Free Stuff

Since I can't really do much... I actually am not allowed to do much... I have been forced to sit on the couch much of the day. I get bored of the computer after a while (weird?), but today I finally decided to follow a link to a site where you can get free samples of tons of different things. I have always thought it was a scam or something of the sort, but I guess people actually get free stuff sent to them! It basically has a list of a ton of items and links for you to follow to their specific websites. I didn't know websites had actual free samples to sign up for! I signed up to receive quite a few things. Whether it will work or not, time will tell. But there is no harm, I say, as long as they don't have any of my personal information!

Has anyone else tried this type of thing before? I was using this site today: http://www.freeflys.com/MoreFreeSamples.php. I am really curious to see if I get anything or not. Some of these offers are basically a "drawing" and they only have so many to send. But I only did one of those. The rest were just free samples they offer.

At least it is keeping me busy and I am not so bored. Haha.

Thursday

I have officially been scheduled to begin induction preparation on Thursday. Paperwork is signed and ready to go. I am keeping my prenatal appointment earlier that day that includes another ultrasound. Later that evening I will be admitted and they will start preparing my body for induction (ie: methods to ripen the cervix overnight). I will be spending the night there (Kyle too) and then they will start the Pitocin on Friday morning after a light breakfast. And then we just see how my body responds to the Pitocin! Maribeth said it could take the whole weekend or it could get everything going right away. It all depends on how my body responds and how well I can learn to relax and let my body do its thing. If I haven't progressed much later on Friday, they will take me off of it, let me relax, eat and sleep, then start it up again Saturday.

I was checked today to see what my cervix looked like and it has progressed since last week. That's a good sign, so hopefully everything will continue to work like that. There will be a lot involved with this birth. I may even need to be put on something if my blood pressure is really high during labor. I have decided that even though I would love be able to follow my birth plan, there are going to be things I am just going to have to give up. This is not how I envisioned my first birth, but the ultimate goal is a healthy baby and healthy mama... not a picture perfect birth.

Let's just pray everything works well. I am very bummed that Maribeth isn't on call this weekend... but I have met the other midwives that are, so I'm sure it will be okay. I am just very comfortable with her and enjoy talking with her. But I know that I am in good hands and the other midwives will be great as well.

Now if I can just relax and get some good sleep this week. I am so anxious and know that it will be hard to sleep with so much on my mind! We are finally to the end of this, and I am going to finally start feeling better after weeks of close monitoring, tests and visits.

That's the scoop! It feels so good to really have a plan all set and an end in sight. Again, your prayers are so appreciated and make me feel comforted every day. Thank you from all three of us!

More Monitoring...

I am tired of these visits. Don't get me wrong, I love St. Vincent's hospital! But I am getting very weary of these visits and tests and then being sent home. They say, "Just go home and rest and we will induce you at 37 weeks. Call immediately if you have any problems." So what is the point of all this monitoring if they just keep making me go home and wait? My protein level came back at 363 and even though that is high they still sent me home. I was quite surprised. So was the nurse, because she was ready to get my IV in. I went in tonight really ready to have this baby... and then I was sent home after being monitored in a room and waiting for test results.

So that's that. If my midwife sends me to L&D again on Monday I am going to insist on staying until I have this baby! Haha.

I'm so ready for some baby picture posts, aren't you? :)

ER

First of all, I am sorry for all of these blog posts concerning my pregnancy problems! I wish they didn't have to happen so often. After all, we always want the perfect pregnancy without complications. I used to think I was doing so well... you know, low-risk, healthy, doing great... until all this came.

I went for a prenatal visit today thinking it would just be the same old stuff I was hearing. My ultrasound looked perfect ... I love hearing how awesome the baby is looking in there. Just as happy as can be. Also pretty far down there, so they are unable to get any good face shots at this time. That is an excellent sign that the baby is in position and ready to go.

I met with a new midwife today. I wish I could have met with Maribeth, but she is not always on when I need my visits, so I was stuck with someone else. Which is fine, but at this point I feel much more comfortable sticking with someone I already know. She told me basically what I heard earlier this week - I will be induced next week, probably around Thursday or Friday. 

