Week 34 and The Hat

Week 34 started a little crazy for us.........


No we don't have a kid yet BUT we do have 3 hospital visits under our belt in the past week. It all started with the Swine Flu. Okay maybe that is a little dramatic but I have not been feeling well again and in the middle of starting over with "morning" sickness I got a stomach bug. Between that and morning sickness I couldn't get over it. SO they put me in the hospital on Friday afternoon for IV's of fluids and lots of blood work. We arrived around 6ish and wasn't released until 1 am.

The craziness in this visit was because Greg had to be a work at 3:30 am Friday morning to hang out at a traffic light so he could avoid getting ran over during daytime traffic. SO you do the math....we didn't get home until 2ish and Greg had no sleep for 24 hours feeling like he did get ran over by daytime traffic. Thus is the following photo. He is sleeping in one of those "waiting room" type of chairs that are only meant for short term sitting. I am pretty sure they put us in a closet because my bed was more like a cot AND our TV didn't work AND we missed most of the Cardinals game....okay so I can complain. We are getting good at hospital visits and are particular about our accommodations. Side bar-we are NOT delivering our child in a barn, this is a nice hospital and the "birthing rooms" are NICE but we weren't deemed a priority during this visit for very good reason.
So the story goes on. Before they release us at 1am they discovered my LIVER ENZYME levels are high. What! Well as you can imagine a little scary. This is a sign of preeclampsia. Wow I read about it in my What to Expect Book BUT never imagined that it could happen to me. Well they decided I needed to go back the NEXT day (Saturday) for more tests to rule this out. My blood pressure wasn't high and John Parker was looking great...don't you love how I just throw his name out there! But they just wanted to double check.

SO Saturday I venture back to Cape to get more blood drawn and pee in more cups. Mom took me (so Greg could sleep) and we met Jill and Caroline. Jill decided to go with me to the hospital where they proceeded to draw blood and almost blow up my hand. Yes, nurse friends there is a "medical" term for this but I call it carelessness. The nurse didn't apply pressure long enough and as soon as she walked out of the room my hand expanded and looked like it was going to blow up. Bottom line....my hand still has a yellowish dead color to it. Not sure if it will ever recover.

Okay so long story short. Blood pressure is good, no other signs of preeclampsia other than elevated enzymes, not dilated, baby is perfect! So I am released (I am pretty sure our bill is up to $4000 at this point). I follow up with my doctor on Wednesday.

Let me pause and add pics of lunch that day with Caroline. I thought it would be wise to attempt to eat before checking myself back into the hospital. I wasn't in denial and trying to avoid going. Isn't she precious??? This is her eating a pickle! Love the expressions.

After all this happened Friday and Saturday I happened to squeeze in a baby shower at church on Sunday. It was wonderful and I was so thankful to make it! It was friends/family/church combo so you can only imagine the women. It was so much fun!!! We got so many wonderful things!!! The highlight of the shower was Caroline and her sugar high. She is not accustom to eating sugary substances but apparently people there were more than happy to feed her whatever she wanted...thus the continuous spinning.Not only was this cake adorable but it was DELICIOUS!

The fabulous hostesses! They did such a great job!!! Everything was perfect.
THANK YOU!!!!!

Okay so I go see my doctor Wednesday. During our visit SHE (the doctor) is having contractions but wanted to meet with me one last time (I will be seeing the doctor who is delivering her baby while she is out). During all the checking she decides to put me on a two day bed rest from school (which at this point I am totally okay with), send me BACK to the hospital to rule out gall stones, viral infection, and check my enzyme levels AGAIN.

So we hike it back to labor and delivery where I am told I will be peeing in a "hat" for 24 hours. I am sorry a HAT. What? Let me tell you this is the most I have ever been involved with bodily fluids and I taught kindergarten. For 24 hours I wasn't allowed to go to the restroom in anything other than this plastic looking measuring device that snuggly fits onto your toilet seat. Why didn't I invent that??? Each time I used the restroom I had to write down the time and measurement and then pour it into a large jug that looks like an economy size juice container that probably came in from the hospital cafeteria.

Where did we get all this equipment you may ask??? Well the hospital gave it to us (bill is now in the low $5000 range) and they put it into a BEER cooler. NOT KIDDING. You can only imagine the things Greg was saying as he charmed the nursing staff that Wednesday night. As we left the hospital (with no signs of gall stones, preeclampsia, or labor but the diagnosis of a severe viral infection and according to the gall stone ultrasound told our child's head is in the upper percentile...gulp) with the beer cooler Greg was telling people that he had a gall bladder in the cooler for a transplant. At this point I was exhausted and ready to dispose of the man that got me pregnant.

The highlight of the night....mom and dad happened to be in Cape (mom would be there everytime we entered the hospital BUT I don't want an audience for these tests...they can show up for birthing). They brought me McAllisters...my favorite and I was able to eat a whole meal of food for the first time time in over a week.

So at this point (Wednesday) I am on a strict "hat schedule" and on mini bed rest. Now the major problem with all this is I have my shower at school the next day and I have to pee in a hat and return it by 6pm that night! So with careful coordination and skill I was able to attend my school shower with no issues. Due to all the craziness....I only got this picture:

Yes the cake says "babies" because it was a double shower with another teacher that is due a week before me. It was an awesome shower! It was a diaper shower (thanks Kelly for the fabulous idea) and we are set until the child is wearing spiderman undies! Everything was perfect!

After the shower Greg and I rush back to the hospital to deliver the cooler by 6pm. I made Greg run it in and he set it on the counter and quickly walked away. I didn't want them to send for me to check something else out. I didn't even risk going in with him.

Okay so to sum all the results of the tests from the past week: I am still being watched. They are still going to check on my liver levels, perhaps pee in the hat again, and I get my blood pressure checked throughout the day at school. I do feel somewhat better. I am back at school and trying to get everything lined out through the end of the year in case John Parker is born or they put me on bed rest. Only 13 days left of school so I am hanging in there!!!!

When I was a child and I walked around the house with my cabbage patch kid on my hip acting like I was her mom I never imagined being pregnant would be so unglamorous!

Greg and I are starting a baby lottery since everything seems pretty unpredictable at this point. If you are interested you can contact him;) Seriously we are so blessed and fortunate that everything has turned out okay through this crazy experience. We have a healthy and active son that we cannot wait to meet. I am sick but it is nothing that is long term and will be gone once John Parker arrives. We have lost all nervousness that involves visiting the hospital and are professionals when we navigate that place.

Highlight of week 34....the gift from Aunt Becky and Uncle Ron.

How cool is our kid gonna be?????

We are now moving on to week 35 and all is good. I am tired this week BUT nothing that is not normal pregnant stuff. John Parker's kicks are slowing down since he is running out of room (he's a 5 pound 9oz baby right now) and I have not been sick this week!! The nursery is almost finished and hopefully I will get to post some pictures soon. Yeah! Only 4 1/2 weeks to go!!!!!