My BP this morning was 140/86 and my pulse is 90, baby's heartrate is 130 which is his normal. He's moving a lot still so we know he's okay. I spent a long time listening to his heartrate with the fetoscope before I got out of bed.
My head hurts but not *horribly* and I'm a little dizzy/queasy but not *horribly* so the doc says I can stay home. My bloodwork came back okay, but I have to do a 24 hour urine collection and check my BP every 6 hours. Thankfully my doc trusts my mom to take my BP for me, otherwise I'd have to go in. I'm on very strict bedrest and not even allowed to do anything.
I'm basically barely hanging in there by a thread, just hoping I can make it to Sunday. It's only 2 days but now it suddenly seems so far away!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Complications
Oh my freaking god you guys, as if this pregnancy hasn't been crazy enough, now I'm probably developing pre-eclampsia! My BP today was sky high and apparently it's been creeping up over the last few weeks but today it was over the threshold for being considered too high. I forget the exact number but my top number was 60 points higher than my usual non-pregnant BP. I was either +2 or +3 on protein in my urine and I gained 6 lbs in a week. I felt like crap all day today and couldn't really pinpoint it to one thing, I had a bad headache and felt dizzy and nauseated but I just chalked it up to overdoing it yesterday walking around the mall. Anyway so if I wasn't already scheduled to go in on Sunday I'd be going in tonight. But I really want to wait for my doctor to come back so Sunday is still the day. The trade off is that I am on strict orders to do absolutely nothing. Sitting or laying down only. Kick counts, 96 ounces of water a day, low sodium, only getting up to pee, the whole nine yards. Seriously crazy!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
38 weeks today!
The baby has settled down a bit lower so the pubic symphysis pain isn't quite as bad the last couple of days. That's not to say it isn't there, but I'm able to get around a little bit. Hopefully it goes away completely after the baby comes. Soon!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Maternity photo shoot
Yesterday the fabulous and talented photographer that took pics of our wedding did a quick maternity photo shoot with me down by the river.
http://blog.amycrawfordphotography.com/
I'm 37 weeks tomorrow!
http://blog.amycrawfordphotography.com/
I'm 37 weeks tomorrow!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
36w5d
37 weeks is almost upon me. Full term, by everyone's definition, although a week and a half ago my doctor said they wouldn't have stopped labor had I come in to the hospital.
All the contractions and pressure and back pain make me wonder if I actually might go into labor on my own early, but my history of going past my EDD gives me doubt. I can't really do anything about either one anyway so I'm just keeping the house clean and hoping I can really depend on my family to go to the store if we need it or something.
My mom has a couple of freezer meals ready for us and I plan on making some things ahead this week so really, the only thing left to do is wait!
All the contractions and pressure and back pain make me wonder if I actually might go into labor on my own early, but my history of going past my EDD gives me doubt. I can't really do anything about either one anyway so I'm just keeping the house clean and hoping I can really depend on my family to go to the store if we need it or something.
My mom has a couple of freezer meals ready for us and I plan on making some things ahead this week so really, the only thing left to do is wait!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
36 weeks
I am obviously gigantic pregnant, but I didn't realize I was also a ticking time bomb of emotional sensitivity. Heh. Um. Yeah.
I need a hug.
I need a hug.
Friday, January 9, 2009
An update
Apparently there was an error on the previous ultrasound where the tech measured a blood vessel as being part of the placenta but it was actually one of my blood vessels. My new doctor had his own tech do the ultrasound and he watched and what they saw was a measurement of 3.3cm. The other clinic's measurement was 1.5cm so just having a different doctor do the ultrasound made all the difference.
A homebirth was put on the table for consideration, but I have an oogy gut feeling about it so I think I will opt for a vaginal hospital birth because if I'm afraid and worried about bleeding I probably wouldn't have a very good birth experience. Nothing matters more to me than the safety of my baby and I feel like the risk is a bit more than I want to take.
I really would love to have a homebirth but I would only do so if it was perfectly safe and I just don't think it is because the previa is so borderline on the edge of safe. I'd rather err on the side of caution.
Thankfully the hospital I'll be birthing at is pretty cool and my doctor is really encouraging me to have a natural birth. It will be a strange experience for me, but even if I do end up needing a cesarean I'm okay with it because having a good chance at a normal birth is better than what I thought I was going to get.
I'm 35 weeks and 4 days now so really, the baby could come any time, but I hope he'll wait until the sun moves into Aquarius.
