Under Pressure!

This is the blood pressure episode, everyone!

I am 38 weeks tomorrow, and for the past couple weeks, I've been having trouble with my blood pressure. It's not horrible, just getting steadily worse, little by little.

The first appointment I had when they told me I had high blood pressure, the midwife also informed me that I had a urinary tract infection. AWESOME. (I'm usually pretty perceptive when it comes to urinary tract infections, but I guess when you're 30-something weeks pregnant, you stop knowing what's normal and what's not in your body. At least, that's how it's been for me!)

The midwives haven't been particularly worried about the blood pressure issue (calling them "the midwives" makes me picture a bunch of hens, somehow), but last week one of them told me that I should try to go to part-time at work to avoid being put on bed rest. Four days later, another midwife agreed. And today, of course, a third midwife also mentioned it. Argh!

Like most people, I work because I need money and insurance, and without working full time, I would lose some of the former and all of the latter. That is why I have to work full time. Fortunately, I have spring break next week, which is quite convenient, and the last three days of this week I can work from home for the mornings and go in to work for the afternoons.

I don't feel bad in any way, except that being 37 or 38 weeks pregnant is a LOT more uncomfortable than being 33 or 34 weeks. I'm drinking lots of water, I don't eat much salt at all, and we're eating lots of veggies. I'm also lying on the recliner (thank goodness my parents brought it down over Christmas!) and my husband makes dinner at night.

I also just got a second prenatal massage yesterday. They are fabulous, in case anyone wants to know. I wish it could've been an hour, but we're scrimping here and there, so I just had a half hour. My hips are starting to not feel so great, especially when trying to lay on my side to sleep, and I'm getting a lot more pressure on my pelvis (isn't this what you signed up for when you decided to read a pregnancy blog?), and my skin really feels like it's stretching.

So, blood pressure, not so awesome. But no protein found in my samples, so it's not pre-eclampsia, they say. (Did I spell that right? I'm too lazy to look it up.) Also, urinary tract infection is over with.

On to other things: a midwife checked me out today and is guessing that MaybeBaby will be 8 lbs when she arrives. Then we had yet another ultrasound to check on the fluid and movement (apparently the babies of mothers with high blood pressure sometimes may not have enough fluid to move around in) and things seem fine. The u/s technician said that she "looks like she'll be big"! Hmmm. It just makes me think about how I was over 8 lbs and my mom had to have a c-section. I know people have done regular deliveries for larger babies than that, but.... I will just put all of that out of my mind, because there's nothing I can do about it, either way!

Last Monday I was at 1 cm, and today they didn't check me. My midwife says they'll check me again on Friday. She also said that if I had the baby at any time, it would be fine. It's very strange to think that MaybeBaby could make her appearance at any time!

Last night, I had my first recognizable "practice labor" contractions. It didn't feel like I expected; I was thinking contractions (practice or no) would feel like a real cramp or an actual contraction of the uterus. It turned out to feel like I was about to get my period, which, after I thought about it, has never felt like active cramps so much as dull, aching pain in my lower abdomen. So, hey, cool! The uterus is getting ready! It was kind of painful, though, and I finally had to get up and walk around. I ended up packing a bag for the hospital (which we haven't done yet -- obviously), because I thought, "What if this ends up being the real thing?" It wasn't, of course, but it made me realize that we're a bit unprepared. We haven't washed any baby clothes or sheets or anything, the car seat bases haven't been installed in the cars, and we don't really have a bag packed for the hospital. So, in the bag I tried to put together, I put in 6 books (will I be in the mood for something new? something familiar? fiction? nonfiction? something easy? something challenging?), some DVDs (I know the rooms have TVs, but I'm not sure about DVD players -- never hurts to be prepared!), lollipops (based on people's recommendations), three different shirts, two different pairs of pants (crap! I just realized I didn't put in pajamas!), socks, underthings, and then three different (unwashed) baby outfits.

Speaking of going to the hospital and things we don't have ready, we still don't have a middle name picked out....

Sorry about the randomness of this posting! It's been so long and I definitely have pregnancy-brain. We're super excited but also nervous (when does a soon-to-be parent say otherwise?). I'll be letting everyone know if anything interesting happens.... Now I'm going to continue to lie on this recliner and eat dinner (not made by me!).