28 week appointment

Me at 27 weeks, 5 days

B/P: 138/90

HR: 100's

Fundal Height: 28cm, which is right on track

Fetal Heart Tones: 130

Weight: +3.5 lbs since last visit, +7.5 lbs pre-pregnancy.

Well, this morning's appointment could have gone better. This was the first time that I went by myself, although I don't know if having anyone there would have helped because I would have stressed regardless.

My blood pressure is still elevated, but more than last time. I have been getting migraines about once a week since the last appointment, but I can't get a B/P reading to correlate with the headaches as I forget to take it when I am in that much pain. I don't have anymore swelling that normal: I can still wear my rings and take them off with the same ease, my legs still have swelling but not more than usual, and I can't really tell that my face is swollen. I am not showing any protein in my urine, which would indicate preeclampsia. At this point, my blood pressure is classified as "Gestational Hypertension." My doc talked about putting me on blood pressure medications, but does not feel it would be as beneficial to me at this point because my hypertension is not chronic in nature, rather, it is directly related to the pregnancy. With delivery, my blood pressure should return to normal.

She did tell me to talk to my boss about working reduced hours and/or what the policy is for bedrest, which I know a little about the latter. I would really like to work on cutting my hours a bit rather than all together for FMLA and maternity leave sake, but I will talk to my manager about that tomorrow or Monday. I have to check my B/P at work and call in some readings to the clinic tomorrow. Hopefully it won't be any higher than now or she will be more willing to put me on bedrest, I'm sure. I have a repeat blood pressure check on Tuesday so that she can check my urine for proteins again. Then God-willing, we will be going to Virginia to see Jonboy swear in as JKR, Esquire. :)

We are going to take it day by day at this point and see how my blood pressure is, how my urine looks (gross, huh?), and how Katie is growing. I have an ultrasound on November 13th to make sure that she is growing appropriately. I will be 30 weeks and 3 days by then. If my blood pressure keeps trending upwards and/or I start to have protein in my urine, I will be diagnosed with "preeclampsia" and will most likely have to take steroids to help Kaitlyn's lungs mature more quickly for an early induction and delivery. That is the scary part for me. Ultimately, I want Katie to be as healthy as possible and for her to come out in her own time, but I understand there are significant risks if I become preeclamptic or severely preeclamptic. It looks like if an induction is planned, I will be delivering downtown as opposed to near the house, and they have an exceptional NICU.

The best news is that Katie seems to be growing well and doing just fine at the moment! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We are so excited to meet our baby girl, but we are hoping she can stay in her cocoon baking as long as possible. :) I am trying to think about lots of blood pressure lowering thoughts and take it as easy as possible.

15 Week Appointment

15 weeks, 3 days

Weight: -4 lbs
B/P: 132/80
HR: 80's
Baby's HR: 145

We went to the OB again this morning. My blood pressure is still high, unfortunately. We had some labs taken for the triple screen. This will help us determine the baby's risk for down syndrome and trisomy 18. While reading up about this test, it looks like there is roughly an 80% detection rate and there are lots of false positives. Meaning, some babies pass this test and have problems and some don't pass and end up fine upon further testing. So we shall see. I am taking it with a grain of salt.

My doctor is referring me to a perinatologist for my blood pressure issues. This doctor is a high-risk OB, to put it simply. I will see this doctor and my normal OB for the time being. She said he will take measurements via ultrasound of the baby to make sure the baby is growing well and will monitor my labs. At some point, I may have to take medication for my blood pressure. I am completely expecting it to get higher as I progress to the 3rd trimester...and I have roughly 25 weeks to go! We will see the specialist in about 2 weeks. We see Dr. A again in 4wks, so a minor change in plan from before.

I am still planning to take it easy and relax as much as possible. Hopefully we can sneak a peak at the baby's gender at the appointment with the specialist.

So yesterday I woke up with a belly. A noticeable one. This nurse that knows I am expecting but hasn't seen me in awhile saw me in the elevator and noticed immediately. "Oh, you have a lil' belly!" she exclaimed as she reached over to rub my tummy. Which is cute and all, but.... I AM ONLY TEN WEEKS. I am gonna be so huge.

I have been feeling better this week. I haven't gotten sick since Monday. I haven't taken as much Zofran, although my bottle of 30 has been depleted, and I am picking up a refill tomorrow.

My clothes are pretty snug and my mom wants to go shopping tomorrow for some cute maternity pants. I am gonna need them at this rate. :o( However, I weighed myself this morning and I am down to 206 lbs from 214....I guess it is all moving to the middle.