Not your average birthday!

Today I turned the big 2-8. It's not a terribly momentous birthday year, but my mom pointed out that it is a milestone because it's the last birthday for a long time that we will be able to go out to a nice dinner without getting a babysitter!

Last night was wonderful. We had dinner with a bunch of friends at a Mexican restaurant called 1308 Cantina. I typically like to go there because they have delicious peach margaritas. That was out of the question, so I indulged in lots of chips, salsa, queso, and a fried & stuffed avocado. I think we had a great group there, and it was a lot of fun celebrating with so many of my friends.

Today started off slowly. Mikey brought me a sandwich from my favorite deli, and then I went for a massage. This is where the fun starts (and why I haven't returned phone calls today - sorry guys!!). I have gotten a massage from this woman before, and she has magic hands. I get ridiculous knots in my neck and shoulders, and she told me they were in horrible shape this time. She knows how to do prenatal massage (mostly involves not lying on your stomach and being on your side most of the time).

The first 30 minutes or so were business as usual. She really worked out my knots. Then she put me on my back to finish off my knots. After about 5 minutes of this, I realized I needed water...like, right now. So I totally interrupted her mid-sentence (which I would NEVER normally do) and asked for my water. I felt a bit better. Then a couple of minutes after that, I felt hot. She had the heater on (it was cold in there). I asked her to shut it off and then remove the blanket on me. And that's when everything got fuzzy. My ears started ringing, I felt like I was on fire, and I blacked out. My masseuse left the room and brought the manager in (I don't remember her leaving or them returning). The manager said it was like I was in shock or sleep-talking. They brought in a portable fan and put it on high in my face (I would have chugged air if that was possible). I sat there looking incredibly dignified I'm sure with a fan in my face held by the manager and the masseuse putting cold compresses on me. I think they just kept talking to me to make sure I was coherent.

Once I felt semi-human again, I called Mikey to pick me up. There was no way I could drive. He stayed in the room with me for about another 15 minutes while I alternated between hot and cold, and drank a lot of water. I finally had the energy to get dressed and go to the car. My masseuse told me not to pay for it because of what happened, but it so wasn't anyone's fault. We left cash in the room and thanked them for taking such good care of me. They were extremely sweet and understanding.

Then on the way home, I completely lost my lunch on the side of the road...and on my feet. It was picture-perfect. We got home, and Mikey ordered me straight to bed to rest and gave me crackers and water. He is an outstanding caretaker, I must say.

In case you are wondering, I did call my on-call OB. And the woman who called me back was HORRIBLE. It sounded like they just handed the phone to someone working the checkout line at the grocery store. She wasn't interested in my symptoms or how I was feeling. She just brushed it off like it was nothing. And while it may well be no big deal, I would appreciate some semblance of concern since I was obviously concerned. I will definitely be telling my OB about her on Monday. I already had an appointment scheduled with her anyway. Hopefully she can check my blood pressure, see if I'm anemic, that sort of thing. From what I've read online, it could be any number of things but isn't likely to be serious. The interesting thing is, my mom passed out at church when she was pregnant with my brother at about the same point in her pregnancy.
We all stood up to sing, and she fainted back onto the pew.

So I rested until my birthday dinner with my family...which also happened to be our "last supper" together before their move to Connecticut. We had a fantastic dinner at Gravitas, but now I'm just so sad. I know phones, emails, etc. make the distance negligible, I can't help but be really sad that my family is moving away. I cried when they left, and my mom kept saying stuff. I just told them to get going! I need them to leave before I really lost it.

So my birthday has been at times fabulous and filled with friends and family, and at other times quite sad and more than a little scary. I am still feeling weak and not quite myself, and I don't want to drive until I see the doctor. But I sure appreciate all the notes, texts, phone calls, and other sweet things from everyone. I feel so blessed!