37w4d Appointment - I'm getting sick of this place

Back to the Lank today for my 37w NST, Part Deux.  Aidan did well although it was a rocky start and he needed about 45 minutes instead of the usual 20.  But ultimately he rocked out around 150 most of the time and got the accelerations they required.  The Peri's nurse was excited for me when she pointed out the contractions it recorded.  I told her I'd be excited when there was a baby exiting this here place.  Until then, you can keep your useless contractions, TYVM.

I just about passed out (sleeping) during the test.  I may have to take Dr. B up on his offer of Ambien if I don't start getting more than 2 hours of sleep at night.  He also suggested wine and benadryl (though not necessarily together).  I have none of these things in my house today, but I'm hoping to be able to get some sleep anyway.  I don't know what the issue is.

Whatever will I do with myself - two whole days without having to drive to Lankenau.  Nothing on the books until Monday's NST and ultrasound.  I'll have to find some other entertainment.

37w3d Appointment - Fun with Anesthesia!

Today's trek to Lankenau was all kinds of fun with anesthesia.  Traffic was inexplicably insane today, soso it took a really, really long time to get there.  When I finally arrived and got myself to Outpatient Testing, I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork that didn't seem to apply to me in the slightest.  Clearly this stuff is meant for people having planned surgeries.  Which I'm not. 

Eventually, I filled things out enough to be allowed to speak to the doctor.  The man is old and insane, and I desperately hope that anyone but him does my epidural.  He seemed entirely unable to finish a sentence without forgetting what he was saying.  Mildly terrifying, not going to lie.

The consensus is that I **should** be able to get the epi, it just may take a few tries to get a placement.  Yay.  I also need to bring my films to the hospital so that the anesthesiologist on call can take a look.

Keep those fingers crossed for me.  I have no interest in a drug-free birth.

37w2d Appointments

We had this week's NST this afternoon, and Aidan looked fabulous as usual.  Tom got to see him on the ultrasound for the first time since 24w.  He really was mesmerized by that little heartbeat.

After the NST, it was time for my regular weekly funfest at the doctor's office.  My blood pressure is under really good control with the bedrest and the meds.  I lost another 3lbs this week (lost 1lb last week), bringing my total gain down to 26lbs.  I'll go ahead and chalk it up to all that throwing up I did this morning.  Which Dr. B says could be my body "trying to go into labor."  Try harder, body.

I am GBS negative, so yay, at least something went right.  Dr. B declared me 2cm/80%/-2 and seems ever so positive that Aidan will show up early.  I wish I shared that optimism.  I don't though.  It sort of bothers me actually, because if I didn't know all these girls online, I'd assume from what he told me that I'd be having this baby any second now.  He even semi-jokingly told me to "hold out" until new years day, because he's on call then and he knows how badly I want him delivering Aidan.  And when I hopped off the table and said I'd see him next Wednesday, he responded "oh, I think I'll hear from you before then..."  Don't get my hopes up, old man.  It's just not fair.

I am a little confused on this next part.  The NST went well and my BP is under good control with the meds.  So Dr. B has decided I now have to have two NST's per week instead of one.  Sigh.  Fine.  Apparently this is the price I pay for being written out of work.  Though driving an hour each way to the hospital three times a week until I deliver can't actually be anyone's idea of "bedrest" - can it?

So my next week looks like this:
Tomorrow: have to be at Lankenau at noon for my appointment with the anesthesiologist
Friday: have to be at Lankenau by 11am for a NST and ultrasound
Monday: have to be at Lankenau by 11:15 for a NST and ultrasound
Wednesday: have to be at Lankenau by 10:30 for an internal with Dr. B
Thursday: have to be at Lankenau by 11am for a NST and ultrasound

I haven't tinkered with the following week's schedule yet.  I can't think that far into the future.  My head hurts.  But it will probably be a similar Mon/Wed/Thurs setup.  And at the end of all that, if Aidan hasn't shown his little face, I guess I'll get an induction date (please, no)

Christmas Jammies!

People are having babies...

Like, real people!  My labor buddy Missie is in the hospital, in labor, right now.  Makes all of this feel so... imminent.  At the same time, I am **so positive** he'll be late that I've already scheduled my "overdue" doctor's appointment.  With my blood pressure all wonky, I don't know how overdue they'd really let him go.  Probably worth asking.

Best of luck to Missie and Mike!

