Last week I went to the doctor because I was not feeling up to par and Ela was not moving as much. Throughout my pregnancy I had been feeling great so I knew something was not right when I started to feel bad. When visiting Dr. Kanos, he said that Ela's heartbeat was sluggish and sent us to the Labor and Delivery ward at the hospital. After 4 hours, and a total accident I was finally seen. ( I accidental peed my pants when trying to not sit on the nasty toliet seat and the nurse though my water broke-Good tip for next time)Apparently December 23 was a popular day for babies to be born in NYC . They hooked me up to a blood pressure monitor,contraction monitor and a fetal heart rate monitor.Upon getting undressed I noticed that my feet and legs were so swollen and red.Turns out Ela was doing great, but I was contracting every two minutes and my blood pressure was through the roof. After a few tests it was thought that I possibly had Preclampsia. My blood pressure was 127/102(normal range is 120/80) and I had protein in my urine. I was given two IV's and my blood pressure went down and the contractions stopped.We were released and I was sent back to the doctor the following week. Upon following up with the doctor on Tuesday I was sent back to the hospital for monitoring as my blood pressure was still elevated and I had blood in my urine. Again the blood pressure went down and I had several tests run on my blood. After following up Dr. Kanos diagnosed me with Preclampsia and told me Wednesday was going to be my last day at work. I was so upset but he reminded me that this was for Ela and not for me. Finally I ended up in the hospital again on New Years Eve with a headache due to high blood pressure.I was told if I had a headache to contact the doctor immediatly.I woke up with a headache that morning and even with tylenol it did not go away for most of the day. Headaches are one of the symptoms of high blood pressure and I was sent back to the BP monitor and Fetal Heart Rate Monitor.After consulting with a nurologist they sent me home with instructions to keep my feet elevated and rest.I did not have protien in my urine, but did have traces of blood again. At this point I will follow up with Dr. Kanos on Monday and we will go from there.
Most likely Ela will be born before her due date by induction or on her due date depending on my blood pressure. Upon going to the hospital the first time, Dr Kanos said that if I was 37 or 38 weeks he would deliver me that day.Although it would be perfectly safe to deliver at 36 weeks, Dr. Kanos said sometimes if you deliver a baby at 36 weeks, developmentally she will act like 34 weeks due to calculations of the due date. He has been a very conservative doctor throughout the pregnancy and is airing on the side of caution now.He is balancing the babies health with my health to determine the best time for Ela to come to ensure we are both healthy. This means monitoring me every two days in the office and checking my blood pressure and urine on a regular basis. Next week is a milestone for full term labor so unless the condition worsens this week, she could be born then!
Read about Preclampsia- Baby Center-Preclampsia or MedicineNet-Preclampsia
So after three trips to the hospital I am on bed rest until our sweet little Ela comes. The only good thing about all of this is that we got to see her on a Sonogram each time we went. She had her little foot at the top of my stomach and we watched her curl her toes and make a fist. The nurse said that she was practicing to breathe on her own and we got to see her heart beat.It looks like a lightining bug on the screen flashing every few seconds. She is already so big, and seeing her, Tomasz and I were already proud parents. She was moving around so much and we are more excited than ever to meet her. My bag is packed in case of emergency.
Other than a few little scares we had a great Christmas and New Years. For Christmas we went over to Grandma Claire's. It was a really nice day and Grandma still has it! She cooked so much food I was stuffed! She even cooked surf and turf for Christmas Eve! New Years, although half of the day was spent in the hospital was fun. Uncle Bob and Grandma came over and we all watched the apple drop form the window! It was a fun first New Years in Manhattan.
Today I am 36 weeks and next week at 37 weeks I am considered full term as there is nothing that the doctors will be able to do to stop labor from coming if it starts. I am finding plenty of projects to keep myself occupied until Ela makes her grand appearance! -- Check out whats happening this week --36 WEEKS
It keeps growing.....
Harry says all future pictures need to show you in bed with your feet elevated. :) We are all praying for you and Ela and know everything will turn out fine.
ReplyDeleteHarry, Cari and all the little Goslows