over to confirm that it was Bell's Palsy.  When we got there, my SIL was there and she noticed it before I even got inside the house and when Jon got home, he also knew.  Because I'm pregnant, I can't take any steroids to treat it, so at this point it's just a wait and see.  Jon called my OB/GYN (thank God for doctors who are friends) and she said Bell's Palsy is  fairly common in the third trimester of pregnancy.

So for now, if you see me out and about, I'm sorry I won't smile at you - it just looks too crazy.  Hopefully my patients don't freak out :)