My Wilde Ride....

{yes, I meant to spell it that way....}
If anyone feels my slight disappearance lately.... it would be because I had quite a wild ride this past weekend and am on bedrest.... just another notch in my pregnant belt for weird things.  **warning** The following story will be lengthy and descriptive, in true Jessica fashion....but hopefully you will get a chuckle imagining me in all this mess.

I have been monitoring my blood pressure {yea... that's where i'm going with this} for a few weeks.  My nurse gave me a level at which I am to call if it gets over.... either over 140 on the top or 90 on the bottom.  So I continued with my life, working and whatnot... taking my bp daily.

Last Thursday, somewhere around 4:30, whilst sitting and computering at work, it reads 141/94.... shit.... So I call Rene, my nurse....  she says "Do you have a headache....?" huumm....  I say, "Now that you ask, a mild one, AND I took Tylenol this morning AND I took a long lunch break for a nap... and it's still there."  She says, "Have you had any visual disturbances...?  {have I had what?}  I say, "Well, the other night at my Breastfeeding Class I kinda had those sparklies, kinda like when you get up to fast..."  She says, "Let me go talk to Dr. Winfrey, hold please."  ......shit.......  Rene comes back, "Ok, Dr Winfrey says to go ahead a go to Labor & Delivery."...... SHIT!....

I call Ryan, we go to L&D. They triage me.... no emergency room necessary, our L&D has their own personal triage area.... nice.... esp. if you image a flu and throw up ridden ER when you are pregnant looking for assistance..  When the nurse there takes my bp its like in the 170's/110's!  {I am in the hosp. afterall...}

Turns out Dr. Winfrey is on her way out of town to go run a half-marathon, so they call the doc on call at my clinic..  Dr. King...   she orders me to STAY OVERNITE.....surely bp is up now too...  I get my fashionable gown {that has a pocket on the front chest.... still can't figure out why}... I get hooked up to monitors... I have to  pee in this thing and put it in a jug for 24 hrs {yea me!} and they draw blood to check my liver counts... Of course they are checking me for pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) or further preeclampsia - which are similar, if not the same.

Ryan's off to the house to gather some things - this is the beginning of his being on his own to get us ready for this kinda thing.  {he's been doing a fabulous job, by the way, hes a great partner, and going be a great daddy}

All night my bp is still high... hello.. I'm in the hospital.  Callen's heartrate is great, and apparently I was having contractions {although irregular and insignificant}.

The next morning, Dr. Winfrey comes back to check in on me, on her way out of town.. says that I may have to go to Ft. Worth...  that with bp and preeclampsia things can happen fast and change within a few days.... but that Dr. Horth (also from my clinic) is in the hospital for a cesarean and will be checking in on me. Ok, great....let's start this day.... {my nurse for that day was fro Nacogdoches, btw, and her husband went to high school with Ryan...whoa... weird...}

Dr. Horth comes in to check in, says that she is concerned that my blood pressure hadn't dropped while there on rest and that my headache hasn't subsided. She said she was going to call a specialist in Ft. Worth to see what his opinion was.  I was feeling alright, other than not having slept all night, so this was not scary, I felt alright.....    Yea, well.... next thing I know their freaking scheduling me a careflight to Harris Methodist in Ft. Worth!  {yeah, I said it... a HELICOPTER!!}  First thing I ask.... "Does my insurance cover that?!?"   I ask Dr. Horth what this means and she says that Harris is connected to Cooks Children's Hospital, and that if I had to deliver early, they would rather have me there, instead of having to send Callen there from WFalls....  geez..... I felt ALRIGHT!!  Off Ryan goes, home, to get things ready to be gone 'til Sunday at least.  Oh... the doc in Ft. Worth did say to go ahead a give me a beta blocker for the high bp - which did some good.

Oh and... I was supposed to have a Baby Shower on Saturday!!  I was NOT A HAPPY CAMPER! Missing a party I'd been looking forward to, in a breezy gown, about to be helio'd to Ft. Worth....

