Hospital Stay #2

We have definitely been having an adventure as this pregnancy is coming to an end.  Elizabeth is doing great but mommy's blood pressure is not doing so good.  For those of you that didn't know, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure probably 6 or 7 years ago.  It has been controlled with medication and I have not had any problems with it until about two weeks ago.  We had a regular doctor's appointment on Wednesday but before we saw the doctor, he wanted us to go by the hospital for a few tests just to make sure after our hospital stay on Friday.  We got there about 6:30 so we could get done before our doctor's appointment at 9.  We got hooked up to the machines and then they took my blood pressure... that is when it went down hill.  My first reading was 179/107... and I knew right away that we would not be going anywhere.  I have had high readings when I first got diagnosed with high blood pressure and knew what a number like that meant.  The nurses didn't even say anything but they continued to take my readings every few minutes but it really didn't go down.  The bottom number (which is really the important one) stayed in 90's the whole morning.  The doctor came in for his morning rounds about 7:30 and told us that it is not looking good.  He told us that I would be admitted to the hospital and that we would most likely be having a baby soon.  Talk about starting to freak out!  I was dressed for work and didn't have anything ready for baby at home!  He just basically told us that he was going to order a bunch of blood work and an ultrasound and he would see us after lunch to get the induction started.  Greg was super excited thinking he was going to have the best birthday present ever and have a baby!  He got on the phone and started telling people that he was going to be a daddy on his birthday.  I was just trying to relax and get it through my head we were having a baby!  The nurse came in and started an IV line and they came and took me down to ultrasound.  After all that excitment of the morning, it felt like forever before we saw the doctor again.  He came in about 1:30 and told us that he got all the test results back and that it looks like that everything is ok with the baby and that the only thing that is not coming back ok is my blood pressure (which was still high by 1:30).  He felt that one more week would be better for Elizabeth (and her lungs) and that since she looks ok and is actually measuring big, she would be ok for one more week.  I will be full-term on Wednesday, Oct 5th, so that is when he decided to schedule the induction.  Even though Greg didn't get the ultimate birthday present, we are thankful that everything is ok and we hope that this one week will help Elizabeth be born healthy.  Then we had to call and tell everyone that it was a false alarm!  I was so hunger by this point because they would not let me eat or drink anything just incase he decided to induce.  The only problem was there were five people in labor that day and all the nurses were tied up delievering babies when it came time to release me.  I think it was about 3:30 by the time I got released from the hospital. 

The doctor ordered some tests for Friday and Monday so we will be busy for the next week preparing for baby.  It is kind of a catch 22 knowing when we will have her because now we can be prepared all the way through but then again, I won't be able to have the feeling of "I don't know if this is it?"!  I would have loved to went into labor naturally but God has a plan for her and me so we have to go with it!  The first thing I did when I got home was wash all her clothes and blankets we got at the shower.  I also washed bottles and pacifiers.  Now I feel a little better about bringing home baby.  The doctor told me it would be best if I got lots of rest between now and next week when we induce, so I am now home "resting"!  I did have to run a few errands this morning which included making a quick trip to work this morning to finalize everything on my desk, picking up a prescription, and going to the bank, but of course because our lives are never easy, I got into my car to a dead car.  It would not start for nothing... dead as a doorknob!  I think it is about time for a new car but again, just waiting to close on the new house before we venture into anymore debt.  Luckily, my loving brother came and took care of me this morning.  He took me up to work and to HEB.  Talk about not needing anymore stress in my life and then having a car that doesn't work!   Hopefully we can get it fixed and all is good again before Elizabeth comes. 

So now that the count down is on for Elizabeth's birthday, Greg and I continue to ask for prayers for comfort and a safe delivery.  We are both nervous and anxious at the same time.  I hope everyone has a blessed weekend and next week we will have pics of baby on here! 