EDIT: Welcome to the world, Carina Shannyn Giuliano!  Born at 8:27am on 12/28/2010 - 6lb 14oz and 19 inches long.

CONGRATS, GIULIANOS!

Obscene toys I buy my son...

Please tell me this thing doesn't look like it's wearing a nipple.  A nipple from the movie Avatar.  You can't.  Because it does.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, with all kinds of love and whatnot.  Because nothing says "Love" like tortured animals.  See above.

This is officially our last Christmas without our little boy.  I can't believe how much change this year has brought, and how all of it will be blown away by the change next year brings.

It's also our first married Christmas - so we've been trying to decide what our "Christmas Traditions" will be.  This year, we both got to open our new Christmas Jammies on Christmas Eve so we could wear them on Christmas morning when we plow into the presents.  Daddy got some plaid fleece pants and a warm fuzzy robe.  Mommy got pink fleece button down jammies with peppermint candies all over them.  Daddy won't allow pajama photography, but Mommy will get a picture taken and add it to the scrapbook.

In other news, I am done with work until Aidan comes.  Dr. Belden has me out on bedrest, as I suspected he would, until I deliver.  The way things work with Short Term Disability, I will still be able to get six weeks of leave after Aidan is born - plus there's room for another couple of weeks unpaid if needed.  I'm really relieved to have things squared away - although I'll be MORE relieved when the doctor's office follows through with sending over the documentation.

Music to my Ears

Belden's nurse called to give me the exciting results of my 24h pee jug.  I missed the call, but she left a message, telling me that my protein levels were "less than 300" so I don't have gestational hypertension. 

Um, okay.  So this is good news, right?  So now I can stop taking these pills twice a day, I can get off bedrest, I can go back to work, and life is good.  Right?  Right?? 

I decide the only reasonable course of action is to call back and clarify.  Nobody seemed to remember calling me.  I finally find someone who remembers making the call (Thank you, Nurse Candy) and ask her what's up.  Oops, she misspoke.  I don't have Pre-E.  I do have Pregnancy Hypertension.  I do need to keep taking my pills, doing the NST's every week, having two BP checks per week, and staying on bedrest.  Rats.

I figure this is the time to mention that I still haven't been given any documentation for leaving work.  I ask for it, and Nurse Candy acts like it's the most bizarre request she's ever gotten.  "What should it say?"  Seriously?  Have you never had to write one of these?  Does no other pregnant woman on bedrest need to provide anything to their disability provider?  Really?

Anyway...  uneventful day, except that I just noticed that it's only 25 days until Aidan is due.  So that feels like some sort of milestone.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve - our last Christmas Eve without our son.  Then Christmas Day.  Then I guess Sunday or Monday I need to venture out of the casa to get a BP check somewhere shady, because I'm not back at Lankenau until Wednesday.  Not much else going on for the next few days - here's to hoping all is uneventful! :)

Update from a morning in Perinatal...

It was a good morning at Perinatal Testing.  Aidan looked great throughout the NST.  This means that there's a "very low risk" of stillbirth within the next seven days.  But of course since the test is only good for seven days, I will have to go back in and do this again every week until I deliver.  We have three more NST's and fluid checks scheduled before his due date.

It was wild to see Aidan on the ultrasound.  No pictures, because he's head down, low, and facing my spine.  We did catch a glimpse of the back of his head - he's not bald!  He looks huge, although we didn't do a growth u/s because for the time being we're not concerned about his growth or size.

After I left the Peri's office, I headed back to my OB for a BP check, weight check, and chat.  I lost a pound, although to be completely honest, I just don't care what I weigh at this point.  The BP was elevated but definitely lower than it was on Monday.  So the Labetalol is doing its job.  My labs came back pretty good, indicating that I'm just hypertensive and not pre-eclamptic.  Which is great news for Aidan - he gets to stay in for at least another week until things are evaluated at the next NST - at which point I'll be 37w2d and my wimpy white boy will be slightly less wimpy and actually full term.

Time to figure out what to do about work.  I'm officially ordered out on bedrest for the duration and need to figure out how this is all going to work.  I wasn't expecting this and wasn't prepared for it.  I anticipated working up until I went into labor and know that this is going to seriously limit the time I can afford to take off once he is born.  This breaks my heart but I don't have a choice.  Ignoring the doctor's orders would be pretty stupid.

My day at the APU

What a day. 

