See you soon? Let's hope not!

Hi family and friends!

Well fancy hearing from me on not-Wednesday.... I thought I'd fill you all in on yesterday's doctor's visit so that you could keep the three of us in your thoughts and prayers. Before I go any further, it's important to let you know that Clay looks great, he is "breathing", his heart beat is strong, and he is very active (he kept kicking my doctor during the sonogram yesterday).

Jim and I went to see my doctor yesterday - I was scheduled for this appointment before Monday's craziness but they turned this appointment into a follow up from Monday. I've had cramping once a day (very brief) since Monday and have also felt about three more contractions. The "mankles" that I told you out last week are more like elephant trunks and the swelling has moved into my legs (thank goodness Jim's not a foot guy or else, I'd be WAYYYYY unattractive to him right now). So, that was definitely something (the swelling part, not the Jim's not a leg/foot man part) I shared with the nurse and doctor. I got weighed and found out that I'd gained 9 pounds in two weeks (WTH!?!), so that coupled with my swelling had my doctor concerned because she said, "I" couldn't have gained that much and it had to be fluid retention - I'm not a big salt person and I'm drinking a lot of water so that was a little concerning to her. Also concerning was my blood pressure, it was not elevated by medical standards but definitely elevated for me (I have been in the 100 - 110ish range my entire pregnancy but in the last couple of weeks it's crept up and it was at 124 yesterday so again, high for me). I got more info on me being dilated to a 1, I'm still at a 1 which is good that it's holding tight but my doctor explained that at 34 weeks, I shouldn't be dilated.

All of this combined with Monday's episode and the fact that I felt kind of out of it yesterday seem to indicate that I could be on my way to preeclampsia. This is a condition that is very common in first pregnancies, basically, the mom retains fluid and has high blood pressure - all of which can distress the baby and the only "cure" is delivery and the treatment until then is rest.

My doctor was very optimistic about my prognosis. She said they wouldn't be trying any "heroics" because with bad cases of preeclampsia they just try to get you to 34 weeks and since I'm there, that's way less scary. She explained that at this point, there really aren't long term differences between babies born now and at 40 weeks, we'd just need to expect that Clay would be smaller and would spend a little more time in the nursery. The plan from here is to monitor my blood pressure several times a day and I'll be on at home bed rest until Tuesday. On Tuesday, we'll re-evaluate the situation, I could be taken off full bed rest or they could admit me to the hospital for bed rest. The goal (if there isn't marked improvement on Tuesday) is to make it to 35 1/2 - 36 weeks with Clay. If I dilate more or contractions are more frequent they could choose to address the "laboring" part through medication.

Needless to say, Jim and I were a bit stunned - I don't know if we're both optimists or just naive, but we haven't expected any of the news we've received at the doctor's this week. I feel like we are in very good hands with our doctor and it's good to know the plan of action. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, ask that Clay soak up every last bit of development that he can in the womb and that my body provides him a safe harbor. Also, please lift up Jim because he's going to take on even more of a load around here (he gets to do really fun things like picking out my nursing bras and stuff and since I can't really get out of the house).

I hope you all are doing well!

Love,
Erin