Week 26 - life upsidedown

On Monday, May 2 I went in for a routine check up at the OB. I was 25 weeks along in my pregnancy. I had been having some swelling in my ankles and feet and was anxious to talk to the doctor about how to get some relief. Little did we know what was coming....


After checking my blood pressure, swelling, weight, etc. things were seeming a bit off. They ordered a urinalysis and found some issues and determined that I should be admitted to Methodist hospital right away for a full evaluation. My mom was thankfully with me at my appointment and was able to drive me to the hospital and Peter was able to quickly leave work and meet me right away. After the evaluation, it was determined that I have preeclampsia, a condition occuring in women during pregnancy.


The doctors gave us the shocking news that I would not be leaving the hospital until I delivered the baby. No going home to pack a bag, no going back to work, no baby showers, no...anything. I would go straight into bedrest until the baby is born and she will no doubt be delivered quite early. I was then transferred via ambulance to Abbott Northwestern Hospital where I am being treated and will deliver baby girl. Abbott is connected to Children's Hospital and is the BEST place for me to be. They specialize in this type of care and Children's will offer the best for baby...whenever she comes.


The care here has been outstanding. They can't tell me when I will deliver the baby - that will all depend on how I am doing with the preeclampsia. Basically they wait and see and determine when it's best for baby to live outside the womb versus in. The only cure for preeclampsia is delivery. We have had to come to grips with the fact that our baby will be delivered pre-term. It could be days, weeks, or (hopefully) a month or more. Each day that the baby stays inside is 3 less days in the NICU. We are praying that she stays in until 30 weeks. At that time development is a lot more advanced and less intensive care would be needed for her. Please pray with us that she stays in until 30 weeks.


Specialists from Children's Hospital have met with us to walk through what will happen from the time the baby is born until she gets to go home. I will most definetly deliver via C-section since she is so small (currently weighing approx 1 lb, 4 oz) and she is breach. Once delivered, she will stay at the hospital until about mid-August, which is when my due date is.


I am currently on day 5 of bedrest and all is going well. I have to just lay, lay, lay here. They monitor me very regularly and also the baby. They hook her up twice a day to check all her vitals and make sure she's moving and growing like she should. I have had two ultrasounds since being here and overall things look good with her movement, atatomy, blood flow, etc. etc. She is measuring a little small, but they say that is due to the preeclampsia.