BPP and Update

Here's the picture of our little guy from yesterday's BPP:

Lab results

My OB called today. She said my 24-hour urine test came back with 233 mg of protein. It would need to be greater than 300 mg to be a concern, so it's not bad enough to do anything before next week. I have a follow-up appointment with my OB again on Monday.

Induction

The induction is scheduled for Wednesday. I have to call the hospital at 5am and they will tell me when to come in that day. 

38 weeks!

Jared got a picture of me sitting down. I don't have much of a lap anymore...

How big is baby?

He's about 19-21 inches long and weighs between 6-8 pounds. He's still working on gaining weight every week, but he's about as tall as he will be until after he arrives.

What is he up to?

We got to see him on the ultrasound today. He was opening and closing his fists, practicing breathing, and moving around all over. 

Appointment

My appointment went well today. My blood pressure was still up, even after being on blood pressure meds for a few days (156/92). The belly is measuring right on target, and his heart beat sounded good. My OB said we will be inducing on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on when they can get it scheduled. I'm so excited to meet him in less than a week!

Labs

We dropped off my wonderful 24-hour urine collection. Really hoping that was the last time I have to do that. They also needed to do labs again, so I got them done in the outpatient lab before the NST. I didn't get results from them, but I'd guess my OB will call if something isn't right.

NST

We went in for the NST as usual, and just before the nurse was going to call my OB with the results, our little guy decided to grab onto his umbilical cord and let his heart rate drop quite a bit during a contraction. We got to stay in the hospital for a couple extra hours of monitoring to make sure his heart rate stayed in the correct range. The nurse said it's pretty common, and we were just "lucky" enough to catch it during the NST.

BPP

We also scored another ultrasound because of his little heart rate incident. It's called a Biophysical Profile (BPP). The ultrasound tech came into my room and checked a variety of things to make sure he's still healthy, including amniotic fluid, cervix, and the placenta. She also watched his heart beat for a while, watched his lungs practice breathing, and his hands open and close. I thought the breathing was really cool, especially because most people don't get to see that on an ultrasound this late in the game. I can't believe how big he is already. He is in the head-down position (yay) and passed the BPP within 10 minutes. We got another profile shot, but didn't have a chance to scan it for the blog yet.

What's next?

One more NST on Monday, as long as everything goes well. Then the induction. Can't wait!

Medication Monday

I woke up with high blood pressure, and it remained high at my appointment this morning (163/106 and 166/100). I slept about an hour last night because my foot was so painful. I asked about the possibility of an induction because of my blood pressure and pain, but apparently the hospital has a policy of no "elective" inductions before 39 weeks. My blood pressure isn't bad enough for it to be medically necessary. 

My OB prescribed a blood pressure medication (Nifedipine) and pain medication (Hydrocodone, a.k.a. Vicodin) to address my issues. She also sent me in for another NST, more lab work, and a 24-hour urine collection. Baby is still doing great, and my labs came back fine again. My platelets went up to 168. I'm running out of veins to use to draw blood, so the nurse hooked up an IV port on the side of my wrist by my thumb. I'm hoping the normal blood draw sites heal quickly, because that wasn't an experience I'd like to go through again.

After being released from the hospital, Jared and I had to go to the pharmacy and pick up my prescriptions. My foot was so swollen that I couldn't fit my boot on it, so the nurse at the hospital gave me a non-skid sock to wear instead. The highlight of my day was gimping through Rite-Aid to get my medication with a boot on one foot and a non-skid sock on the other. 

I called to make an appointment with the vascular specialist, but before they can make an appointment, the specialist has to look over my chart from the ER on Saturday. He is in surgery all day today, so I'll hopefully hear back tomorrow about when I get to see him. 

I have another OB appointment and another NST scheduled on Wednesday. My goal until then: SLEEP. Hopefully my two medications with side effects of dizziness and drowsiness will help me achieve my goal.

