The Story of High Blood Pressure

The baby's due date is in approximately two and  half weeks, which honestly can't come fast enough. I used to be terrified of labor and delivery, but for now I just want my baby girl, I want my body back, and I want to see my ankle bones again. The last three doctor visits have been very interesting, to say the least.

The first of said visits was three weeks ago. I went back into the exam room and the nurse took my blood pressure (this was at about 35 weeks) and said it was quite a bit higher than the previous appointments. After the doctor checked me for any signs of dilation he had my lay on my left side and relax to see if it would bring my blood pressure down. The second time the checked my blood pressure it was back to a normal range. At this point the doctor was concerned about the risk of preeclampsia and had me go in a week afterwards.

The second visit my blood pressure was still slightly high, but nothing like the week before and I went happily on my way.

This week when I went in my blood pressure was even higher than the first two weeks and in addition to lying on my left side to see if it would lower they did a non stress test on the baby, which checks the baby's heart rate to see if she is under stress as well. Luckily this test came back with good results and it was determined that she isn't under any stress. Second they had me go in for an ultra sound to check that there was enough amniotic fluid to sustain her and keep her healthy until she's born. The results of the ultra sounds also came back with a positive result. There's plenty of fluid for her and she's growing an acceptable amount. The ultra sound tech said that she's weighing in at about 5 lbs and 13 oz. That's still small, but for the next two and a half weeks she should be gaining about half a pound a week, putting her at just under 7 lbs at birth, which is super small considering I've gained a total of 42 lbs since we found out I was pregnant :( I swear I'm like a beached whale at this point.

So, in the end the doctor said the baby is fine. He didn't give any suggestions as to what I need to do to get my blood pressure down and I don't really know where to go from here. I know that blood pressure has been high on my dad's side of the family with the majority of his sisters and their pregnancies, so I don't know how much genetics are playing into this. I don't even know what the next step is if my blood pressure continues to stay high. I'm sure bed rest might be thrown in there, which I really hope doesn't happen because I don't want to take any of my leave before the baby comes. I want to have the full 12 weeks recovering and spending time with my baby. I guess for now I'm just going to take it one day at a time and relax when I can.

10 Weeks, Fat Feet, and Uncomfortable Heartburn

Well, the beginning of the end is here. I only have 10 weeks left until the baby is due..... talk about TERRIFYING! There's still a lot that I need to do to get ready for this baby. Mostly shopping since we only have a few outfits, a car seat, and a stroller for her. I don't have an updated picture since I'm super self conscious about how I'm looking these days. Maybe if I feel up to it I'll take one this week.

Up to this point I've stayed pretty active, I'm still working 30 hours a week, going to school, and keeping the house up to par. Well, the house may not be up to par, but I'm still trying. My biggest issue the last few weeks is that my feet and ankles have started to retain water. At first it wasn't a big deal, but now on Friday's and Saturday's I can feel how fat my feet are and it hurts to walk sometimes. At my last doctor appointment my doctor didn't mention anything about it, but I think when I go in a couple of weeks I'll ask him if it's anything to worry about.

Another beauty of this pregnancy is the slight heartburn that I've had for the last two days. It's not excessive and isn't really effecting me, it's just a weird sensation since I've never had heartburn before. I may be investing in tums very shortly or avoid the foods that create heartburn, if I can keep track of them.

On a positive note it's so fun to feel the baby move around. She's not big enough to hurt me at this point so I'm still enjoying it. Neight has felt her move a few times, the first time kind of freaked him out :) I think he's ready for the next 10 weeks to be over so he can hold her. At least, I hope so.

In other news, here are a few pictures of things we've been up to since my last post.

This isn't a very good picture, but my littlest sister Angie was Glinda in her school's production of the Wizard of Oz. She made the perfect Glinda and did an excellent job!

Last week Neight and my dad started framing in walls in the nursery since there's no insulation and one day I walked in there and found Munchquen chilling in the framework for the closet. She climbed to the top step of a ladder and then jumped into the framework. She's so weird!

Again, this isn't a very good picture, but for my birthday Neight gave me this beautiful necklace. It's a heart with a mom and a baby on the inside. I love it!

A few weeks ago I caught a cold, lucky me, but Neight brought me home flowers to help make me feel better :)

This is a picture of a delicious dinner Neight made. I love how he knows what goes together and I love the presentation he does. The colors are so full of spring, I just love it!