A homebirth was put on the table for consideration, but I have an oogy gut feeling about it so I think I will opt for a vaginal hospital birth because if I'm afraid and worried about bleeding I probably wouldn't have a very good birth experience. Nothing matters more to me than the safety of my baby and I feel like the risk is a bit more than I want to take.
I really would love to have a homebirth but I would only do so if it was perfectly safe and I just don't think it is because the previa is so borderline on the edge of safe. I'd rather err on the side of caution.
Thankfully the hospital I'll be birthing at is pretty cool and my doctor is really encouraging me to have a natural birth. It will be a strange experience for me, but even if I do end up needing a cesarean I'm okay with it because having a good chance at a normal birth is better than what I thought I was going to get.
I'm 35 weeks and 4 days now so really, the baby could come any time, but I hope he'll wait until the sun moves into Aquarius.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The beginning of the story
Back in July, shortly after I found out my husband and I were expecting a baby in February, I paid for an online psychic reading to predict the gender of my baby and when he or she would be born. I had also asked her about a miscarriage I'd had in April as well as about my current pregnancy. What she said was:
Well, from the layout of your reading the miscarriage was a boy. And normally I don't get that information without a purpose and seeing as another boy is indicated in just a few months (they show in the reading together) I would feel inclined to tell you that this current pregnancy is also a boy - that same boy.
Even though your EDD shows as the start of February 2009 (as you stated the 10th)...I see the birth by C/S the end of January (around the 30th). There is no darkness or cautions around this birth so rest assure that everything runs smoothly and actually feels very planned out.
I have had one hospital birth, vaginal but as far from natural as you can get, with an OB. One hospital birth with a CNM that was not terrible. One perfect, blissful home waterbirth with a CPM and one slightly scary and complicated home waterbirth with a CPM. I also had a pretty traumatic miscarriage in April that led to a severe hemmorhage, a hospital emergency room visit and a D&C. I've never had a cesarean and honestly thought I never would. So after getting this reading, I laughed! I showed my husband and my friends and blogged about it on MySpace, joking about how silly the idea of me having a cesarean was, a planned one at that, 10 days before my due date.
I brushed it off and went about my business, watching the summer pass into autumn and the leaves start to change color. I hired a homebirth midwife and started to relax about the pregnancy as I started to be able to feel kicks and hear the heartbeat with the fetoscope my midwife had loaned me.
It was a cold and rainy day in early October when we had our mid-pregnancy ultrasound. After having such a terrible miscarriage, and for our own reassurance about having a homebirth we decided we needed to have just one ultrasound to ensure everything was fine.
As it turns out, almost everything was fine. Our little baby boy was growing, healthy and beautiful and right on target for his gestational age, his heart, brain and other vital organs all looked perfect. Just one tiny little thing, a minor issue really. The edge of the placenta was right on the very edge of the inner os of the cervix. It's called a marginal placenta previa, and when found at 20-24 weeks, most of them resolve by term. I came home and called my midwife and she assured me it was very likely it would move up far enough to have a safe homebirth.
I tried to relax about it as much as I could. I did as much reading about it as I could tolerate and found one particular study that said that multiparas (moms who have given birth before) especially those with higher parity are at higher risk for previa and are at higher risk for it not resolving by term. The study also said moms with previous uterine surgery (such as cesarean or D&C) also carried these risks. I mentioned it to the CNMs I was receiving shadow care from and they brushed me off and refused to discuss it with me.
I was scheduled for a follow-up ultrasound at a maternal-fetal medicine clinic where they have the fancy 3D machines. I went in at 28 weeks, 6 weeks after the first ultrasound and was surprised to hear that there had been absolutely no change in the positioning of the placenta. I was told by the perinatologist that I would have another ultrasound in 6 weeks but that she did not expect it to resolve and that I should think about plans for a cesarean.
Again, when I tried to discuss this with the CNMs I was brushed off. My homebirth midwife and I decided there was little hope for a homebirth at that point. I was stuck getting prenatal care from people who didn't know anything about me that wasn't written in my chart, who didn't answer my questions or address my concerns. I pre-registered at the hospital and toured the "family birth center" and went through the motions of preparing for a surgical birth. In my heart I never completely gave up hope.
My 34 week ultrasound was scheduled for the last day of 2008. This was my last chance for resolution. I woke up before dawn and spent some quiet time asking the Universe for strength to get through whatever the day offered. I steeled myself and walked out the door at 7am.
