Freedom

I don't think I can quite accurately describe how hard it has been for me to be on bedrest. I'm typically not one to just sit around and these past few days have been extremely hard on me! However, I went to my appointment today and things are looking better than last week. The OB that I saw said that I did not meet the criteria to be categorized as having preeclampsia so he was not worried enough to deliver yet. The non stress test looked really good today- she's active and healthy. My labs are not all back and won't be until tomorrow so I won't know definitively until then but he sounded optimistic that I was just unfortunate enough to have pregnancy induced hypertension- but not preeclampsia. This is good news, I suppose, although I don't physically feel any better. Anyways, he said that I do NOT need to be on bedrest anymore and that I could be up as I feel like it. It's quite liberating to be able to actually sit at the computer even or walk out to get the mail. I still feel a bit dizzy and lightheaded at times though so I'm trying to take it easy. I'm hoping to go back to work on Wednesday (so- yes Kate, I will hopefully be at patient ed :) - I need to get the final lab results which won't be back until sometime tomorrow, otherwise I could probably go back tomorrow. It'll most likely do me some good to have a day in between bedrest and working 10 hour days anyways so tomorrow I'll slowly increase my activity. Anyways, I lost 4 pounds since my appointment on Thursday- my mom seems to think that means I'm going to go into labor soon. I attribute it to the fact that it's really hard to eat much when you have to lay down all the time- makes you pretty nauseated. We'll see- if anyone is able to predict those types of things it would be her. Personally, I think the little one is quite cozy in there and will most likely stay that way for 20 more days until her eviction date. Thanks to everyone for their continued support, phone calls, emails and especially to Amanda for her wonderful backrub- it was much appreciated! Here's hoping for some exciting news soon :)

A Posting From the Couch

So.....last week my 35 week checkup was so uneventful that apparently I needed to make up for it with my not so fun 36 week checkup. Earlier in the week I had an episode at work where I felt like I was going to pass out, my blood pressure was about 149/99 at the time. I went to the hospital to be monitored and everything was fine so I was sent home after a couple hours. Yesterday, I saw the nurse practitioner and my blood pressure was up again and also I'm starting to show protein in my urine (sign of preeclampsia) and the non stress test showed that the baby is not as "reactive" as she should be. They want her heartbeat to fluctuate with activity and contractions and it's kind of just staying the same for too long. So....end result is I get to be on bedrest (on my left side to give the placenta the most oxygen). I can get up to eat and go to the bathroom but that's it. I then have to collect a 24 hour urine sample and go in on Monday morning to have labs drawn. Then I see the OB (not mine since he's out of town) Monday afternoon to see how to proceed. I don't think the labs will actually be back until Tuesday or early Wednesday though so I probably won't know anything until then. If the labs are off she's coming next week instead of in 3 weeks, if they are fine I will have to be monitored closely with more nonstress tests and if they are concerning they will do the C section early regardless of the lab results. Anyways, not exactly how I wanted to spend the holiday weekend! So....for those of you in town if you feel like stopping by, I'm sure Chris could use a reprieve so feel free to come wait on me hand and foot :) (just kidding). Amanda- I could use one of your famous massages though, this laying in the same position for so long really starts to hurt after awhile! Also, anyone who has some good movies I could borrow- I can only take so much television. Alright, well, stay tuned as I think my next post could be big news!

2 Wheeling

So...I thought some of you might enjoy watching Alex's progress while moving to no training wheels. Also, I thought I could use the practice posting videos to the blog. The first video is a not so successful attempt without training wheels- picture this about 100 times over the past week and me cringing everytime he hit the pavement- I couldn't even watch sometimes. The second video is a bit more successful- he's really proud of himself!! Anyways, enjoy!

The Waiting Game

I had my 35 week checkup today and it was actually quite uneventful, which is a relief considering last week's episodes. My blood pressure continues to run about 140/90, but there is no protein in my urine (good sign) and the doctor did another non-stress today and the baby is doing well so I was let go for another week. I am again measuring right on schedule so I'm not sure what the "big baby" scare was about a few weeks ago, but I'm hoping for another 7 pounder :) Now is the hard part- 4 more weeks until the C-section. My doctor is actually on vacation for the next couple of weeks so he made me promise to be pregnant when he gets back. We'll see how that goes. In the meantime I need to see his nurse practitioner weekly for blood pressure checks and non-stress tests. There are lots of family type events in the next couple of weeks so I'd really like the baby to wait until at least the third week of July because I don't want to miss anything. Plus, a few more weeks of sleep are really something to relish! So, I will continue to wait patiently and get things ready in the meantime. I have not packed my bag yet- I keep thinking if I put that off, the baby won't come yet- we'll see if that works out. We have the girls' room completely finished though. I would post pictures, but Anna is sleeping right now so I'll have to do that later. It turned out very cute. I even managed to wash and put away all of the baby clothes so I'm feeling good about that. Anna is getting more and more excited about her new sister. Tonight she was rubbing my stomach and telling her sister all about her favorite foods, favorite shows, etc. Then she had to kiss my stomach before she went to bed- I may need to remind her of that show of affection in a few years when they are pulling out each other's hair :) Alex continues to say how he will NOT be helping and that he is very worried that all of the crying will give him a headache. Such a guy already. He is really enjoying being 6. Ever since his birthday, he has demanded to have his training wheels removed. Thank God Chris has the patience (and the balance) to help him with this. Although as I watched him push him down the street yesterday I kept thinking there may be a broken bone in the near future. He's not quite gotten the hang of it, but he won't give up, he just falls off and gets right back on. Oh well, part of being a kid I guess. Well, I'm going to go lay down and watch some mindless television and enjoy my last few weeks of being a couch potato.

