We Have a Delivery Date!!!

Tis the season for everyone's blood pressure to rise, so I guess when you have pre-eclampsia it's even worse! My blood pressure had stayed in the managable range, swelling in my feet had stayed down and I was feeling pretty good until last Friday. My blood pressure slowly started to rise and by Sunday it was in the "scary" zone... 160s/100s. My feet began to swell again and Monday morning I called the doctor's office.

I was sent to Labor & Delivery for a NST (non-stress test) for Amelia and some blood work and BP monitoring for me. Last time I was at Labor & Delivery I was in the triage area the whole time, kept my street clothes on and felt sure I was going home... I went in prepared for the same experience, but my expectations were quickly changed. I was put in a L&D room, put in a gown and told not to eat or drink anything else until further notice. I was scared! I called Roger and asked him to leave work and come sit with me... my worst fear is that they would decide to do a c-section and he wouldn't have time to get there.

So Roger came and sat by my side and we started mentally getting ready for our little girl to be here. After 4 hours of monitoring and bad tv, I was released to go home and told to see my doctor today for my regularly scheduled appointment.

The prognosis is that even though my blood pressure is high, my body and Amelia are handling it just fine. Well enough to wait until next week to deliver....

So Miss Amelia Lynn's birthdate will be Thursday, December 6, 2007!!

My doctor told me to get lots of rest from now until then and continue to monitor my blood pressure, but unless something drastic changes, she will see me in the OR next Thursday.

My c-section is scheduled for 7:30 am and hopefully if everything goes well we'll be accepting visitors Thursday evening/Friday morning. Roger will send an email out with the details after she is here.

The baby is coming!!! The baby is coming!!!

Here is my 36 week picture... we took it a day early...

35 week apt

Ok first of all internals suck! It wasn't so bad while I was there, but I spent the rest of the day having contractions and feeling icky... ended up going to bed for 3 hours. Yuck!

My blood pressure is high, but stable. Amelia looks good (they only do her weight ever other week). She was breathing and kicking and had a finger sticking in the air... she's so cute.

My doctor is calling the hospital to schedule my induction for the week of the 5th. She is also letting me choose if I want a scheduled c-section. She says that as of now my cervix is very high and closed and that it's not likely to change before 37 weeks, this will make induction VERY hard and labor VERY long and I could end up having an emergency c-section in the end...

Roger and I have talked and I think we are leaning towards the scheduled c-section route. The recovery from a scheduled c-section vs. an emergency c-section is much easier and this way we'll know a set date for everyone to head to town. I will probably need more help during the first few days home while recovering from surgery, but I think in the end it'll be worth it.

As soon as I have the date I will let everyone know. I'm going to call the dr's office tomorrow and let them know my decision.

I can't believe we only have 2 more weeks!

Amelia's Nursery

We finally finished Amelia's nursery... Here are some pics of her zoo themed room.

Door to her room with zoo mommies and babies...


View from door...


Changing table, diaper champ, growth chart & shelves...


Crib & more shelves...


All her treasures...


Closet door mural & letters...


Close-up of mural...


Bow holders...

34 Weeks

Here is my 34 week pic & progression pic.

34 week apt

Dr.'s appt went REALLY well... I got to see my doctor instead of someone in the practice and that made such a difference, I'm just more comfortable asking her things...

SO the news is that my blood pressure is continuing to increase (as we all know), but I've gotten Amelia through the scary time...


She is 4lb, 12oz and will be 34 weeks tomorrow which is their first goal. (According to Babycenter.com "babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.") She is meeting all of her measurement points (legs still measuring ahead) and her fluid levels and placenta look good.

At this point if my blood pressure increases again, they will deliver me (to 160/95 or higher). No sitting in a hospital bed for weeks, just time to deliver. :)

I asked if there is any possibility of me going past 37 weeks and she said no, we will be inducing the first week of December if she is not already here, so no Christmas baby for me (I'm kind of relieved).

I'll have my 34 week belly pic up tomorrow. Here is some more interesting info on premature births. Let's get Amelia to 37 weeks!!!

http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1157.asp

Amelia's Latest Pic

Here is the ultrasound pic from last week...

33 week apt

Well today I met with the last doctor in the practice... they want me to meet with everyone, just incase I go into labor in the middle of the night and my doctor is not on call. This doctor was the "Happy Go Lucky" doctor of the group... usually this would be fine, but when you are dealing with a serious condition, it can be a little scary to have someone so upbeat.

The ultrasound went great, I ate some dark chocolate before the appointment and Amelia was super active! She danced around in my stomach and put on a little show. Her fluid levels still look good and she's growing like a weed.

I am continuing on bed rest, but we are a week closer to our goal of 37 weeks! Hang in there little Amelia!

Week 32 Doc Apt

Amelia looks great, she is weighing in at a whopping 4 pounds 3 ounces!!! She's measuring 32 weeks and I think her legs measured 33. Her amniotic fluid levels look good, she's head down but facing sideways... I thought that was her butt I was feeling in my left rib!

My blood pressure was high... ugh! It was 139/94 the first time and 143/87 the second... I got a big lecture about taking bed rest seriously and had to literally beg my way out of being put on hospital bed rest. I promised to do better and reassured the doctor that I thought I could do it on my own... I'm not ready to give up internet, tivo and Callie and Maggie just yet!

I got my 2nd steroid shot, which was MUCH better than the first, but the side effects have been awful! My cheeks are flushed and I'm jittery... I don't know how professional athletes torture themselves with this stuff!

So I'm off the hook until Tuesday, my next appointment.