Week 28, day 6

OK, I went in for the first appointment post-stay-at-home-rest. Good news: no more protein in the urine, so apparently the antibiotics prescribed last week did the trick. Not-so-great news: BP reading at the doctor’s was 140/100. It’s frustrating seeing the differences between readings at home (which are consistently in the 120s and 130s over 70s and 80s) and what’s in the doctor’s office. Last week, the OBGYN said maybe white coat hypertension (though I think he was only tossing that out there) and this week he said maybe it was getting up and walking around some. I tend to believe this week’s comment more, though I have noticed when home-testing at times that readings 2 minutes apart can show a swing of 20mm.

Anyhow, I hopped up on the exam table for a quick look at Ivy, and got a good look at her face in 2D. It actually appeared sorta chubby, a little bit! Heart rate was fine, at 156 beats per minute. She’s flipped back over into the breech position again, so that’s three flip-flops in 3 weeks.

The doctor did say that if the BP goes any higher than what today’s was, there’s an increased risk of placental abruption, so as a precautionary measure, they are going to start steroid shots next week, if the BP is still up around 140. These treatments will help develop Ivy’s lungs more quickly, so that they can deliver early, if need be. The doctor tentatively said, though, that if the BP does not rise any further, we can deliver “on her schedule.”

So, that’s what I am praying for.

Looks like it will be once-a-week visits from here on out.