It all started on Monday. I was having a lot of braxton hicks contractions, mostly at work, as well as anytime I was moving around even outside of work. They were short, but very frequent, about every 5 or 10 seconds. I wasn't sure what was considered "normal", so I gave my midwife a call, and she asked for me to come in on Wednesday just to check up on me. She also recommended getting a maternity support band to help ease the weight of my belly, as well as ease some of the back pain I'd been having. So Steve and I drove to Portland Monday night to get the support band, and Tuesday and Wednesday went better at work. I tried to take it easier, which helped as well. Tuesday night we went to a Breastfeeding class at the hospital. Like the lamaze class, I don't feel like we learned a ton of new information, but it was still informative.
Wednesday at my appointment with the midwife, my blood pressure was slightly elevated again, as it had been in the last few appointments. My blood pressure usually stayed around 110/60, but recently has been around 135/80 - not quite dangerous, but still higher than normal for me. They also found some protein in my urine, so she ordered some tests for me, and asked me to take the next couple of days off work to rest a bit. I had some labwork done that day, and they sent me home to do a 24-hour urine collection - I know, fun, right?
I had a hard time staying home for those 2 days. I had planned all along on working all the way up until the day I went into labor, so it was a bit of a shock for me. Steve had just started his second job that same day, which really was a blessing, but all I could think of was that he was working his butt off, and I was at home doing nothing.
Friday (Valentine's Day!), I returned to the hospital to do a non-stress test. They hooked me and baby up to monitors for about an hour, and watched the baby's heart rate. Everything went just fine with that test. I then had a bio-physical ultrasound, which measured the amniotic fluid, the baby's heartrate, muscle tone, movement, size, and breathing. Zane did great! It did take awhile to get him to practice breathing, and after about 10 minutes, I finally asked Steve to come over and try talking to him. As soon as he did, he started moving and breathing! On our way out of the hospital, the midwife gave us the OK to go to Connecticut for the weekend, as well as for me to go back to work on Monday.
Friday afternoon, we made the drive down to CT. The car ride down there was pretty uncomfortable for me. We stopped every hour to take breaks. Then Saturday morning, I got a call from one of the midwives. My 24 hour urine results had come back, and they were very surprised to see that I had an elevated level of protein. It wasn't dangerously high, but "normal" would have been well under 300, and mine was 387. They were concerned that this could be an early indicator of preeclampsia, so that told me that I would be out of work for at least another week, and they wanted me on bed rest, as well as to repeat all the same tests next week.
The baby shower went well - thank you to our friends and family who came!
This is me and Steve with his grandmother on the left, and his great aunt on the right. Baby Zane will be Grandma Barniski's first great-grandchild!
I tried to rest all weekend, and we headed back to Maine Sunday afternoon. On the way back, we stopped at Babies 'R Us, and picked up the carseat. We figured we'd better get it then, since who knows when this little guy is going to make his appearance! So, that's been what's been going on this week - from what I understand about pre-eclampsia, it can be very mild, and then all of a sudden become very serious, which is why they're being so precautious at this point. I'm adjusting to the whole idea of not going back to work and bedrest. There's so much that I wanted to do in the next couple of weeks - get the baby clothes washed, the house cleaned and organized, and so much more! But now, my only job is to relax and let this baby grow in the safest environment, and not to let my blood pressure get too high. This baby is more important than a month's paycheck, or anything else that I could have done this month, so I will rest, and I will be very good at it!
Zane should measure about 18.5 inches this week, and weigh around 6 pounds, though the ultrasound on Friday showed he may weigh around 6 pounds, 5 ounces! He's starting to shed the downy coating of hair that has covered his body, as well as the vernix that has protected his skin while in the womb. Zane's most important job from here on is to just work on breathing on his own, and putting on some more weight!
Here's me at 36 weeks:
How far along? 36 Weeks!
Maternity clothes? Yes, though I'm growing out of some of them
Total Weight Gain: Gained about a 1/2 a pound this week, putting me at 4 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight
Sleep: Tossing and turning most of the night, which isn't so easy to do anymore - I'm also usually awake for at least a half hour in the middle of the night.
Best moment this week: Seeing my baby boy on the ultrasound, and seeing him react to Steve's voice!
Miss Anything? Not being sore and hurting
Movement: I feel his movements everyday, they're getting bigger! I swear, yesterday, I felt him drag a knee or something across my belly!
Food cravings: Nothing in particular
Anything making you queasy or sick: Strong smells
Any other symptoms? Lower back pain, braxton hicks contractions, pelvis pain, some swelling
Have you started to show yet: yes
Gender prediction: boy!
Labor Signs: The braxton hicks have pretty much gone away since I've been on bed rest and I'm not moving around much
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? Off :(
Happy or Moody most of the time: All over the place this week
Looking forward to: I guess just getting through the tests this week - I just want to make sure Zane stays healthy!
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