34 weeks and 5 days

I actually got some sleep last night with only a few interruptions for BP checks. Chris stayed with me for most of the night even though I was pretty lame company falling asleep about 10pm. I had a high pressure about 11:30pm last night, 162/101 but I had been laying on my right side. After switching to my left for a bit it went down to 146/84. After a bit more sleep my next pressure was 160/87 at 4:30. The nurse came in about 6:30 to flush my IV port. My BP was 143/86 then. After some more fitful sleep the day nurse started her shift by getting me all my meds. Another shot of blood thinner to thigh and a new BP check. This time 162/88. She was a little worried but the Residents on call said it was ok. She also put Peabo on the monitor for 20 minutes and he looks excellent with his baseline being in the 120s which is improved from yesterday.

Countdown: 34 weeks and 4days

Well today has been a better day. Things are much more comfortable in the High Risk ward. Although I was up by 5:30am I got much more sleep last night than the night before. Chris also was able to get some much needed rest at home. He came in about 7 am. This morning we were visited by Dr. King, the High Risk Specialist. He has all but confirmed that I will be in the hospital for the duration. Be it 2 days or 2 weeks, I'm not going home until Peabo is born. They will continue to monitor my blood pressure. The magic number is 160/110. With 110 being the point of no return. Things get very dangerous at that level because the risk of stroke or seizure is very high. So if that happens we will have to deliver. He has scheduled another Sonogram for Monday to check Peabo's size and weight and see if the steroids helped bulk him up.

It was a busy morning. Dr King said it was OK to remove the IV, fetal monitor and catheter. I got another shot of Heparin in the thigh which is a blood thinner to prevent blood clots. Once all that was done I was able to take a bed bath and get my hair washed. All these changes made a huge increase in my comfort level. Now that I am untethred I am able to move a bit easier and get up to use the restroom. It also allows me to sleep better because they will not need to readjust the fetal monitor everytime I move positions plus the alarms will not be beeping all night. They will still be monitoring Peabo but it will now be once a shift. My BP will also be taken every 4 hours or so.

Mom came down today and spent the afternoon shift with me. We watched a lot of HGTV and had a good nap. I also got a lot of phone calls from friends and family today full of best wishes and prayers. Thanks so much everyone. Chris came back around 7pm to relieve mom. My latest BP readings have been decent. I was 146/91 at 5:40pm and 152/83 at 8pm. The 83 is very good so lets hope things stay around there.

That's the update for now. More tomorrow.

We've moved

We've moved from the Labor and Delivery floor to the High Risk floor. Things are a bit more comfortable here because I now have a real bed and not as many tubes hooked up. They stopped our Magnesium Sulfate drip at 6pm. The plan according to the High Risk Specialist is to see whether my blood pressure stays low or goes back up. I will get one more shot of steroids to help Peabo build up his lungs. If my blood pressure stablizes and I stop outputting protein in my urine there is a chance I could go home on Sunday or Monday. If it goes up and the protein continues and the headache continues then little Peabo could be arriving much sooner than we expected. It's a balancing game right now of what is best for me and what is best for the baby. With preeclampsia there is only mild and severe...no in between so the trick is to make the decision to deliver before things get severe. The good news is that survival for a baby at this age is almost 100% with only a 10% chance of complications. The goal is 36 weeks we are currently at 34 weeks 3 days. If we can hold out even until Monday that is 35 weeks so everyone keep your fingers crossed.

We've been admitted to the hospital

First let me say, although we are in the hospital we have not delivered the baby. Peabo is doing well and has a strong heartbeat and movements. Second, please forgive any typos as I am typing from bed with a big pulsox meter on one finger.

With that said here's the scoop...
After Wednesdays adventure I spent Thursday on the couch resting. Around 11am I started getting a headache which was a symptom we were told to watch out for. I took Tylenol about 12 but with no relief (another warning sign). Chris had also been monitoring my blood pressure which was high but still under 140. Around 3pm I took my BP again and it was 153/90 and the next was 160/95. After a call to the Dr. we were told to go back to the hospital.

