Quick Update

Just wanted to write a quick update with a bit of better news!

I had a follow-up doctor's appointment with my regular OB yesterday.  The results were in from the urine collection and lab work I did on Sunday/Monday (earlier that day).  Good news: the protein level in my urine went DOWN and my labs still looked good!  My dr said she is not removing the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia, but this means that right now it's not getting worse.  My bp at the appointment was also great, the lowest it had been, which means the meds are continuing to work (it is still inconsisent periodically throughout the day when I check it, which is why bed rest is so important).  The baby looked great on the Non-stress test as well.  We had assumed, along with our doctors, that my protein level and labs would all look worse, necessitating the amnio and/or induction at the end of this week.  Since not only did nothing look worse, but actually better, my dr sees no need to go through the amnio and induction at this point.  She is not worried about the baby's growth dropping in percentile right now as 28th percentile is not considered growth-restricted, and they wouldn't induce for just weight until the baby is considered growth-restricted (under 10th percentile).  We want the baby to get as big as possible before being born as there will be much less tests that have to be performed on the baby and less issues expected overall (of course as long as it's also safe for me to have baby stay in the womb).

The plan right now: repeat the Biophysical Profile on Thursday to ensure the baby is continuing to grow in the womb and repeat the urine collection/lab work on Sunday/Monday.  As long as that all looks okay, we will set the induction for July 5th or 6th at 38 weeks.  At this point we won't have to worry about performing an amnio since I will be 38 weeks.  Of course, if anything looks worse prior to that date we will do the amnio and induction as soon as possible, but we are hopeful that we will make it another week and a half!

Keep praying that all continues to go well this week and next so baby can stay safely in until the end of next week!

Carrie

37 weeks tomorrow!

(We still haven't taken any official belly pictures- which I plan to do this week and next before baby is born... but in the meantime here is another from my cell phone!)

And it continues...

Here's the latest...

Last week, I was doing good with the meds and bed rest, until my bp started spiking in the evening a couple days in a row.  One time ended with us in triage in the ER.  They were able to get my bp down and baby looked okay, so I was sent home.  At this point, my doctor increased my meds to 3 times a day instead of 2.  So far, this has been working and I've not had any more spikes in bp.

Unfortunately, as of Sunday, it's officially pre-eclampsia.  My blood work came back good, so at that point, my body and/or organs are not being affected.  But there was enough protein in my urine to officially diagnose pre-eclampsia.  We saw the specialist this week and they did a Biophysical profile on the baby.  This is similar to the APGAR scores they do on the baby after birth, but in the womb.  It helps to determine how the baby is doing in the womb with everything else going on.  First off, baby's right kidney measured much larger this time.  Doctor still isn't overly concerned as she said even with how dialated it is, it can still clear up on it's own after birth.  So really we won't know any more regarding the kidney until an u/s is done on the baby after birth.  Our last u/s with the specialist, three weeks ago, baby was in the 40th percentile for growth/size.  This time, however, baby was estimated to be in the 28th percentile.  Which means, while baby is still growing and putting on weight, growth is starting to be affected.  Movement, blood flow through the umbilical cord, heartbeat, everything looked good but the baby didn't show signs of attempting to 'breathe' during the time allotted for the profile (which is not uncommon for babies not to show this.  Hiccups would have also counted... which baby gets all the time!  But of couse not when we need it to.).  So we were put on the monitor for a Non-Stress test, at which point baby looked great and made up for all the point it missed on the profile.

What now?  Well, I'll be doing another urine collection to check the levels of protein in my urine along with more labs to check my organ functions on Sunday/Monday.  We'll do another Non-Stress test on the baby on Monday.  At that point, we will also schedule an amniocentresis for that Friday or the following Monday to check the maturity of the baby's lungs.  I'll be 37 and 1/2 weeks at that point.  If the results come back that the baby's lungs are matured, they may induce me that day.  If they aren't matured yet, the longest they'll let me go is 38 and 1/2 weeks (which would be around July 9th).  Another biophysical profile will be done on the baby next week as well.  If my protein levels/lab work come back not looking good, or if baby starts to not look good, there is a chance they may decide not to even wait for the amnio and just induce me right away. So while we are getting closer to a 'gameplan,' it's still pretty up in the air- depending on how things progress/maintain.

