doctor's appt #21...

I had another doctor's appt at Wilmington Maternal yesterday for an ultrasound to check the fluid around the baby.  Everything was fine there -- as a matter of fact, the levels are on the higher end of average and normal so it appears that the kidneys -- something they're keeping an eye on, remember -- are still working just fine.

They also did another biophysical "test" on the baby and he scored another perfect score: 8 out of 8.  George was our ultrasound tech and he remarked, just as everyone else has, that he is breathing really, really well.  Perfect.

My blood pressure was 138/90 -- elevated higher than they prefer, but not any higher than it has been, and, with my history of hypertension, not at an alarming level.  Just something for them to mention to me in the consult room afterward, as they always do.  :)

The only downside, really, to this appt was the fact that the kid is still breech.  Yes, he is.  Grrr.  However, George, gave us hope -- he said he's seen babies turn even later than this.  Yay.  Our doula, Kelley, told us about a few positions, some exercises, that I can do to, um, encourage him to turn.  So we will set about doing those.  For sure.

So due to the blood pressure issue, they wanted to take some more blood and test for anything that looks preeclamptic.  Well, sure, it's been what, a week since they did that?  Go right ahead.  Let's see what the labs say.

Everything came back normal -- platelet counts were fine, urine creatinine was normal (also no protein in my urine which is always a warning sign), liver function is fine.  Just a caution from Cindy to keep watching my blood pressure and report any serious spikes, and to keep an eye on how I'm feeling.  Roger that.  That good lab report bought us 4 more days to wait it out.  

That's what we want.  My concern at this point is that my care providers are going to start pushing me to start making decisions about "this or that" before I'm ready.  As long as I'm fine and everything is healthy with the baby, then we're fine to wait.  Not so much on the medical front -- it's just more convenient to go ahead and schedule induction or a c-section so that my docs don't have to worry about my blood pressure or risk of preeclampsia or the baby turning on his own anymore.  I see their side -- I really do -- but I also have my preferences and those take precedence for me, as long as nothing turns into a dangerous situation for me or the baby.

All my docs are now hinting around about bed rest but also suggesting that it's maybe something I can avoid them ordering if I take my own precautions like, for example, limiting my hours at work, etc.  It's not as if my job is real strenuous or anything, but I think the thing that works against me is that in those last few hours of the day before bed, after working 8 hours, I'm trying to cram a lot of things in and not really taking time to put my feet up.  Maybe if I can figure out a way to limit my workday hours, I can spread those "after work things" out a little bit and find chunks of time to put my feet up and rest more.  You think?

It's worth a try to avoid the doc's official order of bed rest.  So we're gonna try it.

My next OB appt is Monday for an NST and they will probably want to discuss the whole "your-baby-is-breech-and-your-blood-pressures-have-been-elevated-and-we-just-think-we-need-to-get-this-baby-out-of-you" thing.  So we'll be going in with guns to stick to.  Just sayin'.  :)

doctor's appt #19...

I had an appt with Wilmington Maternal yesterday afternoon for an ultrasound to check growth and fluid levels.  Jeff ended up going with me which was a sweet surprise.  I don't ever assume that he'll be able to get away from work to come with me to an appt so when he called me yesterday and said, "I'm on my way so don't leave without me!", I was very pleasantly surprised.  :)

Everything went relatively well at the appt.  Deacon got lots of "points" for all the movements he was making as they did their thing -- both ultrasound techs that came in said he was "breathing like a champ".  I mean, they must've made that comment or one similar at least 3 or 4 times.  Yay.  :)  So glad he's not having any trouble with that task.

According to the measurements they took, he weighs 6 lbs 3 oz now.  His kidneys are still a bit enlarged but still nothing to worry about, only to monitor in the future.  Dr. Wright said she'd mention it to our pediatrician so they can scan the kidneys soon after birth and keep an eye on them.

So everything is great with the baby (other than he is still breech -- hmmm...).

