False Alarm?

I got a call from the doctor's office today.  They say the results of my 24-hour urine test don't show any signs of pre-eclampsia.

I have not been swollen since last Wednesday, and my blood pressure has been fine.  Lance had some blood pressure problems a few months back, so we bought this blood pressure cuff we can use at home.  Each day I've been checking my blood pressure and nothing has been out of a normal range.

My non-stress tests have all been just fine.

What the heck was my body was doing last Tuesday?!  I seriously doubt it will happen again.

Like I said, I think it was because of how active I was the weekend prior to my last visit.  I am taking the partial bed rest seriously, and I have been taking it easier.  This includes, telling the primary president that I would not be able to come to primary until after I had the baby, so that should help as well.  Sundays take a lot out of me.  My class has a lot of energy, and I just can't keep up!

I also took some advice on diet improvements that help with toxemia.  I've been eating more protein, and I completely cut out soda.  I was only drinking non-caffeinated before, but now it's strictly water.

We'll see how today's visit goes.  But I think I'm back on track to have a non-complicated pregnancy.  The LAST thing I want is to be induced.  The way I see it, if they induce me I'll have to be hooked up to a bunch of garbage (such as IVs), and the contractions would be stronger than if I went into labor on my own, thus causing me to think I need an epidural... and blah blah blah.  That also means I wouldn't be able to wait out stage one labor at home, like I have planned.

I do not want to be confined into bed.  I want to get up, walk around, sit on a birthing ball, slow dance with Lance, take a shower, get down on all fours on the floor, etc.  That last part sounds funny... all fours on the floor.  But seriously, it helps when baby is in a weird position to make her move into a more comfortable one.

Assuming I do go into labor by myself, my biggest concern is knowing when to go to the hospital.  I live 45 minutes away from my doctor and hospital of choice, and the last thing I want to do is arrive too early or too late!  I'm thinking once my contractions are 4-5 minutes apart I'll give them a call and start the 45 minute drive.  Yes, that makes for an extremely uncomfortable car ride.  I plan to lay on my side in the back seat. I hope that I'll be 6 centimeters dilated by the time I get to the hospital....  Who knows how fast or slow labor will be.  I hate unpredictability.

More Stress

I must have been out of it yesterday because I hardly remember this part....  I need to go in twice a week for nonstress tests, starting tomorrow.

I'm not sure how that would work if I'm working from home.  I think I should stay working in the office, just so I don't stress about Lance driving back and forth from Provo to Sandy to take me to these things!

First Time in the Hospital

Yeup. I've never been a patient before.  I've never worn one of those fancy gowns before. The first time I had my blood drawn was when I had to at the beginning of my pregnancy.

So yes, this was exciting.

I had a routine doctor appointment yesterday.  I peed on a stick and got my blood pressure taken. You know, the usual.  Two different people had to take my blood pressure, because they said it was being funny.

Then the doctor comes in and asks how I've been feeling.  I just showed her my feet.  She was shocked!  She started feeling them, and, I can't remember what it's called, but when you press on it, the indentation stays.  So, then we talked about how my blood pressure was high and I had protein in my urine, so they wanted me to go to the second floor (the labor and delivery floor) and be monitored for about an hour.  She said it was too many fishy things to ignore.  She also said that instead of seeing me in two weeks, she wants to see me in 1 week.  I also need to take a 24 hour urine test.  She also suggested me being put on partial bed rest, so I need to speak with my employers about working from home from now on.

If my condition doesn't improve, I have to be put on full bed rest.

I'm only 33 weeks pregnant!  I can't have problems like this for 7 weeks, can I?  My doctor doesn't think so.  She doesn't think I'll last until 40 weeks.  So baby Lily might be here sooner than later!

We finished the visit with my questions and concerns, and then I was off to the second floor.  I didn't really know what to expect.

They put me in room 203, had me change into a fancy gown, and pee in a cup.

Then my nurse told me that they wanted the urine straight from my bladder, via catheter.  That was a little painful.  And awkward.

They had a monitor on the baby, to hear Lily's heartbeat.  She moved a lot, so we had to adjust it several times.

They had a monitor on the top of my uterus, to monitor any contractions I might have.

They had a blood pressure cuff on my arm, taking my blood pressure every 15 minutes.

And a nice lady came in and took some of my blood.

I swear the nurse was in there the entire time asking me a million questions.

Then all of my results came back from the lab and they said I was looking good, and that I just needed to take it easier than I have been.

I thought I was already taking it easy.

All in all, I'm actually grateful for this experience because now when I am really in labor, I won't be so unfamiliar with the environment.  I got to ask questions about what will be monitored during labor, if I'll be able to get up and walk around, take a bath, etc.  (I'm still planning to go epidural free, at least until I cannot handle it any more.)

Also, seeing the little baby cart made me excited.