Our weekend

I've been having more and more swelling in my right foot all weekend. They looked at my foot at my appointment on Friday, but had no answers. I had more lab work and another NST because my blood pressure was high at the appointment again (156/92).

I woke up on Saturday and was unable to put weight on my foot, so I talked to the on-call doctor about it and he recommended I go in again. I had to go to the ER, and spent a wonderful 5 hours there being poked and prodded so they could try to figure out why my foot was so swollen. My blood pressure was up again when I got there (168/91). They did a vascular study on my foot, taking blood pressures at my ankles and toes to see if there was any change. Other than the fact that my foot hurts to the touch, it wasn't too bad. Just when they touched it, put the blood pressure cuffs on my toes, and inflated the cuffs. My lab work came back fine again, so it's not because of the preeclampsia. They did another NST to make sure baby is ok, and he is doing great. Their guess in the ER is that I have Raynaud's phenomenon in my feet, and my increasing blood pressure is causing restriction in the blood vessels in my feet, basically cutting off circulation. There is nothing they can do until after delivery because the medications to treat it are not safe during pregnancy.

Last night my foot hurt so much that I didn't fall asleep until 7am. I'm really hoping tonight is better. If not, I think that's a good hint to the doctor to deliver sooner than later. It can't be good for the baby or me to go without sleep for too many nights in a row.

I have a follow up appointment with my doctor tomorrow morning. I'm glad she's back from vacation. My plan is to ask to be induced as soon as possible. I don't know what the answer will be, but I'm hoping sooner than later. After the appointment with my doctor, I have to schedule an appointment with a vascular specialist to address the foot issue and how they will be able to treat it...eventually.

Surprise appointment

My doctor's office called this morning, and they want me to come back in tomorrow for another appointment. The nurse practitioner reported to the other doctor in the office (since my OB is still on vacation) and he wants me to come in. I have no idea why. I'm a little nervous!

37 weeks!

Full term!

How big is baby?

He is about 6 1/2 pounds and pretty much full grown length-wise - about 19-21 inches long. My little watermelon!

What is baby up to?

Practicing all the things he will get to do in the outside world, including blinking, sucking, swallowing, "breathing," hiccuping, stretching, and wiggling.

Blood pressure

Holding steady for the most part 130s/80s. It peaked into the 140s/90s a few times this past week, with the highest at 152/95. Not high enough to go in, but definitely high enough to be uncomfortable.

Appointment update

My OB is on vacation this week, so I saw her nurse practitioner. She was very nice. Apparently, the spots I have been seeing in my vision can be from low iron. My last labs showed I was on the low end of normal for iron, so she recommended starting an iron supplement. She said the liquid iron is more easily absorbed than a pill form. She definitely didn't tell me how nasty the stuff tastes. Not looking forward to taking that twice a day.

NST

I had my NST after my appointment, so we headed into the hospital again. My OB forgot to leave orders to take labs, but we convinced the nurse that it's probably a good idea because my platelets were dropping. She eventually did the labs, and my platelets are the same as last week. Actually one point higher, but that isn't significant for anything. Good news is it's still above 150. She didn't say anything about the heart beat on the NST, so I'm assuming no news is good news on that. My only other concern was my lovely toes. They are swelling, turning purple, and quite painful. There was no doctor to look at them, so the charge nurse did instead. She was concerned, but nobody really had any advice other than to elevate my legs. Oh, and stay on bedrest. Helpful. Hopefully I'll hear more next week if my toes don't fall off by then. Jared took a picture, but I think I'll spare the world from seeing them.

Kitty

She's so sweet and cuddly.

Other than that, we have made it to full term. Jared and I are as ready as we'll ever be for baby to make his grand entrance. Now we just have to play the waiting game.

Baby Noah

I have been following the story of this family on their blog. Noah's mom is a member of the message board I have been spending my time on. My heart is breaking for them, with all they have gone through in the last few months. Click on the picture to view their blog.