The Week Before

The couple of weeks leading up to Maks' birth were interesting. About 3 weeks ago, I started having right flank pain (kidney pain) along with an increased frequency and urgency to urinate. I felt like I was spending all of my time in the bathroom, but I never felt like I was emptying my bladder. I was put on an antibiotic for noted "inflammation" in my urinary tract. The symptoms seemed to subside for about a week, but around New Years Eve I was having worsening symptoms, and I started to notice a decrease in fetal activity along with pitting edema in my legs and swelling in my hands and face. I called my best friend Nicole, who so conveniently works for Dr. Leavitt, my OB, and asked her about the symptoms. She said the office was closed until January 2nd, but that i should drink some sugary juice, lay on my left side, watch my belly closely for activity, and come in when the office was open for a repeat urinalysis. I followed her instructions but only seemed to notice some slight movements in my belly. I told myself I was overreacting, but still asked Logan for a Priesthood blessing to help me feel better and to know what to do.
The next day I went to Dr. Leavitt's office for another urinalysis. When the results came back completely clear, I was worried. I knew something was wrong. I just didn't feel like things were right. I had no idea what, but I honestly felt like I couldn't leave the office until they found SOMETHING wrong with me. So, I asked the medical assistant if she would just check my blood pressure before I left due to the edema I was having. Luckily, at 169/97 it was high enough for her to mention it to the Physician Assistant (Dr. Leavitt was out of the office all week on vacation). I was sent to a room to meet with the PA, and a repeat blood pressure check was done to ensure accuracy of the first. It came back as 179/103!! So something WAS wrong. The PA came in and did a quick physical exam. She recommended I start taking 100mg labetalol twice a day to help decrease the blood pressure. She also ordered an ultrasound to check on fetal activity since a non-stress test at 26 weeks is often too variable.
During the ultrasound, I was relieved to see my baby boy wiggling around so much. The technician questioned the need for the ultrasound more than once, however, saying "this baby has the hiccups," "he is wiggling and sucking his lips," and "sick babies don't look like this." She completed a thorough exam, nonetheless, and typed the report saying, "a single, viable fetus noted on exam." I was a little confused because although I could see the baby moving on the ultrasound screen, I couldn't feel his movements or see my belly moving from the outside. I then decided it was probably just because I was only 26 weeks along, and it was just too soon for that.
Because of the edema and high blood pressure, the PA also ordered a 24-hour urine protein test and CBC and CMP to check kidney and liver function. So, I had to keep my pee in the fridge for 24 hours. Nasty! Luckily we have a spare fridge outside that is currently empty.
That day, my paranoid self started second guessing the blood pressure readings. I started to believe it was a fluke that it was so high, and that it was premature of the PA to prescribe the labetalol without another reading at least 6 hours from the first. So, I called and talked with the PA, and she said to hold off on picking up the prescription and to come in the next morning for one more blood pressure test.
When I got there on Thursday, my swelling had increased, and I had actually gained about 15 pounds since my last weight check a few weeks prior. This was significant to me, considering I only gained a total of 20 lbs with my pregnancy with Milyn. Anyway, the medical assistant took my blood pressure, and it was 175/93. So the PA came in for a chat, and I was to definitely start taking the labetalol. Luckily, the results of the labs had all come back normal; so at this point it didn't appear that the blood pressure had caused any damage. The ultrasound was normal, my labs were normal, and hopefully the medication would help my blood pressure to normalize and all would be well.


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