September 8, 2009

Popping In to Say…

I’m sick of being pregnant. And I feel guilty about it. With six weeks to go, the nights are sleepless, the days are long (so long!) and my blossoming (yeah, right) belly is getting heavier and harder to carry around.

I don’t want to complain, because I’ve wanted another baby for a very long time. I just didn’t realize how much harder pregnancy is the second time around.

Indigestion, heartburn, aches and pains, itchy abdomen, carpal tunnel, and the list goes on…

Do you think it will all go away, magically, post delivery?

I cannot wait to hold the sweet little baby in my arms.

Last night I was awake most of the night. No matter which position I slept in (at this point my choices are left side and right side, woo hoo…) the little one kicked and punched and stretched until I finally had to sit up and sleep in a half reclined position. It’s unbearable.

Forty-four days and counting…

September 5, 2009

Pre-Eclampsia: All Right Now, Baby, It’s a-All Right Now

Part 3 0f 3.  (Read Part 1 or Part 2)

Monday afternoon I dropped Dawson off at his old daycare and went to my follow-up appointment at the medical center.  First up, a bio-physical profile with an ultrasound technician.

The tech called me back fairly quickly and asked me what, exactly, I was there for.  She was confused because I had just seen her the previous Thursday.

“You’re guess is as good as mine,” I told her.  “I’m assuming it’s due to the pre-eclampsia thing.”

She instructed me to lie back on the exam table and lower my pants to just above the pubic bone.  She was friendly, and quickly placed the gel all over my abdomen.  The baby was still vertex, same position as four days prior.  He was moving quite a lot, and it was good to see that he was making practice breathing movements.  The tech explained this was determined because the kidneys were pulsing.  I was happy to have that reassurance.

Post BPP, I checked in for my non-stress test.  The nurse was young, mid twenties I think, and very friendly.

First, she took my blood pressure.  122/82, perfectly normal (probably because I remembered to take my blood pressure pill that morning.)   Next, she dipped the urine sample I had brought in for the appointment.

“No trace of protein or glucose,” she said.  I was elated.

Finally,  she hooked me up to the machine and arranged the belts to track the baby’s heartbeat and any contractions that might occur.  I joked that I hoped there were no contractions, because I’m sure that would send the doctors, and me, into a panic.

After ten minutes of monitoring, the baby wasn’t moving as much as he was during the BPP, so the nurse brought in a juice box of Motts apple juice.  After drinking it, I tracked the baby’s movements by pressing the button on the wand connected to the testing machine.

Shortly after that, Dr. Boehm, the doctor that I find rather intimidating came into the room.  He had my chart in his hands and was looking it over when he said, “So, why are we here?”  After hearing the ultrasound technician ask the same question just moments prior, I was wondering whether these doctors really knew what the heck they were doing.

“You’re guess is as good as mine,” I started.  “I was told by Dr. P that I have pre-eclampsia due to x, y & z.  Does my chart indicate otherwise?”

“Well,” he began. “Your blood work and urine are within normal ranges for this gestation.  Your urine sample is clear of protein.  One elevated blood pressure does not indicate pre-eclampsia.  I understand why he requested further testing, but your levels are good today.”

I didn’t think my ears were working correctly.  Did I hear him right?  My levels are fine?

“So, my blood pressure is good?”

“It’s actually perfect, considering your history with pregnancy-induced hypertension and later pre-eclampsia.  We would need to see more than one reading higher than 140/90.  You’ve only had the one high pressure, and I’m assuming that might have been due to something else besides PE.”

I explained how I couldn’t remember if I took my pill that morning last week, and Dr. Boehm was nodding his head as I spoke.  He then told me that because my condition has been monitored and controlled, and because I’m not gaining weight faster than average, I probably did not have pre-eclampsia.  He believed that Dr. P jumped the gun.

What happened next was stunning.  Dr. Boehm called his transcriptionist and documented my case while I was still in the room.  He used terminology I didn’t understand, but when he said, “Patient showing a passing grade of 8 out of 8 in all extensive testing.  Per my observations, I find it necessary to withdraw the previous diagnosis of pre-eclampsia.”

