All good things must come to an end

Man oh man what one week can do to a person. Where to begin......

I was taken off bedrest last week and was thrilled to be able to do some things for myself again. Corey remained the cook, cleaner, laundry person and baby house preparer while I still barked orders...But I could move about, make some lunch, do some things that didn't keep me up for long. Corey bought a blood pressure monitor that we've used daily and it's been a great tool for us to know when I've been doing too much. But sometimes monitoring just isn't enough.

Sunday was my baby shower. It was a wonderful laid back, eat and greet, gift opening time for me, and the gifts were fantastic. Car seats, a double bassinet, clothes, blankets and bottles were some of the gifts that we got - Along with nearly 20 packages of diapers! What a relief to begin with those on hand. The food was great, and my good friend Shannah brought my favorite flavor brownies from the brownie factory she works at. Nearly 20 people were there, and that was about half of the people who were invited. It would have been an overloaded house had everyone been able to make it. Though I would have loved to see everyone who wasn't able to make it there, at the same time I don't know that there would have been much more room in that house for people to mingle about. Sometimes blessings come in disguises, I suppose. Thank you Niko and Kathy for hosting this wonderful party for us - We can't wait to use everything we got!
After we returned home with the loot, Corey, Katie and Katie's friend Jen unloaded everything (cooper included) in to the house. I laid down on the couch and about 2o minutes after resting Corey had Katie take my blood pressure. It was 156/108 - HOLY COW! That was so much higher than it's been, so I kept laying. 20 minutes later we took it again and it was back down to my baseline of 140/90. Still high, yes, but we took it again later and it was in the 130's. I couldn't believe that it had hit that high, since I hadn't really done much. Shows how sensitive this body is right now! It was seeing those high blood pressures that made me think, "All good things must come to an end." I had no idea just how dead on I was in thinking that....

My ultrasound appointment was yesterday - The tech was fast and was able to get all the measurements she needed and determine that both girls were sitting close to 5 pounds each. That's a really great weight to be at 33 1/2 weeks. Today was my NST/OB appointment, and oh boy, was that adventuresome - This is where the blog gets interesting.

So, I got to my scheduled NST appointment at the hospital, and though I had a headache, I have had one for several days I just figured it had something to do with the unending sinus thing I've had for several weeks. At the admitting desk they had me pre register for the girls' delivery. Nobody had yet worried about that little detail, as I think they were thinking we still have a lot of time before they arrive. I get up to the birthing center and a new nurse got to be the poor sucker to try to find the heartbeats today - Nothing against the new girl, but I was hoping that a familiar face was going to do it as a couple of them have mastered the art of finding them. My blood pressure at the beginning of the NST was 138/84. " It's pretty high" said the nurse. "Not for me!" I said. I then explained to the girl the positions that the ultrasound tech found them in yesterday, but she just couldn't find them where I said. She found heartbeats, but I though they were really close together and too low down. She swore they were from different babies. Okie dokie. Once all was said and done she took my blood pressure again - Surprisingly, it was up to 145/88. Oh, crap, I thought. She called my doctor with the NST, blood pressure and urine test report. I figured her response wasn't going to be as I'd hoped it would be. I was right - A full blood test was ordered STAT and I was to come over to her office as soon as that was done. Oh, joy. So I finished at the hospital and headed over to see Dr. Henson.

First things first - Pee in a cup. Normal routine for any of you mothers or mothers to be. Then weight - Up 3 pounds in a week. Hmmm. The nurse took my blood pressure and it was up to 154/74. Darn it - It was just creeping up before my eyes! The blood tests came back and there were 2 elements of concern: My iron levels are exactly the same they were when I was tested a few weeks back. Not so great, since I've been on supplements for several weeks now. And, most importantly, my platelets have gone down in the week since my last blood test. All symptoms combined - Continuous headache, swelling, high blood pressure, proteinuria, seeing stars or floaters, nausea and now a decrease in platelets - These all point to the one thing that I never had before, and didn't think I could this time around either: Pre eclampsia. Ugh.......

I have been placed on strict bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy, which is not going to be much longer. In 48 hours - 11am on Thursday - I will go back to the hospital for another NST, round of blood work and urine test. If my blood pressure is the same, or higher AND my platelets have gone down in that time, I will be transferred to Portland for an early delivery of our girls on Thursday night or Friday. If the blood pressure is the same, and the platelets have remained the same, or increased I will return in another 48 hours to the hospital for the same testing again, with the same plan of attack with the results. We could have the girls as early as day after tomorrow.....Best case scenario, however, is we make it to Friday, March 13, at which point we can deliver here. Unfortunately, that's not looking so good any longer.

I may or may not be back on here to blog before their arrival - If I'm not, my next one will be their birth announcement! What an exciting week I have to look forward to while I lay here in bed...ha!