Short and Sweet - my post, not my baby...

Ok friends, I am going to make this short and sweet... after seeing Buckson this morning she was not sold on the idea of delivering me today... apparently I do not have a medical degree. She wanted to repeat the 24 hour urine... so here I am at the hospital for monitoring and pee collection - fun times. She opted to send me here rather than doing it at home because the results come in so much quicker at the hospital rather than me having to take the collection to a lab and waiting another 24hrs for results. So we are at another "wait and see" - should know something by Tuesday afternoon.

I have Eric's laptop with me but can't log in to my blog so Eric is going to cut and paste this in for me. I can see my blog and check emails - so please continue to post.

Ummm, I am thankful for the Olympics during my bed rest but seriously... trampoline, badminton, and table tennis???

Its time... I think

On Thursday I went for my regularly scheduled appointments but my blood pressure was higher than it had been. I had dropped off another 24 hr. urine sample that morning before my appointment but the results weren't in when I went to see Dr. James - Buckson's partner. Concerned about my pressure, Dr. James sent me to Labor and Delivery for bloodwork... quickest way to get results... 2 hrs later my results were in and were negative for pre-eclampsia so I was sent home to wait for the results of my 24 hr. urine. Friday morning, Dr. James called...my protein level was 290...remember 300 is pre-eclampsic. She told me to come in on Monday to see Dr. Buckson but because my bloodwork was fine, she was not going to admit me just yet... oh I forgot... she doubled my blood pressure medicine too.

So... tomorrow morning, We have my regular monitoring appointment at Sweeny's (8:30) and then off to Buckson's for a 10:45 appt. I have a feeling we will be having a baby tomorrow... it took 2 weeks for my protein levels to jump from 170 to 290... it won't take long to go up 10 points...I think its time.

We are as ready as we can be, Pacey and suitcase are at my parents, my bag is packed, Eric is packing his bag as I type... we have our list of phone numbers and a mental list of everything I want to take to the hospital, including several pillows, my cell phone, and a lap top...to update my blog of course!

Stay tuned...

Oops, I forgot...

In my efforts to entertain you fine people, I forgot all about telling you of my appointment with Sweeny last Thursday. There had been some concern earlier in the week that my amniotic fluid was low but he recalculated it on Thursday and it is fine. Also fine, is everything else with the baby - its just me who is screwed up! They calculated his weight to be around 6lbs 110z. They said that if could be off by a pound in either direction. He will be here before we know it. Did I tell you the nursery is finally finished - has been for about a week. Mom and Eric have really busted their butts to get it done and it looks great. Dad re-finished a shelf for the room - to match the crib - it only took 4 trips to Home Depot but it looks great!

On a more serious note, my good friend Jessica is newly pregnant - she suffered a stillbirth last year and could really use your thoughts and prayers... Her blog is accessible through the links on the right.

Me and Jack

...taken with my cell phone... me and Jack on bedrest...

Mad Charity Rackham

In a quest to cure my boredom as well as name my "space invader" (as our pediatrician calls him), I stumbled onto this website that will give you a pirate name after you answer a slew of questions... pretty entertaining - especially when you are a pirate loving bed rester! Sorry, its not lining up properly.

My pirate name is:

Mad Charity Rackham

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Still here...

It has been nearly 2 weeks since I have taken to my bed and my house has never been cleaner and my checking account balance never higher... It's amazing how clean your house stays when everyone lives in one room and how much money you save when you have to stay in bed... thank God for online shopping. I got a massive deal at Old Navy.com - they are having their stuff and save sale which means 20% off your entire purchase, PLUS I had a $10 off coupon, PLUS free shipping when you use your Old Navy card, PLUS since they are owned by Gap, I could shop at Gap.com too without paying extra shipping , PLUS I had a Gap gift card - Yowzaa! I only paid about 70 bucks for $140 worth of baby and big sis clothes.

My house not only looks good because I am trapped in one room but also because my saint of a mother has been here nearly everyday keeping up with the laundry and dishes and such... she is my house maid meets laundress meets personal chef/waitress, not to mention dog trainer and nanny!

I am continuing with my biweekly Sweeny appointments - which aren't really with Sweeny - they are with nurses/techs who perform a sonogram and non-stress test (NST) every Monday and just an NST every Thursday. They are looking for 5 different things - for each thing I get 2 points - 8 out of 10 points and I pass - no partial score is given - either 2 or 0 - Sounds like a game show, right? OK so with each sonogram they are looking at gross movements, breathing (which does not equate to lung maturtiy), small movements, and amniotic fluid. With the NSTs they are looking for the baby's heartrate to accelerate by 15 points twice within a 40 minute period. Jr and I have passed each time but he as not been "reactive" on the NST so he gets the 8/10 points from the sono.

FYI - Buckson is on vacation this week so I will see her partner - Dr. James on Thursday... I am hopeing to hang in till she returns, I really want her to be the one to deliver Baby NoName.

Dreaded Bedrest

Well, here goes... last Tuesday (7/30) I had an appointment with my Endocrinologist. When I stepped on the scale, I nearly fell off because I had gained about 13lbs since my last OB appointment which was less than 2 weeks ago. I told the nurse that I was pretty sure the scale was wrong so she reset it and I got on again...well the result was the same. She went ahead and checked my blood pressure which at that time was normal. So, I went on with my appointment, my doctor made adjustments to my insulin levels...yada, yada, yada... I told her about the scale and she said that there was another one in the office that we would try on the way out - she got on first to check its accuracy then I stepped on - it read the same damn thing as the other one. Leaving her office, I really started to stress...not good for blood pressure right? Rapid weight gain is a sign of pre-eclampsia, when I got admitted with Pacey, I had gained 10lbs in 2 weeks. My endo is in the same building as my OB so I called upstairs to let them know about the weight gain. As I waited for her to call back, I sat in my car and cried...again, not helping my blood pressure. I was so upset because I knew what was coming. With Pacey, I was clueless - I had no idea what pre-eclampsia was but now I do and it scares the crap out of me!