I sat in the waiting room texting my friend, begging for some companionship just to get through the next moments that had the potential to change my life pretty significantly. Finally my name was called and I went back to the ultrasound room. The tech was the same one I'd had before and she remembered the name we'd chosen for our son. She said because of the low-lying placenta she needed to do a growth scan to check for IUGR. She casually said "From here it looks like the placenta has moved a lot. I'll have to do an endovaginal ultrasound to take the exact measurements though." She was really nice and we chatted about our kids, laughed at how much the baby moved against the ultrasound probe and we talked about how awful the weather had been the week of Christmas. After she finished the growth scan and pronounced the baby healthy and growing right on track, she left the room so I could undress and drape with a sheet. She took a few more minutes than I needed, and as I lay there waiting for her I pictured calling my homebirth midwife and telling her the placenta had moved so much I could have my homebirth after all. I tried to think of how quickly I could get a birth kit and a pool. I wanted to call my husband right that moment because I was so elated. I mean, why would the tech say it had moved if she wasn't sure, right?
The tech finally came back in and started the ultrasound. After a few moments of looking at the screen, the friendly banter was gone. She went stone faced and didn't say another word. She finished her measurements and told me the perinatologist would be in shortly. She left without another word.
My heart sank. Into the floor and beyond. As I got dressed and waited for the doctor, I KNEW the tech had misspoken. I knew that it was not good news, and she realized it and didn't want to be the one to break it to me.
The doctor came in after a few minutes and he got right to the point. There was insignificant change in the placenta, not anywhere near enough for a safe natural birth and so we were going ahead with a scheduled cesarean.
I have this strange coping mechanism, whenever someone gives me bad news, I get very friendly and smile a lot. I don't know why and a lot of people find it very unnerving. Really, if I showed them what was really going on I would probably cry. Needless to say I was very nice to this doctor and thanked him and walked out of the office smiling.
I made it almost to my car before the tears started to fall. I don't think it would have been such a gut punch if the tech hadn't said it looked like it had moved. If I'd never gotten my hopes up that high. Even the few minutes I was waiting, I had made a lot of plans in my head. I called my husband and texted my friend and drove home in a fugue state.
I found out the hospital I'm familiar with isn't the one I'll be giving birth at, and that my care will be transferred to doctors I've never met. I'm 34 weeks and I have to get to know a new group of doctors and find my way around an unfamiliar hospital. A virtual stranger will be doing my surgery and delivering my baby.
I am taking this one moment at a time right now. It is the most I can expect from myself. Hopefully soon I will be able to meet my new doctors and get some questions answered. I suppose we'll be choosing my baby's birthday and I'll find out if I can have my midwife there for the birth as a doula or if only my husband will be there. I need to find some help for my husband who will be responsible for everything while I recover.
I am blown away that 6 months ago a psychic on the internet predicted this for $6. I never imagined the possibility.
Well, from the layout of your reading the miscarriage was a boy. And normally I don't get that information without a purpose and seeing as another boy is indicated in just a few months (they show in the reading together) I would feel inclined to tell you that this current pregnancy is also a boy - that same boy.
Even though your EDD shows as the start of February 2009 (as you stated the 10th)...I see the birth by C/S the end of January (around the 30th). There is no darkness or cautions around this birth so rest assure that everything runs smoothly and actually feels very planned out.
I have had one hospital birth, vaginal but as far from natural as you can get, with an OB. One hospital birth with a CNM that was not terrible. One perfect, blissful home waterbirth with a CPM and one slightly scary and complicated home waterbirth with a CPM. I also had a pretty traumatic miscarriage in April that led to a severe hemmorhage, a hospital emergency room visit and a D&C. I've never had a cesarean and honestly thought I never would. So after getting this reading, I laughed! I showed my husband and my friends and blogged about it on MySpace, joking about how silly the idea of me having a cesarean was, a planned one at that, 10 days before my due date.
I brushed it off and went about my business, watching the summer pass into autumn and the leaves start to change color. I hired a homebirth midwife and started to relax about the pregnancy as I started to be able to feel kicks and hear the heartbeat with the fetoscope my midwife had loaned me.
It was a cold and rainy day in early October when we had our mid-pregnancy ultrasound. After having such a terrible miscarriage, and for our own reassurance about having a homebirth we decided we needed to have just one ultrasound to ensure everything was fine.
As it turns out, almost everything was fine. Our little baby boy was growing, healthy and beautiful and right on target for his gestational age, his heart, brain and other vital organs all looked perfect. Just one tiny little thing, a minor issue really. The edge of the placenta was right on the very edge of the inner os of the cervix. It's called a marginal placenta previa, and when found at 20-24 weeks, most of them resolve by term. I came home and called my midwife and she assured me it was very likely it would move up far enough to have a safe homebirth.