My health, on the other hand, is not something that's going as great.  First, let me say that aside from the normal pregnancy issues at almost 37 weeks pregnant (like swelling, fatigue, ligament pain, having a hard time putting any shoes other than flip flops on :), I feel perfectly fine.  I do not have any dangerous symptoms (headaches, blurred vision, etc.) or anything that I can feel going on.

The biggest issue is that my blood pressure has been slightly elevated consistently for about the last week and all of a sudden, everyone is on alert for symptoms of preeclampsia.  I know that preeclampsia:

1) is nothing to mess around with

2) that it can come on very quickly with relatively no signs or symptoms, again, that I can feel, and

3) that it can make a pregnant woman and her baby very sick

And the doctors don't mess around with it, either -- this is why I had to go to the hospital last Friday for extended monitoring and blood work.

So yesterday, when they took my blood pressure and it was 140/90, they sent me down to a lab to have blood work done.  Even though I had just had blood work done a week ago at the hospital.  I guess that's how quickly things can change regarding preeclamptic symptoms.

So that's what we did after my appt.  We went down and I had blood drawn to be sure that, even though I wasn't feeling any symptoms, I didn't have preeclampsia.

And I don't. 

Dr. Wright called back last night with the results from the labs and said that everything is stable for now. She didn't officially order bed rest, but she did say that she thought it would be beneficial to slow down (ha!) and take it a little more easy than I have been.  And she did suggest that I start having twice weekly NSTs in my OB's office.  *siiiigh*  I guess when I head in Monday for my next NST, I'll mention that to them.  This is the part that really aggravates me -- missing work for more appts.  Not that I'm worried about work, but that I'm using more and more of the sick time I'm trying to SAVE for maternity leave.  At this rate, there will be nothing left; as a matter of fact I'll be in the red, probably.

Isn't it silly that THAT is what concerns me?  I'm in no way concerned about my health or that of the baby because I know that God is going to take care of us.  And whatever that means, I'll do, to be sure.  Please don't take my griping and complaining about the doctors' caution to mean that I don't think they know what they're doing.  I trust their judgment and I'll do what they say, no matter how much work I have to miss.

It's just an annoyance to me to be sent here and there to check this and that.  But it is what it is and we're coming down the homestretch now so I'm trying (without much success at this point) to just "roll with the punches".  Thank goodness for my wonderful, rock-steady husband who knows just what to say and do, when to be quiet and when to give me a pep-talk.  He has been absolutely fantastic for me.

But I'm starting to think that maybe he's bad luck and I shouldn't bring him to any more of my appts.

Just kiddin', babe!  You know it's MUCH better for me if you're there than if you're not.  I don't even want to THINK about what kind of state I would've been in at last Friday's appt (and the hospital) and this one yesterday if you hadn't been with me...I love you to pieces.  Truly. 

doctor's appts #14 & #15...

I had another 2 doctor's appts today, one at my OB and one at Wilmington Maternal.  Kinda getting frustrated and worn out with all these double appts, but it is what it is.  So whatev.

My first appt was this morning at Wilmington Maternal Fetal Medicine downtown for an ultrasound to check everything.  Jeff didn't get to go with me this time, but my momma did.  And she was so excited!  Momma & Daddy are in town for our baby shower tomorrow evening so Momma was able to go with me to this appt.  She loved every minute of it -- she thought it was so neat to see the ultrasound (they didn't have those back when she had her 2 babies) and tried very diligently to figure out what she was looking at.  The baby has really grown, though, so everything just looks like a mess in there now.  But my u/s tech, George, was good about pointing out what we were seeing.  

Once again, everything looks great with the growth.  George told us the baby weighs just over 5 lbs now which is in the 42nd percentile, just above average.  He said the development is right on target with my due date.  He did mention, though, that the baby is breech right now, with his butt down toward my cervix and his body curled up around on my right side (so his head is sitting under my left boob -- sorry, guys).