Work Shower

Monday everyone at work  put a shower together for Greg and I.  It was so nice and we got lots of good stuff for baby Elizabeth.  Here are a few pictures!  Tomorrow we will hopefully have an answer on when baby Elizabeth will grace us with her presence... I will let everyone know!  Have a great Tuesday! (PS-I am still trying to round up pictures from my shower on Saturday! :))

This is everything we got minus the bouncer which I received in the mail yesterday from my shower on Saturday...

Hospital Stay #1

So, we definitely had a busy weekend.  Friday morning I woke up like usual and went to work.  All my doctor's appointments are on Friday afternoons since I only have to work half days on Friday.  I left work and went in for my usual weekly tests, the BPP and non-stress test, at the hospital.  The BPP test was fine and Elizabeth passed right away but the non-stress test was a different story.  On a side note, I want to add that Greg was not with me for the first time since I was pregnant because it was the opening weekend of dove season and he went to El Campo to hunt.  I told him it would be fine because the past couple of times it was just so routine and nothing every changed!  Anyway, the nurse made me drink some really nasty juice and I had to redo the non-stress test again.  Luckily Elizabeth paused the second time, however; they told me that if she didn't, I would have probably been admitted to the hospital for more tests!  So, off to the doctor's office I went.

I wasn't going to be able to see my doctor because she was supposed to be on vacation so I was going to see another doctor just this time.  When I got to the doctor's office, I checked in and about ten minutes later, they called me up to the desk and told me that the doctor I was supposed to see was running really far behind and they asked if I would see another doctor.  Of course this was fine with me because I wasn't even seeing my regular doctor anyway and after I explained that to the nurse, she asked who my regular doctor was.  I told her Dr. Wong and she told me that Dr. Wong was no longer working at the practice as of Friday!  WHAT!  I was a little in shock and beyond belief.  This doctor was the only one I have seen since I was pregnant and I am due in 4 WEEKS!  She told me that Dr. Heaps would be able to see me in her place so I decided to go with it.  I called Greg and let him know that after the non-stress test and now not having a doctor, I was totally stressed and wish he could be there.  They called me back almost right away to see Dr. Heaps.  They did the usual weight (only gained 2 pounds!), blood pressure, and urine sample.  I noticed that my blood pressure was high but I really didn't think it was that high... but again, I was totally stressed by this point!  Dr. Heaps came in and explained everything to me and he said he looked at my charts and read all about everything during my pregnancy.  He also then told me that he would like to send me hospital for some blood work since I would be able to get results right away at the hospital.  He was checking for any signs of preeclampsia.  So, I had to make the dreaded phone call to my husband to tell him I was on my way back to the hospital for monitoring and blood work.  What a afternoon it was!

Once I got to the hospital, they hooked me up to the machines to monitor the baby and they put me on a constant blood pressure machine and they also drew a bunch of blood.  Everything looked to be on track and looking good... the doctor had come to tell us that it looked like everything was ok but he was still waiting on the blood work.  He said that the on-call doctor would probably release us once the blood work came back.  So, the blood work comes back and nothing is wrong with it... YEAH... NOT!  The on call doctor decided to order a urine sample.  So, the we had to wait on that to come back.  When it did, it showed I was dehydrated and a trace amount of protein... so, I wasn't going home.  I guess what made me more upset about the situation was that they did not monitor me all night.  Why did I have to stay?  Don't get me wrong, I want the best for both Elizabeth and myself but it was very upsetting.  Once my doctor came in the next morning, he told me he was going to release me and continue the monitoring.  I think they were keeping me stressed so they could keep me in the hospital!  I just knew I was going to miss my baby shower on Saturday morning... but I made it (even if I was late!). 

So, it looks like we will have a baby in about two weeks.  We should know more on Wednesday when we meet with the doctor but he said he won't let me go over 38 weeks and I am 36 tomorrow.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers has we are getting really nervous and just want a healthy, safe delivery for Miss Elizabeth.  I will post about the shower later once I get some pics from someone! 

Girls Rule!