Went to the OB today for my routine 36w checkup.  I only gained 1 pound in the past two weeks - woo hoo! - although if we're being honest, I'm so far past the point of caring about weight gain, it's not even funny.  At this point, I'm rarely even hungry, so when I do want to eat, I go for it.  I digress.  The nurse was having trouble taking my BP.  She just kept saying "I don't hear it..." - but she's kind of old and potentially hearing impaired, and she clearly knows this, so she called in another nurse.  Nurse #2 took my BP.  Then took it again.  Then took it again.  Then took it in the other arm.  And said "hmm.  Weird..." and left.  Enter Dr. Belden, who says the nurses are giving him weird stories and he'll just take my BP himself.  Which he does, remarking "hmm.  I can barely hear it..."  Then he tries the other arm and just looks sort of... perplexed. He starts asking questions like "do you have a massive headache/blurry vision/the biggest cankles ever?" (no/no/no).

So we move on to the rest of the exam - fundal height continues to be dead on.  Rock on, perfectly-sized baby.  Do I have any questions or concerns?  (Nah.)  How am I feeling?  (As good as anyone ever feels at 36w...).  Then the "sorry, my hand is cold" and without so much as dinner or a movie, I'm violated, then swabbed for Group B Strep.  GBS test will come back later.  I'm 1cm dilated and 50% effacted.  Dr. B is encouraged, and I take this as feeble hope that he won't be humanity's most overdue child.

I'm now expecting a pat on the head and a "see you next week." - but I won't be getting it.

We are concerned about my blood pressure.  It's very high.  My urine tested negative for protein, and I have no other pre-e symptoms, but it's just so very high.  Normal for me is 90's/70's.  Pregnant normal is 110's/80's.  I'm consistently running in the 160's/110's.  Eeks.

So I was sent up to the antepartum unit for an NST, more BP checks, another urine check, and some bloodwork.  I was there for about five hours before being discharged with the following decisions made:
- I am doing a 24 hour urine catch.  Bringing that in tomorrow afternoon and having more bloodwork done to examine my liver and kidney function, plus another CBC.  They'll use all of this to determine whether it's just PIH or Pre-E.  We think it's PIH (pregnancy-induced hypertension) but they want to be very sure it's not Pre-E.
- I will be having weekly NST's until Aidan is born, starting on Wednesday morning, after which I'll be back at Belden's for a follow-up appointment.
- I am on BP meds twice a day until Aidan is born
- Assuming it's PIH, I am on modified bedrest (I am allowed to get up for eating, peeing, and showering.  Otherwise I am restricted to lying around on my left side, trying not to lose my ever-loving mind.
- If they decide it's Pre-E, we'll talk about inducing early.  We are all extremely hopeful that this is not the case.

Long stressful day, but the important part is really that Aidan's doing great and we're going to get mommy's issues all patched up.

A stocking stuffer

I got these for Aidan's stocking.  Resistance was futile.  They were just too cute.

Goodies from Great Grandma

Sitting on my doorstep today was a gigantic box.  I mean seriously gigantic.  It was goodies from my grandma, and good god, is Aidan a lucky boy.  Grandma's been sewing.

First - not for Aidan at all actually - a new baby gift for my handsome new nephew, Cameron.  I need to get this in the mail ASAP.  It's a gorgeously soft blanket and a sweater/hat/bootie set.

Next, Aidan's play quilt.  Perfect for tummy time.  My mom bought the fabric in Alaska and brought it back to Florida so that my grandma could make something fabulous.  The quilt came out great - nice and soft and thick - Aidan's going to LOVE it.  I have a thing for otters, as you can tell by the man-sized otter in the picture :)

Onward!  Grandma crocheted up a small blanket for Aidan's newborn pictures.  I am in love.  The pattern is so gorgeous and unique - I just love it and I know it's going to photograph really well...

Still onward!  Accessories that really finish out the bedroom.  Like, a monkey-pattern window valance:

And a monkey-pattern changing pad cover (with a spare for accidents...)

Monkey and coordinating burp cloths (prefold cloth diapers with flannel strips sewn in so they coordinate with the room)

And last, but CERTAINLY not least, his quilt and a matching pillow for the rocker:

Here's a picture of Aidan's recliner, loaded up with Great-Grandma Goodies.  I should mention (and thank grandma for the fact that) I got an AWESOME pair of pajama pants for myself in the same fabric used for the spare changing pad cover and some of the burp cloths.  I match my little boy's room!

More Pictures of Things

The BJCM and the Snugride 35...

Missie, these are for you :)