Dr. Radick (Dr. Wright's new partner) came in and told us everything looked great but that the kidneys were still larger than normal so they would continue to keep an eye on that and start checking my fluid levels a little more closely to be sure everything progressed the way it should.

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My next appt was this afternoon at my OB's office and they did an NST, or nonstress test.  That was really pretty cool.  They strapped 2 external fetal monitors to my belly and had me sit in this really comfy recliner.  It coulda been a La-Z-Boy.  I'm just sayin'.

The one monitor was sitting right where the heart primarily was so they could monitor the heartbeat, and every time I felt any movement I was supposed to push the button on this handheld thing she gave me (like buzzing in on Jeopardy :).  I was amazed at how much I could hear him moving around and not actually feel the movement itself (to be able to push the button).  He really moves around a lot and I can't even feel it all, only the major moves, kicks or rolls that he does.  

So this whole time I'm strapped up -- about 35-40 min, I would guess -- we've got the Kentucky Derby going on in there.  That's what his heartbeat sounded like, and what Dr. Hall even said, too.  And you could hear the heartbeat increase and decrease with movement, etc.  After they unhooked me, the nurse told me that the other monitor they strapped on my belly was to monitor any contractions I might have and to see how the baby's heartbeat did through that.  I did have at least one contraction while I was sitting there (just a Braxton Hicks which I've been feeling for quite a few weeks now), possibly 2, so I'm glad that happened so they can read how Deacon did through it.  I assume Dr. Hall read the strip before she came in to see me so he must've done okay.  :)

She said that everything still looked great with the development and his heartbeat, etc.  She mentioned that she saw the baby was breech from my u/s this morning and told me that they do not deliver babies breech -- which I knew already -- but that that didn't necessarily mean a c-section.  She said they had methods to try to turn him, if he didn't automatically turn on his own between now and then.  I mean, we do still have 6 weeks left.  Let's not rush things, for cryin' out loud!

After today's appts, I'm starting weekly appts with my OB and every 2 weeks (if necessary) with Wilmington Maternal.  My OB will do an NST each time to just be sure the baby is still handling everything well.  I hope Jeff will be able to get to one of those with me -- it was pretty neat to hear the baby and his heartbeat for that long and I think Jeff would enjoy that.  :)

doctor's appts #11 & #12...

I had 2 more doc appts today, one at Wilmington Maternal and one at Carolina OB/Gyn.

The first was at MF and everything went well.  Our ultrasound tech, Melissa, was really nice and did her thing.  She took my blood pressure first and it was 110/70.  FABULOUS!  That's REALLY LOW for me.  I'll take it.  :)

When the ultrasound started, I was kind of perplexed.  This was the first time that everything just looked kind of like a mess up on the screen -- I couldn't really make out what she was looking at a lot of the time.  We found out later that's because the baby is facing my back bone.

Oh.  Well, that explains it then.

She and Dr. Wright (yes, I finally met *the elusive Dr. Wright*) both said that everything looks great.  The baby weighs 3 lbs, 2 oz -- a "beautiful" weight.  The kidneys were, again, an object of examination, not that anything is wrong, just that they are still larger than the norm.  In fact, Dr. Wright came in specifically to reassure us that they didn't see any cause of concern with the kidneys, that there was nothing to worry about but that it would just be something they keep an eye on until delivery.  After he's born, the pediatrician will probably take a closer look just to be sure there's nothing of concern to see.  I'm okay with that.  They are keeping an eye on things and erring on the side of caution so that's definitely reassuring to me.

Melissa could tell that he was very active today -- and I could, too.  He was kicking and moving, making it a little more difficult to get what she needed.  We didn't get any fun photos from the ultrasound -- mostly because like I said before, everything just looked like a mess -- but Melissa did confirm, yet again, that he is still a boy.  THAT'S the photo we got.  

