Our newest family member

Phoenix Alexander was born Monday, May 22, 2006 at 1:12pm. He weighed 5 pounds 6 ounces and is 18.5 inches long.

37 weeks!

BABY DAY!!!

36 weeks, 3 days

I saw the OB this morning for a check. I'm dilated to 2 cm!! So, with the way my blood pressure has been and the dilation....we are GO FOR LAUNCH!! Baby Phoenix will be arriving sometime on Monday, May 22!! I've reached the point with my gestational hypertension that it's not coming down well with rest and that is not good. At this point, things would probably get worse rather than better. So the line has been reached and I'll be induced early Monday morning. If something happens over the weekend, we will roll with it and deliver.

So keep us in your thoughts for a smooth, easy, fast, and as painless as possible labor and delivery! We'll get the word out as soon as we can once he's here!

36 week update

My bp is up yet, and I had a big spike so I am waiting to hear from the doctor about what he wants me to do. Even resting, my bp is running 150s/high90-100s.

Update: We ran up to the birthing center as my bp was up yet in the evening. Had an NST where baby did great. He had the hiccups while on the monitor and that was pretty cool to listen to. My bp did come down a bit while there, and I got sent home with instructions to relax. Quite honestly, this visit to the birthing center was awful. I'm so scared and the nurse was just horrendous. Not supportive at all. I left in tears. I just want my baby out and for both of us to be safe.

36 week BPP

I had my BPP today and we checked out great. 8/8 again. We did a weight check on Phoenix and with his measurements, they approximate him to be 5lbs 10oz. These can be off by 1/2 pound or so, so we could be having a 5-6.5 pound guppy! I've got another face shot.

My blood pressure has been up with a couple spikes here and there. Keeping an eye on that.

36 weeks!

We made it to 36 weeks!!! WOOHOO! That was the ultimate goal! My bp is continuing to hang out around 140/90. The nurse that took it initially got a low reading of 122/73, but I know that was not right. The OB retook it himself after looking at what she had down. He got 138/88. We are still rocking along. Baby's heartbeat was good on doppler. The OB felt around and Phoenix is still head down. He thinks baby will be a smaller baby. Since Jason and I don't really have any giant genetic material, I'm not surprised. ;-) We may be plump, but we're not super tall people.

The plan is to continue on and see how things go. I have a BPP Tuesday, and return for an OB check, labs & NST on Thursday.

35 weeks, 3 days

I am still pregnant! We saw the OB today and things are still looking okay. My blood work came back alright, and the NST this morning went well. My bp has been running great yesterday and today, which is nice. While I'm ecstatic that things are going well currently, I'm still a bundle of nerves just waiting for something to happen. I feel like I'm a ticking time bomb waiting to get sick. Each day helps Phoenix, but each day seems to make me a bit more neurotic. (no jokes please ;-) )

We continue to take things day by day. I see the doctor on Monday and have a BPP on Tuesday. Apparently, I was contracting on the monitor this week and he suggested that maybe the stomach pains were caused by the contractions. He sympathized with the anxiety that I am feeling. The normal aches & pains of pregnancy have extra meanings for us as they can be signs of preeclampsia. He's worried that if I could face a failed induction resulting in a c-section if my body just isn't ready to have this baby. With a complication like preeclampsia, the body knows the baby needs to come out and thus starts to prepare itself for delivery. At this point, because I don't have a serious enough complication my body isn't making itself overly ready like it did with Ariana. So, we are still rolling along and hoping for the best.

35 weeks, 1 day

I woke up today not feeling well and having epigastric pain. I called into work and said I felt cruddy so I'd be staying home today. The pain came and went all day. I laid in bed all day and my bp was running just over 140/90 all day. I called the nurse and she said to try laying down to see if the pain went away. If not, I could come into labor & delivery to get checked over.

Jason did talk me into going up to L&D. I was not impressed with the nurse I had. She hooked me up to the monitors and we got to listen to Phoenix for a while. That was very reassuring. My bp was okay there, and of course the pain went away while I was laying there. So, back home we went. I was instructed to call the office Wed if the pain continued.

35 weeks

I had a BPP this afternoon. Phoenix was being a stinker when the tech was looking for his practice breathing. She ended up waiting to see continuous breathing for 35minutes before he woke up enough to do it. She caught the first movements just as he went into a sleep cycle she guesses. Those first movements weren't continuous so she wanted to be sure she kept an eye on it for the 30 seconds they need to monitor. She got some great shots of his "gender" and some profile shots. We also have a photo of his face smooshed up against the uterus. It's the "alien-baby" money shot that most mom's have. The cord blood flow was good today. In the end, Phoenix and I scored an 8/8 for the BPP. If she wouldn't have caught the practice breathing, we most likely would have been having a baby in the next day or so. There were a few tension filled looks passed between Jason and myself.

