Not the Doctor's Appointment I Expected

Let's just say "packing the bag for the hospital" just got moved to the top of the list.

Chicken and I did a massive Trader J.oe's shopping run (with delivery) yesterday morning, followed by lunch and then took the subway to midtown for my appointment.

Babies checked out fine (no growth measurements, but they should be getting close to 4 lbs now).

But for the first time, my blood pressure was borderline high--130/80 (high would start at 140/90). I'm normally 110/70 or 110/60, so this was cause for concern.

Also, my urine came back with protein. Yikes.

They took blood for testing and I am now waiting on the results.

All of this is pointing to signs of preeclampsia--which can and does come on quite suddenly.

Women who are 35 and older and/or have multiple pregnancies have a much higher rate of developing this. In fact, I remember my RE warning me to be mindful of it. However, there's nothing you can do to prevent it. You're either going to get it or you're not.

The midwife asked if I'd had a busy morning and I admitted that yes, we'd done quite a lot. Chicken felt like crap that she didn't 'stop' me from going to the grocery store. But honestly, I took the bus there and didn't think walking around the store and standing in line was that strenuous. However, while we were checking out, I said to her, "This is my last time here, it's too much for me." So, I knew I'd overdone it, but by that point, it was too late.

Midwife is hoping it was all just because of the activity that morning and I'm crossing my fingers that's what it was, too.

My previous post was quite timely as now Chicken really IS in charge of everything. The midwife told her so! I'm not on strict bedrest, but I'm supposed to be off my feet as much as possible. I asked her specifically if I can still do stuff in the kitchen and things around the house, etc and she said yes, but to really listen to my body and go lie down or sit in the recliner if I got tired.

To top it all off, Chicklet is head down again and that little baby head is causing A LOT more pressure on my cervix than those baby feet were.

I'm now to be on the lookout for swelling, sudden weight gain and headaches. I keep staring at my hands wondering if they look swollen and yeah maybe they are just a bit and yeah maybe...I do have a teensy headache that I don't think was there before.

But it's so hard to tell when you are feeling paranoid about symptoms.

The doctors said I'm also going to have a much harder time from here on out because I'm so short and tiny. These babies have no where to go! If I were taller, I probably wouldn't be in so much pain. So, if you are tall and pregnant with twins/multiples, luckier you!

The waiting is quite stressful and not at all what I thought my holiday would look like. I'd already been told I couldn't travel, so we had no plans to go anywhere--just the two of us staying put in NYC. But Chicken's dads are coming down tonight to take us out for Christmas Eve dinner and we have a lovely dinner planned with friends for Christmas Day. This may or may not happen...I'm quite tempted to do delivery instead of the dinner out tonight as I'm not very comfortable in restaurant chairs anymore.

I'm just crossing my fingers and praying to my idols and gods that the bloodwork comes back normal and I won't be hospitalized.

We're ready for the babies...but at 31 weeks, 5 days, they are not ready.

But just in case...I'm packing the bag.