So anyway, Dr. Buckson called back and told me to come up - she put me on the scale -my actual weight gain was 8lbs - still significant. By this point my stress had boosted my blood pressure to 170/90 - YIKES! Dr. Buckson said - "Well, you just bought yourself a 24 hour stay at the hospital, do not pass go, do not collect $200 -go straight to labor and delivery for 24 hour monitoring and testing."

So away I went, tearful and unable to reach Eric on his cell phone. I called mom and she met me at the hospital. When I got there they put me right into a room and in a gown. Dr. Buckson came in to deliver her orders - 24 hour urine collection, a slew of blood tests, and fluids via IV. By this point, I had contacted Eric and he was on his way - mom was there too. I have never in my life had an issue with needles, IVs, blood work, etc... well they could not find a vein for my IV - one nurse dug around and left a nice HUGE bruise on my arm before going to get a "pro" - she got my IV started and drew blood - no bruises. The nurses were great and while I was very upset, I knew I was in good hands.

Once Eric got there, Mom made 2 trips to my house - to pack me a bag and then to get my dogs and my child from daycare. Pacey was very upset and cried when Mom told her where I was... it broke my heart when she came to see me because as soon as she saw me, she tried not to cry but couldn't help it. She was very confused - asked lots of questions over and over...

OK - I feel like I am writing a novel - so I am going to condense - my blood work came back fine - no indication of pre-eclampsia - my pressures fluctuated between 140/70 and 100/50 - my 24 hr urine reflected a protein level of 170 - normal is 70 - pre-eclampsic is 300... so, I am on my way there.

Dr. Buckson released me around 6pm on Wednesday - BED REST!!! She really thinks she can get a couple more weeks out of me - we'll see. I have my bag packed JIC (just in case).

So, to recap...hospitalized Tuesday, July 29th - released and ordered to bed on Wednesday, July 29th - bored out of my mind with daily breakdowns by Monday, August 4th.

How deep is your love?

Mine is as deep as my ankles - apparently - because they are so swollen! I try to stay off my feet as much as possible but its pretty hard. Mom has been a big help this summer with keeping Pacey and helping me get the nursery set up. Eric has been working hard in the nursery as well. We painted a while a go but since then he has also cut and re cut shelving for the room and assembled and re-assembled a crib... yes, the first crib we received was really nicked up (not knocked up - that's me!) so we sent it back and got another one THEN when the dresser came in it was damaged too! AUGH!!! very frustrating! The new dresser should be in this Wednesday. I have done all of the baby's laundry (that I am pretty sure will fit him) and have it all ready to put away in the drawers... once assembled!

I had a wonderful baby shower last weekend. It was hosted by my dear friend Britta and my new sister-in-law, Summer. It was great, all my favorite foods - chick-fil-a nuggets, peanut butter dip with fruit skewers, meatballs...yum! I could live off of party food. I got lots of great things for the baby (who still doesn't have a name - I swear!) and Pacey got lots of "big sister" gifts too!

This past Saturday was Eric's birthday. We celebrated at my parents with Bryan and Summer - Bryan's birthday was the 19th. We had a golf themed celebration - from cake to gifts.

I will post pictures once I get them loaded to my computer...

In other news, Jack was 6 months old yesterday - WOW! He has discovered his bark as well as his manhood, we have a vet appointment on Thursday ;-)

The Wedding

Here are some pics from Bryan and Summer's wedding - I can't believe it has been a month already!

Happy 4th of July!

Today we went to my friend Britta's for her annual 4th of July cookout. They always set up slip-n-slides and a kiddie pool. She said to be sure to bring my suit for the slip-n-slide - I told her no thanks - that would pop out my baby for sure :-) After Britta's, we came home and Pacey napped - yesterday my ankles began swelling again so I put my feet up for a couple of hours before dinner. We had planned on going to the Naval Academy to watch the fireworks but just when we were getting ready to leave, a thunderstorm rolled in. We settled for the Macy's Spectacular instead.

Here are some pics of Miss Leigh in her star-studded duds...

Yesterday I went to see Dr. Buckson. Eric was off so he went with me, he always attends my Sweeny appointments but this was his first Buckson visit. I reintroduced them since it had been over 4 years since they had seen each other and jokingly told Dr. Buckson that Eric only goes to Sweeny appointments because he gets to see the baby and that her appointments are a bit boring... she let him have it (I loved it!) she put him on the spot and asked him how far I was, he fumbled to come up with 27 weeks - WRONG- she said - 29 and 2 days! We had a good laugh and then down to business - she measured my belly - still 4 weeks ahead - I have a feeling, I measure 4 weeks pregnant even when I am NOT pregnant. My pressure was good and my only complaint was my self-diagnosed restless leg syndrome. Between it and Eric's snoring I am hardly getting any sleep. Buckson joked that sleep was overrated then offered me a prescription sleep aide which I passed on for now. I told her that I was not ready to take anything for it, I just wanted her sympathy. Buckson did let me know that I am scheduled for an amnio at 8am on August 26th and a C-section at 9am on August 27th... very exciting!