With six weeks left until my induction I am feeling huge! Every time I try to change positions or get out of bed I look/feel like a beached whale. Baby girl should be about 19 inches long and weigh 4.5 pounds. We will know for sure next week at our growth scan (and if all goes well, it will be our last ultrasound.)
This week was a challenge as it included one fall and TWO hospital visits...but we are all home and doing well! Last Thursday I was feeling pretty sore and achey from my tdap vaccine- just normal side effects- I had a very mild fever. Since I was freezing and my muscles were achey I decided to take a warm bath to help soothe everything and avoid taking any medicine. After the bath, I was being super careful getting out of the tub (I mean, painfully slow, watching every step) but suddenly my leg gave out. It often gives out from the SPD issues but this was a bad one. My whole leg buckled and I had nowhere to go but down. I fell right back into the tub. The fall was painful, but luckily I landed mostly on my back. I sat there paralyzed for a moment in fear. I know babies are pretty well protected in the womb but you always worry you could have done some trauma to the cord or placenta. The worst part was, the warm bath put baby to sleep so I didn't feel her move for a couple hours. I cried pretty hard for a while- it was a terrible feeling thinking I may have harmed my perfect baby.
Luckily, after a few hours she started waking up, so I did a kick count and when she passed I thought we were in the clear. As the evening progressed however, I started having a lot more severe pains. They didn't feel like contractions, but super sharp cervical pain. By about 730 that night I couldn't breathe through the pain anymore and had a hard time holding back tears. I called the nurse and they said I needed to be evaluated. So we went in to labor and delivery so they could check on baby. It was reassuring to have her on the monitor- and to be in the hospital while I was in such bad pain. I hurt from the fall and also had a bad migraine. My cervix stayed closed and they did a fetal fibronectin test to make sure I wasn't going into preterm labor from the fall. That test was excruciating. I didn't expect it to hurt so bad but I screamed through most of it. Then they didn't even end up sending it to test!!
The doctor came in and felt happy with everything they had determined. He was pretty sure the sharp pains were from the fall, that I had ripped some ligaments falling and would take a few days to heal up. He gave me an ambien to help me sleep through the pain the first night and sent me home. I was so happy to be in my own bed, especially with that headache. At least we had a good view from the hospital room.
The next day my headache seemed to get progressively worse. This was weird to me since I didn't hit my head. I was miserable most of the day. By that night I was in agony and started realizing it may not be related to the fall at all. Since I had been warned that my blood pressure was borderline at my appointment, I asked Kevin to check it just in case that's why I felt like crap. I saw his eyes get wide as he checked. It was 150/100. In pregnancy that's way too high. Like if it stays there you have to go on meds or bedrest, and like at 160 you have to deliver the baby because of preeclampsia. I thought it may be related to the pain I was in though so we decided to check it again in the morning. The next day it was back to the 120s, for a little while. Then the headache picked up and by the afternoon it was back to 140/85 (which is when I was told to call.) I called the oncall number all day but I couldn't get in touch with anyone. I eventually texted my fertility nurse, who got in touch with someone else, and I got a call from the OB office that told me to go back to the hospital.
I didn't want to go to L&D because I knew the pressure was all over the place, spiking up then back down. Sure enough, when they had me in a bed and checked it every half hour, it was back to normal. Thankfully because of the numbers I brought in, they did a full workup. The labs looked good enough for me to leave the hospital a few hours later. My platelets have gone down slightly, so we're just keeping an eye on it, but my protein/ creatinine levels were in the proper ratio so that was a relief. The headache was pretty hard to get rid of. I was given a stronger headache medicine that is considered more safe for pregnant women- but I still feel lots of guilt taking it. The next day I stayed in bed most of the day and took one or two doses of the pain medicine. It helped the pressure to come down and my headache is more bearable. I still have it today- but rest does help and I haven't taken the pain meds in a couple days. I'm just thankful it wasn't full on preeclampsia so that Aidia can grow a few more weeks. She will be much healthier the longer she can stay inside. Kevin hates the hospital more than me- the visits stress him out but he has been a champ. I feel bad for him since he already "works" there all day!
I had a followup with the doctor the Monday after my second hospital visit. My BP was back to the 130s and she said that was ok for now. She said I have enough to worry about without that being an issue, so as long as it stays where it is I don't have to go on bedrest! With blood clotting issues, bedrest isn't healthy anyway. If I start getting consistent readings around 140/90 then they will repeat the work up. I'm just praying if it happens it's not on a weekend! I would like to at least start at the clinic before going to the hospital! I'm just trying to listen to my body and rest when I need to before it gets out of control. Not easy to do when I want to nest and get so many projects done!
I had lost a little weight at my appointment (down a pound and a half) but the doctor said baby is getting what she needs so it's ok. The gestational diabetes is annoying, and I hate pricking my fingers, but my numbers are well controlled so that's what matters! The doctor said keeping my glucose in control is more important than gaining any weight.
Kevin has brought in all kinds of FANTASTIC news this week! I'm so proud of him my heart could burst! We found out a week ago that he did pass the NPTE and can be a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy! He put all that joy and excitement to work and started job hunting right away. He just needs to graduate (December 9th) and get the licensing number and everything in order. Much to our surprise, offers have already come in. He was able to submit a counter offer with one company and I think we are very close to accepting a full time job offer! We still have things to figure out with the insurance and such (hang in there middle class) but I'm so thankful that we will have an income soon and he can support our family of four!
Gifts have continued to be generously sent and I am SO excited for my upcoming baby shower. I love how much meaning many of the gifts have, specifically for Aidia. Someday I will be able to tell her how special she really is. The yellow elephants are really coming together! I feel very blessed this week and know that our Heavenly Father is watching out for us.
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