I am getting to Week 38 a little early because Week 38 will be my last week in the countdown and Finch will be coming a little earlier than planned.
I have been dealing with swelling in my feet and have been having issues with my blood pressure increasing gradually for about a month to a month and a half and it has been something our doctor has been keeping an eye on because they are precursors to a condition called Preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a condition that develops usually within the last few weeks to month of pregnancy and can develop earlier even as early as the second trimester in mothers. It is caused when the placenta begins to become toxic to the mother's body causing such symptoms as high blood pressure, headaches, excessive and sudden swelling, vision problems, and proteinuria (proteins in the urine, which indicate liver and kidney damage). It is not good and can lead to further complications of seizures and coma if not treated immediately once it starts to develop. The only way to cure it is to deliver the baby and ultimately the placenta which is causing the problems to start with. For more info see: www.preeclampsia.org.
I have had a couple of red flags for a while, but the past couple of weeks it's become far more concerning leading up to a hospital visit on Saturday because I was starting to swell in my face and hands and legs, and was having headaches. When we got to the hospital my blood pressure which is normally 106/60-110/70 was in the 140/90-150/100 range. Not good at all, especially when my baseline is so much lower. When I was sitting up and standing up it was high and when I was laying down it went back down immediately to a much healthier and safer level. They did a urine sample and I wasn't spilling proteins in my urine so they felt like I was safe to go home, however on bedrest to keep my blood pressure down.
Today, was my normal weekly checkup, and after 5 checks and re-checks on my blood pressure it remained consistently high, and my urine sample today showed that I am starting to spill proteins. Not good. Luckily, we have a doctor who is a champion, who has listened to my concerns, and who isn't willing to try our luck on it going down at this point.
He talked it over with us and said that since we are 38 weeks, and Finch is looking really really good, he feels that Finch will be fine to deliver earlier, but that he is worried for me and that he wanted to induce me this week to make sure we took care of this before it became a problem. We are inducing Finch later this week on Thursday, and we appreciate any prayers or well wishes that you can send our way.
We feel so blessed, and I feel completely at peace with everything that has been happening. Around 22 weeks I began to really look for signs of Preeclampsia and worried that I may develop it, and now that I have, I feel like the Lord has been preparing me and guiding me so I would know when to speak up to the doctor and when things were just fine. I look back now and can see that I have been prompted for a while and now that this is happening I am not afraid. We have a wonderful doctor who has been taking such wonderful care of us, and we have been able to carry Finch to term and he is strong and healthy and this is all happening on a week when Ben can be home with me to make sure I don't have to be on my feet so I can rest as much as possible. The Lord has been so merciful and I am in awe of the blessings that have and are ours now as we prepare to welcome our little son into the world.
My advice to all of my friends who are pregnant or who will become pregnant is to not ignore any signs that don't seem right to them. If I hadn't watched for and felt concerned, I may have never realized something wasn't right until it was too late, and I have been able to work with my doctor for a little bit so that now I am prepared and ready instead of feeling completely confused and scared. And it doesn't even have to be about preeclampsia. There are so many times when you are pregnant that you will worry and it is nothing, but if you keep feeling a nudging feeling or prompting that this symptom is more or that you should keep an eye on it please please do. I would rather be known as the mother who worries a little more but was right about something not being right, than someone who was too afraid to be annoying or to ask questions or voice concerns and have something happen that I regretted. It took me a while to feel comfortable voicing my concerns but I am and have always been glad that I did voice them when I did because most times I have found something wasn't quite right and that my intuition and the promptings of the Holy Ghost were indeed real and sound.
Again, if you can keep us in your prayers and thoughts we sure appreciate them. We can't wait to welcome our little boy and I am so thrilled to finally be the mama I have dreamed about being since I was a little girl :)
We will keep you posted, and there will be a HUGE blog for when he comes, no worries :)
The final belly shot :)
Love,
Liz, Ben, Finch, and Zola :)
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