The house, bed rest, and upcoming surgery!

Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve updated this – sorry! A combination of Christmas, house finishing projects, modified bed rest, and lots of trips to Denver!!

We have been working like crazy over the last couple of months to get the house done and we’re very pleased with the progress! We have very little left to do at this point – carpet in the third bedroom and on the stairs, tongue and groove in the bathroom, and trim over most of the house and it will be finished!! After 6 years of living in a ‘plywood palace’ it’s hard to believe that it’s almost done! And we love it! So now no excuses – we have a guest room!

As for the pregnancy, it is progressing well and very quickly! Dr. Peck had been concerned about my BP, as it’s been high for the last several visits. The ultimate concern is toxemia/pre-eclampsia if the BP remains elevated. She put me on BP med last week and it is improving to a certain extent, although it’s working in combination with some bed rest. Her bed rest phone call came within about 10 minutes of the phone call from our house finisher who called to tell me that he had just completed the final dust-creating project in the house and I could finally clean!! And of course I was thrilled to be able to get rid of the dust that has blanketed our house for a couple of months and to finally get the chance to set up the nursery! This nesting thing is very real and strong, you know!! However, 10 minutes later Dr. Peck with my blood results and gave me the bed rest orders! Grrr!! Talk about frustration! But knowing the seriousness of toxemia if the BP is left untreated, I obeyed, sadly and with a few tears! Thankfully, after the meds began taking effect, she was able to lift some of the restrictions and I’ve been able to nest!! Additionally, I’ve had some very dedicated and loyal friends who have come over to lend a hand and help clean. It’s been an amazing blessing and encouragement!

As a result of the elevated BP, Dr. Peck wanted to start seeing me weekly sooner than usual and I’m now at twice a week as of this past week. She wants to monitor the BP closely, along with getting blood tests frequently, and doing non-stress tests on the baby. So far things continue to look good and I’m grateful that she’s monitoring closely to make sure that both the baby and I stay safe and healthy.

At this point the cerclage removal surgery is scheduled for Friday, Feb 8th. Once the stitches are removed, gravity can do its thing and the great escape will be inevitable! I’m trying not to set my mind on an immediate delivery, as Dr. Heyborne said that it could be up to 10 days after the cerclage removal. However, when Dr. Peck called on Friday evening to talk to me about my blood results from last week, she said that when I go in for my ultrasound on Tuesday that I needed to tell Dr. Heyborne that she’s ready for this baby to be out! She feels that the baby is big enough (estimated to be at almost 5 pounds on Jan 9th) and does not want to risk toxemia. So if it works with Dr. Heyborne’s schedule, she’d like for the cerclage removal to happen sooner than the 8th. I told her that my mom doesn’t get here until the 5th and she said that she’s willing to wait until then! So we’ll see what Dr. Heyborne says on Tuesday!