Then I began explaining my chest heaviness and how that happens and she got really concerned. Concerned enough to send me to the ER. Worst choice ever, people. I spent 11-5 in the ER today. It was kind of scary for me, as this was my very first ER visit. They did an EKG, then sent me to a room where they wanted to hook me up to an IV and get more labs done (I had JUST gotten three viles taken before I went to the ER). This intern EMT came in quite a few times to set up the IV while a doctor was explaining all these tests they wanted to do. I kept holding him off until I was certain about what they were going to do. I didn't need an IV! It was another one of those overwhelming situations where I just didn't know what to do. Thankfully, my mom was with me. But still, it didn't make the situation too much easier to take. I finally agreed to the IV needle so they could draw blood. The EMT tried the needle on the same vein they took blood from previously and it was painful. The blood wouldn't flow from it and he kept trying different things to get it to work... that was the most traumatizing situation of the day, though I know it sounds silly. He had to ask a nurse to come in to do it instead and took the needle out. The nurse was excellent... that guy was just weird. Lol.

To make this story a bit shorter, I agreed to an Echocardiogram, Chest X-ray and an additional 3-4 viles of blood. I did not want the chest xray, but at this point they were so worried about me that if I said no they might not have let me go. They insisted on waiting for my labs and these tests results to come back before I could leave. They even wanted to do another test on my lungs to check for blood clots where they insert this dye into the IV and see where it goes inside my body. It has radiation involved and even though they assured me that it would be okay, I said absolutely not. My baby is so healthy and I am so close to having her. Why risk this even if it is supposedly "safe"?

That is the very short version of today. My results all came back beautiful and my heart looked even better on the Echo this time than it did when I had one back in March! Weird... I guess my body is just doing strange things and the chest pressure is one of them. My heart rate is also pretty high, even with laying down for a while. It ranged anywhere from 110-125 all day. I know that for certain because I was hooked up with all these different cords all day and could see what was going on.

Oh, and guess what? The midwife sent me home with another jug for a 24 urine collection again . If this comes back high, I am going to bet that I will be having little miss Hansen sooner than next weekend! We need to just get this baby into this world and be done with all of these tests and problems and visits. One more week... I can do this. :)

Nursery Reveal - Almost Complete!

I have been holding off for so long with getting pictures up of our brand new nursery. Partly because I wanted everything to be perfect before I gave the reveal, and partly because I haven't been well enough to tidy the room up and get some good photos. So I am giving in and posting pictures of what it looks like now. There are still a few things left to do. Like, sew curtains for the window, get a crib skirt, put things on the wall, etc. But for now here you go! This will give you a good idea of what I have been working on for the last little while. I wish it were more perfect at this point, but I know I will get to work on it more after the baby arrives and the holidays are over.

The work done on the room included:
Cleaning it out (that was a chore, as this used to be our storage room!)
Prepping the ceiling and walls
Painting the ceiling, walls and trim
Painting the stripes
Sanding the floor
3 coats of poly on the floor
New light fixture

Thank you to those who showered us with gifts! Some of the items you may see in the pictures, while others are neatly tucked away in the dresser drawers. :) Thank you, also, to my family for all the time and effort they put into helping us get this room done before baby arrives. I am so ever grateful for you guys!

From the doorway. Please excuse the pile of stuff at the end of the bed. It is a container of 3-6 month clothing, our baby tub and some decorations from the baby shower here in MA. 

The crib. Mostly set to go... just going to add a crib skirt at some point... maybe. ;)

The dresser Kyle and I refurbished. It has socks, hats, sleepers, fleecy sleepers and sweaters in it. All the warm, cozy stuff! 

I am in love with the bunting/banner my sisters made for my baby shower. It ties in perfectly with my decor! 

Love this storage unit. The top basket has all our tubby-time stuff in it for now. Middle shelf is shoes and booties. Bottom basket is all toys. :) The basket on top of the unit is all burp cloths.

Our changing station. My mom picked this dresser up at a yard sale, and it is actually supposed to be a baby dresser. It works perfectly as a changing station as well. I love how this turned out. The top drawer is stocked with diapers, wipes, nursing pads, cloth diapers, etc. The right door on the dresser has some nice storage for extra wipes, diapers and a hanging area for her little dresses. The rest of the drawers have her onsies, pants, and blankets.

My husband wanted to keep the bed up for any time his friends may come through and need a place to stay. I will also be using it for nursing at times.
I recovered the Boppy pillow, and the other pillow is from Ikea. The blanket at the end was handmade to tie in with the other items in the room. Our diaper bag is right there, ready to go!

It's coming so soon...

