Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Tests Continue

Lately, I've been having very mixed feelings about everything. On the one hand, I want Evie to be as healthy as possible. On the other hand, I'm very tired of being pregnant and want to just get it over with so I can finally see my precious little girl. I keep hoping my water will break this week and I'll go into labor; however, Todd is in the Orchestra on Temple Square and is rehearsing all week for the concerts this weekend. For him, it would be a very bad week to have the baby. Next week is relatively free and clear for both of us, but the recent health concerns raise another issue: induction. If we had to induce, when would be the best time? With all of these thoughts swirling round my mind, I've been feeling a little bit stir-crazy. A few nights ago, I just needed to get out of the house. I walked around our complex three times, enjoying the fresh air and trying to clear my head. I figured that would be as good a time as any to pray. I told Heavenly Father that I didn't know whether to pray for good health or not. Ultimately, I decided I just needed to pray for peace and to have faith that whatever happened was for the best and according to His will. Whether Evie came early or late, on her own or after being induced, I wanted to be okay with it. The answer didn't come immediately, but it did come.

A couple of months ago, I asked Todd to give me a priesthood blessing at the beginning of this month so I could have a little extra strength when the time came to have the baby. Yesterday morning, he gave me that blessing. We were rushing around all morning, trying to get ready for the busy day we had planned. Finally, just before we left, Todd sat me down and gave me a blessing. During that blessing, I felt the peace I had asked for. I felt an outpouring of love for both me and my baby and suddenly knew that everything was going to be fine.

We left the house at 8:40 so we could get to the Health Center by 9. I had to drop off my second 24 hour urine collection and get my blood drawn again (my levels were slightly elevated last time and they wanted me to do it again). My doctor's appointment was at 9:20, so I planned to just run in, drop off the container, get my blood drawn, and run out. Unfortunately, the lab people were confused by my doctor's order and didn't know which vials to fill with blood, so they had to call and figure it out. It was 9:35 before we finally got out, and we hustled over to our doctors' office. Once again, my blood pressure was higher than normal (145/90), but wasn't any higher than the time before. My doctor checked my cervix again, and I'm another half centimeter dilated! Then he stripped the membranes, which is about as much fun as it sounds. He said that, since the lab results obviously weren't back yet, they weren't going to induce me. Yet. True, my blood pressure is higher than it should be, but it's consistent. Yes, my urine protein is higher than normal, but if the second results come back similar to the first ones, they'll just keep an eye on me and hope I go into labor naturally. Stripping the membranes will help with that, apparently. If, however, my results come back significantly higher than last time, we may have to induce. When I explained the craziness of this week, and that I'd really prefer to not go into labor without my husband there, he said that would probably be fine. We won't find out the results until today anyway, and maybe even tomorrow. Then, they could just put me on bed rest or something until early next week or even Sunday. I've already started my maternity leave from work. Really, that only leaves 3 days that I might have to wait. Even then, he's only concerned if my protein levels are over 300. He told me we were going to do an NST and see how the baby's doing, and he would call me with the lab results by today. If I don't hear from the office by tomorrow, I'm supposed to call and check up.

We did our NST, which Evie passed with flying colors. First, the lady ultrasounded my uterus to see how much amniotic fluid the baby has. Evie has 14.5 centimeters of fluid bubbles; the doctors hope for at least 5. Then, I was hooked up to monitors so they could see her heartrate and any contractions I may be having. I was supposed to push a button every time I felt the baby move. She's a naturally curious little girl, and kicked the monitor every 5 seconds or so to see what it was and to get it to go away. Then, apparently bored, she fell asleep between one kick and the next. We watched (actually, I just listened to) her sleeping heartrate for a little while, until the lady buzzed my belly. Poor Evie was startled awake and seemed kind of confused as she flailed around for a few seconds before calming back down. Meanwhile, her heartrate did just what it was supposed to.

She is super healthy, and my slight unhealthiness doesn't seem to be affecting her at all. My doctor didn't even schedule me for an appointment later this week, although he did say I might have to come in for another NST on Friday if my levels aren't where they should be. I guess we'll find out today sometime, or early tomorrow. If not, we're just scheduled for our next appointment on Monday, when I'll do another NST and meet with our least favorite doctor in the practice (Todd hopes I have the baby before then. :D). From what I could gather, unless I go into labor naturally in the next couple of days, I'll be having my little girl next week sometime. That'll put her at 39 weeks, though, so she'll be fine even if we induce. Really, that's what I learned yesterday: everything will be fine. Things will work out the way they're supposed to, and at the end, I'll have an adorable warm little bundle to snuggle. Maybe a week isn't really all that long to wait--it'll give me time to finish getting the apartment ready and my school assignments done.

3 comments:

  1. I was induced at exactly 39 weeks and everything went perfect. They stripped mt membranes at 38 weeks and I was still only 2 cm after a couple days, (I'd been dilated for a few weeks) but I was SICK of being pregnant so we went ahead. It was nice that way too cuz then I didn't miss too much sleep, I made sure I got my epidural, and I didn't have to worry about making it to the hospital with Loren on time!

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  2. Where are the updates you said you were writing???

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  3. Linds--There are a bunch of new posts up, and more are coming!

    Beth--You were exactly right about the induction: it went perfectly, and with so much less inconvenience than most other birth stories I've heard. I almost think I want all of my births to be that easy! I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.:) But your comment made me feel better about it all, so thank you!

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