We arrived at Labor & Delivery about 3:45 and were set up in the same triage room as before and with the same nurse, Tanja. We were hooked back up to the monitors where my BP was consistently in the 150s and my urine was +3 protein. So about 5pm they drew more blood and inserted an IV since they were pretty certain I would be admitted this time. The IV was loads of fun since my veins have all gone into the witness protection program. After the third stick and second nurse it was finally done. L&D was slammed (something about a full moon) so we didn't get our lab work until 7:45pm. It all looked good but since I still had high BP and headache I was admitted. Now we had to wait for a room. The OB resident, Dr. Oliver came in and did a Sonagram to determine Peabo's size and weight. I couldn't see the screen but Chris said it was hard to make anything out. According to the doc his size is in line with his age and he is approx. 4lbd. 9oz. After that I was given the pain medication, Nubain, straight into my IV. They said it would work fast and to just relax and go with it. They weren't kidding, within minutes a nice warm relaxing feeling spread from my head to my toes. In the meantime Chris called his parents to let them know the scoop in a nick of time. They were in the car ready to head North because when they called the hospital they were told we were in delivery! While we waited for the room they came in and gave me a shot of steroids to help spur Peabo's lung development.

We finally got our room about 10:30. It was a wild ride to the room for me since I was wheeled the whole way on a gurney and was still feeling the a little high from the pain killer. Once there we got a new nurse, Dorian who got us settled in and rehooked to the monitors and I also got a Foley catheter. Not so fun. I also got a shot of Heparin in the thigh. This is a blood thinner that is supposed to prevent blood clots. They also added Magnesium Sulfate to the IV to lower my BP. About 11 we finally got settled and Chris hung out for a while before going home to let Floyd out and get some sleep. I tried to get some sleep too but between the hourly BP checks and repositioning of the fetal monitor it was fitful at best.

Chris arrived about 6:30 am with my bag and some much needed toothpaste. He spent all night finishing an appraisal and had yet to sleep. About 8:30am they came to take more blood. A very nice man with a heavy russian accent came to do it but all I could think of was how he sounded and like Dracula and wanted to take my blood. He wasn't very successful and missed my vein almost makeing me pass out. My day nurse Julie came to the rescue and finally got the blood needed for labs.

A little while later I was finally able to sit up and brush my teeth and wash my face which made me feel much more human. Julie came back to let us know the blood work was all within normal range and that my urine protein was down to +2.

Dr. Sumani came by a little after 10am and since my blood work has been good they are going to wean me off the Magnesium Sulfate and continue to monitor through the weekend. If things don't worsen they may send me home Sunday or Monday and put me on bed rest for two weeks in order to give Peabo's lungs more time to develop. So the goal is delivery at 36 weeks. It's all about more time for the lungs. About 15% of babies this age have underdeveloped lungs. So the more time we buy the better.

Once I am off the Magnesium I will be moved to the high risk floor for observation. Right now i am waiting for food since I haven't had any since about 1pm yesterday. So that's all for now.

Pre... what?

Today started off normal. We had another visit to the doctor scheduled. Chris couldn't make it because he had to work. I figured no big deal since all our other appointments have been very routine. Of course today it would not. It started off with my blood pressure being high...somewhere in the upper 140s so the nurse had me lay on my left side while I waited for her and the doctor to come back and check it again. My next reading was lower but still a little high. When the doctor came in she was pretty concerned about the pressure and then the nurse came in to say my urine was plus 3 with protein. The next thing I know I'm being sent to the hospital for further monitoring for preeclampsia. Just like that, routine goes to unusual.