Bottom line is, we want to make it another week!  Longer baby stays in the womb (as long as its safe for both baby AND me), the better.  But if things aren't looking good, baby is also okay to be delivered now, though a much higher chance of a stay in the NICU, which of course we'd love to avoid.

So that's it for now!  I'll update more as we know more.
Carrie

Roller-Coaster Ride

Well, this is going to be a long, eventful update!  It's been a bit of a roller-coaster around here.

First off, we had our 33 week u/s to check on the baby's kidneys.  The baby was measuring right on track, estimated to weigh approx 4.11 lbs.  Heartbeat was 144 bpm.  Kidneys were proportionally the same- right one continues to be larger but my fluid levels continue to be good!

My blood pressure at this appointment was high again so my dr wanted me to continue to take it daily to monitor it.

Throughout the u/s the baby was hanging out on left side so my belly was extremely  lopsided the entire time!  And once again, baby had a hand up by face/forehead!  Baby's favorite position!  So overall, this u/s checkup was a positive one!

We went home for our baby showers in the beginning of June, when I was about 33 and 1/2 weeks.  Our showers were WONDERFUL!  We were so spoiled by everyone and are so grateful and lucky to have such wonderful families!

Nick drove back to our Springfield home on Monday and I stayed for the week.  Throughout the week I was checking my bp as I was supposed to be doing.  It would go up and down, but never high enough to worry.  It was an extremely busy week and I was on my feet a lot so I assumed the varying bp was attributed to that.  Friday I went with my parents to the lake and spent the day there.  That evening, I checked my bp and it was OVER 140/90, which is what my dr said is too high.  I got myself extremely worked up because I was afraid of something happening without Nick being here.  At that point, my bp sky rocketed and it wasn't coming down.  We decided I need to go to the hospital.  Which as it turned out, was a good decision.

Once I got to the hospital, my bp was extremely high.  They admitted me and began to monitor my bp and the baby.  Baby was looking good, but my bp was not coming down.  We decided to have Nick fly out Saturday morning to be there in case anything happened (i.e. they needed to take the baby).  I had to do a 24 hour urine collection in order to check for pre-eclampsia, which is where there is protein in the urine and the kidneys aren't functioning correctly, along with high bp.  This affects how the placenta is functioning and can be very serious for baby and mom.  My bp continued to raise throughout the day on Saturday, even though I was only laying in bed all day.  At this point they decided to put me on bp medication.  Sunday morning my results came in- and it was NOT pre-eclampsia at this point.  I was diagnosed with gestational hyptertension (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure).  They had my bp under control with the medicine and allowed me to make the drive home to Springfield and continue my care with my regular dr.

They did an u/s of the baby at the hospital to check growth- baby looked great!  It was measuring right on track and fluid looked good.  Baby was moving around and had it's feet right up under my ribs- a favorite position!  Until, baby decided to put a foot right up by it's face... yes, I said face!  It was so cute.  We also got to see that the baby had HAIR!  Doesn't necessarily mean it's a LOT of hair by any means, but there was hair nonetheless!

We were glad to see baby wasn't affected by this whole situation.  It was an extrememly scary and stressful weekend but we made it back safely, thankfully!

Once we got back, we met with our regular dr.  She wants me to continue on my bp medication (which has been working to keep my bp at a normal level).  I will have to do a 24 hour urine collection and have my blood drawn weekly in order to check for pre-eclampisa. As long it doesn't turn into pre-eclampsia and my bp continues to stay under control, I will be induced around 38-39 weeks, most likely around July 4th (if any more complications arise, baby's lung development will be checked to see if I can be induced earlier).  I'm currently on bed rest (not strict, total bed rest- I am able to get up and do things, but majority of the day I have to be sitting with my feet up.  Luckily it's only for a few weeks!).

Needless to say, it's been an eventful couple weeks!  I just have to take it easy so I can keep baby in as long as possible so he or she is as healthy as possible when born!  We haven't been very good at keeping up with the belly photos with everything that's been going on so I don't really have much to update there.

32 weeks (picture taken from my cell phone!)

I will update more as anything new develops- let's hope nothing more quite so eventful!

Carrie