I wished for Lily to come early, but not 7 weeks early.  Hang in there for 3.5 more weeks baby!

I Had a Little Breakdown

My breakdowns are funny because I'm crying and laughing at the same time.  I know I'm being silly, but I can't help but cry!

I got ready for church today, went to put on my shoes, and they didn't fit.  I crammed them on, and then went to show Lance my elephant feet.  I was crying and laughing at the same time.  He wasn't sure if he should laugh or hug me.

So he did both.  Good choice.

Then I put on some slipper-like shoes, since they were the only ones I could get on.

Then I sat on the couch and cried about how I didn't want anyone to see my feet.

I don't have any dress shoes that aren't high heels.  I'm not sure what other options there are for Sunday shoes.  I don't think I've ever gone a Sunday without a three inch heel.

I'm hoping this is still the effects from my 45 minute standing wait for Red Lobster, followed by a mile long walk to and from the Jazz game last night.

Maybe I should get some sparkly Toms!  Church appropriate, no?

Yesterday

Last night I went to my first Jazz game since last season.  When I walked into the arena I felt like I was home!  I've missed the sights, sounds and smells.  I've also missed watching the game of basketball in person.

We parked where we used to park, back when we had season tickets.  It's about 5 or 6 blocks north of the arena.  I didn't think walking that far while being 33 weeks pregnant would be a big deal.

I didn't realize the sidewalks were covered with slush.

What used to take us 10 minutes to walk, took us 25 maybe 30.  And now I feel like I've been riding a horse for a week straight.  I cannot believe how painful that was!  Is!  I'm still in pain.

I think we made the right decision to not get season tickets this year.  I would be miserable every other night!

We went to the Jazz game to celebrate Eric's birthday.  His birthday is next Saturday, but the game next weekend is vs. Sacramento (that's where Jimmer went) and is way overpriced, probably because there are a lot of Jimmer fans in Utah.  I had a lot of fun, even though I was physically uncomfortable.  I wish we could go to more Jazz games.

We also went to Red Lobster.  I really like Red Lobster, however, I do not enjoy standing for 45 minutes while we wait for a table.  My feet grew two sizes in that time!  The food was very much worth it though.  And their Cheddar Bay Biscuits.... oh!  So delicious.


Yesterday was also my baby shower.  My best friend, Sierra, was very nice and thew me one.  She put in so much thought and effort into it. It turned out really nice, everything was so cute!  I feel so lucky to have so many friends who are willing to help out.  We were given a lot of nice things.  Now on to making thank you cards!

Sometimes

I get really sad about not having any sisters close by.

New Stuffs

I changed my hair again.  Anyone want to guess what color(s) I am now?  If you ask me, it's kind of boring... but it will grow out nicely, since I'm not sure how often I'll be able to get to Kellyanne to do touch-ups.

Before, my hair looked like this:

Um... ew?!  And I actually styled my hair that day!

I don't have any after pictures.  So I guess you get to keep that picture in your mind.  But I covered up most of the blonde with a dark brown, and added red and blonde highlights to my hair.  It looks like brand new hair!  I really like it.

In other news, I have been playing with one of my new toys lately.

Behold, the cupcake maker:

I never had a muffin pan before... sad huh?  Well now I do.  The bad part is that it only cooks 7 at a time, and they are mini, so I can eat all 7 myself before the next batch is ready.  The good part is that the muffins, biscuits, cupcakes or whatever you are making cook super fast!  I made cheesy muffins last night. Tonight I'm making banana muffins.  They are wonderful.

I'm not really a fan of cupcakes, or cake in general, but I love muffins!

Something else that comes in handy:

Before, I only had a hand mixer, so I am LOVING life right now.

And gaining weight like crazy.

Lamaze

My first Lamaze class was good.  I really like the instructor.  I was worried she would push natural birth, but she said that's not her goal.  Her goal is to give us all the information we need about labor so we can make our own decisions.  Thank goodness!

I think whether or not you get an epidural you will be in some sort of pain, at least before, so the breathing and relaxation techniques will help no matter what.  I think it's also a good bonding time for Lance and me.  It also made me think about things I can take with me to the hospital.  I hadn't thought of that before either.  I just thought you show up, with maybe a bag of clothes/hygeine stuff.  But now I'm thinking I can bring snacks for Lance, music, I can hang up a picture to focus on, a birthing ball, etc.

One thing we did that I really enjoyed was that we wrote down our list of positives and negatives about pregnancy and birth.  My negatives were all fears about IVs, needles, blood and pain.  Lance's fears were all about after the baby is born: being a good dad, finding people to watch her occasionally, etc.  It was really interesting.  We really hadn't talked about what we were afraid of before.  Different perspectives, I suppose.

We also did some exercises on the floor.  She showed us different positions that might be more comfortable, and showed our helpers how to make our back feel better.

Overall a very enlightening experience and I can't wait until my class next week.