Extended Stay

If you read this post then you may know I have been having some problems with my blood pressure. That is such a weird thing for me to think. Three weeks ago I didn't even know what was considered a good BP or a bad. All I knew about it was that I was always complimented for my great blood pressure any time I went to the doctor. After writing that post this is what has gone down.

Friday Nov 28th we had a growth and development ultrasound at the hospital as well as a non stress test. For both tests baby girl looked great. They thought she was around 4lbs 12 oz which put her in the 50th percentile. Perfect.

That weekend I tried to take it fairly easy so I wouldn't swell to much. I tried to go to the mall on black Friday and only lasted an hour or so. I could feel the water moving around under the skin on the top of my foot. So weird and gross. My fingers got super swollen and blotchy. That was new. So I went home and finished my Christmas shopping online, as I should have done in the first place.

On Monday I went to work and was in a 4th grade class. I wasn't really able to put my feet up so by 2pm they were pretty swollen. I went to the office and asked the nurse to take my BP for me. It was 160 over 102 or something (for the record normal BP is 120 over 60. High for pregnancy is 140/90.) So I was really high. Luckily, I had a Dr. appt that afternoon. By the time I went in my top number was a little lower but my bottom number was a little high. So my Dr. sent me back to the hospital for the same type of testing I had had the past week. I was in and out in two hours. My BP went back down and baby girl was looking fantastic. I was told no work on Tues and Wed and that I had to collect a 24 hour urine sample on Wed and bring it with me to my next Dr appt on Thursday. I was also told to monitor my BP at home and that if I got a reading for the top number over 150 or the bottom number over 100 that I needed to call my DR. So home I went prepared to take it easy

Tuesday I kept things pretty low key. I worked on the computer and watched TV. I kept track of my BP and it was beautiful (for me) 130/80 or lower. Score. Wed. I felt a little ambitious. I had my friend Amanda come over and we went to Trader Joes together then I made a quick lunch and we chatted the afternoon away. While she was over I took  my BP and dang it, it was high... I thought I was doing it wrong so I took it several times... still high. So I called the Dr. and they told me to come in. They took my BP at the office and it had come down a bit so they sent me home to finish my 24 hour collection and told me no work on Thursday and to come back first thing in the morning to be check out.

Thursday (12/5/13) I took my BP when I woke up in the morning and my heart sank a little when it was in the 150's/110's Yikes. It was still high at my appt. They put me on the monitors then my doctor came in to talk with me. She said since I was 33 week and 6 days that they could still give me steroids for the baby's lungs but that 34 weeks was the cut off. She told me her gut was telling her I was going to have to deliver early and she would feel better getting me on those steroids. She told me I was going to need to go back to the hospital but this time I would need to be admitted and stay for 48 hours of observation. WHAT? Admitted? 48 hours. NO!! Didn't she know my dear friend Amanda was having her baby shower Saturday morning and that I was in charge of the food!! I was so disappointed for several reasons. She told me I could go home and have breakfast pack a few things then I needed to go to the hospital, I had an hour. So I went home and rushed around the house frantically finishing some last minute things for Amanda's shower and putting everything in a bag for someone to pick up and use.Then I threw together a bag with some clothes and a bag with some books. I looked around at the house glad it was clean and that I had everything in order so I wouldn't feel like I was missing out on doing things at home. I mean even all the laundry was done, that NEVER happens, especially on a weekday. These realizations have been tender mercies as I have started to reflect on how the hand of the Lord has been guiding me, unbeknownst to me, for several weeks to get my life in order so that I wouldn't be panicking about things. Luckily, my friend Megan had planned to stop by for a quick visit and she was able to take me to the hospital. I had another quick, albeit maybe to personal tender mercy as I was walking out the door. I grabbed my keys out of habit, then said Mike will want these to drive my car while I'm in the hospital so I'll just leave them. Then I locked the door and headed to the car. At that moment I remembered I had my 24 hour urine collection in the backseat of my car that I was suppose to take to the hospital with me. It needed to be "fresh" so I had to have it. I am religious about ALWAYS locking my car so I knew it wouldn't be open, but felt like I needed to just try to open the door... and what do you know. It was unlocked. It sounds silly but I know it was another blessing.

When I got to the hospital it was around 11:30. I was sent to labor and delivery and told I would be hooked up to a monitor for an hour or so then I would be moved to maternity for the rest of my observations. They made me put on the gown... I hate the gown... lol. Then hooked me up. They drew lots of blood, put an IV in me (which took two tries since my arms are so swollen,) then they gave me the steroid shot for the baby. That thing was no joke, it hurt like crazy after the medicine started to sink in. After a while Amanda came by to keep me company since Mike was really busy at work. She stayed with me till they wheeled me down to the ground floor to the high risk Dr. for another growth ultrasound.

