Hi All! Sorry to have been MIA - just have kind of been on a whirlwind of emotions that has to do with the title of this post.
At my 27.5 week appointment, I thought it was going to be a normal run of the mill appointment. Go to Dr. appointment, get told my blood pressure was a little high, hear Dude's heartbeat get sent home. Guess what? It didn't go that way.
Apparently the first blood pressure taken was so high they wouldn't even tell me the numbers. After the doctor came in and listened to the heart beat, he took it again and said it was still on the high side and sent me to triage (kind of like the ER for pregnant ladies) for a few hours to do rolling blood pressures. He told me he didn't think anything was wrong, but he wanted to be sure.
When I got to triage they hooked me up on all kinds of monitors and had my blood pressures taken. I was pulling high numbers - I was stressed out. They took blood to make sure my liver and kidneys were still functioning properly and took a pee sample to look at the protein levels.
The blood tests turned out fine, but the pee test showed my proteins were up to about 280. The cut off for pre eclampsia is 300. Due to the high blood pressure numbers I was pulling in triage (160s and 180s/80s) I won the prize of a night stay in the hospital. I had never stayed in the hospital overnight before so I freaked out a little bit more.
I did a 24 hour urine sample in the hospital and had my blood pressures taken every 4 hours. The BP came down significantly - in the 120/130 and a few in the 140 range, but the pee test came back at 320, so the diagnosis of pre eclampsia was given.
I was scared to be diagnosed so early. All I kept thinking was that I was going to have a premature baby at 28 weeks, which is terrifying. However, they said my condition was mild, but it could turn around at anytime.
Things I have to be mindful of:
1. Spots in front of my eyes (Can I tell you how many "spots" I think I see now? I'm almost positive I see them when I turn my head and come to find it is just a bug. I talked to my doctor about it and he said that those spots are normal - I'm sure he thinks I'm psycho)
2. Pain in my upper right quadrant (I have this all of the time on my right and left sides - especially when Dude is in my rib cage)
3. Headaches that are severe or don't go away (Want to know how many phantom headaches I have a day? Don't ask)
4. Nausea or vomiting (another symptom I've been having when Dude is doing back flips in my belly)
So ya, give a hypochondriac (me) a list of symptoms and I swear I have them all and that I'm going to die. My only saving grace is my blood pressure machine at home. I take it about 3 times a day (sometimes more because I'm a little obsessed with it) and record my pressures. They are almost never high when I'm at home which is a relief.
I guess I'm kind of on a modified bed rest. I don't really go anywhere except places where I know I can sit and much walking isn't involved and I work from home 4 out of 5 days a week now. Seems to be working.
I've went from 2 appointments a week back down to one since my BP on Tuesday was 122/60 and my proteins came back negative on the dip test (I had another 24 urine same the week before and levels were only up 30 points), so I'm feeling a little better. Although the terms "seizure" "stroke" and "premature baby" still tend to haunt me.
But for now, I guess I'm holding steady. I've had this for almost 4 weeks now and in 1 day, I will be 31 weeks pregnant. No blood pressure meds and no full bed rest. If Dude can hold out for at least 3 more weeks, I will be ecstatic - although I know he needs to cook longer than that.
Oh, and I have a new "due" date too. Since they won't let me go past 37 weeks, looks like I'm having the baby no later than May 19th. Yes, I'm having a baby next month. Four days after my 30th birthday to be exact.
Sounds like the best birthday present ever to me. Let's just keep praying for 37 weeks.
Showing posts with label scare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scare. Show all posts
April 5, 2012
August 20, 2011
3rd tri, a little scare and shower today!
I can not believe I've made it to the 3rd Tri! It all seems to be going by so fast, particularly the summer (I'm not ready to go back to school!) We had an appt on Tuesday with one of our midwives. We've been rotating through them so that we meet them all. I don't know that I've talked on here about our birth center too much.
We're planning on having Baby Teacher Bud at a freestanding Birth Center. It is not attached or affiliated with any hospital. They have a very welcoming, friendly, relaxed atmosphere. They have 2 birthing rooms with birthing tubs, and 1 room they can convert to a birthing room if they need to. When we went for our tour, they also had a mom there to talk to us who had given birth there 3 times and she just couldn't say enough good things about them. They have 4 midwives, 3 of whom are certified nurse midwives. They always have 2 on call, so you always have at least one CNM at a birth. The appointments are awesome. You sit and chat, and they give you a full hour of undivided attention! It's very relaxing and friendly.
The midwife we've met with the most has been helping moms give birth for longer than I've been alive, and I just love her! We've been rotating through, and so far we've met with all of them but one, and not a bad vibe from the bunch! This is such a relief, because I had a huge problem with a pushy OB at my old practice before I switched to the birth center. I liked everyone else, but the thought that she could be the one on call when the time came made it clear I could not continue there.
