Happy Early Birthday, Elliot!

Hi all :). I'm sure everyone has heard by now that Elliot has graced us with his presence earlier than planned. I wanted to share the story here. Also with him in the NICU, I'll be updating everyone on how he's doing on the blog.

So on Monday, I followed up with my OB and handed in my urine for another 24 hr urine eval. My blood pressure readings at home had been great while on bedrest. They had been running 120s-130s/80-90s for the most part. However when I went in to see Dr. Dutreil, it was the highest it's been. The first reading was somewhere around 170/115. They did my nonstress test in hopes that by lying still for 20-30 minutes, it would get better. When they retook it, it was 210/124. He couldn't believe how high it was, especially considering I had no symptoms and my home readings had been great. We brought in my monitor and took my bp to see if maybe there was something wrong with my machine. It also registered high. He sent me to labor and delivery to be monitored again. I could tell right away we were a little more serious than last time. They actually admitted me this time and he also wanted me to get started on an IV. My bps were still high.

When my doc came up there to see me, he was really unsure about what we should do (as was I). I had no symptoms...I was 32 weeks pregnant...I had gotten the betamethasone to help mature baby's lungs. In the end, he decided that we couldn't take the chance of something severe happening-from placental abruption to a stroke. As they put me in a labor and delivery room and started getting things prepped for the induction, he got my urine protein results: 349. Anything greater than 300 + high blood pressure is considered preeclampsia. So we were sure at that point that we made the right decision.

The first med I was given through IV was hydralazine. It's a fast acting high blood pressure med. I got quite a few doses of this. Next, I was given penicillin. Normally around 35 weeks, pregnant women are tested to see if they have Group B Strep. Without having this done, they gave me antibiotics just in case. Next, I was started on magnesium sulfate. This was rough! This is given with preeclampsia during the whole labor/delivery and 24 hrs after to prevent seizures. While receiving it, I was on bed rest and had to have a catheter the entire time. Also, they had to draw my blood every 6 hours to make sure the magnesium level in my blood wasn't too high. 

To start the induction, they gave me cytotec-just as I got with Isaac. It's a pill inserted vaginally and then they check me 4 hours later to see if I was dilated. I got 3 rounds of this and got up to 2 cm. My doc was hoping for more so we then had to do a bulb foley (same as with Isaac)-its a little balloon that's inserted and puts pressure on the cervix to dilate. They also started pitocin at this point. Not long after, I got the epidural. After waiting a few hours, they checked to see if it had to be adjusted...the bulb came out which meant I was now 3-4 cm. With 6 cm left to go, they told me an estimated one hour per cm to go.

A few hours later, the doctor came to check me and was surprised to see that baby was ready to come out. NOW. haha. Doc's face was pretty funny. They prepped and within10-15 minutes and 2 pushes, Elliot was out. We were happy to hear him crying, which meant his lungs were working. His apgar scores were 9 and 9, which is perfect. We got a quick pic before the NICU staff whisked him away.

I then had to wait until I was off the magnesium to go visit him. That was hard, especially when other people were going to see him. Elliot has been doing great in the NICU so far...I will make a whole separate post about the NICU experience and will keep ya'll updated. People have been asking about exactly what happened...so here it is :).

My blood pressure is now normal while on my regular medication. I am following up with my OB next week for blood pressure and then again in 6 weeks for postpartum checkup. Physically, I am feeling great other than a very sore back which I'm attributing to bedrest and a very uncomfortable hospital bed. I'm so glad to be out of the fog that is the magnesium sulfate. I'm now focusing on getting my breastmilk supply up for my baby boy. As I said before, check the blog regularly for updates on Elliot's progress.

Thank you so much for all the kind thoughts and prayers, as well as for everyone who helped us through this process. With him in the NICU, we're continuing to get great support. Thank you :)