Here is my most recent bump picture (yes, I dyed my hair :)). I think it looks like she is lower this week, but not by much.
Today my blood pressure was really high when I took it at home throughout the day. It started off in the 130s this morning and then ended up at 153/93 by 2:00, so the midwife on call had me come in to get checked out. I met with a nurse first to get my bp taken and a urine analysis done. My bp was in the 140s, so not horrible, and my urine analysis was negative for protein, so that was good. But the midwife wanted me to go up to labor and delivery to get monitored for a few hours just in case since it's Friday.
In labor and delivery, they monitored my bp, Brooke's heartbeat, and did some blood work. My bp eventually stabilized in the 130s, which is a little high but not too bad. Brooke's heart rate was good, and my blood work ended up coming back negative, so they let me go home. However, the midwife did say that they want to keep a closer eye on me and Brooke now, so I have to go in twice a week to get ante-natal testing done, which involves monitoring Brooke's heart rate and measuring the fluid around her and possibly measuring her size to make sure the high bp isn't negatively affecting her. The midwife told me to bring my hospital bag every time I come in just in case Brooke isn't doing well and they have to induce. So I will be starting that next week.
She also said that they don't want me to go too far in my pregnancy just in case preeclampsia occurs, so they scheduled me for an induction on 9/1! So now I have only 3 weeks at the most until Brooke is born! It's really exciting to have a definite end date and it's great that it's a week ahead of my due date! Our hope is that she decides to come sooner than my induction date on her own so that I don't have to be induced. The midwife also checked my cervix since I was having contractions on Tuesday and she said I am still 1 cm dilated but I am 90% effaced! That means my cervix has almost completely thinned out, which needs to happen before it can really dilate. She also said that Brooke's head is right up against the cervix at -1 station (0 - +2 station is when you start pushing), so she is right there and ready! That means that once real labor starts, it should be relatively easy.
She told me that I can now wait to contact them until I have real labor contractions, so I don't have to worry about these semi-strong sporadic contractions anymore, which is really nice. Now that I know when I'm supposed to come into the hospital, I am excited to have more of those semi-strong contractions because I know that they are helping me get closer to going into labor. As long as I make it to 37 weeks, which is next Thursday, I am super happy. So hopefully I'll continue progressing slowly and then Brooke will come on her own before 39 weeks. That would be the ideal situation. And hopefully my bp doesn't continue to increase.
We are now starting to get excited and nervous about Brooke's arrival. It's now beginning to feel more real, so it's really starting to hit home that we are about to have a baby! Crazy, but exciting! I can't wait!
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