So, a big congrats goes out to my good friend Jessica who had a precious little girl on Monday!  I am so excited for her and her husband, and Paislyn is so darn cute!  Talk about looking like a baby doll... she looks just like one!  Greg and I went to see them on Tuesday afternoon and we took her some pink and purple outfits. Since Jess didn't know what she was having, we had to wait until she was born to get her some pink!  It is so unlike my baby's closet which is filling up with lots of pink and purple and Dallas Cowboy clothes!  This just makes me that more anxious for our little one to be here.  Little Elizabeth was just kicking way for the chance to play with her new friend while I was holding her!  Here is a picture of us with Paislyn:

What is so funny is that when we got married in December, there were three of my bridesmaids that were pregnant... all had girls.  Then, Jessica and I got pregnant shortly thereafter, and we both had/are having girls.  I even had a cousin pregnant this year who had a girl!  Someone needs to have some boys because these poor girls will have nobody to date! :) 

We have another busy weekend ahead and I am so looking forward to the baby shower on Saturday!  Congrats again to Jess and Nathan and I hope everyone has a great week!  Happy Hump Day!

Hoping I make it!

Well, another great weekend with lots of learning and preparation.  Friday we had our weekly testing and everything went so good.  One surprising thing was that I started having small contractions but they are just my bodies way of getting me ready.  After the ultrasound, they hooked me up to the non-stress test to monitor the heart beat and contractions and as I was laying there, I felt a real tightening of my abdomen and I told Greg I bet that was a contraction and sure enough when I saw the doctor I had three small contractions while I was hooked up to that machine.  Now that I was able to put the feeling to the machine I noticed them more throughout the weekend.  They don't hurt and are irregular so nothing to worry about but it is exciting to know that my body is preparing to push that girl out!  We have one month and one week until her due date but I have a feeling she will probably make an early appreance.

I have two friends that were/are pregnant at the same time I am.  One was due this weekend and still has no baby and the other was due 10 days before me and had her little one on Sunday.  It is exciting to have all these babies joining the world and I am really ready to know what Jessica is having already!  I know she is ready to have that baby in her arms just as much as everyone else wants to know what the gender is!  At least we will know by next weekend what she is having!  My friend Scarlett was four weeks early and still had a 7lb 12oz baby!  Congrats Scarlett and welcome to the world little Colton!  Knowing that Scarlett already had her baby makes me really anxious and nervous that Elizabeth will grace us with her presence soon.  It is so surreal.

On Sunday we had a childbirth class that was excellent and I was so glad we decided to go.  We got lots of our questions answered and now feel a little better knowing what will happen with my body and what we can expect from the hospital once we do go into labor.   I must admit the video was a little much but it was a very informative class.  Once we got done with that, we went home and I decided to get everything packed just in case we do go into labor.  With only five weeks left, I am starting to feel really unprepared!  I packed the hospital bag including the baby's going home outfit.  I made a list for Greg of exactly what he will need to grab before we go to hospital such as pillows and my toilteries.  I also made a list of things we still need for baby and plan on making a big shopping trip after the showers the next two weekends.  So excited to actually have stuff for her already!  She needs to stay in there and bake for a least a couple more weeks until we can get through these showers and get prepared!

I will leave you with two pictures of Elizabeth from Friday.  Since we go every week, they don't give us much but I really thought the one with her foot was too cute.  We will see the doctor on Friday and then we will start going every week to see her.  It will make the time go by so fast and we will be having a baby soon! 

All five toes...

 This is a picture of her face and her hand up by her face.  She likes to play with her feet and suck on her hands.  It is so cute to see on the screen. 

  



Nobody's Ever Wrong...

