29 Week Appointment

Yesterday was our 29 week appointment and the main focus of this appointment was my blood pressure issues. My blood pressure is still high. I thought that it would be significantly lower since my back quit hurting but surprisingly it was still high, which was very disappointing. It was 155/100 which is a slightly lower than last week but not enough to count. I still haven’t had any protein in my urine which is a good sign. I asked her how long they would let me go with high blood pressure and she said she wasn’t sure. She handed me a slip to set up my pre-admissions interview at the hospital which I had already done. I told her I was scheduled for April 7th and she suggested that I try and move it up a little sooner because she wasn’t sure if I would make it that far. I did my usual routine and got up on the scale. Bryan’s new thing is to adjust the weights to where he thinks my weight is before I get on the scale and see how close he can get it. He has been right on the past two weeks in a row. I have gained 4lbs since my visit last week. I don’t know how because these babies sure don’t leave much room for food. I think they have gone through a growth spurt. I am also measuring 40 weeks which is equal to a 9 month singleton pregnancy.
The nurse took us back to the room where we waited for Dr. Berg and Bryan had to listen to me complain about my blood pressure, I am sure this really helps keep it down. Dr. Berg did her usual ultrasound and the babies are still breech. I forgot to ask if there is still time for them to reposition but I am guessing they have run out of room and we will be having a c-section. We discussed my blood pressure and Dr. Berg explained the lab she would be ordering. She ordered some more blood work and a 24 hour urine collection. Yes, that’s right! I have to collect my urine for 24 hours. This test will tell them if my kidneys are tolerating the elevated blood pressure.
Dr. Berg explained that we needed to stop by the hospital and get a kit. The look on Bryan's face was priceless. He quickly said, "Kit! You mean she has to do this at home?" Dr Berg laughed and told him yes I would be doing this at home. He asked where I will keep it and she told him in the kit is a large brown jug that I will use the little catching device aka a “hat” to fill the jug and to keep it cool like in the refrigerator. He freaked out and said, "You are not putting that in with our food!" By then Dr Berg and I were laughing and he said, "She can go stay with her parents!" I could tell she got a real kick out of how squeamish he is so she said, "You have heard the apple juice stories right?" She explained the importance of getting every sample or you have to start the collection process over. So as we left Bryan could not stop talking about how gross it was and on and on until we stopped at the hospital and picked up my kit. I got back in the car with my bag full of goodies and Bryan said, "Seriously, I can drive up to Orofino and drop you off tonight." I told him I would find some other way to keep it cool during the day and then I will put it outside at night.
So the majority of my day has been collecting and transferring samples from the hat to the jug. I will turn it in tomorrow and then they will draw the blood work that goes with it (Dr. Berg did say that she does not anticipate any of the lab work to be abnormal, which is reassuring). I will also have my first of my bi-weekly non-stress tests tomorrow. In order to keep a close eye on how the babies are tolerating my blood pressure, Dr. Berg wants me to go up to Labor and Delivery to be hooked up to the monitors twice a week until the babies are born. It usually only takes about 15 minutes but our babies hate being hooked up to the monitor so the nurse said it could take several hours. They can also monitor my blood pressure while I am up there which has been more difficult for me to do on my own since I have been off work.
We have another appointment next Tuesday and we can repeat the fetal fibronectin test, the test that tells if I have an increased chance of going into labor in the next two weeks, if I chose to. I have not decided because it is pretty uncomfortable. I guess I will wait and see if Dr. Berg will use the results to determine her course of action or if it’s just for my piece of mind.