Oh blood pressure

 (enjoy this photo of the sunflowers currently on our table. this post felt too naked without a picture)

I have now learned my lesson. The whatever you do don't use the free blood pressure machine at Safeway lesson. Backing up >> I've been having headaches just about daily. In the past week I've gone maybe two days without one. They're not fun and they're a pain (literally! hah!). A few months before Drex and I got married I had this big blood pressure and heart rate scare. It's a totally long mostly boring story that really just ends with me seeing a heart specialist who told me what I had been trying to tell the doctors all along: I'm fine. Insert happy dance! But even so, blood pressure is a big deal and I was told to monitor it. When I got pregnant, it's the one thing I've worried about. It's kind of important during pregnancy after all ;) I've been super blessed to have had awesome blood pressure this entire pregnancy thus far and I'm believing that that will continue! 

I digress, last night and headaches. SO that one time when I had high blood pressure my only symptom was headaches sooo what do I think when I start getting headaches? Maybe my blood pressure is high. Sure, everyone has told me headaches are super normal during pregnancy but I immediately jump to the worst conclusion. This meant dragging Drex to three different stores until we found one (Safeway) that had a free blood pressure machine! Before I say anything else, fun fact? They're apparently super inaccurate but of course I didn't know this so I'm thinking this machine is going to tell me exactly what my number is. No doubts about it. And what does this lovely machine tell me? 143/82. Ahhhh. So of course I decide I'm dying, something is going to be wrong with baby boy, I probably have preeclampsia, I'm not going to be allowed to have a home birth, they're going to put me on meds and monitor me and this is just really really bad. 

I got home and called my midwife, who by the way is incredible, and she was totally calm. She told me headaches are totally common and fine and normal during the second trimester so not to worry about those at all. She then told me those machines are really inaccurate so she wasn't worried but if it would make me feel better that I could come in tomorrow (today, this) morning and we'd check it. So I sleep horribly because I'm definitely dying, and I'm a nervous wreck when I arrive at her house. BUT we took my blood pressure and it was 116/68 which is definitely NOT 143/82 and those machines are stupid and I'm fine. Conclusion? DON'T trust free machines. Just don't do it. Because they will tell you a horrible number and you will have the worst evening ever. I am SO thankful I have a rockin' midwife who is totally calm and easy going and doesn't freak out about stuff. 

This may be the worst/most pointless blog post ever written but I'm just going to go with it because it was a totally traumatic but sort of hilarious experience and those are the best kind, right? ;)