Partial Bedrest...Not Too Fun!

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 34 week appointment.  Apparently, in 11 days I had managed to gain 8 pounds!  Wow!  (Normal is about a pound a week at this point).  I was shocked, mainly because I had not eaten any more these past 11 days than I usually do.  The nurse saw my shock and quickly helped me understand that it really didn't have anything to do with what or how much I had been eating.  It was all water weight AKA swelling.  That didn't surprise me because I have been noticing lately how swollen my hands and face have been getting!  So on to the blood pressure part of the check-up...my blood pressure was high, but not terrible. 140/70 -- it has been worse at other appointments.  But I guess the combination of the high blood pressure and the swelling/water weight gain didn't sit well with the doctors.  

The doctor comes in and asks if I want to be on bedrest.  I laugh and say, "No, who DOES wanna be on bedrest?"  She laughed and then said for now I just need to work a few hours a day, which I usually do anyway, but other than that, be at home on the couch or in bed with my feet propped up and drinking lots of water.  Next week I have to do a 24-hour urine test (that's right -- no leaving the house for 24 hours while I collect my urine and keep it in a refrigerated container --EW) and lots and lots of blood work.  These tests are testing my kidney and liver functions as well as some other things...the results of these tests will tell the doctor if I have preeclampsia and need more bedrest or not (I don't think less is an option).   Preeclampsia can cause liver/kidney/other damage to the mother and even affect the baby's circulation if it gets too bad.  But like I told Derek and my mom, the doctors aren't going to let it get to that point.  If the test results aren't great, then they will probably put me on full bedrest.  The doctor did say that I probably won't make it to my due date -- they would induce me at 37-38 weeks if this problem doesn't go away.  The only cure for preeclampsia is delivery of the baby.

But other than all that junk, I am feeling okay.  I can definitely feel the effects of the higher blood pressure (my face is red a lot, headaches, etc.) and the swelling is not fun either.  But I am not feeling absolutely terrible or anything.  The doctor says Natalie herself is doing great.  She is kind of lying sideways/diagonal at this point, with her head more down than up, but she is not straight up and down.  Her feet are under my right rib cage.  

We had an AWESOME time with Susan and Zach these past few days...and I can't wait for mom to be here on Friday to help me wash Natalie's clothes and bottles and pack our bags for the hospital!

33 weeks and counting...

Well, I am now 33 weeks and 1 day...getting closer!  I had a doctor's appointment last week and the doctor seems to think that Natalie might have flipped around!  He wasn't completely sure and didn't seem too concerned with it until my 36 week appointment, but just by feeling around, he thought the head was down.  I'm pretty sure he is right because a couple of nights ago Natalie had a big case of the hiccups and I felt them way down low!  I should know a little more at my next doctor's appointment which is in about a week.  

Derek and I have both been having lots of strange baby dreams.  He dreamed that we lost Natalie once we brought her home (like in the covers or something) but no one besides himself was concerned.  Last night I had a dream really similar -- I couldn't find Natalie to feed her and no one thought it was a big deal.  Haha.  I guess these just show that we are starting to get nervous!

Susan and Zach are coming on Saturday to visit for a few days and I am so excited!!  I miss my friends and family a lot and this trip will help so much!  And then my mom is coming a week after Susan and Zach get here, which will be so great too.  I know she is excited to see me and I am excited to see her.  I think she's gonna help me wash all of Natalie's clothes, blankets, etc., get the bottles all ready to go, and even help us pack our bags for the hospital.

It's very strange to think that 4 weeks from now, Natalie won't be considered premature anymore!  Very weird!!!

32 weeks!

Today makes 32 weeks! Only 8 more to go (unless I have a scheduled C-section, and then only 7 more to go!). I can't believe it is getting this close...it still feels so far away! Derek and I are just about finished with all of our childbirth classes...we only have a couple to go! Tonite is C-section night at our Lamaze class, so that should be interesting! I hear videos are involved...

Last week we did Baby Care Basics, Breastfeeding, and Save-A-Baby, which were all pretty good! Derek did great changing our plastic baby's diaper and swaddling her. We DID end up with the black plastic baby in both classes, which was weird, cause no one else had a black baby (even the black couples). Of course Derek found some humor in that and made some funny jokes!

I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday -- just to check the normal stuff (weight, blood pressure, baby position, etc.) . Maybe Natalie decided to flip since the last appointment, but if she did, I didn't notice!

I don't know if any other pregnant women experience this, but the belly can be misleading! Here's what I mean...the size of my belly plus the pressure it creates on my stomach makes me feel like I'm full all of the time! Therefore, I never really feel that hungry anymore. This caught up with me yesterday when I almost passed out (literally) around 2 pm because I hadn't eaten anything all day. I never once even thought about eating (and if you know me, you know that just doesn't happen). So now I am trying to be more concious about eating at least a little something every few hours so my blood sugar doesn't get low and I get all woozy again...

That's about it!

Accessories and Belly Pictures

Here are some pictures of the carseat/carrier (which are currently in our garage....guess I need to move the carseat to my car at some point...) and a couple of the belly at 31 weeks!

Natalie's Room So Far!

Here are some pictures of Natalie's room....the crib isn't set up due the fact we are moving in July....I figured she could easily survive in the bassinet/pack n play for the first 6 weeks or so.  I am quite excited about the super comfortable glider and ottoman -- I've already started sitting in it every day and rocking for a little while!  Sorry the room is so boring, but, since we are trying to sell the house, we didn't want to paint the walls or even really hang up anything yet.  Just the basics are in there now!