32 weeks

I am writing this mostly for me...so I can look back at it in the future, if I so wish.  However, it can also help bring you up to speed on me and what is going on in my pregnancy right now. 


The good news is that I am past the 32 week point in my pregnancy. 

At this point in my pregnancy with Kale, I was on full bed rest at home.  I later flunked home bed rest and was grounded to the hospital for 3 days before my body told the doctors that it was time to deliver.  Kale never showed any signs of distress and the ultrasound completed 3 days before he was born showed he weighed 4lbs, 11oz.  The reason he was born at 33 weeks and 6 days was because my blood pressure continued upward and the protein in my body was showing up in places it shouldn't.  It wasn't a matter of if my liver would start to have issues or if I would have a stroke or seizure, it was a matter of when.  So, Kale was born when the doctors felt they could no longer wait and put me at any higher risk.

So, back to now.  I started swelling in my right foot and lower right leg over a week ago.  However, the doctor was not that concerned with the swelling simply because it is no longer considered a key indicator of pre-e (what I had with Kale).  I was told to keep taking my blood pressure (bp) at home and go to the hospital if I got a reading of 140/90 or higher.  Over the weekend, I was aware that the top number on my blood pressure was rising and was over 140 at times.  My lower bp number was fine though, so I stayed put. 

On Monday, I had taken a vacation day.  I wouldn't exactly call the day my idea of a vacation day.  I woke up and knew something was not quite right.  It was strorming and I was hoping that after the storms passed, the pressure in my head would lighten.  I took my bp and the reading was higher than 140/90.  Ugh.  What happened next was a typical me response.  I eventually took Kale to school and went to the hospital for a tour since I hadn't yet seen the new labor/delivery wing.  While I was there, I asked if they could take my bp.  Since I was not a patient, they were not allowed and they told me to call my doc.  My doc said I could come by to have a nurse check my bp.  I went there, they checked my bp....and sent me right back to the hospital for observation. 

I spent 4 hours being observed.  They took blood, tested my urine, and took my bp every someodd minutes.  Each reading went lower and lower.  During that four hours, I made the most of my time.  I rested.  I also made a mental list of what I needed to do in the event I go on bed rest.  At the top of the list is get my hospital stuff together for me and for baby girl....

When I left the hospital, I got to take a jug with me to collect urine.  Fun stuff.  Or not.  At least it was only a 12 hour collection and not a 24 hour one.  Its the little things!  They told me to take it to my doctor in the morning (Tuesday).  So that is what I did.  I was hoping I could go to work from there...nope.  They sent me home on bed rest until they get my labs back.  My intial reaction was to just look at the nurse and say a quiet Nooooooo.  She promptly looked at me and told me Yes and that she wasn't above tanning my backside if I didn't follow directions.  She knows how everything went last time and has a pretty good grip on me and my tendencies.  I told her "yes ma'am" and headed home.  Ok, I ran two errands before heading home. 

I am hoping that tomorrow they will release me and let me return to work and just take it easy until I go in for my next appointment (next week). 

So...that is 32 weeks.  One good thing I learned yesterday was that the ultrasound estimates that baby girl already weighs 4lbs, 13oz.  That is 2oz more than her big brother weighed at birth.  However, the estimate can be off up to 12oz, so she could be as small as 4lbs, 1oz or as big as 5lbs, 9oz.  They were on target with Kale's estimate, so I am just going with the idea that they are on target for baby girl as well.