I made it through my weekend - yay! Just barely, though. I started feeling better after a good night's sleep on Friday. I called in to Labor and Delivery on Saturday morning and got my urine test results. They were down to 300! That was a good thing, but also did not clear me for being out of the danger zone. I still have the same problem, but the levels and blood pressure were looking better. I had a little more energy, yet still felt really icky whenever I was standing for longer than 5 minutes. The worst part of how I am feeling is mostly the weight on my chest, where if I don't sit down or lean over on something I feel like I'm going to collapse. I have also been experiencing some dizziness and nausea. Saturday night I was feeling really crummy after our Harvest Dinner at church.

Sunday I managed to pull myself together to get to church, but even sitting down I was feeling horrible. I don't know how to explain it, but anyone else who has gone through this knows what I mean when I say I just don't feel well... and... I just have to sit down.

Today I had an appointment later this afternoon where I was on the monitor for a while and then met with Maribeth. The baby is doing fine, as usual, which is always wonderful to hear! Then I talked with Maribeth. Last week I was tested for the Group B Strep, which is a typical test done to pregnant women at 35 weeks. I won't go into explaining what it is (you can Google it if you are curious!), but I tested positive for that. So at the time of labor, I will be hooked up to antibiotics to help protect the baby from getting infected. Another curve I wasn't expecting.

She was very pleased with how I have been resting and obeying her last orders. She thinks it has helped to lower my blood pressure, even though it is not perfect. Their goal in all of this has been to get me to 37 weeks. We are sticking with that goal unless things get worse. I was told that with my highest protein level at 420 last week they would have induced me right then if I hadn't been only 34-35 weeks. Plus, the baby was doing fine and my amniotic fluid was great, so they really wanted me to keep going. I will be doing another 24 urine test over the weekend. If that comes back really high like before they will probably induce me. But if it stays toward the lower side, I will most likely make it to the 37 week mark and we will be having this baby late next week.

My next appointment is Friday, where I will have a visit and ultrasound as well. That is all I know for now! I guess we know what I will be doing for the next week... it will be so worth it though if I can stretch this out to next week just because I am resting and literally doing nothing. I am beginning to get a little nervous as things aren't going as I had imagined them to, but I know that life happens and I can't control everything. God knows what is best, though, and I will just have to accept that this is how He wants it all to happen! In the end, I know all will turn out fine and by next week we will have our precious baby in our arms. :)

A Long Day at the Hospital

I went to my prenatal visit today fully aware that I would be there for a good couple hours. I was expecting to be put on the monitor, visit with the midwife and get an ultrasound. That right there made me tired just thinking about it! I spent 6 1/2 hours at the hospital today. Here's the news...

My urine test results came back higher yesterday. They went from 323 to 420 within one week. That was the reason for the extra monitoring today. I got to the hospital at 8am and wasn't hooked up until 8:30. For the first twenty minutes, the baby didn't move (even after a bottle of OJ), so they decided to keep me on there for a while longer. She finally decided to wake up from her sleepy time, and after 45 minutes of monitoring I was sent back out to wait. At 10am I had a quick ultrasound to check on my amniotic fluid. All looked well and we were in and out in about 10 minutes.

THEN I met with my midwife... she is very concerned about me and not too happy with my levels. She basically told me that we will be delivering this baby as soon as it is safe enough to do so. I told her how crummy I have been feeling and she totally understood. It is nice to be understood! :) My blood pressure is affecting so many things... I wish it would just go away! She then told me that she was sending me to Labor and Delivery after my visit with her where they would monitor me more and take some blood. When you are in Labor and Delivery, I guess they can get test results back in 1-2 hours, rather than a few days.

So I headed to Registration where we went over paperwork and I was put into the system. She wrapped my wrist with a band and said she hoped I had a quick, easy delivery. Haha - at this point I was feeling like I actually was going to have the baby. Registration, arm band, Labor and Delivery... it all seemed a little too much like the actual "Labor Day" to me. Thankfully it was not, but I got a good feeling for what is going to happen when I do.

Are you tired yet? At this point I was so tired and just ready to go home. Needless to say, I was appointed a room number and given a gown to change into. I hopped into the bed and was hooked up to the monitors again. They took my blood pressure, temp, urine and then three viles of blood. Then we waited... and waited... and waited. Two-and-a-half-hours. By this time I was starving. I had literally hardly had a bite to eat all day. I waited and waited to hear from the doctor if I could eat and finally an on-call midwife came in to assure me I was all set to eat.

Sigh. After all that, they decided to let me go home... but with that urine jug again. I have to return it to Labor and Delivery tomorrow, and while I wait for results they will monitor me and decide what to do from there. This game is no fun. But the baby is healthy and that's what matters. It's all a day-by-day process, so I never know what is going to happen. Makes me glad I believe in a God who is in control of all things, and I can rest assured that He will take care of me!

