It Takes A Village...Bedrest

A short update on the past few days...as of 37 weeks 6 days, I am officially on bedrest. 

Wednesday night, we were at my grandparents house for dinner and my feet got swollen really quickly. I didn't think much about it and just blamed it on a 13 hour day. When we got home, Eric checked my blood pressure. It was a little higher than normal, but not concerning, so I went to bed. We continued to monitor it Thursday morning and by 11:00 am it had gone up to 146/90. I gave my doctor a call, thinking they would have me come to the office to get checked. 

About 30 minutes later, they called back and said they wanted me to go to labor and delivery. I was so shocked they said that and quickly realized I wouldn't be coming back to work most likely. I quickly tried to get somethings together and do a few last minute tasks. I was extremely overwhelmed and not thinking straight. 

I left school around noon to head home to change before going to the hospital. The nurse called back and said that Methodist labor and delivery was full and they wanted me to go to UTMB Galveston. Since Eric works for Methodist, we needed to go to Methodist. At this point, we didn't know when a bed would open and thought we might have to go to Methodist in the med center. 

When I got home, I did what any rational pregnant person would do...washed 2 loads of laundry, made Halloween gifts for Madison's teachers and took a shower. Eric got home around 1:30 and we waited to hear back from the doctor. I was able to rest for a little while and then we decided to go to my parents house to get Madison. 

Around 5, the hospital called and said they had a bed ready for me. I called my mom to tell her our plan and she told me Madison was sick. She threw up after school and hadn't been herself. My mom brought Madison to our house and I broke down when they got there. I was overwhelmed and felt terrible that we had to leave Madison when she was sick. 

We didn't end up leaving for the hospital until close to 6:00. We got there, checked in and got into a room around 6:45. They hooked me up to monitor my blood pressure, Caroline's heartbeat and my contractions. When the dr came in, she had me lay on my left side. Shortly after that, my blood pressure significantly went down and averaged 115/60. After more monitoring and blood work, all tests looked good. 

The dr asked about my job and told me that I would be on bedrest until Caroline arrived. Thankfully, that will only be a couple more weeks at the most. 

Today, I am doing much better with the idea that I am not going back to work.  I rested during the day and went to my dr appointment this afternoon. The dr said he would really like me to make it to 39 weeks. I will go back next Friday and he will decide if we should induce or wait until Caroline's ready. At this point, I am hoping to let Caroline decide when she is ready. After going to the dr, I realized how much better I felt when I was laying down vs sitting up and walking. 

Long story short, I will be doing lots of laying and sitting in the upcoming days. We are so thankful to have my parents close by. They took over Madison last night when she was sick, Pops went to her Halloween party today and they will be helping in the afternoons to pick her up from school until Eric gets home from work. 

37 Weeks with Caroline

Things are getting real around here! I don't think it has truly set in that Caroline could be here any day or at most within the next 3 weeks. 

Baby's size- Caroline is 19 inches long and 6.25 pounds in weight. Caroline is growing about 1/2 lb a week!

Movement- There is nothing better than feeling Caroline move. Madison never moved much, so this is a new experience. I'm to the point now where I rarely feel kicks, just whole body movements. My stomach will roll and become lopsided. I love to feel Caroline's little booty sticking out by my belly button. This weekend, Madison was laying next to me. She sat up and started to rub the back of her head after Caroline gave her a few pushes. Sisterly love already...

How I'm feeling- I think I'm doing well all things considered. 37 weeks pregnant, working full time and keeping up with a 2 year old. I try to rest when I can... This past weekend, we stayed home for 2 days due to rain. It felt wonderful to relax!  On work days, my stomach starts to get really tight by about 2:30 pm and the Braxton hicks pick up. I'm really trying hard to push through and make sure Madison gets some quality time each night. We have been going to the park and playing outside quite a bit. 

Dr Visits- I have started my weekly dr visits. As of last week, the dr said Caroline is getting lower, but no dilation at this point. Caroline is measuring right on track with a strong heartbeat. So far, I've gained 12 pounds total. I think I had gained about 18 with Madison at this point. With Madison, I was going to the dr twice a week to monitor her movement. It is so different this time to be "normal" and have quick, easy dr appointments. 

Preparations- We are ready for you Caroline! This weekend we washed the rock and play sleeper, car seat and swing. We just need to install our car seat bases. I have Caroline's bag packed and a lot of my stuff together. I also went shopping Friday and got some random last minute things we needed. 

Big Sister Madison- Madison loves to talk about Caroline, touch my belly, go into Caroline's room and name all the things for "the baby" around the house. She came up to me tonight, but both her hands on my belly and said "hi baby Caroline". I melted... 

We are hoping for the best when it comes time for this transition. My biggest worry is the time we are in the hospital. I know Madison will be with people she knows and loves, but I just hope she does ok for those couple days. Her little world is about to change! I know we will miss her like crazy and be so anxious to get home. 

I can't wait to see Madison with Caroline! It is hard to believe that Madison will have a big sister, we will have a toddler and a newborn, we will have 2 girls...it is just amazing!  Eric said a few weeks ago that it was just a few years that we wondered when we would be able to have a baby. After a long 14 months, we found out we were pregnant with Madison in January 2013. Imagine our surprise when we got pregnant with Caroline right away in March 2015! Here we are today, 2 years and 2 baby girls. Life is pretty amazing!