I tried to relax about it as much as I could. I did as much reading about it as I could tolerate and found one particular study that said that multiparas (moms who have given birth before) especially those with higher parity are at higher risk for previa and are at higher risk for it not resolving by term. The study also said moms with previous uterine surgery (such as cesarean or D&C) also carried these risks. I mentioned it to the CNMs I was receiving shadow care from and they brushed me off and refused to discuss it with me.
I was scheduled for a follow-up ultrasound at a maternal-fetal medicine clinic where they have the fancy 3D machines. I went in at 28 weeks, 6 weeks after the first ultrasound and was surprised to hear that there had been absolutely no change in the positioning of the placenta. I was told by the perinatologist that I would have another ultrasound in 6 weeks but that she did not expect it to resolve and that I should think about plans for a cesarean.
Again, when I tried to discuss this with the CNMs I was brushed off. My homebirth midwife and I decided there was little hope for a homebirth at that point. I was stuck getting prenatal care from people who didn't know anything about me that wasn't written in my chart, who didn't answer my questions or address my concerns. I pre-registered at the hospital and toured the "family birth center" and went through the motions of preparing for a surgical birth. In my heart I never completely gave up hope.
My 34 week ultrasound was scheduled for the last day of 2008. This was my last chance for resolution. I woke up before dawn and spent some quiet time asking the Universe for strength to get through whatever the day offered. I steeled myself and walked out the door at 7am.
I sat in the waiting room texting my friend, begging for some companionship just to get through the next moments that had the potential to change my life pretty significantly. Finally my name was called and I went back to the ultrasound room. The tech was the same one I'd had before and she remembered the name we'd chosen for our son. She said because of the low-lying placenta she needed to do a growth scan to check for IUGR. She casually said "From here it looks like the placenta has moved a lot. I'll have to do an endovaginal ultrasound to take the exact measurements though." She was really nice and we chatted about our kids, laughed at how much the baby moved against the ultrasound probe and we talked about how awful the weather had been the week of Christmas. After she finished the growth scan and pronounced the baby healthy and growing right on track, she left the room so I could undress and drape with a sheet. She took a few more minutes than I needed, and as I lay there waiting for her I pictured calling my homebirth midwife and telling her the placenta had moved so much I could have my homebirth after all. I tried to think of how quickly I could get a birth kit and a pool. I wanted to call my husband right that moment because I was so elated. I mean, why would the tech say it had moved if she wasn't sure, right?
The tech finally came back in and started the ultrasound. After a few moments of looking at the screen, the friendly banter was gone. She went stone faced and didn't say another word. She finished her measurements and told me the perinatologist would be in shortly. She left without another word.
My heart sank. Into the floor and beyond. As I got dressed and waited for the doctor, I KNEW the tech had misspoken. I knew that it was not good news, and she realized it and didn't want to be the one to break it to me.
The doctor came in after a few minutes and he got right to the point. There was insignificant change in the placenta, not anywhere near enough for a safe natural birth and so we were going ahead with a scheduled cesarean.
I have this strange coping mechanism, whenever someone gives me bad news, I get very friendly and smile a lot. I don't know why and a lot of people find it very unnerving. Really, if I showed them what was really going on I would probably cry. Needless to say I was very nice to this doctor and thanked him and walked out of the office smiling.
I made it almost to my car before the tears started to fall. I don't think it would have been such a gut punch if the tech hadn't said it looked like it had moved. If I'd never gotten my hopes up that high. Even the few minutes I was waiting, I had made a lot of plans in my head. I called my husband and texted my friend and drove home in a fugue state.
I found out the hospital I'm familiar with isn't the one I'll be giving birth at, and that my care will be transferred to doctors I've never met. I'm 34 weeks and I have to get to know a new group of doctors and find my way around an unfamiliar hospital. A virtual stranger will be doing my surgery and delivering my baby.
I am taking this one moment at a time right now. It is the most I can expect from myself. Hopefully soon I will be able to meet my new doctors and get some questions answered. I suppose we'll be choosing my baby's birthday and I'll find out if I can have my midwife there for the birth as a doula or if only my husband will be there. I need to find some help for my husband who will be responsible for everything while I recover.
I am blown away that 6 months ago a psychic on the internet predicted this for $6. I never imagined the possibility.
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