We don't start our childbirth classes until next week so we haven't had our tour of the Labor & Delivery ward at the hospital yet. All I had was instructions to go to the third floor at Riverside. So I left a semi-composed voicemail for Chris letting him know where to meet me and headed for the hospital. The doctor's office called aheaad so they were ready for me when I got there. My appointment was at 11:20, by 12:00 I was at the hospital. After registering I was changed into a hospital gown, told to lay on my left side and hooked up to a fetal monitor, contraction monitor and blood pressure cuff. My first reading was still pretty high but what do you expect when suddenly you find yourself at the hospital. Chris arrived not too long after which made me feel much better. The nurse came back in to take blood and explain a bit more about what preeclampsia is. Basically they don't know what causes it but it's not good and the only cure is delivery! That was a little scary to hear. Although I had just read that at 34 weeks the lungs are fully developed and 99% of babies born at this age survive outside the womb. Even knowing that I still wasn't prepared to deliver yet. The nurse also explained that sometimes your reflexes become hyper and tapped me on the knee to demonstrate. Imagine my surprise when my leg reflexed so much I almost kicked her in the face! After that it was a waiting game to see how my blood pressure would respond and to get the blood tests back. I had Chris call work to let them know I wouldn't be coming back to the office because I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep my composure. Then Chris had me call my mom to let her know what was going on just in case we had to deliver. She was ready to jump in the car and head south but I told her to wait until we knew more. Over the next two hours we waited and listened to Peabo's heartbeat and movements which were steady and strong. A nurse came in a put a thing on my belly that made loud buzz. Peabo didn't like that much and started moving around which is exactly what they wanted. My blood pressure dropped and my blood work came back within normal ranges. My next urine test also showed only a trace of protein. About 2:30 they called my doctor and sent me home with instructions to collect my urine for the next 24 hours (luckily they provide the jug) and put me on modified bed rest. Basically I'm only supposed to be up to take a shower and use the bathroom. Chris said that's not too different than a normal Sunday for me (other than the collecting my urine part). The urine collection will allow them to do a more accurate test for protein and we go back to the doctor on Friday for the results and to find out where we go from here.

Until then I will be laying on my left side on the couch with Chris taking my blood pressure every hour. Why the left side? According to the nurses it takes pressure off your major arteries and allows blood to flow better to your organs and to the baby.

2007: The Year of Peabo

Week 33 was full of action. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in Portsmouth with Chris' family. Grandma and grandpa Gambil are already spoiling Peabo with lots of cool stuff for Christmas. Dinner at grandma and grandpa Salyers was great as usual. It was a full house with lots of aunts, uncles and cousins. Floyd came with us and was worn out from all the attention he got.

The day after Christmas we went to Mansfield to visit with my family. Kaylee helped make a Black Forest cake and made the deviled eggs almost completely by herself. Logan was consumed with his new Lego Airplane and one of Eric's old games called Crossbows and Catapults. Aunt Carole and Grandad and Grandma Vi were also there.

After recovering from our travel I spent the rest of the week working on Peabo's room. First a border was painted with magnetic primer and then painted with chalk board paint. Then a white border was painted on both sides. Eric, Susan, Kaylee and Logan came to our house on Friday and Susan helped me paint a red stripe and blue stripe on the border. We had a few problems with the tape and paint bleeding through but eventually we conquered it and it looked really good. The guys then tackled putting the crib together. Now it's really starting to look like a boys room. The next day I painted stars above the closet door and bookcase. I still need to finish the puppy dogs on the border but it's really coming together. Mom is coming down this weekend to work on the bedding and curtains.

Week 32: Discomfort and Joy

Merry Christmas everyone. We had our checkup visit at the doctor this week. Peabo is doing great. He has a very strong heartbeat and my belly measurement was 33 inches. I, on the other hand, am up to 194 lbs. and am starting to get more and more uncomfortable. My ankles are swollen and by the end of the day my back is killing me. Finding a comfortable sleeping position is a real challenge. Here's the latest belly picture:


Chris got a lot of appraisal orders this week but he was still able to make progress on the house.
He moved all of the furniture out of the Nursery and rearranged the Guest Room so it uses the Art Deco furniture set his mom gave us.


Today he put together the dresser for Peabo's room. Check it out:


We also found out this week that Floyd does not have a thyroid or adrenal problem. The vet was worried by the blood tests from his annual checkup last week that there may be a problem but after further blood tests everything looks good. All in all it's been a good week leading up to a Merry Christmas.

We're Still Here

First let me apologize for the lack of posts lately. Everything is still going well, I've just been really busy.There have been a lot of changes at my work lately and it's affected my will to blog (and live). We've also been busy working on the house getting everything prepared for Peabo's arrival.

So what's been happening? We spent Thanksgiving day in Portsmouth with Chris' family. Chris' mom and dad had just finished renovating the house next door so we checked out their work before it went up for sale. The place looked great. Then it was off to grandma and grandpa's for dinner. It was an awesome spread as usual and good to see everyone.

Chris continued working on the pantry by finishing the countertop and hanging shelves. Then he was on to the upstairs creating a large doorway between the two rooms to create a master suite. There were some electrical outlets and switches to move so my parents came down to help. Of course what seemed like a quick job ended taking all day but eventually the guys got the electrical moved and the doorway framed. While the guys were busy with that mom and I stocked the pantry and cleaned out my kitchen cabinets.