Has anyone ever been in a situation where nobody is ever wrong?  We see it right in front of our faces in black and white, however; one person's reports don't match anothers.  Who is wrong?  Who fixes it?  This has been one tough week at work.  Hopefully all this stress won't send me in to early labor!  Since I am going to be leaving for maternity leave in a few short weeks, I have trained a guy to do my job.  That leaves me to work accounts receivable (the dirty work!).  This means old balances that people have long forgotten over time and really "don't have time for."  Like I am burdening them to find 4 million dollars!  Do they not know what I would do to have 4 million dollars right now!?!  I was taught when I started my accounting schooling that you should think of it like your money... like if you owned your business... would you really not care that someone owed you four million dollars?  Or think of it the other way around and if you owed someone four million dollars, you don't think they would be questioning it?  I think some people come in and do a job and don't think beyond that job.  This has never been me... I work to make the company better as a whole.  I guess my student loan payment is really "paying off"! HAHA.

All this anxiety and stress has left me HOT!  I mean physically hot.  I feel like if someone would touch me right now I would be about 110 degrees.  I wish I had a swimming pool to jump in right now or I would just settle for a fan in my office to cool off!  Not to mention that it has been like the hottest summer on record and I am big and pregnant.  It is already the middle of September and it is still 100 degrees outside... what gives?  I pray for some Fall weather really soon... I need it desperately. 

Long week, short weekend!

Last week was a really long week.  Even though we had a holiday on Monday, it was our busy time at work and so I had to work overtime plus try and make it to all my doctor's appointments!  Wednesday we had another weekly non-stress test and BPP test which both came back normal.  Elizabeth has a strong heart rate (above 150bpm) and she is a little mover and shaker.  The BPP test is the one that she has to move so much within the 30 minute time frame for her to pass the test... she never needs more than five to ten minutes!  It is so wonderful to see her on that screen but really it just makes us so anxious to get to hold her and see her in person.  Friday we had our appointment with my doctor and a growth scan on Elizabeth.  She is measuring right on track with my pregnancy except for her head.  What they do on a growth scan is measure different body parts and average them together.  Everything came back right at 33 1/2 weeks except for her head that measured at 36 weeks.  The ultrasound guy even went back and re-measured the head after he did all the other parts to get a accurate size.  She is now measuring about 34 1/2 weeks but only weighs about 4.5 pounds.   Hopefully she will be really smart with such a big head! :)  I am just worried about pushing that big head out!  After the ultrasound, we waited for about an hour... and finally found out that my doctor was in a delivery and would not be able to see us.  Talk about frustrating because we had a day full doctor's appointments.  Greg had already left me at my doctors office because he had an appointment to get too.  They decided that another doctor would see me but of course it was nothing like I was used to and of course I am almost 9 months pregnant and emotional so I got upset. I am not that naive to think that doctors' don't get busy, but it was just upsetting the way this other doctor was towards me.  Then when I went to check out and schedule my next appointment, they told me my doctor would not be able to see me and I would have to see this doctor who did nothing for me, which just made me even more upset.  All this would happen on the one appointment that Greg did not get to go to!  So, here I am on Friday, after waiting two hours to see a doctor, walking to the mall at nine months of pregnancy, crying my eyes out... I must of looked like a total fool.  I then had to walk around the mall for about an hour before Greg could come get me.  Needless to say, I was exhausted!  I had only gained two pounds this time which puts me at a total gain of 5 pounds.  I laughed as I told Greg that I am literally all baby weight since she is almost 5 pounds!  My blood pressure was good and has been steady this whole pregnancy which is a good sign.

Greg's doctor's appointment didn't really go as planned either.  He was hoping to be released back to work, but the doctor didn't act like that would be a good idea.  He still has a lot of swelling in his knee and he really isn't walking on it very good.  On Saturday, he hurt it again so it looks like he will be making an impromptu visit to see him again.  I tell you what, if it isn't one thing, it is another! 

On a more positive note, we finally have a contract on the old house and it looks like it might work out for us after all.  We continue to hope and pray at least!  They wanted a little longer closing which kind of sucks for us but if we can at least sell it, that would be great! 

