Last Thursday I was sent home from Hoag when they were able
to calm my contractions down with an increase in dosage of Procardia and a
48-hour Magnesium devil drip. I wasn’t too happy with the idea of going home, because
even with the risk of picking up MRSA (hospitals are very dirty!), it was nice
having breakfast, lunch, and dinner brought to me while lying in bed all day
watching Ghost Whisperer. Just kidding. Sort of.
Anyway, when I wasn’t living in a fantasy world of
pretending to be a rich person staying at a luxurious fat farm in Newport
Beach, I was comforted by the fact that me and Baby Girl were being monitored
24/7. However, things stabilized and they sent me home with instructions to
come on back if labor started.
Well, after a three days of finally getting a little more
comfortable at home, I noticed that my blood pressure started creeping up a
tiny bit every few hours, even with all of the medication I was taking. This
was a new development, and because I am hypervigilant (translation: EXTREMELY
PARANOID), I started paying more attention to other things that seemed a little
out of the ordinary: an increasing sense of irritation with everyone and
everything around me (actually, this is pretty common for me these days, but I
realized I was getting out of hand after having a 5-minute heated argument with
the kitchen table simply for being in my way); a dull headache that wasn’t
really painful – just THERE – flickering on and off like a low wattage light
bulb in some Eastern European underground human trafficking holding cell; and some
funny looking pee even after drinking 4 liters of water a day.
The good news is I haven’t gone into labor. The bad news is
that they suspect I have preeclampsia due to abnormal lab results and the other
things I mentioned above. My OB has told me that they are now just looking for
any reason to deliver, which, even with 35 weeks still being a little early, I’m
ok with. I simply do not trust my body to do the job it’s supposed to be doing
anymore. If it’s safer for Sweetest Pea to be outside than in, so be it. As
for me and the risk of stroke and organ failure – meh. Not really worried. It’s
possible I’ll have to do Magnesium again, but that just means I’ll get to follow
up with the Male Model Phlebotomist on what his latest life plans and goals
are.
I know I’ve been a hot damn mess during this pregnancy and there
have been many, many times that my faith has been shaken to its core - not that
it was strong to begin with because of what we went through with Ligaya. I still
get very angry about that. I mean, COME ON - how much do people really need to be tested in
life? But I’m trying to take a different approach on things. Instead of feeling
abandoned by a higher power, I’m thankful that He/She/It has blessed me with
the knowledge, ability, and confidence to realize that when things don’t seem
right, you need to get that shit handled right away, no matter how crazy people
may think you are. Had I not gone back to the hospital on Sunday after a blood
pressure reading of 171/117 and just decided to sleep it off, this story may
have a different ending. Trust your gut, people.
So here I am, back again at Hoag in the 35th week! Less than
2 weeks away from our scheduled c-section, but not quite sure we’ll actually
get there. The doctors have all assured me that if she comes now, she will be
ok. I know that all babies are different though, so I won’t fully believe that
until I actually see her with my own eyes and hear her cry. Even with this
latest development, I’m still thankful that we’ve made it so far. I know people
who have struggled with preeclampsia at much earlier gestations. We’ve come a very
long way.
Nate continues to be my shining star, even if he did balk at
the idea of helping me with a bedpan every night in the likely event I was too tired
and lazy to get out of bed to pee. We’ve
compromised, though. Now he just has to get up every few hours to unhook me
from the machines and help me navigate my way to the toilet in the dark. He’s so
sweet - the other night when we thought delivery was a real possibility, he
suddenly darted off to the bathroom. He came out clean shaven saying that he
wanted to look presentable to meet his baby girl. I thought homeboy was about
to put on a suit and tie. My heart melted in that instant, and I was no longer
mad that he chose to eat a burger in front of me earlier in the evening when I
was told I needed to hold off on eating anything for a few hours. Baby Girl
stayed put, so we ended up watching a terrible Keanu Reeves movie on Hulu instead.
That’s 1.5 hours of my life watching Keanu struggle desperately to find the
right emotions to get across on screen. Painful (although he is still quite
handsome). But you know what? It was
also 1.5 hours of my life laughing with Nate, forgetting my worries for a
little while, and feeling my Sweetest Pea kick every inch of my nether regions
to let me know she was ok. I’ll take it.
 |
35 weeks...and it's basically any day now. |
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