Great news at the OB's office today. After 3-4 weeks of acupuncture, my blood pressure was 120/66. This means we are no longer looking at induction for hypertension. Woohoo!!! For those of you who haven't been in the loop on this, at my 28-week appointment, my midwife, Liane, told us that because my BP was continuously getting higher, we may need to "invite" the baby to come at about 39 weeks if she wasn't here already. High BP causes a placenta to wear out a little sooner, so the baby would not be getting the supplies she needs...
All of this is significant because it was the cause of Isaac's induction. At our 39-week appointment with Isaac, I had been seeing a rise in my BP for a few months. An ultrasound showed that there was no amniotic fluid, so we were sent to the hospital to deliver Isaac that day. Seeing my BP go up again in this pregnancy brought back more than a few unpleasant memories. Todd and I have been talking to our doula, Shelley, about ways we could try to encourage baby on her own and what I could do about the BP. She was the one who recommended acupuncture. When I told Dr. Campaigne that I was going to try it, she encouraged me to do so. It's so nice to have everyone on the same page...
Todd's parents called yesterday morning to see how things were going here in Austin. Todd is in Europe for the week and they wanted to remind me that they can be here in a matter of hours if anything exciting happens. They are still down in the valley this week. I am glad they are so close. I don't anticipate an early arrival, but it's good to know that I'm not on my own.
Last night, things were a little more interesting than usual. I began having Braxton Hicks (false labor) contractions for the first time. I never had them with Isaac. They are more common with second pregnancies, so I was wondering if I'd have them this time. It would have been nice if they'd waited until, I don't know, NEXT WEEK? to start. I got a little freaked out, but since they didn't hurt, I decided it wasn't the real deal. Then I texted my girlfriend, Candy, who assured me that she would be right over if I needed anything. It's good to know I have a support network in place should I need it! The contractions lasted about an hour and had subsided by the time I finished Isaac's bath & bed time routines.
I talked to Andrea (Dr. C) about them this morning. She assured me that this was great news and that my body is "doing everything exactly right. Keep doing exactly what you're doing." Awesome!!! She told me that she hopes to see everything continuing just this way for another 5 weeks or so (which would bring me to 40 weeks). I left the office walking on air.
Next week, we have an appointment on Monday morning. Todd and our doula, Shelley, are both planning to come. I am hoping to get a picture of our whole "birth team" so you can see who all of the key players are.
Meanwhile, Isaac and I had a great time playing in the yard this afternoon. For once, he didn't play around on the lawn tractor. He was on it the day after his accident, though. At least he's not scared...
Back at the "scene of the attack" Thursday:
Playing with his crayons Thursday afternoon:
This afternoon's activities:
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