God IS In Control

Michael and I were reminded again yesterday at our appointment for the baby that God IS in control.  We went in for our weekly check up and had some surprising findings that again we were not expecting.  I have mentioned in earlier posts that my blood pressure is always high when I go into my appointments because I have what some nurses and doctors call 'white coat syndrome'.  Which means that I basically get high blood pressure simply by going into the doctors office.  After they check me a couple of times my bp always goes down.  The high bp is just my bodies reaction when I go to the doctor for some reason.

Yesterday was no different.  I went in and they checked my blood pressure and it was very high.  If they get a high reading when I'm sitting upright they always ask me to lay on my left side and take my blood pressure laying down just in case the baby is pressing down on some of my blood vessels causing my bp to rise.  My blood pressure went down after I laid on my left side but it was still to high where normally it goes down to normal levels when they have me lay down.  Besides that, I had a 5lb weight gain in 1 week.  Yikes!  This was something that was also very unusual as I have been gaining weight at normal rates not seeing spikes like that.

They also asked me if  I had noticed any headaches or swollen fingers.  I have actually had a couple of headaches last week which I normally don't get and I had to remove my wedding ring for the first time one evening because my fingers were swelling.  Again, both of these things I have not had any issues with until now.

Because I was showing all these signs, they were concerned that I might be developing preeclampsia.  Preeclampsia is pregnancy induced hyper tension which can be bad for both mother and baby.  The only way to 'cure' preeclampsia is to deliver the baby.  If you are full term they would schedule an induction or C-Section.  If you aren't full term you would go on bed rest until they felt it was safe to deliver.  Causes and severity's of this syndrome vary, if a women has a severe case they would take the baby right away but other times they are able to prolong pregnancies through other methods and really watching the momma closely.  This is a very basic description of preeclampsia.  I don't know a lot about it but I do have a couple of friends who have had it so my basic knowledge of this topic comes mainly from them.  If you Google the topic you will get a ton more info on it.

The doctors decided to send me to the hospital for a few hours of monitoring yesterday.  They did a bunch of tests on me checking the enzymes in my liver and kidneys and also had me on a blood pressure machine for a couple of hours as well a fetal monitor for baby.  We are happy to say that everything came back looking completely normal/great.  All the blood test results came back and my liver and kidneys are working great, I also had great blood pressure the whole time I was there.   Baby continues to do awesome and has been a little trooper through all of this.  We were so grateful! 

How I've been feeling/ what I've been experiencing this past week:

-This week was much better than last week as time went much faster.  I'm still having moments where I feel incredibly bored but it hasn't been to bad. 

-I had to remove my wedding ring for the first time as my knuckles started swelling.  The swelling isn't constant but I'm afraid that it will get stuck so I'm not wearing it right now.

-I'm proud to say that I finished my second book and am starting my 3rd book.  I've really gotten into the Author Karen Kingsbury.  As many of you know, I'm not a reader normally so this is a big deal for me. :)

-I've found that I'm a little bit like one of those wind up dolls.  I move slowly and awkwardly with that typical 'pregnancy waddle' when I have to get off the couch.  It takes me a couple of minutes to work the kinks out before I move like a normal human.  LOL


I am officially 36 weeks tomorrow (Saturday)!  Wahoo!  So thankful.  We are getting so close.  Literally 4 weeks away from our due date now.  Baby's heart rate averaged in the 150's again this week.  I am hoping that I will be able to be off bed rest next week when I hit 37 weeks when I will officially be considered full term.  Then our Monster can come whenever it wants to meet mommy and daddy! :)

God is so good.  He continues to answer our prayers and meets us where we are at in our times of concern and need.  Even when things haven't gone the way we would choose or plan, He continues shows us so much through His will.  He is teaching us, stretching us and growing us.  We have learned so much about His love and to look at what really matters in life.  He has been so faithful.  We give the the glory to Him.

1 Peter 1:7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Have a great weekend everyone!