Last Wednesday was my first weekly checkup. Everything was going great - I had only gained a pound (yay!), baby's heart rate was great and strong...then we got to the blood pressure. The nurse took my BP looked at me funny then left to get a different cuff. No big deal - she's done that before. She tried to make light of it by saying that I have muscluar arms. That's code for, your arms have grown a bit husky. She took it with the new cuff and then told me to lay down on my left side. I'm sure John knew what was going on but by this time she still hadn't told me what was going on. I don't remember the exact number but my BP was somewhere in the 150's over 90's. Not good. Especially since it's been perfect at every appointment up until then.
She had me lay there for about 10 minutes to take it again while I of course tried to hold myself together and not stress. Yeah right! I know that high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia run in my family and I've been terrified of it since I first found this out. The doctor came in and said she didn't like how high it was, that I should monitor it through Friday and then call her and let her know my results. When they checked it again it had come back down into the safe zone so I went back to work and just monitored it. When I got home it would consistantly be high and then take all night to get it back to normal. On Friday she sent me to SMMC to get a Non-Stress test done. The baby looked great but my BP was 158/103ish. It was enough to cause concern and I was sent home on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. The unknown is the scariest thing for me. I didn't get to talk to my doctor directly so I just got info from the nurse at the hospital who gave me the bed rest lecture (what it is and isn't) and said my little one needed to stay put for at least 15 days. I was to schedule a NST (non-stress test) twice a week on Monday and Thrusday. This is in addition to my weekly doctor visits. Luckily I was able to move the doc visits to Mondays so I only have to go into the office twice weekly, not three times weekly. So far I am considered to have Gestational Hypertension NOT pre-eclampsia.
We had a big weekend with Chelsee's Bridal shower and my baby shower. It was sooo much fun! Thank you everyone for everything. Baby Farns is truly blessed to have so many people who love him. Needless to say, it was not a very restful weekend but as much as it could be. That brings me to today's news.
We had a sonogram, a NST, and a weekly doctor visit. It all went VERY well. At least I am very pleased with the results. Here's what we found out:
~Baby is doing great. He has plenty of fluid (a concern if I were pre-eclamptic), has a healthy placenta, heart rate is good, blood pressure is good, and is adequately active.
~He is head down as he should be but currently "sunny side up." He needs to turn to face the back between now and delivery hopefully.
~He weighs approximatly 7 lbs, 2 oz. according to the sonogram. (Which could be off a little but fairly close.) He'll probably gain another pound before delivery. I think that's an excellent weight.
~My BP is still high when up and around but good when resting. As long as my resting BP stays below the 140's/90's than I will carry as long as I can until 39 weeks. Hopefully my body will go into labor on it's own but if it doesn't then I will be induced a week early.
~I am dialated to one centimeter. Yay for progress even if it's only one centimeter! She said she could feel his head. : )
That's about all for now. I'll keep you updated as I have PLENTY of time to do so now. Right now my BP is up again and John is begging me to lay down so I must comply. : ) He is taking great care of me. I love him so much.
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