At my 27 week appointment, my blood pressure was a low 92 over 50. Low even for me! At the time, little TB was head down, but he's still wiggling all over, so I don't think he's still there. He was kicking a lot while she was measuring my stomach and listening to the heartbeat. She called him feisty! We'll see if we have a feisty one on our hands. My uterus was measuring 29cm - which is a bit big for the 27w4d that I was. We'll see, I hope this is not a precursor to a 10lb baby! I start having my appointments every 2 weeks now, I can't believe we are getting so close!!
We had a little bit of a scare the last few days. I went to my rhumatologist for my usual manipulation, and they discovered that my right calf was more swollen than my left, and was tender. They were "mildly concerned" that it could be a blood clot. (i.e. I hear blood clot and proceed to freak out - I may be a bit of an overreacter.) I had to go to the hospital to get an ultrasound of my leg. I packed a hasty hospital bag just in case (treatment involved being admitted to the hospital) and also in the hopes that murphy's law would work. You know, like how if you bring an umbrella it won't rain. Apparently it worked, no blood clot for me! Whew!
After that we went to our hometown to meet with a friend of my father-in-laws to talk life insurance. We certainly have a lot to think about with that! We're also working on a will. One of my childhood friends' father is a lawyer, and he agreed to draft it for us.
Today will be my first shower! I'm very excited for it, and again, can't believe that we're already here. It makes everything seem so close! Though I am ready to really start getting his room ready, so I'm glad that we're having one a little on the early side. We wanted to do it before I went back to school. It's going to be a bit of a whirlwind though. We're leaving tomorrow for a week long vacation to the Niagara area with Mr. Teacher Bud's entire extended family. Then we get back, and I need to set up my classroom before students come back the following week. Whew! It's going to be a busy few weeks around here!
We're planning on having Baby Teacher Bud at a freestanding Birth Center. It is not attached or affiliated with any hospital. They have a very welcoming, friendly, relaxed atmosphere. They have 2 birthing rooms with birthing tubs, and 1 room they can convert to a birthing room if they need to. When we went for our tour, they also had a mom there to talk to us who had given birth there 3 times and she just couldn't say enough good things about them. They have 4 midwives, 3 of whom are certified nurse midwives. They always have 2 on call, so you always have at least one CNM at a birth. The appointments are awesome. You sit and chat, and they give you a full hour of undivided attention! It's very relaxing and friendly.
The midwife we've met with the most has been helping moms give birth for longer than I've been alive, and I just love her! We've been rotating through, and so far we've met with all of them but one, and not a bad vibe from the bunch! This is such a relief, because I had a huge problem with a pushy OB at my old practice before I switched to the birth center. I liked everyone else, but the thought that she could be the one on call when the time came made it clear I could not continue there.
At my 27 week appointment, my blood pressure was a low 92 over 50. Low even for me! At the time, little TB was head down, but he's still wiggling all over, so I don't think he's still there. He was kicking a lot while she was measuring my stomach and listening to the heartbeat. She called him feisty! We'll see if we have a feisty one on our hands. My uterus was measuring 29cm - which is a bit big for the 27w4d that I was. We'll see, I hope this is not a precursor to a 10lb baby! I start having my appointments every 2 weeks now, I can't believe we are getting so close!!
We had a little bit of a scare the last few days. I went to my rhumatologist for my usual manipulation, and they discovered that my right calf was more swollen than my left, and was tender. They were "mildly concerned" that it could be a blood clot. (i.e. I hear blood clot and proceed to freak out - I may be a bit of an overreacter.) I had to go to the hospital to get an ultrasound of my leg. I packed a hasty hospital bag just in case (treatment involved being admitted to the hospital) and also in the hopes that murphy's law would work. You know, like how if you bring an umbrella it won't rain. Apparently it worked, no blood clot for me! Whew!
After that we went to our hometown to meet with a friend of my father-in-laws to talk life insurance. We certainly have a lot to think about with that! We're also working on a will. One of my childhood friends' father is a lawyer, and he agreed to draft it for us.
Today will be my first shower! I'm very excited for it, and again, can't believe that we're already here. It makes everything seem so close! Though I am ready to really start getting his room ready, so I'm glad that we're having one a little on the early side. We wanted to do it before I went back to school. It's going to be a bit of a whirlwind though. We're leaving tomorrow for a week long vacation to the Niagara area with Mr. Teacher Bud's entire extended family. Then we get back, and I need to set up my classroom before students come back the following week. Whew! It's going to be a busy few weeks around here!
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