And the Countdown Begins!

Wow, what a week!

Last weekend was Erich's last volleyball/obligation free weekend before baby arrives. Alas, on Saturday, 4/13, after sleeping in and doing nothing but showering and coming downstairs for breakfast, my vision went all weird again and my blood pressure measured high. We called the OB, and she told us to go to the hospital and get checked out.  We spent a couple of hours there while they monitored me and baby, took blood, and made sure everything was ok. They hooked me up for another non-stress test, and interestingly, this time every time baby moved, I was having a Braxton hick contraction. I could not feel them at all, but they were pronounced and regular, and apparently little fish was feeling them, as she would start flipping about every time I had one! Notice how the line on the right in the photo below now shows some action!

Thankfully, my blood pressure went down and everything was ok, but it wasn’t exactly how we had envisioned the weekend starting out! The OB asked me to come in on Monday so she could check things out again.

We spent part of the rest of the weekend finishing up some final things that needed to be taken care of before baby arrives, including putting the final touches on the nursery, which is finally COMPLETELY DONE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we went to the doctor's office on Monday, the OB expressed concern that I may be showing signs of preeclampsia. She suggested that if I had any more issues, given my age, she would want to move the birthday up by a week.

Two days later, on Wednesday, just as I was about to leave for work, I had a new bizarre vision problem. This time instead of seeing an aura that lasted a little while, I saw little bright lights like fireflies that spiraled into the center of my field of vision every time I blinked, kaleidoscope style. It would have been almost cool if it wasn’t a sign of potential problems!

 It only lasted a moment as I was walking downstairs, but my blood pressure was a bit high again. So when the OB’s office opened, I called and they told me to come in. Erich drove me over and they checked me out.  Although the signs of preeclampsia aren’t definitive, we decided to move the birth date up since the OB was concerned things could go downhill fast for me and baby.  She also said I was not allowed to go to work anymore! I obviously love my job, as I was pretty bummed about that. She did at least concede that I could work from home some so long as I lay on my left side now and then and my blood pressure didn’t go up. Her last order was to stay away from all processed foods to keep my sodium intake down. (Sadly, Erich and I are now struggling to figure out what to eat! Not a good sign, eh?)

She sent us over to the hospital for more blood work (which came back fine) and tried to schedule the delivery for 4/22, but the hospital was booked, so little fish will be born on 4/24 @ 1:30 instead! (Unless of course she decides to come even earlier...)

On Thursday, Erich and I had our Newborn Care class at the hospital, which my mom attended as well. This class was not nearly as good as the prenatal class we had taken before. The nurse who taught this one did not seem quite as sharp, kept repeating herself, and just generally was not a good presenter. I suspected it would not be a great class when before it even started she was having technical difficulties with the video system and several times commented that maybe “one of the daddies” could help her. Ummmm, excuse me? Mommies can be good with tech too. Hello! Instructional Tech Coordinator sitting here.

 I did not feel inclined to help. Lol She finally did get it figured out though.

We didn’t learn much new, but we did get to practice how to swaddle baby in a square blanket and got some tips on items to pack for the hospital that we hadn’t considered before. Not exactly worth 3 hours of our time, but it was something!

So now the countdown truly begins! I bumped up my last massage to this Monday, and will be dropping off my car to have the bumper repaired that same morning. Tuesday I will get together with a friend one last time before baby arrives, and have my two pre-op appointments—one with the hospital and one at the OB office. Then Wednesday it’s go time! Wonder if I’ll get any sleep the night before?? I’m guessing not!