 I met the high risk Dr., Dr Boddy, and he did a great job of trying to explain everything to me. As of right now I have gestational hypertension. That is a fancy way of saying high blood pressure caused by pregnancy. To be more specific they believe it is actually caused by an abnormality in my placenta. As you may know the placenta is made out of a lot of blood and is what carries blood to the baby's umbilical cord. For some reason this abnormality caused MY blood veins to constrict making them work harder to pump blood, which leads to the blood being pumped to fast. When blood is pumped to fast for to long it can cause some serious damage to your organs and cause things as serious as stroke or seizures. This condition is decided from the moment of conception. It lays dormant, unable to be detected until usually the third trimester. They don't know a lot about the causes and the only treatment for the mother is delivery of the baby. Unfortunately, when it is detected this early delivery is not an option (unless I start having signs of serious health problems like organ damage or preeclampsia.) I keep hearing different things but it doesn't seem that my activity level causes my BP to rise or that eating salty food will cause it to rise as it is not due to my lifestyle that I have HBP it is because of my pregnancy. Dr. Bobby told me they would keep monitoring my BP and that I would stay the night in labor and delivery and stay on the monitors to watch the baby. I had some abnormal results in my blood work for my liver so they wanted to do more blood work to be sure that something wasn't changing drastically. Mike came by after work and spent the evening with me. My room was big and the nurses very friendly. The only bad thing was the bed... it was so uncomfortable. I got a total of 4 hours of sleep Thursday night.

Friday (12/6/13) They put me on the monitor first thing in the morning. I thought I was only going to be on for an hour or so but I ended up being on it until 4:30 when they moved me to maternity. Friday I wrote my letter to school telling them I would be starting my maternity leave. My mom facetimed me a lot and kept me company. I also had my visiting teacher Amanda D stop by for a bit in the morning. In the afternoon Amanda  E. came by, then my coworker Elise stopped in. I felt so loved and the visitors were so wonderful. It really does mean so much to simply have company. That night Dr. Bobby came in and told me they would keep me till Monday and continue to monitor me throughout the weekend. Then we would decide what the best course of care would be and when/if we would deliver early. Kind of a let down to think I was going home Saturday but then be told I'd have to stay the weekend. That night Brett and Ashley stopped by to say "hi" and Brett helped Mike give me a blessing. I have the best home and visiting teachers ever.

Saturday (12/7/13) Life in maternity is a lot better than in labor and delivery. The room is a bit more cozy, they have a snack room and I am aloud to walk to get my own water. I only have to be on the monitors two times a day for an hour each and they check my BP every 4 hours instead of leaving a cuff on all day. Dr. Vitto from my practice stopped by in the morning to see how I was feeling. He told me not to be discouraged if I had to stay longer than I was planning to. Not what I wanted to hear. Saturday was a bit boring as Mike had school work to finish up and all my friends had weekend plans. Ashley and Brett stopped by again to lend me a laptop so I could take my psychology final while in the hospital. My BP was good as well as my blood work. Baby girl again passed her tests with flying colors. Mike and I had our favorite pizza place deliver dinner to the room, just to make it feel like it was kind of a normal Saturday night.

Sunday (12/8/2013) Dr. Lenny stopped by early in the morning to check on me. He told me since my BP had been pretty good and my lab work was looking good that I would probably be able to go home on Monday, YAY! After getting up and walking around a little I was feeling sick, like I ate to much junk the night before. While I know pizza isn't healthy I only had one piece and was surprised it had made me feel so gross. I figured it would go away after breakfast, but it didn't. Along with that my blood pressure started to go up again. I started to feel very discouraged and nervous that they would not let me go home. My friend Corinne stopped by before church and my visiting teacher Julie came by after church. Since Mike had to spend a lot of the day working on his final project for his Monday night class he wasn't able to come by till late, so the company really helped keep my mind off my BP, upset stomach and headache. I decided to take a nap and try to sleep it off, when I woke up I had dinner (my first meal all day) and I finally felt a bit better. Jordan and Amanda came by, then Julie came back with some delicious veggies (I had been telling her how much I missed good veggies and not the gross hospital kind, best VT ever.) The resident came in to check on me when her shift started at 7pm and she told me that even though my BP had went up then went back down that I was still on track to go home. She attributed the way I had felt that day to just laying around all day. That made me giddy! It is such a roller coaster of emotion. I just want to go home and sleep in my own bed. Mike finally came and we spent some time together before Bishop Merritt and his wife stopped by to check in. Again, I can't get over how many visitors I have been blessed to have and how much it really does mean to know others are thinking of you and taking time from their day to see you. 

Fingers crossed we will know more in the morning...