Good News All Around

And now for another baby update...

I feel like I've been in a boxing match for the past week: James & me VS whatever my body decides to throw at us. I've spent a LOT of time at the doctor's office/my specialist's office/the hospital over the last week. It seemed like the odds were against me, but here's how things turned out...

Round 1: Failed 1-hour glucose test (screening for pregnancy-related diabetes). Had to spend 4 hours at the hospital getting re-tested last Friday. Called and bugged and pestered my doctor's office for results all week. Finally got the call today--I PASSED! Whew.

Round 2: My blood pressure had gone up over 20 points since last week and my urine sample showed that I was spilling protein, which are two key signs of pre-eclampsia. I had this with Maddie, but not until 38 weeks. It can progress very quickly and can be dangerous for the mother--liver damage, kidney damage, seizures, stroke. Not something you fool around with. There is no treatment or cure except to deliver the baby...a dangerous solution, since I'm only 28 weeks. So I did a 24-hour urine test and gave blood (which usually is no sweat, but this time they had 3 veins in my arms and hand collapse/fail before they finally got it right the 4th try--all the while, Maddie is watching me and saying, "It doesn't hurt when they poke you, right Mommy?" Um, sure honey! Wince through clenched teeth.) Got my results yesterday--I PASSED, but I'm still at high-risk, so they're watching me closely.

Round 3: Last week my perinatologist said there was a new development on James' ultrasound--low blood flow to the cerebral artery in his brain. Oh geez. Another problem developing! She said she wasn't sure what to make of it, since there weren't any other symptoms to go along with it. I had a new ultrasound today to check it again--NO PROBLEMS!! Everything looked normal, hallelujah! The farther I get in this pregnancy, the more optimistic I get and the more hopeful I am that there's nothing wrong with James & that Keith and I just make small babies. :-)

Round 4: As if I hadn't given away enough of my bodily fluids this week, today my dr. said she wanted to test for one more thing: blood disorders. A blood disorder could help explain all the miscarriages we've had and the growth problems for both Nicholas and James. So I once again became a Human Pincushion as they took blood--TWELVE VIALS of it! Holy cow, I felt like I had nothing left! While all of these procedures are relatively painless and fall more on the side of annoying and inconvenient, I have a renewed respect for anyone who is truly ill and has to go through countless medical procedures on a regular basis. I don't know how they do it!

Most of all, I'm thrilled that I'm healthy enough to leave for vacation this weekend. We'll be driving to Flathead Lake in Montana, where my grandparents have had a lake house since forever. We'll be meeting up with my parents, my sister & brother-in-law who are flying in from London, and my aunt/uncle/cousins from New Mexico...I'm soooo excited to see everybody! My grandparents are putting the house on the market soon, so this may be our last year to make memories there (I can't imagine not having this yearly tradition to pass on to my kids! Maybe we'll have to get our own lake house someday!!).