Week 38 - Almost There

This week was a continuation of last week as far as all the testing and monitoring. I collected urine again and went to the hospital on Monday night for results, as well as being put on the monitor for a few hours. The urine protein results came back a little higher than before (184) but still not making any major strides toward the magic 300 number which was good, but my blood pressure was still elevated. I was sent home and reminded to be on strict bed rest, and told that I'd need to come back on Thursday evening again. This time my protein count actually went down a little to 174 which was reassuring but blood pressure remained the biggest issue. At the beginning of my visit I was having pretty regular contractions which was strange since I hadn't felt many at all this whole pregnancy. They were only a couple minutes apart and not really that intense but at that point I started welcoming them since I was told that I'd be induced on Monday anyway. Once I went to the bathroom and changed positions to my left side they basically went away. I was checked and confirmed that I was 0cm dilated, sadly, and then the doctor had me sent down for an ultrasound. I had been having a little lower back pain and nausea since the night before and he wanted to check fluid levels mainly. Brett had hiccups the whole time we were in ultrasound but the tech said she saw the breathing movements which are important (even though I had no idea what I was looking for... I could see the hiccups though) and the finger and toe movements looked good as well. When we got the official report from the doctor, he said that the fluid levels looked normal and the estimated weight was around 7lb 4oz which isn't a huge baby, but pretty close to what Blake was when he was born 3 days earlier.

I went back again on Saturday afternoon and got put in a new room with recliners instead of hospital beds. It was much more comfortable and my blood pressure readings were much better (only 1 real reading above 90) so the doctor said I could just come back on Monday for another urine test and monitoring session which meant we weren't officially planning on inducing! However, if I have 2 or more readings above 140/90 they will keep me there and induce at that point. My protein level was around 190 which, again, is normal so it seems like I'm not getting worse as far as that or blood pressure is concerned, woohoo! So I'm basically living visit to visit to try and let my body get more prepared for labor. I'm so excited we've made it to 38 weeks and hopefully we'll continue to make it longer so this baby can grow grow grow. Bed rest is tough but I'm starting to get used to being a lazy bum and giving orders, haha. I know Blake doesn't fully understand why I am not with him constantly anymore, but he's getting used to it a little more each day as well. He's been snuggling with me a little bit in the evenings once he runs out of energy from the day. I'm so glad Mimi took some pictures of Blake and I with her phone this week! These are just a few of Blake keeping me company on the couch... he can be crazy but I love this boy so much.

Such a sweet snuggle bunny. 

And here are a few other cell phone pics from the week:

The big orange urine collection jugs and the "hat" which I'll be glad to not have to pee in for a long long time (hopefully never again).

I was lying down and thought my belly looked exceptionally strange, almost like my fluid levels were too low but the ultrasound confirmed they were normal.

The monitor that I like to stare at for hours while I'm all hooked up.

I had Chris take this awful pic of me just to remember what it looked like to be all hooked up. I'm pretty sure it's impossible to take a good hospital bed pic.

Bed rest selfie with my oldest munchkin.

Just in case I didn't get a chance to take another official belly shot, I had to take another one before going to the hospital on Thursday.

And the official 38 week picture. I'm not sure I'm getting much bigger, just heavier, and Brett seems to have a big heavy head just like his brother (and it is comfortably resting right on my bladder 24/7).