34 weeks

Things are going much better on the family front. All the kids have gotten better from their respective illnesses. Momma is still sick however. And it has NOT been fun. Coughing until you puke, and then puking till you almost crap yourself has been one of several highlights on the week's reel.

Our little one has been VERY active these last few weeks. It has been a struggle to keep him on monitors for NSTs and Ultrasounds.

Friday afternoon and evening were extremely chaotic. I spent the evening in Labor and Delivery at the request of both my perinatologist AND my OB.

During my ultrasound with the temporary-peri, the baby's heart rate was extremely elevated for a period. At this point in pregnancy a baby's heart rate should flux from around 138 at a resting rate, to 180 at an active rate. Our little one's heart rate reached well into the 200 range at one point in time and made everyone extremely nervous. There was question as to whether my horrible cough has been causing him too much stress or not. While I was at the hospital on the monitor, you could visually see how much pressure was occurring....If you know anything about watching contractions on a monitor, well into active labor, your contractions will reach the 50 and up range, and a resting abdominal pressure will most likely be somewhere between 3 and 15 depending on where the sensor is positioned. Just coughing, the tension in my abdomen was well into the 60 range. All I could think was "Dear god, my cough is giving the baby a heart attack." Literally my abdominal muscles are strained right now. Not from pregnancy but from tensing up and coughing so that I don't lose my bladder!!

I also had some blood pressures that were alarming to the temp-peri. Were I NOT medicated, those BPs would have been substantially higher than they were. Needless to say, the OB let me come home, with no specific orders.

Baby's heart rate rose during levels of activity and dropped during periods of inactivity. Had his heart rate dropped during active times, that would have been cause for concern. Also my blood pressure stayed relatively close to the 140/90 range and not overly concerning. My blood work all came back great, as did my urine sample. I also had a chest x-ray while I was there, to make sure I didn't have a visible lung infection and everything looked great.

So baby will continue to cook a little longer. Monday afternoon I will see my Peri again, then Wednesday I will see my OB, and again Friday I will see the Peri again. I HOPE that he doesn't want to see me twice a week now, and give me three total appointments a week. I'm not sure that my already busy schedule can take much more.

I have to admit, I maintained my composure very well. Until I was left alone in the hospital. It wasn't until after I got off the phone with little man's daddy that I started to lose my grip. Then the tears fell, albeit briefly. At this point....while 34 weeks is early, I know he would be fine, whatever happens. I really just could not hold it in anymore. I wasn't sure if they would be keeping me at that point. If I would go on bedrest. If I would have to have an emergency c-section. It was kind of scary. I hate not being in control, and in those moments, I only knew the different scenarios that COULD happen.

I spent the morning doing some research and paying closer attention to my body. While my severe mold allergies are a big issue, I think that there are some other factors at work. I have this 'hairy' sensation in the way back of my throat. Like I swallowed some hair and it's stuck. It turns out, that sensation can be caused by things like GERD and severe acid reflux. And what do pregnant women get really bad in pregnancy? Heartburn. Acid Reflux. I've had it every pregnancy and apparently this is the worst. I switched out my heartburn meds for a different kind, and actually got a little bit of relief. I've only had about five near puking episodes with coughing today, so it has been a little better. Not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but better. I'm going to stick with the alternative med for a while and see if it helps.

I've also been having some serious issues with my blood sugar. I am well aware that things go awry the further into pregnancy you get. Now that I'm nearing the end, everything is fubar'ed. My two hour tests are 30 or more points above where they should be. My fasting levels are going nuts. I don't know what the peri is going to do with me now. He could put me on a fast acting insulin to bring those numbers down, or he might let it slide for a little while longer.

No matter what happens, I'm just going to be glad when this baby is here and I can worry LESS about all this stuff that was once unimportant before. It's stressing me out.



Those visible stretch marks are all from previous pregnancies. No new ones yet!! LOL