insert olympic theme here

Sorry for the dead air around here. I was sick with a cold for a little bit (now I just passed that around the rest of my family, what a good sharer am I) and now I'm on bed rest. I think new posts are going to be hit or miss for a little bit around here but I will try to work on it. But here's a little update anyway!

Bed rest is not as awesome as it may sound. My blood pressure had been fantastically low until last week. I take it at home twice a day and write it on a log for the doctors to see so I'm very aware of it. It just started creeping up for no particular reason. Well except for the part where I'm pregnant I guess. It didn't seem super worrisome to me because my blood pressure has definitely been higher in the past. But when I went to the high risk doctor for my weekly non-stress test, the bottom number was pretty high. I didn't really think anything of it until they came in to take my blood pressure again after I'd been sitting in the recliner listening to the baby for awhile and then I knew something was up.

So I was in the ultrasound room with my husband and sister-in-law and my favorite ultrasound technician and two people came in to tell me that because of my blood pressure I need to be on bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy. I couldn't help it, I started crying. The baby had been super wiggly while we were doing the non-stress test and basically uncooperative and I was really tired. And also I don't know if I've mentioned this but I cry ALL OF THE TIME. Commercials, Olympic events, text messages, a passage in a book... It's ridiculous. It just took me by such surprise because despite being told at the beginning of my pregnancy that I could die or the baby could die or we could both die, things have been pretty non-eventful. Outside of the insane morning sickness that lasted two trimesters and getting put on medical leave I guess. I had started to think I was going to make it to the end without any of the awful scenarios they lectured me on at the beginning.

I've been getting headaches about every other day and although they haven't been violent, they are apparently related to the blood pressure. So I have a list of symptoms I need to call the doctor for should they pop up and I'm to spend more time laying down than up moving around. My blood pressure has to level off or go down because the next step is a hospital stay or being induced.

If I can hold on for two more weeks, the baby is considered full term. And actually the baby is doing great! S/he weighs 5 lbs 13 oz and most often you aren't allowed to take the baby home from the hospital until they hit five pounds. Also s/he has been making breathing movements for at least three weeks and has continued to grow like gangbusters, all of which indicate a happy and healthy kid in there.

It's difficult to just stay down. There are baby clothes to be washed, sorted, and put away. There are boxes in my room that need to be packed up again and taken to the storage unit so it doesn't look like such a ridiculous disaster area in there. I like to cook things that are involved. And I like to not be stuck in the house.

To anyone who is working outside the home, I'm sure mandated bed rest sounds like a fantastic idea. If I was still working, I'm sure being at home would make my blood pressure drop pretty nicely. But now I'm just at home and limited on what I'm allowed to do. The part where it's not super specific is frustrating to people around me, I'm sure. I get it and I know my blood pressure and what it means. Also, my due date isn't for five weeks and I have at least one doctor appointment a week until then so things could (probably will?) change. I'm not sure that I was officially diagnosed with preeclampsia, but I'm at least on the very edge and it's not something to mess around with.

So, all in all, I'll be at home. Visitors are fine! Especially if you want to bring some magazines, a movie, or a book for me to borrow. :) Thank heavens the Olympics are on. I think I might just try to have all my babies where the Olympics are on at the very end because it is fantastic to be able to watch so much of so many different sports I don't necessarily know anything about.