Next time, I'm not leaving without a baby!!

Well....it has been an eventful week. On Tuesday, I felt crummy much of the day and ended up having contractions about every 8-12 minutes. This prompted our first hospital visit of the week. Turns out I had a bladder infection so was given a couple shots of this lovely medicine called Terbutaline to calm down the contractions and sent home on an antibiotic. If anyone has ever experienced Terbutaline you can sympathize- for everyone else, just liken it to what it must feel like to take crack cocaine. It feels a bit like your heart will jump clear out of your chest and it almost feels like you are having a panic attack. Anyways, it did the trick with the contractions for that day anyways. Yesterday was a different story- they returned, but not quite as often so I just sat on the couch for the day.

Today I had a follow up visit with my OB. Turns out my blood pressure was a bit high- 140/90 which is about 50 points up from my usual 90/50. Cause for concern seeing as how I had been sitting in the waiting room for 30 minutes before it was taken and had certainly not been doing any physical exercise! (busy office today). Also, I was still having contractions about every 10 minutes. Not really painful, more annoying than anything. Anyways, this earned us a direct route to the hospital L&D unit for the second time this week. The OB was concerned about preeclampsia and ordered lab tests to check my liver functions, etc. They also did a non stress test, which just means they monitor the baby and your uterus for contractions at the same time. All tests were good, except my platelets, which were at 86,000 (normal 150,000-450,000). This is only slightly lower than they have been throughout the pregnancy though so since everything else looked good, I got my release ticket. I have been given instructions to "lay low" for the next several days- we really want to get to 36 weeks which is 2 weeks away. I'm not very good at sitting still and doing nothing, but I promised the OB that I would stay out of trouble until at least the beginning of July. So, Chris and I have decided (as we've had much time just the two of us sitting in hospital rooms this week) that the next time we enter an L&D ward, we will not be leaving without a baby. Hopefully it will be our own, but at this point, I'd settle for any of them out of the nursery- they all looked pretty cute. Truthfully though, I really want to make it another month, I'm not ready to be sleep deprived yet and I still haven't finished getting everything ready for the baby so she will just need to stay put for a bit longer. Hopefully I will not have any more news on this front for another 4-5 weeks, but stay tuned as it seems it doesn't matter what I want my body to do, it just decides on it's own!

Week 32....or is it 33?

Well, I had my 32 week checkup today. Things are going well. The baby is actually measuring at 33 weeks. My OB said it's likely just a bigger baby than the other 2, or that my dates are a week off. Of course, he also said, Well, you're having a C-section so it can get as big as it wants since you don't have to push it out anyways. I did have to remind him that I do need to lug it around though! So, we shall see if we make to the 39 week mark (which I guess is really 40 now?) for the scheduled C-section. He didn't seem to think so. All I know is she better not be too big, because I have some really cute newborn outfits for her to wear and if she comes out already having outgrown them, I will be very disappointed! So, we are aiming for sometime in July now, just need to get through the next 3 weeks and she can then choose her arrival, whenever that may be. I do feel as if she has dropped in the last few days, which has been a relief for my ribs, but torture on my bladder and my hips- I think I'm waddling now.

Yesterday we braved the Como Zoo with the kids and our friends, Mike, Becki and their son, Will. The kids had a great time. I did pretty well, didn't have to stop for too many rest breaks. We spent much of the time in Como Town letting the kids go on various rides. I've included a picture of the kids on the "Frog Hopper". Anna really enjoyed it. I was impressed as it went up pretty high in the air- she has always been our daredevil.

Hopefully by the end of the week, I will have pictures of the new bedrooms to post. The kids have started the transition and it was a bit of a rough weekend with the new sleeping arrangements, but more on that in a later post!

All in a Name

So, I thought the title of this post may interest some of you more curious blog followers. However, I'm sorry to say that I will still NOT be revealing the name of the newest addition. I do have a cute name story though that I thought some of you may appreciate. As I think most of you know, Anna has been affectionately referred to as "Nanner" by her big brother ever since she was born. Chris and I have even caught ourselves calling her this. This week, we were given again more evidence that our little boy is growing up. I think I noticed it on Tuesday at dinner that Alex actually called her "Anna". It took me by surprise because it's a rare occasion when we here him call her anything but "Nanner" (well, sometimes there are less affectionate names which earn him some time in the naughty corner). Ever since then, he seems to have given up the nickname for his sister and is onto the phase of just Anna. Again, bittersweet because I can still picture him, just barely speaking, (in jibberish as I'm sure many of you remember) saying "Nanner" for the first time. Yet another phase that has become a memory for us. I've included a reminiscent picture of the two of them. Alex went through a phase when he wore socks on his hands and he thought it was necessary for Anna to wear them as well. Of course, once they both had them on, he thought they made perfect boxing gloves.........