May 27 - hospital bed rest

Friends and Family -

This is just an update on me and the baby. Hope everyone is doing well. Some of you may know that I was diagnosed with mild preeclampsia. I went to my OB appt. on Tuesday and my blood pressure was really high (160/100). My doctor sent me straight to Labor and Delivery for overnight monitoring. He wanted to see if my blood pressure would go down and watch out for any other possible signs of severe preeclampsia.

When we first got to the hospital, I was hooked up to a fetal monitor for 30 minutes to make sure the baby was doing well and then hooked up to a blood pressure cuff that checked my blood pressure every 10 minutes or so for the first hour. Next was a round of blood work that needed to be done. That was a pain since it was so hard for my veins to cooperate. Then an ultrasound was done to measure the baby's movements and growth. According to the ultrasound, my baby is weighing in at 3 pounds 12 ounces right now. Pretty big baby I think because at 29 weeks, I should have about a 2.5 pound baby in there. Oh well. Everyone seemed to be pleased with what they saw so far. I was also started on what was supposed to be a 24 hour urine collection to check protein levels, but due to miscommunication, turned into a 12 hour urine collection.

I was monitored off and on through the night. Robert was a trooper and slept on the little pull out sleeper in the room. Did not look comfortable at all. The high risk OB came in the morning to talk to me and it looked like everything was set for me to go home today. All that we were waiting on was the result from the urine collection. Well right around 11am or so, the resident doctor on duty came in and broke the bad news. For a 12 hr collection, I had about 3-3.5 grams of protein in my urine which would mean a 24 hour collection would have produced about 7 grams or so. Anything above 5 jumps me into the severe category which warrants hospital bed rest.

Next steps: I was given a steroid shot that will help mature my baby's lungs. I will get another one 24 hours after the first and the effects will be seen 24 hours after the second shot. I am currently on a 24 hour IV drip of magnesium sulfate that will help prevent seizures. My blood pressure has been taken every hour, but now since it is night, it will be taken every 2 hours. I am supposed to be watching for signs of my pre-e progressing any more - vision changes (blurriness), severe stomach pains up high near my ribs, constant headache that won't go away and of course they will watch my blood pressure. I will have blood work done every morning and the baby will be placed on a monitor for at least half an hour in the morning. An ultrasound will be performed everyday as well. Can anyone say high hospital bill? It doesn't matter anyways. If this means a healthy baby, then I will do and pay whatever it takes.

They won't let me go pass 34 weeks, but realistically know that I will probably deliver before then. That's the reason for the steroid shot. 34 weeks is June 26th, so my August baby has now turned into a June baby.

I am going to be fine and will try to give everyone updates as much as I can. I know there are a lot of you out there who are concerned. You can always email me as well at msnoonoo@embarqmail.com if you want. Take care everyone!