Yet another hospital visit..

I just realized, you can hear Ella's heartbeat in the background of this!!

Day 25 of bedrest

82 days left until my EDD

Yesterday (Friday 9-24), my BP went up to 178/111 while laying down. I figured it was a fluke so I waited 15 minutes and checked it again. This time it was 166/104. I'm supposed to call if it's over 160/100. So I called into L&D and of course, they wanted me to come in. Shane came and picked Olivia and I up and we all trooped over to L&D. When we got there, I was sitting on the bed and my eyes started bugging out. It felt almost like I was looking through a kalaidescope except everything was how it should be. Or like when you see on cartoons how ants see? All the different facets? That's how the room looked. Kind of spotty. Very bad sign. I laid down and the nurses came in and took my BP. It was still pretty high, I believe high 140's/100 or something like that. They waited about 15 minutes and took it again and it was in the mid 150's/high 90's so essentially the same. They checked my urine (all this talk about pee in this blog!!) and the protein was +3--very bad. 


One of the doctors came in and started talking about options. She said that at some point soon, maybe today (as in yesterday), we were going to need to start Magnesium Sulfate. Now, I was on mag when I was pregnant with Olivia and those of you who came in and saw me at the hospital, or who spoke to me on the phone may remember how totally spaced out I was. NOT my idea of a good time.  A little later, my BP came down a little bit (must safer numbers, or at least for me) and another doctor came in. He said that they were going to take another urine sample directly from my bladder and check it. If the protein didn't show up as trace or +1, he would call my doctor over at Abbott Hospital (where I'll have to deliver if I deliver before 32 weeks) and that essentially I wasn't going home. We were extremely nervous at that point. They did a catheter speciman (I wont go into the details of this but pretty much on of the worst things EVER..and keep in mind that I have had a baby!!) and sent it to the lab. Everyone was holding their breath, even our nurses. My main nurse was literally checking the lab results every few minutes waiting for them to get the results back to us. She finally called and had them tell her over the phone. Thank GOD, the protein was showing up as +1. It was a pretty nerve wracking night. 


After about 6 hours in L&D, after having almost been admitted and quite possibly had Ella, we were able to go home. Same old strict bedrest and they doubled my BP meds. The unfortunate thing is that my preeclampsia seems to be getting worse a little at a time. Today, I was sitting up for about 15 minutes and I started getting the spotty vision again. For the first half of the day, my fingers were swollen to the point where I had a difficult time closing them and that was just with laying down. 


I added a video that Shane took of Olivia being super silly at the hospital last night as a kind of bright spot in the post. It's definitely worth watching. She was being pretty adorable (up until bedtime when she got SUPER cranky!!). 


Just keep sending prayers and positive thoughts our way...

28 weeks!!

Day 23 of bedrest

84 days left until my EDD

Today I turned 28 weeks and am starting the third trimester. This is a milestone in preparing for a premature birth. Even though it's incredibly early, and most DEFINITELY not when you want baby born, the chances of survival are 90-95%. Plus, MN has some world renown hospitals, including the level III NICU at at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, which is where Ella would be if she were born before 32 weeks. This is what the March of Dimes has to say on babies born between 28-31 weeks: 

"These babies look quite similar to babies born earlier, although they are larger (usually between 2 and 4 pounds) and even more likely to survive (about 96 percent) (13). Many require treatment with oxygen, surfactant and assistance to help them breathe. Some of these babies can be fed breastmilk or formula through a tube placed through their nose or mouth into the stomach, although others need to be fed intravenously.

Some of these babies can cry. They can move, although their movements may be jerky. A baby born at this time can grasp a person’s finger. These babies can open their eyes, and they begin to stay awake and alert for short periods.

Babies born at 28 to 31 weeks are at risk for the complications discussed above. When complications occur, however, they may not be as severe as in babies born earlier. Babies born with very low birthweight (less than 3 pounds, 4 ounces) remain at risk for serious disabilities."

Because we're facing the possibility of Ella being born soon, on Monday at my doctors appointment I'm going to discuss when we would consider doing steroid shots to help develop Ella's lungs. If I remember with Olivia, it takes 2 days for them to be effective so we would want to do them at least a few days prior to delivery. We had them a week before Olivia was born and she was born with 100% lung capacity. I'm praying that Ella will be just as lucky. 

Keep praying for 32 (OR MORE!!) weeks! But we're preparing for the possibility that it could happen much sooner. Every day, even HOUR counts at this point. Weeks are golden!! 

3 weeks to the day

Day 22 of bedrest

85 days left until my EDD

3 weeks ago today, I went into the doctors office with a high blood pressure reading of 149/92. When I got to the doctors, it was 162/102. I had +1 protein in my urine and was put on immediate bed rest with orders to follow up with my primary OB the following Friday after being given a diagnosis of PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension). 

Exactly 3 weeks later, on the day before I turned 28 weeks, I find out that it is no longer PIH but now it is mild preeclampsia. I knew this day was going to come, and after all the symptoms from this weekend as well as my 24 hour urine, I wasn't surprised. That doesn't make me any less happy about it. I know, I should be thrilled that I am still pregnant but I knew at 24 weeks, when I wasn't put on bed rest that I wasn't going to be induced. PIH isn't something that they induce for as far as I'm aware. Or at least not at 24 weeks they don't. It's been a waiting game up until now for it to turn into preeclampsia. With the hypertension, there was a hope, even a good chance that the BP meds and the bed rest would get me to full term. Of course, there is a chance that I could get to full term with preeclampsia but with my history of severe preeclampsia, the chances of that happening are pretty slim. I would say at this point, I'm praying to make it an extra 4 weeks to get to 32 weeks. 

I know that people are going to read this and think I'm just being pessimistic. That is not the case. I'm simply preparing myself for the likelihood of what could happen. And if I'm wrong, I will completely allow everyone to laugh at me and say "I told you so!" (but, so you know, you can fully expect a snotty remark and me to stick my tongue out at you because I'm super mature like that!). If you mix in the fact that the protein in my urine has literally tripled in the last two weeks, the fact that my ankles and hands swell if I'm upright for longer then about 10 minutes (sometimes shorter) and the fact that I've had daily headaches since Saturday, things aren't looking the brightest. Right now, I'm working on trying to emotionally and physically prepare myself for a preemie who could potentially spend a very long time in the NICU and spending each day thanking God that Ella is still in my belly. 

A post about pee

No, that is not mine. ;-) 

Day 21 of bedrest

86 days left until my EDD

Is that title completely inappropriate? Sure, but that's what this is! It's all about pee. I got the results back from my 24 hour urine test today...definitely not good. :( There is 494 mg of protein spilling into my urine from my kidneys. According to the Mayo Clinic's fact sheet on preeclampsia, 300 mg or more of protein is a sign of pre-e. I have also been having a lot of swelling as well as headaches everyday since Saturday. Last night when I got up to use the bathroom and brush my teeth, my feet swelled up in the short amount of time I was doing that. While my blood pressure is being controlled within reason by the BP drugs and bed rest, I am concerned about the levels of protein that my kidneys are spilling. I spoke to the nurse today and she said that the levels are high but "not high enough to take action--YET". I can't help but focus on the YET part of that sentence. I'll be 28 weeks on Thursday and while 9 out of 10 babies born at 28 weeks survive, it's obviously not the choice time for baby to be born. I'm still praying for at least 32 weeks, but the protein spilling in my urine has almost tripled in the last 2 weeks. 


So needless to say, I feel like at this point we're playing a waiting game. There is just NO way to know when Ella will be here.