33 weeks ... NST and Preeclampsia

After my pictures last week, I noticed that my feet had swollen up worse than they ever have. I thought it was just because I was busy with errands all day and on my feet. The swelling never went down and eventually got worse throughout the week. By my appointment on Thursday, my legs looked like one big blob. Jonny and I named them "Thankles". Thighs, knees, calfs, cankles and feet all in one. I was worried about the swelling, but at my last appointment my doctor said it was very common at this point in the pregnancy. I thought it was somewhat normal. When the nurse saw my feet she knew something was wrong. My blood pressure was also pretty elevated and there was protein in my urine. All three together are signs of Preeclampsia.

They did a few blood draws to send to the lab for confirmation. Then they did a NST (Fetal Non-Stress Test) to see if Olliver was okay. The put a monitor on the baby's heart beat and one on my uterus to see if I was having contractions. The doctor was worried that I was in a stage of preterm labor since I've also ben having mild braxton hicks at night. By this point I was a bit freaked out. It's one of the only appointments Jonny hasn't accompanied me too. I knew going in there was a chance I'd be diagnosed with preeclampsia. Mom and grandma both had it with their pregnancies and it's hereditary. After googeling my symptoms before going in that morning,  I knew what they were looking for. Luckily, baby boy was fine and I wasn't dilated  They sent me home on bedrest for the rest of the weekend.

Never google a diagnoses ..... unless you don't intend on sleeping that night. The information on Preeclampsia is scary. Preterm labor, bed rest in the hospital, and if it's not monitored the mother can elevate to the "eclampsia" stage wich causes seizures and strokes. Needless to say, we got very little sleep Thursday night. Friday afternoon, we got the call to let us know my tests came back negative. The nurse said to stay on bedrest for the weekend and drink lots of water. What a weird deal, I'm swollen from water intake, but the more i drink the more it flushes out my system. I would have thought the complete opposite!

As of today, my swelling has gone done quite a bit. We had a babymoon and vacation (and Jonny's brothers wedding) scheduled in Boston/New York this week. We were supposed to leave Tuesday. My doctor said flying would only make my symptoms worse and strongly suggested I stay home. Even with the compression hose, my swelling is still to drastic to fly.

I'm really hoping this is a better week. Keeping my swelling down is my main priority, but I'm still working and on and off my feet all day. Jonny's been great about helping me make better choices on what/whatnot to eat. Trying to keep down on salt and carbs just might be the death of me.

 Only 7 more weeks till our baby boy gets here!  :)