Why do they think I need another photo of my son's teeny, tiny wee-wee?

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After MF, we headed over to the 17th St. location of Carolina for the 2nd appt -- just a "hop, skip and jump" from MF so that worked out well.  I saw Dr. Hall today who I'd heard great things about.  I was not disappointed.  :)  She was really nice and did her thing, too.  My blood pressure there was 132/70 which was more in the normal range for me and they were happy with that.

She listened to the baby's heartbeat and said it was good and strong.  She measured me and said I was measuring right around 30 weeks so that was right (30 weeks this Sunday according to my due date).  She checked my feet & legs for swelling and I mentioned that I had some swelling in my left foot -- not so much my right foot (unless it's the end of the day and I'd been on my feet a lot or out in the heat, etc.). She said that was great, especially for Aug 20 and the heat we'd been having.  Just told me to keep drinking lots of fluids which I try to be pretty conscious about.

So 2 good reports to start the weekend off right.  I'm happy.  :)

doctor's appts #8 & #9...

I had 2 more doc appts today -- one at my OB and one at Wilmington Maternal.

The one at my OB was for a checkup plus the glucose screening.  I have been worried about this all week, ya'll.  I started Monday, drinking lots of water in preparation for the blood draw that goes with this test and also watching how much sugar I was eating (no ice cream this week -- horrors!).  I've read information on this test and they all made it sound terrible -- drinking huge amounts of this really sugary, nasty tasting stuff in like 5 min (read: chugging), having them draw blood.  And THEN if you don't fall within the normal range, you have to go back to do even more of that in a 3-hour glucose test!

I wanted to avoid that at all costs.

As I began to ask my girlfriends for prayer about it, they soon put me at ease somewhat, saying it wasn't as bad as all that.  So I started not to worry so much about the stuff to drink and the blood draw as just passing the test so I didn't have to take the 3-hour deal.

Well, my girlfriends were right.  I had probably a 6-8 oz serving of stuff that tasted like really sweet orange Krush or Sunkist and it was stored in the fridge beforehand so I didn't even have to drink it warm.  8 oz?  Well, shoot.  That only took me about 30 secs to drink.  And it didn't taste all that bad either.

Then (an hour later) they did a finger prick for the blood draw and I always do better with those than with the veins in my arms/hands, etc.  She told me that my sugar level was 111 and it needed to be 135 or lower.

Woo-hoo!  I passed!

I did have to have blood drawn the "normal" way today -- just for some other tests they wanted it for.  My nurse did good with that for the most part.  She did stick me 3 times, though.  She got one vial of blood from my right arm but then the blood flow stopped.  *sigh*  She tried the other arm to no avail.  She actually ended up getting the other vial she needed from my left hand.

She told me my iron was really good, and she gave me one other number, 36, and said that was really good.  I wish I could remember what that was for.  She said that most pregnant ladies are on the lower end of the scale (of whatever it was) but that I was right where I should be.  :D

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My other appt was at Wilmington Maternal with another ultrasound.  More pics of our boy.  :)  Jeff went with me to both of my appts today so he got to see Deacon for himself again.  We got another sweet profile shot and a couple of his legs -- he already looks like he's got some muscles!  :)

They PA we met with, Cindy, said everything looked great.  He weighs almost 2 pounds now and is growing & developing just as he should be.  She also said that he has really healthy "juicy" kidneys.

Say what now??

Yeah, she said they were measuring the kidneys because they don't normally see kidneys "this big" at this stage but that that didn't mean anything bad.  That it was a good thing.  Well...great!  I guess.  :)

I go back in TWO weeks for my next OB appt -- holy cow, we're down to appts every 2 weeks now, instead of 4??  How did we get there already??  Time is really flying fast...

My next appt at Wilmington Maternal will be in 4 weeks, as usual, and hopefully, I'll be able to combine the 2 appts again like I did today.  It's just easier to be out of the office all at once instead of multiple days during the week.