Greg and I have signed up to take a couple of classes to hopefully prepare ourselves for the little one growing inside me.  Our first one was on Saturday and it was called a newborn care class.  Boy was that interesting!  Greg and I have been around very little babies and have not actually been in charge of taking care of a baby so we thought this would be a good way to make sure we kind of know the basic in and outs of newborn care.  The nurse showed us how to give the baby a bath and and swaddle them and the different signs of sickness and skin problems.  We even got to see different kinds of poops (which Greg thought was really, really gross!)  I also learned about taking care of myself after the delivery.  It was very informative and I know we could get advice from family and friends but everyone is always told something different.  Tonight we go the hospital for a tour of the maternity section.  The nurse on Saturday gave us a good run down of the way the hospital worked and what we can expect, it will just be nice to see exactly where we will be.  We will actually get to see where we will hopefully deliver her!  This coming weekend we will have a delivery class which we hope to learn a lot about too.  After our newborn care class that we took on Saturday, we went to a birthday party for one of Greg's cousins kids and got to mingle with lots of people there.  Now that I only have a little over five weeks left, I get exhausted a lot faster so we got home a little early.  Greg can't believe that I was laying in bed at 8:30pm on a Saturday night!  Sunday was a fun day!  We were planning on having lots of family and friends over to the house to watch the Texans game.  I know, I know it wasn't the Cowboys but since they played so late, Greg wanted to host the first football get together.  He got up early and got the pit going with the help of Chris and Brian and we had a delicious meal.  I think we ended up having 18 people and five kiddos (or should I say five and a half kids!)!  It was a house full and was such a good time.  At least I hope everyone that came had a good time! :) 

It sucks to be Monday already but at least this week our doctor's appointments slow down.  I have one more two week span before I start seeing the doctor every week, but of course I still have to have my weekly testing.  The count down is on for this little one to be here!  We are anxious for our showers which are coming in two weeks!  So excited!  Hope everyone has a blessed Monday! 

BPP test

So, starting yesterday and every week hereafter, we will be going to the hospital for a BPP test or biophysical profile.  Basically it just a non-stress test where they hook you to a belt to monitor the baby's heart rate and they also did an ultrasound to measure breathing, movement, muscle tone, heart rate, and amniotic fluid.  They score her based on all that information and she has to get higher than a 6 in order to be considered ok.  I guess we are a lucky to get to see that little face every week until she is born but it is also stressful because I just want everything to be OK.  When I went for my shot on Monday, I asked the nurse about the testing and she said it is pretty routine in their office right at the end of pregnancy but because of the high blood pressure I had before I got pregnant and the fact that I have not gained but three total pounds with this pregnancy, they wanted to go ahead and start the testing.  She was just so wide awake and looking around when we got to the hospital and they did the ultrasound.  We could actually see her little eyes opening and closing.  It was the coolest thing ever!  Another cool thing that you could see on this ultrasound was the fact that she has hair.  I don't know exactly how much hair she will have, but it was neat to see it... maybe she will be able to wear all them bows I bought her already! :)  The ultrasound machine at the hosptial is just so much more advanced and we get such good pictures from it. 

This is a picture of her foot... she loves to kick me!

 Her heart rate... fast and strong!

This is her "girl" parts... 100% female!

The little strands (white glow) you see sticking out is her hair.  Not sure how much she will have but looks like she will have lots!

 This is a pic of her face... her eyes were open.  The pictures looked so clear at the doctor's office but I think it was just because it was live feed and not a snapshot.  We could see her blinking!

 Another picture of her face!

Well, I have mentioned a lot lately that we always have something going on... Greg had to have a root canal done yesterday.  It is like our checkbook never gets a break!  I am glad he had it done while he was off so that he wouldn't have to miss anymore work but man these past couple of months have been reeking havoc on our finances! We are still waiting to hear something on the offer on the old house because our realtor has been putting us through quite a loop but hopefully something will happen soon and we can get back to the basics of life.  Between all our doctor's appointments, it is hard to find time for anything! 

I keep praying for rain and hope that this long weekend will bring the relief that we need.  We don't have anything planned but we figured we would go into EC for the weekend to hang out with family and check on the old house.