Tautny?

It has been an emotionally hard week for me. I can't even describe how drained I am...how much I wish I could cuddle up to someone safe and just be taken care of. But really, there is no point dwelling on what isn't. So I am starting to move on and sort things out on how I can feel better even with the stress and lot I find myself in.

But for the pregnancy journal, I do want to mention my symptoms and try to figure out what to feel about my crazy OB. I went to see her yesterday and presented with 3 days of mild cramps (lower abdomen - probably related to my obscene constipation), dizziness, headaches and generally achy-ness. I also mentioned how I am just going through a transition, where my stomach is mushy for the most part, but several times a day it just gets hard. Doesn't hurt, although I am getting mid-back tightness/discomfort (not pain exactly, but not la-di-dah either). And for those interested in TMI, I also have a certain womanly stink. OK, I am extremely malodorous "down there" (and I hope it is my over-active pregnant nose that notices - please don't let other people be able to smell me). All I can say is Thank Goodness that Wife forgot about the appointment so I could tell all this to the doctor without seeing her roll her eyes or sigh or say what a wimp I am! But I told doctor how I was worried that I wasn't taking good enough care of myself or Baby, that I didn't want to miss any signs of pre-term labor (of which I was even more worried) and I worried that maybe I was making a bigger deal of how I felt and wondered if perhaps I was worrying too much. You think?

So kind doctor did 2 things. First, she told me that I was taking great care of myself and Baby. She could tell. (And because I wanted to believe her, I didn't ask for evidence - I just took her word and I am sticking with it.) She then came over to feel my tummy and asked a few questions about the tightening - how long does it last, do certain things bring it on, etc. Then she said I have "tautny" and yes, it can make me feel quite nasty. She said that when my stomach gets hard, it is a sign that I need to rest. I should put my feet up if possible, and relax. But overall, tautny is not a cause for concern. She told me the difference between tautny and pre-term labor. She used the word several times, but here is the thing...Dr. Google has never heard of "tautny" or anything even close to that. Neither has anyone else, including uber-pregnant Sister. Or me, and I have read a lot of blogs (the new "experts").

But I swear that "tautny" is what she said. So here is the dilemma: the idea of tautny makes me feel better. I suspect she made it up to make me feel better. She could very well be ascribing a new word to Braxton Hicks (which is what Wife thinks), but I don't think I want to know. BH is used with "contractions" and that worries me. Tautny is so much gentler, digestible, acceptable. So I don't want to contact my doctor and get a clarification. But the curious (and hyper-vigilant) side of me really wants to know - what is going on here? Is this a glossing over of something perhaps partially a little more serious? Or is tautny just a simplified word for "you are a hypochondriac and worrywort so here's a diagnosis so you will lay off"? What a good laugh that would be at her dinner table...hahaha I told this women a made-up diagnosis and she ate.it.up!

Well, the truth is that I actually feel somewhat better - all day today I was preoccupied with whether tautny was real or not - and I didn't have one single fear that Baby was going to be born too early, that I wasn't taking care of him growing inside me. That has got to be worth something, even if it is the wool over my eyes.