Thursday, June 7, 2012

Somebody's got a frowny face...

We are officially 10 days away from our due date, but unfortunately that number doesn't matter anymore. Last Monday I went in to my weekly appointment (at 37 weeks) and as the nurse took my blood pressure, she looked up at me and asked if I had rushed to get in there. I said no and she checked it again, frowning. She said some numbers that meant nothing to me, then said that she would have Dr. Karns check it again in a minute. At the end of our appointment, Dr. Karns (Tom as I call him, a family friend) checked my BP again and though it had lowered slightly, was a little higher than he would have liked. To be on the safe side, he scheduled me to come back in a few days later to have his nurse check it again. I went in again on Friday morning, BP still high. I was instructed to take it easy, no stairs, no walking up hills, and no lifting anything over 10lbs. "Taking it easy" isn't easy for me to do, I am a very active person that has trouble sitting still, especially when I'm anxious and guess what? I'm about to have a baby, I'm anxious.

So, now we are up to Monday this week, I'm at 38 weeks 2 days, I take the elevator up to Tom's office, sit in the waiting room for a nice 10 minutes (plenty of time to get my heart to calm down a bit) and get called back for my appointment. The nurse (Anita) takes my BP and frowns. 132/90 Still high. I told her I had taken the elevator like she said and had taken it easy all weekend, she checked my urine and checked for swollen ankles/face (signs of pre-eclampsia) and all appeared good beyond the elevated BP. Tom couldn't find an explanation for my high blood pressure either. He explained that if my BP was going to be an issue, it would have become a problem a long time ago, not 2-3 weeks before my due date, and as there are no other indications of pre-eclampsia we were all pretty stumped. This made him lean more for inducing at 39 weeks to be on the safe side, when he told me this I believe my first response was, "Holy Sh*t Tom, that's next week." No, not my best moment, but inducing was the last thing I wanted and the last thing I expected at that point. Marcus wasn't with me and as the panic set in I was told I would be induced next Tuesday morning. He scheduled me to come back in on Thursday morning to have my BP checked again.

Here we are, Thursday morning (38weeks 5days) and I just got done with my doctors appointment. My blood pressure this morning was 142/88 (high) but Oliver's seemed to be perfect, Thank God! He checked to see if I was dilated at all and what do you know? ZERO. Unfortunately no dilation before you induce increases your risk of a c-section. So, as of this morning, I am to check into Stillwater Medical Center Monday evening and get a medication that is supposed to help me dilate/soften overnight before they start inducing Tuesday morning (39weeks 3 days). Bummer.

This was not how I wanted this to happen. I really wanted Oliver to come on his own time and for Marcus and I to have the experience of going into labor at home, sharing the excitement together and enjoying our last few quiet moments before our lives change forever. I'm heartbroken that this isn't how it is going to be. I keep reminding myself that there are pluses that go along with inducing, we can have everything ready, our family can plan around it, Forrest will be taken care of, Marcus' work will have more notice, and either way we will be bringing home our baby boy.

I'm a little heartbroken so as of this moment, my solution is: a few tears, Rush Hour 2, and baking a German Chocolate cake. This time next week (depending on what kind of delivery I have) we could be bringing home our baby boy home for the very first time.

3 comments:

  1. You poor thing! My first baby I wasn't induced and the last few days were TORTURE. I had been contracting for weeks with nothing to show for it and then BAM...water broke at 3 am. I didn't dilate again until I had the epidural, which they only gave me because my blood pressure was ridiculously high. (a trend, I guess, when my body is stressed)

    With my daughter, I went in for my 38 week appointment and my blood pressure was 142/something I can't remember. They decided to schedule me for the next week. I was completely freaked out. But I have to tell you, driving up to the hospital, calmly walking to my room, knowing my son was being taken care of...it really made it much easier.

    I know that this crazy long comment doesn't help, but I was induced and I didn't have to have a c-section. I hope that you have a great birthing experience, too!

    Big hugs from a complete stranger! :) (I lived in Parker when Marcus did)

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    1. Thank you! That acutally does make me feel a lot better. I feel better today, I just needed to shed a few tears and throw myself a pity party and be over it. I completely get what you mean about calmly walking to your room and knowing you/baby were being taken care of. I know our doctor is doing what is best its just frustrating not being able to control/plan a situation that is so unpredictable. A life lesson for me I suppose!

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  2. I'm glad it helps! I had the same reaction at first, too. It was awful. I wrote about it here: http://ok-state-kellys.blogspot.com/2010/04/scheduling.html

    And then, Lauren made her way into the world the way she wanted to. I guess babies just do that. :) HA! (My crazy birth story here: http://ok-state-kellys.blogspot.com/2010/04/and-now-were-four.html)

    Either way...happy, healthy baby and mom are the best for everyone. Fingers crossed that he decides he needs to come on his own before you go in!

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