Bed Rest

Hello there, friends.

So if you have been reading my weekly pregnancy posts, you probably read last week's about my going to the hospital over the weekend. Well there have been some new developments.

Tuesday near the end of the school day I had strange vision problems again. I called my doctor, and they had me come in to take my blood pressure. It was high, not too high, but high. So they ordered some blood work to be done, a 24 hour urine sample, and bed rest. I had a moment (or several moments) but stress because I couldn't help but wonder what would be done with my job??? I am the main teacher of 11 cute little kindergarteners who need a lot of care and specialization. I was smart and prepared the lessons for the rest of the week (most of it was already done, thankfully), and then I was on bed rest.

Wednesday was boring, and spent in anticipation. The nurse told me that by 4 I should have the results of the test. False! That afternoon another nurse told me there was no way they would have the test results before the office closed. Lame. So, another day of bed rest was in order. The nurse did tell me, though that she would leave a note to the nurse who would be there in the morning to get my test results ASAP and call me ASAP, so that made me feel better. Slightly. That night I honestly felt like a kids before Christmas. I have a hard time waiting sometimes....

Today I waited as patiently as possible until my doctor's office opened and I left two messages, one with the lab work people and one with the nurse's station. And so I waited.... and waited..... and so 50 minutes later, I called again and stayed on hold for a good 6 minutes until they answered and said, "Oh yes you left us two messages this morning." .....yes I did. I felt bad, but hey, they told me they would know first thing in the morning! So then they told me they were just waiting to talk to the doctor and then they would call me.

So, about a half hour later, they called. The test results came back totally fine! That confused me because I definitely had some major signs of pre-eclampsia. So the nurse continued on, telling me that while the tests were good (and that was great news), I did have the symptoms of pre-eclampsia, so they said that basically I had a mild form of it. In order to make sure it doesn't turn into a severe form, they told me I had to be on bed rest, plus they'll be seeing me every week where they will monitor my blood pressure closely and also make sure they do a non-stress test each time on the baby. They said I will probably have to do a few more 24 hour urine tests as well.

So that's the verdict! I have pre-eclampsia, and I will be on bed rest until I deliver the baby. They said that most women in my situation make it to 37 weeks as long as they stay on bedrest, so that's good news. I did not want to have a preemie baby if I could help it! So from what I gather (and I will be confirming this with my doctor tomorrow), I will probably have this baby early. I don't remember what I put in the last post and you may already know this, but the only way to get rid of pre-eclampsia is to have the baby, because it has to do with the placenta. So until that placenta is out of my body, I will have pre-eclampsia. So, from what they've said, they just want me to make it to 37 weeks and then this baby is outta here! That means that my new "due date" is probably March 15th. And Ides of March baby?

I'm feeling pretty good right now. I'm glad that my baby and I are healthy enough that we don't have to worry right now, but I'm also glad that they know they want me on bedrest. My biggest fear when they told me the tests were fine was that I would go back to normal life, only to be rushed to the hospital because I worked myself too hard or something changed. So, while I am unhappy to be on bed rest (and slightly stressed about missing work), I'm glad that I will be able to at least do something (by not doing anything) to help the baby stay in longer and to keep us both doing okay.

That brings me to a question. Anyone been on bed rest? Anyone have suggestions for what to do? My instinct when I am home is to cook, clean, and organize. Luckily, I can still do some organizing in bed or just reclining/sitting for a while, but I can't do those other things I would like to do. One thing is for sure: if anyone has a desire to visit me, please come! I have a feeling I will be bored to tears one of these days (and I will literally cry, knowing how I've been this whole pregnancy), so if you so desire,  I would love visitors.

Last but not least, thanks to those who knew what was going on and prayed for us! We know those prayers were answered.