Let's just say that my favorite man upstairs must have realized that a panic attack would not be good for my bp or my baby.... and in comes a cold front, bringing rain and snow from the west, so the pilot's cancel the flight.... {whew!}  They took me by ambulance instead.... embarrassing, I must say to be wide awake, alert, and FEELING ALRIGHT, and in an ambulance lights flashing the whole way.... oh yeah... in a hospital gown...texting ....  {they let me keep my phone with me... picture that}

Got to Ft. Worth, got checked into my second hospital in 24 hours.  Ryan makes it there alive, suitcase and pillows in hand.  I was starving.. hasn't eaten or had anything to drink for 4+ hours... and then they wanna wheel me up {no walking when you have high bp in the hosp} for a sonogram.  I meet the specialist, Dr. Thigpen, he's a high risk ObGyn.  He checks me out, and determines that I am pretty low high-risk and that he doesn't see any reason to deliver me this weekend.  {Wow.....  I needed a high priced ride to Ft. Worth to hear that?!?}  He does say that I will be staying 'til Mon for monitoring and more blood work.

I get moved to another room, where i get to eat and shower.... so glad for this...  just wanted to get comfortable.  I started to get slightly home sick for United Regional....  I surely wanted to be home to deliver this baby not out of town.  I thought that if I could just go home, take this bp pill, I would not work anymore, I would site around, and do whatever they wanted... I just wanted to go home.  Although I knew Ft Worth was closer for everyone else, to see Callen when he was born... I already felt like I knew people at United Regional and was comfortable in the hands of the doctor's and nurses I already knew... plus... it is far less likely I would have to be there with out Ryan if we were at home... We ca only afford so much time away from work....

The next morning, Dr. Thigpen's partner comes in to let me know that all my tests were ok and that there was no reason to keep me in the hospital, that I could follow up with my doc when I got home.  I was already scheduled to see Dr. Winfrey the next week, so on with the discharge paperwork they went.    There were already people on the way to see us, since we thought we'd be there all weekend {thanks girls from work - i luv u mucho; thanks Mom [g-ma, for those of you who don't know] & Aunt Robin - so excited to see you; thanks Joel - Ryan surely appreciated the break from the hosp}.

Anyway, we go home Sat... and I sit around.... til the Tuesday morning appt with Dr. Winfrey.  She tells me that she is actually surprised to see me there without a baby... whoa....  I didn't tell her, but I was just happy to be home and back in HER care... I like my dr's and nurses....  She puts me on bedrest....  no surprise there...  I wasn't planning on going back to work, and honestly, the boss's wouldn't let me anyway.... no need to risk my life and callen's for the sake of work, we can work out the details later... {THIS is why I love my  job, i don't change the world everyday, or make beautiful spaces everyday, but I have a fabulous extended family everyday}

I have to see her every Monday and have two BPP's (biophysical profiles - a sono) every week.  She says our goal is 37 weeks....  She says, "...looks like you're gonna have a December Baby..."

Seems like as long as my headache {yea - I have one, big, long headache} doesn't get worse or I don't get dizzy or have any more visual disturbances I guess we are just going to wait it out 'til then.

So... my shower was cancelled...  the most important information of all this... OF COURSE...   between the girls and I, we decided to have a Welcome Baby party early in January instead...  MAN! I was ready for friends and cupcakes!!

Can you imagine me.... ON BEDREST.....  man o man!!  TV, computer, books, magazines, animals... thats my day....  everyday....

Ryan has been WONDERFUL.. there aren't enough descriptives or him... I'm so glad I found him way back... He's been great at last minute preparing and getting things together.  He's bee shopping and running errands for me.  He's been keeping up with the house.  He's been making me sit down when I get up to do anything.  He's been just great - he's going to be a great dad - he IS a great dad.  I think that I would be a totally different person in all this if I didn't have him - a big stress ball for sure - which i was/am NOT.  I have been calm and ok - still making lists like crazy, but ok.

Love you all... Feel free to email me.... cause I don't have lots else to do right now! :)