It really is looking like we could have this baby next week, but I can't say for certain. I will just keep everyone updated as I get instructions. For now, I am resting and am trying to feel better. Thank you so much for your prayers! I am so blessed to have family and friends from near and far praying on my behalf!

Until the next result,

Baby Shower #2

My baby shower last weekend was put on by my mom and sisters. We chose to do a morning shower, and it was actually a big hit. I loved it! They did an awesome job decorating according to my nursery theme which is nautical/beach, with navy blue, gray and coral accents.  I was so amazed when I walked in to see all this. Here are a few pictures of the day.

Visit to Westborough

Today my mom and I made our way to Westborough Reliant Medical Group to meet with the new Doctor I will be seeing every other visit. It is so much more quiet up there than going to St. Vincent's, though I do still love the hospital visits.

I did my usual routine with the weigh-in, urine sample and blood pressure reading from the nurse. I lost one pound, so now we know I must not be retaining fluid. Good sign. My blood pressure was 144/86, which is my highest top number reading. I sat with the monitor hooked up for a while and we found out my baby is one active, healthy little girl! Within ten minutes of being hooked up, she had kicked and squirmed way past the amount needed to pass the test. :) I am actually loving the monitor, even though I wish I didn't have to be on it so much. I get to sit in this comfy chair and relax while listening to the baby's heartbeat. It is so relaxing.

Basically not much has changed as far as plans, but once we get my urine test results back it may help us make some decisions. My bloodwork from last week was all great, which is a relief. The doctor seems to be focusing more on how high my blood pressure gets. If it continues to climb, along with my protein level, then we will need to make some decisions. I should know more by tomorrow or the next day. We really, really want to get me to 37 weeks. I think that is the ultimate goal. I don't really think I will make it to my due date, to be honest. So with my 37th week being only a little over 2 weeks away, I think we can do it.

I have been resting and taking it easy. My husband has been a tremendous help to me and has kicked into gear with getting some major housework done. These visits to the midwife and doctor are what are wearing me out! It is quite an ordeal now that I have to be monitored one time or have an ultrasound the next on top of the actual visit. By the time I get home I am pooped. I go again on Thursday - this time for my next ultrasound. Thankfully, here at St. V's.

I will have more information soon, I hope. I am so anxious to know what is going to happen, but at this point I just have to take it one day at a time! I have my diaper bag packed and am working on my hospital bag. You can never be ready too early, I say.

I will post pictures soon of the baby shower I had Saturday...

Update on Baby and Me

Eyes, nose and lips. The right side shows her hand up near her face. She looks like she has daddy's chin. :)

This is our baby girl. Isn't she beautiful?! The moment we started the ultrasound, we got a definite 100%, it's a girl. Her cute lil bum was cooperating this time. :)

This is the back of her head. The stuff that looks like grass is her hair!! Can you believe it?!

She measured the baby at 4.13 pounds. Perfect for where I am. So she is not a bruiser like everyone assumes! I don't know how many times I've been asked if I am carrying a large baby. Now we know. She measured the amniotic fluid. Perfect, also. Our baby is just happy as ever in there. She was very active during the ultrasound and one of the comments went like this, "Wow, she's going crazy in there!" No kidding - I am feeling it all the time! Such a good sign - that means the baby is doing well.  She is still head down, which is awesome. Then I found out that she has lots and lots of hair. Go figure, right? She's going to be just like her mama.

So all good news as far as baby is concerned. I couldn't ask for better news. As far as me... well, I am not getting any better, that's for sure. My blood pressure was higher today. My midwife gave me a kind little lecture on how I need to take this whole thing seriously and work at resting more. She went through the same thing with her third pregnancy and it can get very dangerous if I am not careful. I am not allowed to do things like grocery shop or go to the mall for a long period of time. I guess I basically just have to be off my feet more. I am trying so hard to take it easy, but there is just so much to get done. And I am not one to just sit around, so this is a challenge for me!

Because my protein level in the urine was so high before (323), they are testing me again. I got bloodwork done today and was sent home with another lovely jug to collect urine for 24 hours starting Sunday. If my level gets anywhere close to 350, they will do immediate induction. That is the maximum I can go. Let's hope it gets better instead of worse, or I will be having this baby soon.

So basically, baby is great, but I am not so great. I really can feel it, too. I am constantly tiring easily and just don't feel good. I have been napping lately, and for me, that means I am overtired. I can never nap during the day.

