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26-11-2008 - Baby Status

My mood while writing this blog: tired

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So, I am exactly 7 days from my scheduled c-section, and am SO ready to have this baby!! It's been a WHILE since I did any blog entry, so let me recap the past few months.

Everything had been going really well after the first trimester. I had a yucky start with morning sickness and asthma, but the summer was fantastic. Trevor and I spent a lot of time at the pool and going to the park. I felt great and was fairly active (when I wasn't laying out!)!

When school started, I noticed that I would get tired a lot faster than usual, but I was still feeling really great. I would sit on a bar stool or chair in my classroom when I could, but otherwise I was still as active as I ever had been. Fast forward to October and I started having lower back pain and pain in my right hip. I compensated by sitting more while teaching (which I hated because I'm usually a hands-on kind of teacher), but I knew I had to take care of myself and the baby. I went in for a check-up on October 28th and told my dr about the pains and he said just take it as easy as possible and take extra-strength Tylenol as needed. By the next night, I could barely walk. I couldn't lift my legs to even climb in bed. (I'm sure it would have been funny if I could have watched myself later!) I ended up kind of falling back into bed and then slowly pushing myself up onto my pillow. I thought that tylenol and sleep would help. I woke up the next morning and was just as sore, but went to work anyway. (I didn't want to take time off before I absolutely had to. I was planning on working until the day before my c-section.) I ended up spending the day sitting at my desk and when I had to walk, it was slow going. I called my dr that afternoon when I got home and he finally called back that evening. He said it sounded like I had developed Sciatica, which is where the uterus is resting on the sciatic nerve and caused pain and numbess. He asked if it was possible for me to lay on my left side with a heating pad while I was teaching - knowing the answer was no. Since my answer was indeed no, he said I was done with work until after the baby came. I FLIPPED out!! I was already going to lose pay because of the maternity leave, and then I had no idea what was going to happen having to take an extra month off - if I would get paid or not! I told him I had to go in at least one more day because I couldn't just not show up and have my students get upset. I called my sub to see if she could start earlier, and thankfully she could. I was NOT AT ALL prepared for leaving earlier than Dec. 2nd. I had NO lesson plans ready - not even for myself for the next week, much less 3 months worth! My sub came in the next day while I was there to get an idea of where we were and where we needed to be when I got back. My boys were very upset, sad and even angry that I was having to leave earlier than planned. I told them I WOULD be back (some of them thought I was quitting) and that I would come visit after the baby was born anyway. So, I resigned myself to some rest and boredom, which is exactly what I got for the next 3 1/2 weeks.

Fast forward again to yesterday. I go in for my regular weekly check-up. I had gained 4 lbs in 1 week (so I was upset) and then the nurse took my blood pressure and it was 169/104. She did it twice. When the dr came in, he took it again and it was 158/100. He checked the heart-beat and felt the baby's position then said he wanted me to go over to the hospital and go to Labor & Delivery to have my blood pressure monitored. So, I walk out of the dr's office, call my husband, cry and drive across the street to the hospital. I go up to L&D and they get me in a bed and hook me up with the blood pressure cuff (which goes off like every 10 minutes) and the fetal monitors. My blood pressure starts going down slowly as I'm lying there on my left side. The baby was being stubborn and kept moving away from the monitor, so the nurse (calling her Stink-pot) would come in and move the monitor every 15 minutes or so. She says she's satisfied with my blood pressure and lets me turn on my back, which then has my blood pressure shooting back up. I go back on my left side and she tells me they're not happy with the baby's heart-rate. It should fluctuate some to indicate that the heart and nervous system are working properly, but her's is staying too consistent. They send me to have an ultrasound done, but it's more than just the regular ultrasound. The tech measures EVERYTHING! It was really cool. It wasn't the 3-D, but it was a lot clearer than the ones I had done at the dr's office previously. We could see the 2 hemispheres of her brain, all 4 of her heart valves, all her little organs (the girl parts especially) and that she has hair!! We did not get to see her face, though, because the stubborn little thing had both arms and feet in front of her face, no matter what the tech did to try to get her to move them! She was a wiggle-worm as usual, though! So, back to the bed and on the monitors until the report is read. Nurse comes back in and says everything with Madison is fine and I'm going home, but I'm on a more restricted bed-rest and I have to self-monitor for pre-eclampsia. My husband got a blood-pressure monitor from his dad, and I have been checking that. It's the same as in the hospital. As long as I'm laying down, I'm fine. But if I get up to go to the bathroom, or even sit up a little in bed, my blood pressure goes back up.

So, I'm going to see how I do tomorrow before I call the dr. I'm close enough now to my scheduled c-section that I figure I can wait it out as long as I'm ok and Madison's ok. Although, the last week it has seemed like the days are SO long!! I really can't wait to see and hold my baby girl! (Especially now that I've had another "sneak peak"!!) I'm excited to see how her big brother reacts to her and I want to see all the hair! I've had a hard time trying to imagine what she'll look like! I figure she'll kind of look like a girl version of my son, so we'll see. The tech doing the ultrasound estimated her weight to be 8lbs. Trevor was 7lbs 9oz and 21 inches long. I was told that the second baby, especially when it's a girl, is usually smaller than the first, so we'll see how close the tech's estimation was!!

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1 Comments on Baby Status


amazintrace - Thursday, 27 Nov
I'm so excited for you! Counting down the days!