My second pregnancy has been completely opposite. Very little morning sickness but full of minor to moderate complications. It all began at my first doctors appointment in May 2008. I was only a few weeks along when I was told I had high blood pressure. My reading was 143/90 where normal is 120/80 or below. I was told to limit salt intake and eat healthy. I also was told to monitor my blood pressure daily either at home or at the grocery store. I went to Walgreens and purchased a $50 home medics automatic blood pressure machine. It always said my blood pressure was low, like 115/70. I checked it frequently at the grocery store and it was closer to the readings I got at the doctors office. A month later my blood pressure was slowly creeping up. The highest reading I got was 153/93. My OBGYN put me on Aldomet for my high blood pressure. High blood pressure can be extremely dangerous at any stage of pregnancy but to have it early on was very scary. After a month on Aldomet, my blood pressure was still about the same but I complained to my doctor about severe anxiety with the every day stresses in life. She added Zoloft to my daily regime. Another month went by and my blood pressure changed dramatically! My readings at the grocery store (gave up on the home machine) and at the doc's office were around 120/65. No one can say for sure but I believe my high blood pressure was in part due to my stress and anxiety. THANK YOU ZOLOFT!!!!
At 26 weeks pregnant, I was screened for gestational diabetes. This screening requires you to drink a sugary beverage and have your blood drawn an hour later to check glucose levels. I failed. It's actually very common to fail this screening. I was terrified. If I had gestational diabetes I would have to strictly limit my sugar in take and maybe even require daily insulin shots! I'm not one to have a major sweet tooth, but this would be more than just cutting out candy, sugar is hidden in almost everything! Here I was going to be pregnant throughout Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, the thought of not being allowed to enjoy the holiday goodies worried me greatly. To find out if I had it, I was to take a 3 hour test. I drank a similar beverage except it was twice as sweet! EW!! Then I had my blood drawn every hour for 3 hours. It was a long day but I passed the 3 hour test!! I was told a couple of my draws were boarder line but overall I passed. I was told to be care full with what I ate and to try to limit sugar.
My blood pressure behaved over the next few months, but since I was still considered to have chronic hypertension I was ordered to have twice weekly non-stress tests and once weekly ultra sounds beginning at 34 weeks. High blood pressure can restrict blood flow to the baby, this is a way to monitor that the baby had enough fluid and a good strong heartbeat. At an ultrasound at 34 weeks, my doctor said that the placenta was very calcified which is normal as it ages but that mine was showing aging far too early. Did I eat too many Tum's to cause this? It's actually quite common in those with high blood pressure (me) and those with gestational diabetes (almost me). The amount of oxygen and nutrients are reduced by the clogs of calcium deposits that form on the placenta. The doctor said the baby may need to come a little earlier than scheduled. My frequent non-stress tests and ultrasounds were a very reassuring that everything was going ok.
Some more good news is, I've only gained 4 lbs. this time around! As of today, December 20th, my c-section is still scheduled for December 27th. Although, with the way things have been the last nine months, I wouldn't be surprised if she shows up before then! Today was my last day of work then we just have to get Christmas out of the way. My mom, and sisters Katie and Morgan will be flying up the 26th to be here for the birth! We are so excited! Stay tuned to hear how it goes!
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