That's the update. I will be going so often, that it probably won't be necessary to blog every time. But I did want to show the adorable pictures of our little girl and explain what I heard today.

Thank you so much for your prayers for the three of us. I told my husband the other day that it is such a wonderful comfort to know there are people praying for me. It means a lot to know people care!

Results

Oh boy, where to start?

Last week I got blood work done and also a 24 hour urine sample because my midwife was concerned about my high, unstable blood pressure and protein in my urine. I wasn't going into panic mode about it, seeing as every so often my blood pressure is just high and I figured that might be normal for me. The weekend came and went. I traveled to Maine on Friday night and had a baby shower the next afternoon. We made a quick trip back home and then made it to church on Sunday. That was definitely tiring, but I tried my best to follow "doctor's orders" and take it easy.

Today I called into the OB office to have someone explain my blood and urine results. After being informed by a nurse that a few things were a little "off", she told me that she would send it along to my midwife, Maribeth, to see what she wanted me to do.

Long story short, I was told I needed to come in as soon as possible to meet with a doctor that I didn't know. A little while later, I was called to come in even sooner than my 3pm appointment so they could monitor the baby for a while. I was beginning to feel pretty overwhelmed at that point, not knowing what exactly the doctor was going to tell me and if the baby was okay.

Needless to say, I went in determined to be calm. They took me in and hooked me up to two belts with monitors - one for contractions, and one for the baby's heartbeat. I was given some juice and a button to press whenever the baby moved. I was hooked up to it for about 20 minutes. It was pretty amazing to hear my baby's heart beating for such a long amount of time. I could have fallen asleep to that. :) By the way, the baby is just as healthy as can be and all seemed normal with her. Such good news!

Then I saw the doctor. She works with Maribeth in case any problems arise in a pregnancy. Midwives typically work with low-risk pregnancies, so I knew that when Maribeth requested for me to meet with this doctor it must have meant business. I was told I have pregnancy-induced hypertension and that I needed to be watched very closely for the weeks leading to the birth of our baby. Now I am supposed to go in two times a week and they will monitor the baby each time. On top of that, they want to do an ultrasound every week to make sure everything is going well inside. I was also told that if I did not get any better within the next few weeks, that by 37 weeks I would most likely be induced.

By the time she was done explaining things, I was just kind of too overwhelmed to have any questions. My mind wasn't cooperating. All I could think of was... I could have this baby in three weeks. THREE weeks. 

She reassured me that I could still have a completely natural pregnancy even with the induction and high blood pressure. I also might be able to push the ultrasounds out to every two weeks. And... she is still going to let me see Maribeth and some other midwives, but they will work very closely with the doctor to keep her informed.

I was told that sometimes it doesn't matter how much we try to prevent these things, they can still happen. And a lot of times in pregnancy, women just develop high blood pressure just because that is what it does to them. And after birth, it normally goes away just like that. It made me feel a little bit better to know that it is probably not something I did to cause it. But I do need to take it more easy and stop overexerting myself.

Now I feel like taking a deep breath. I took the maternity tour tonight as well, so that is good to have out of the way now. Still a few things to wrap up here before this baby comes. It will be smart to get it all out of the way soon just in case things do not go well. I would appreciate prayers with this, as it does make me a little more nervous about this process. But I know my life is in God's hands and He has the perfect plan for bringing this baby into the world.

I will make sure to report after my visit and ultrasound on Friday.

Testing

I met with my favorite midwife today. I was so glad to be seeing her today, as I wasn't happy with my last visit with another midwife. I like to be able to leave my appointments feeling excited and encouraged, and I always have great visits with Maribeth.

The good news is: I have only gained 1 pound in the last two weeks, and the baby is healthy with her usual 150 heartrate. She is still in a head down position and it was cool to be able finally know what has been bulging near my belly button lately! It's her knee. I figured it was one of her limbs becuase she likes to push in the same place and it is very hard. Today she is very active. :)

The bad news is: my bloodpressure is not good. It always depends on what day I go, because there have been many visits when it is great. But needless to say, Maribeth is concerned with it being a little high and me being 33 weeks pregnant. SO I went to the lab after for bloodwork, and was sent home with a jug to collect my urine for the next 24 hours. Fun. I have to go back to see her next week so she can check back in with me. She also wants me to take a rest on my left side, 45 minutes each, 3 times a day. I guess I need to take it easy and not do so much. I really, really hope the test comes back negative so I can continue to have better hope for a great, natural delivery!

So that's my news. I have not been feeling very good at all lately, so today I am just going to take it easy and try to rest up. That is so much easier said than done!