Aaaannnddd...Bed Rest...

Well, almost bed rest.

At my appointments this week, I was told to monitor my blood pressure at home. If it went above 140/90, I needed to call and tell them.

Today I saw 144/102. Yikes. I decided to take a nap and check it afterwards to see if it would change drastically. 140/101 after my nap. Ugh. Time to call the doctor.

They told me to go to the OB triage at the hospital. Yikes. "Triage" makes this suddenly more serious, suddenly more scary.

They were quick to see me. Put me in a hospital gown and strapped the baby heart rate monitor to me. Baby sounded so good! Her heart rate was strong and at a good rate the entire time. My blood pressure was 140/89 once I was there. Better than it was at home!

After being there for about 4.5 hours or so, this is what I know:

-I didn't have my baby tonight.
-I likely have gestational hypertension not preeclampsia, which is a good thing.
-I have to check my BP every day and if it goes to 160 and/or 110, I must call the doctor and go back to triage.
-I can no longer do much. The doctor said, "Just chill. Watch all the movies you want, read all the books you want. Don't go to Meijers." She literally said Meijers. Kind of funny, that's the place I'm most likely to go.
-I have tons of baby laundry to do, and am not allowed to go up and down the stairs to do it.
-I can no longer travel very far. No more going to Flint. I won't be able to go to my family's Thanksgiving. Pretty much Lansing-stuck from here on out.
-The goal is to do little activity to keep my BP from going to high.
-I'm likely to have a new baby in two or three weeks. Not for sure, but likely.
-My next appointment is Wednesday, the 19th, and I'll be monitored and we'll discuss next steps.

So, yikes. But my doctor says to me, "healthy baby, healthy mom". Sounds like a good motto to me :) And, I'm gonna be a new momma very soon. Yikes :) I can't wait :)

35 Weeks Down, 35 Days to Go...

Yes, that's right. 35 weeks down and 35 days until my due date...! Holy crap.

Technically, it's 33 days to go today, but the 35/35 thing was cool and happened on Tuesday.

This past weekend we went to Flint, as we often do. I woke up Sunday morning and complained to Manda about pain around my belly. I swear it was just major gas, trapped in my belly because baby was in the way of letting it out. We had a busy Sunday, brunch with my grandma, mom and aunt, a craft bazaar, and decorating the Christmas tree at the Durand Depot in memory of my grandpa and the Ben Franklin Store. It was a great day! Amanda went home after all of this, while I stayed with my mom for the night. The gas pains only got worse. I tried walking. I tried yoga poses. I tried laying on the floor. I tried twisting and turning in bed. Nothing. We went to bed really late on Sunday night, watching episodes of Grey's Anatomy until 3am. I hardly slept all night because I hurt. At 11 the next morning, my OB called to remind me of my Tuesday appointment. While on the phone, I left a message for the nurses to call me back about this pain. They called back soon after. The nurse ok'ed taking Gas Ex, and said if it doesn't help they will want to see me. I decided that I should probably head towards home in case I have to go in, then I'd be close to my doctor. We met with Manda half way, had lunch and went home. By the time we were in Lansing, it had been nearly 2 hours since I took the Gas Ex. We decided to go into the doctor. They got me in very quickly. After discussing all my pains and symptoms (or lack of) with the nurse and doctor, she determined this wasn't gastrointestinal, but musculoskeletal. So, more tugging and pulling on muscles and ligaments from my heavy baby. Take Tylenol for pain if needed. Baby's heart rate was 140. One thing they were concerned about was my blood pressure. 122/90. That 90 was concerning to them. They are watching closely for preeclampsia. We decided I'd come in for my scheduled appointment the next day and see where my blood pressure was then. Go home and rest.

Tuesday appointment comes the next day. Blood pressure is high again, 124/90. They aren't too concerned yet, they didn't put me on meds but they want me to check it every day to make sure it doesn't go much higher.

I did learn that my doctor(s) have information about an IVF pregnancy that I don't think I knew. I know I have a higher risk for pre-term labor. That isn't much of a concern at 35 weeks. But they basically want to watch me and baby closer than a "normal" pregnancy. So I ended up with a very long appointment so that they could do a non-stress test, an ultrasound and measure my fluid. It was very worry some for us to begin with. Thinking they were doing this because something could be wrong. But, when the doctor discussed the results, she explained, again, that it was just a precaution. She said everything looked great and baby scored an A+. Much relief!!

Our ultrasound revealed a baby measuring slightly bigger than 35 weeks. They guess about 5.5 to 6 pounds. And we could see all of her hair!

We also learned from that doctor that with an IVF pregnancy, studies show that the optimal time to deliver is at 39 weeks. So I'll likely be induced in week 39 if she doesn't come on her own by then. We will be getting a second opinion next week at our next appointment from a different doctor.

From now on, our weekly appointment will consist of a non-stress test, an ultrasound, and measurement of my fluids. Not that there are many more to go!

Whew! Long one this time. Overall, things are very well :)

While we were waiting for baby girl we packed our hospital bag, we finished the nursery, and we prepared for Christmas...none of these things are done yet though 8-)