I turned in another 24 hour urine collection, which came back good. Not enough protein showing for a preeclampsia diagnosis. When I got to the OB office, my bp was 164/92 so onto my left side I went. After 15 minutes and talking with the doctor my bp came down to 122/83. So while the bp is high, it is coming down with rest. At home it hovers around 140/90 most of the time. With the good BPP and protein levels, the OB wants to keep me pregnant yet. I go back on Thursday for a NST and see the OB. We are just taking it day by day at this point.

34 weeks, 5 days

I am now more pregnant than I was with Ariana. This was the gestation that I gave birth to our spirited child, and I am now passed that with Phoenix. If he comes in the next few days, my hope and wish is that he does as well (or better) than she did after she was born. We'll keep you posted!

34 weeks, 3 days

I may possibly be having this baby early next week depending on how things go. I went in for my NST yesterday and baby was not cooperating so I got sent to L&D for them to do one. My bp was up (152/94), and I have the official PIH diagnosis now. I'm showing trace - +1 on urine dips, so I get to complete another 24hr urine. I've been hovering around the 140/90's and it does come down with rest thankfully. My OB came in to see me at the office yet and discussed Thursday's BPP with us. The placenta is starting to show signs of deteriorating. Cord blood flow is starting to be affected, but of course not enough to deliver with just the doppler. I still scored an 8/8 on the BPP even with the cord concerns.

The nurse walked me over to L&D (the clinic is attached to the hospital and L&D is right next door) and they got me hooked up on monitors. My bp was still up, so on the left side I went. Baby had a few decel's with his first couple movements which concerned the nurse. Phoenix then decided to take a nap. He did wake up again and everything was great. He moved well and his heart rate went up with movements like it should.

The OB came in to see me and looked over the tape. He wants to do the 24hr urine, have a BPP on Monday, see him, labs too. And if we get something coming back funky, he's thinking delivery on Tuesday. My labs from today came back all normal, so that is reassuring. I just hate sitting here waiting to get sick. He called me his "preeclampsia queen" to the nurse, which made me laugh. Told me to keep an eye on the headaches and if anything concerns me to come in to be checked out.

So, we are here just waiting. I'm feeling awfully guilty right now about being pregnant again. I just feel like I'm letting myself and my baby down because my body is faulty.

34 weeks

Well, the bp has been running 130-40's/80-90's all weekend, with an occasional 120/80something reading. This morning, straight waking bp was 156/96, and after 5 minutes was 146/92. I had a headache over the weekend, but it wasn't the migraine-like headache. I'm a bit swollen today, and in general feel crappy.

My blood pressure was high at my appt this morning (152/92), but did lower after lying down (118/76). I'm showing protein in my urine (+1). I'm showing protein in my urine, but nothing significant at this point to warrant induction. As my OB puts it, things are brewing. They're just not enough to deliver at this point. With preeclampsia, things could "brew" like this for two more weeks, or could turn on a dime and get worse quickly. So, he is stepping up the monitoring to watch for any further changes. I am a fingertip dilated and my cervix is soft.

I have BPP's done once a week now. I also start NST's this week. I have lab work done about every three days, so we are covering all bases. And I see my OB once a week at least. With the NST's I see the nurse for a bp and urine check.

It's great we can monitor things like this, but it does add up in the schedule. I'll be at the clinic or the hospital at least 3 times a week until baby comes. While we are hoping for at least another week, it stinks to keep waiting for things to happen. I'm still optimistic (somewhat) that I can hold out for another 2-3 weeks, but we truly are just waiting for me to get sick. With talking with other preeclampsia survivors who are pregnant again, we have a different way of going through another pregnancy. We all hope for the best, but need to be prepared for the worst. Our reality is different. As Jason said it this morning to the OB, "ignorance is bliss." With Ariana, we had no idea what was happening. With Phoenix, we do and we just have to wait. Wait to maintain things, wait to get sick, etc.

I think some of my difficulty with this is that Ariana's birthday is Wednesday. Three years ago today I didn't know what HELLP was, didn't know that I'd be having a baby in 72 hours, etc. I cherish the memories, but hate them as well.