I nearly fainted.  All that stress.  All that worrying.  All of it unnecessary because I was fine.

I told Dr. B how upset I was that the other doctor had me in a panic.  He told me he’d prefer it if I only scheduled appointments with Dr. F (my regular OB/GYN who was unavailable during the last two appointments which led me to see Dr. P), or with himself.  I agreed.

He then went over the game plan over the next seven weeks.  Starting at 34 weeks I would have two appointments weekly, one physician appointment and one NST just to carefully monitor the blood pressure.  The closer we get to my due date, the higher the risk of pre-E.  However, he told me, I do not have it now.  This was music to my ears.

When I told my husband the news he was beyond excited.  I was grateful for his support and for all the wonderful things he did when I was constantly freaking out.

I told my parents, too.  My mother insisted the rosaries and all the praying led to a miracle.  In a way, I think she’s right.

I’m just thankful that I’m healthy.  My baby is healthy.  That’s all that matters.

September 3, 2009

Pre-Eclampsia: Here I Am Again On My Own

Part 2 of 3.  Read part one here.

After 24 hours of collecting my urine in a gold jug, which requires refrigeration (pee next to the milk is disgusting just so you know), I returned to the lab to drop off the collection and have my blood re-drawn.  The lab tech was quick and within ten minutes I was on my way back up to the OB/GYN department for my ultrasound.

I drank the required 24 ounces of water, and when I was called back for my appointment (after another ten minute wait in the lobby) the ultrasound tech asked if I would mind if a student observed my appointment.  Not one to deny a learning experience I accepted and maneuvered myself on the exam table.  After dropping the waist of my pants as low as possible without flashing the technicians, the gel was on my belly and Lori, the technician was ready to check out the baby’s activity.

Seeing my little one on the screen was wonderful, as always.  He was curled up with hands and feet in front of his face, almost like a gigantic lima bean.  I could sense that once he makes his way into this world, this baby will require constant soothing in the form of swaddling.  Occasionally, he’d punch with his fists, like a tiny boxer, whenever the ultrasound wand was pressing in his territory.

His position was vertex (head down) with his back facing the left wall of my uterus.  My placenta is posterior which means it’s attached to the back wall of my womb, and according to the tech’s measurements the baby weighs somewhere between 3 1/4 and 4 1/2 pounds already.  I was measuring six days ahead of 32 weeks, but I was told they could be off by as much as 10 ounces either way.  My amniotic fluid was sufficient and the baby’s movements where distinct.

At one point, I watch my baby completely shift positions so that he was “sunny side up” and that just blew my mind.  Feeling it inside your stomach is one thing, but to see how agile these tiny humans are is fascinating.  I winced because it just seems impossible for him to move in such a manner, but it was really cool.

Post ultrasound I waited in the lobby of the department, again, because the technician wanted to go over some things with her student, and she wanted to make sure the doctor didn’t need to see me before I left.

Twenty minutes later, still waiting, I went up to the reception desk to see what was going on, and was told I was dismissed.  Thanks for wasting my time, I wanted to say.

Several hours after I got home, my doctor’s nurse called to say that my blood work was okay, but there were elevated levels of protein in my urine, and Dr. P wanted me to continue with the follow-up testing on Monday of the next week.  This would require another bio-physical profile and a non-stress test, as well as blood and urine testing.

The nurse said that the pre-eclampsia would need to be monitored more carefully, and that if my protein levels continued to rise, they would induce labor anytime after 36 weeks.

I went into panic mode.  The thought of having this baby within a month was scary.  I remember the traumatic labor and delivery I had with Dawson.  I remember feeling out of control, and in the hands of people that claimed to have my best interests in mind, yet I wasn’t confident about their motives.

While Dawson was born early, he was healthy and I’m grateful for that.  But the statistics about the risks associated with labor induction were still on my mind (thanks to this book), and I was terrified.

My husband tried to keep me calm.  He was reassuring and doing everything he could to help me.  We made some changes to my diet, and I doubled my water intake (I went from 4-6 glasses of water each day to 8-12, and that was very difficult for me).

I had three days to prepare for Monday’s testing.  Three long days…