We also had our first baby shower Dec. 2. Chris's college friends were kind enough to host it for us. It was a really good time and we were able to get lots of good advice from other parents.

We had our checkup at the doctor on Dec 5. Everything looked good for Peabo. He is growing at normal rate. I, on the other hand, gained another 10 pounds! We are now to the point where we start getting checkups every two weeks. We also had a meet and greet with the pediatrician. It seems like a great practice and came highly recommended from both the Lynches and the Walkers.

This past weekend we rallied the troops once more. Eric came down from Chicago to help with the heavy lifting and he and Chris got the trim hung around the door in the master suite and moved all the old office furniture to the basement. They also ripped out the carpet in the one room upstairs. Mom and Aunt Carole painted the master suite and also found time to straighten up the basement and organize my laundry area and all kinds of other cleaning.





We also attended the annual Dull Christmas party on Saturday. The party is far from dull it's just hosted by our friends Pat and Linda Dull. The jello shots and beer were flowing (not for me, I stuck to Root Beer) and a good time was had by all. A little too good for the guys who weren't quite as energetic on Sunday as they were on Saturday. They did find enough strength to work on the patches to the living room floor with the help of Dad who came down on Sunday.

It's a good thing we had so much help because I was completely useless. The size of my belly is starting to take it's toll. It's getting harder and harder to get comfortable. Plus being on my feet so much Saturday made my ankles swell up so I was banished to the bedroom to prop up my feet.

That's the roundup for now. We're back to the Dr. on Wednesday and then off to Portsmouth for Christmas. I have the week after Christmas as vacation so hopefully we will be able to finish things up then. We've got the crib and dresser/changing table they just need assembled.

Week 27

I needed to use up some vacation before the end of the year so I took this week off. Mom came down for a couple days to help out. Monday we went to Ikea in Pittsburgh. We didn't buy much but I did find a dresser that we can use as the changing table. Unfortunately Chris and I are going to have to drive back to get it because the shipping cost is as much as the dresser. So much for that Ikea affordability.

Tuesday was painting day!
I painted the computer cabinet Chris made and mom painted all the trim, basboards and pantry door in the kitchen. She's a painting machine!






Wednesday I painted the night stand for the nursery and Chris finished up the cabinets and countertop for the pantry. Thursday I had lunch with friends and then hit the craft stores to buy stars so I could finish up the nursery furniture. Friday Chris got the cabinets installed in the pantry and I painted the toy chest and finshed up the night stand.


Saturday Chris got the first coats of primer and paint on the pantry cabinets.


All in all it was a very productive week. I'm feeling much more relaxed about getting things done before Peabo arrives. Hopefully by the end of next week I will be filling the pantry with bottles of Yoo-hoo and cans of Vienna Sausages.

Week 26

Peabo and I continue to grow. He's really quite the night owl because he always starts moving right when I'm ready to go to sleep. Sometimes it feels like he's invented his own martial art in there. I spent this week working on our registries. Chris' friends from college are throwing us a shower so I really needed to get it done. Who knew there were so many choices of car seats and strollers and everything else. Jill suggested a great book called "Baby Bargains" that really helped narrow down the choices of what to get. Mom was brave enough to tackle Babies r Us and Target with me to finish up the last items I couldn't do online. I had to keep pulling her away from the frilly girl clothes though, no need for them this time.

Week 25

We had our monthly checkup on Friday. They tested for Gestational Diabetes this visit. I had to drink a bottle full of what tasted like really sweet Hawaiian punch and then wait an hour for them to draw blood. So far we haven't heard from the Dr. so that is good news. The bad news is I've already gained 26 lbs. which is all they really want you to gain for the entire pregnancy! Guess I better cut back on those Big Macs and milkshakes.

I've had a request for another belly picture so here you go Mindy...

Week 24

More of the same this week. Peabo is growing and kicking. We did get some good news from Susan and John. They welcomed their new son, Giacomo, on October 22. He's a handsome little guy, see for yourself.

