Mom Update: Week 35

A report on the harrowing last 48 hours:

On Thursday the 30th, a day after our 3rd wedding anniversary, Heidi and I went to her 35-week checkup with her obstetrician. She had a high-blood pressure reading, around 150/100. She has had high readings in the early stages of her pregnancy, but this was pretty high. Then they did a reading on CL, and the heart rate was 170 beats per minute, which her doctor said was very high.

We were told to go to the hospital that night for preeclampsia testing. I've read some of the books but I didn't really know what preeclampsia is. Here's the official word from the American Academy of Family Physicians:

"Preeclampsia (say "pre-ee-clamp-see-ah"), which is also called toxemia, is a problem that occurs in some women during pregnancy. It can happen during the second half of pregnancy. Your doctor will look for the following signs of preeclampsia: high blood pressure, swelling that doesn't go away and large amounts of protein in your urine. Preeclampsia is more common in a woman's first pregnancy and in women whose mothers or sisters had preeclampsia. The risk of preeclampsia is higher in women carrying multiple babies, in teenage mothers and in women older than age 40. Other women at risk include those who had high blood pressure or kidney disease before they became pregnant. The cause of preeclampsia isn't known."

There are some scary side effects of preeclampsia as well. It could result in the mom suffering from seizures or even stroke. I don't mention this to frighten, only to inform. Trust me, I'm far from thrilled about it myself.

They put Heidi on immediate bedrest and strapped on some monitors - one for her blood pressure, one to determine if she was having contractions, and one for CL's heart rate. We didn't have a chance to get dinner beforehand and Heidi was starving - other than that, she felt fine. They gave her clear foods only (jello, popsicles, apple juice, etc.), which is what they give any pregnant woman who may undergo a C-section. The doctor on duty ordered blood tests, and also put Heidi on a 24-hour urine check. And we were basically informed in so many words that Heidi was there for the night.

Heidi's blood pressure was rather unstable. She had a cuff put on her arm, which inflated and monitored her every 15 minutes. Her BP was jumping all over the place and we were concerned that it would affect CL. However, CL was doing fine. The baby's heart rate had come down to 120-150 BPM. Heidi was showing no signs of distress, and none of the other symptoms of preeclampsia, but the doctors were being cautious.

Heidi was uncomfortable being hooked up to monitors, all the time worried about the possibility of having to deliver a month early. I called and upset both sets of grandparents with the news, which set off a chain reaction of further phone calls.

We settled in for a long night. Neither one of us slept very well. At least they backed off Heidi's BP checks to every half-hour, then to every hour. It was still erratic, but everyone believed that neither she nor the baby were in any immediate danger.

Finally, after very little sleep and some terrible real (but non-clear) hospital food, Heidi was taken off the monitors, and moved from the delivery ward to the post-delivery (mother-baby) ward, a very positive step. Around 6:45 pm Friday, she no longer had to collect urine for analysis. We felt like she had really made it over a big hurdle. We even got to take another look at CL via ultrasound and found that he/she has hair (weird!) and is close to 7 lbs already! At not quite 36 weeks!

Unfortunately, we still had to wait for the results of continual blood tests as well as the urinalysis until Saturday morning. So, another night of unrest but with fewer interruptions, other than a crying baby or two, which was actually fairly comforting. In the nursery, I saw 4 babies, which made me sort of excited to finally meet ours.

Heidi finally got some good news in the morning. Based on the analysis, she has a slight case of preeclampsia, and they wanted to start another round of 24-hour urinalysis, but she could be dispatched home. This made her extremely happy as she missed her own bed, not to mention Frankie the cat.

This morning, we returned to the hospital to drop off the urine specimen (yuck) and get even more of Heidi's blood drawn. I think she's been poked at least 6 times now. Then, back home to rest, while I took care of laundry and packing the bags for real this time.

She's got a doctor's appointment at 10:00 am tomorrow, and I'm regularly checking her BP, which has stayed pretty steady of late, although still rather high. We're thinking Heidi might be induced very soon if the BP stays high, at least in the next week or so. So for now, we'll play it by ear and hope for the best.

Thanks to everyone who has contacted us. We really appreciate the support. And if Heidi's home for a week or so on complete bedrest, she's going to be bored to tears. So, by all means, feel free to entertain her. I'll do my best to keep everyone informed.

Crazy Legs will most likely be a Libra, just like my dad, my sister Michele and Heidi's sister Erica. More on that to come.