Week 23

Another week has passed and Peabo is getting stronger and stronger. He really gets moving right around the time I want to go to sleep. Chris thinks he is practicing the Angry Monkey dance. It sure feels like it. I've been feeling pretty good physically but I think my nesting instinct is starting to kick in. I'm feeling a bit panicky that we won't get everything done with the house before the baby is born.

We're also having a hard time deciding on a name. So we're adding a poll that will allow our loyal readers (basically our moms) to vote on the names they like.

Week 21

Peabo's movements are becoming stronger and more frequent. He seems to take after Chris and likes to keep late hours. On a whim we went to Pottery Barn Kids and found inspiration for decorating Peabo's room. I really like the puppy dogs on the wall in this picture. We also like the crib and dresser in the picture except in white like this. Too bad it is so expensive. Hopefully we can find something similar somewhere else. If anything the Pottery Barn catalog is great just for the ideas.

Chris also got the trim around the pantry, office and french doors done this week. Now we just have to do more of the dreaded painting.

It's a Boy!

We had our ultrasound today and everything looked great. Peabo was really moving around and was not shy at all about making it easy to see he's a boy (must take after his dad). The Dr. took some measurements of different parts like the femur and head and said they were excellent for this stage in the pregnancy and that Peabo doesn't have a big head (good news for me). Chris even thinks that his chin looks like his chin, very pointy. Here are some pictures with the important parts labeled. You can click the picture for a bigger view.

Week Twenty: Half Full or Half Empty?

We've hit the half way point and all is well. My belly is becoming more and more obvious and so are Peabo's movements. My worst complaint so far is the heartburn but I guess that is to be expected. Chris' worst complaint is probably what a bitch I've become. These hormones are wreaking havoc with my mood.

We started a Baby Pool where our friends and family can guess the gender, weight, length, and birthdate and time of Peabo's arrival. You're running out of time to guess the gender because hopefully we will be finding out at our next Dr's visit on Oct. 2.

For fun I dug out our baby pictures. After looking at these I've got a pretty good feeling that Peabo will be born with a full head of hair. Can you tell who is who?







This is another picture I just have to share. This is Chris when he was about 6 months old. He was so fat they were afraid he wouldn't be able to walk. I think he was just big boned :)

I know the suspense is killing you so ... Emilie (8lbs. 14oz., 21") is the baby on the left and Chris (7lbs. 5oz., 21") is the baby on the right.

Week Nineteen

I think I'm definately feeling Peabo moving around. Especially when I eat or drink something with a lot of sugar in it. My belly is really starting to show espcially in the last week. I guess Peabo had a growth spurt. Here's waht Babycenter.com has to say about how the baby is growing right now:

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini.

We finally took another picture. So much for taking on every week. Chris was mocking me and threating to put up pictures of his own. Here you go...

Week Eighteen: What was that?

I think I can feel the baby moving! I felt a couple twinges last night but today there were a couple that seemed a little stronger and I'm pretty sure it's Peabo doing some acrobatics in there. It's very cool to finally be able to feel the little life that is growing inside.

Week Seventeen: Belly Envy

We had another doctor visit this week. This visit they performed the AFP Blood Screening test. It screens for some of the more common birth defects. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that the results are good news not bad. They also listened to the heartbeat again. This time you could also hear little crashes that were the baby moving around. It was really weird because we could here Peabo moving but I still can't feel it. For the record, the nurse practitioner thinks it's a boy. One more month and hopefully we will know for sure.

This weekend was also the wedding of one of my college roommates. Jen and Jeremiah had a beautiful wedding. Congrats! It was not only a wedding but also a reunion. The Seventh Heaven family has grown a lot over the last year. We finally got to meet Macy, Jill and Ryan's daughter. She's a real cutey and a prolific blogger. We also got to meet Daniel, Stacey Rae and Mark's son. Also a cutey but not as good a blogger. Maybe he needs to write it instead of his mom. Another new addition to the family is Jonathan, Carrie's fiance. He's a really cool guy who fits in great. We can't wait for their wedding. We'll have to wait until after October to meet Susan and John's addition to the family. We all look forward to meeting him/her. Chris thinks I have belly envy of Susan because her larger belly was getting much more attention than mine. Who wouldn't be jealous of getting special treatment in the buffet line :)

Week Sixteen: So long regular pants

My belly seems to have popped enough that my regular jeans no longer button. So it's maternity pants from now on.