more updates...

Dr. Elliot came and helped me make a plan for the next week or so. We decided NOT to do an amniocentesis this week (week 35) we want to keep little Georgia in here as long as possible. Up until today, every day I have a new PPA doc on call who disagrees or agrees with doing the amnio now. I am grateful that Dr. Elliot came in and laid it out for me. I asked him if the amnio would be up to tomorrow's doc and so on... he confirmed, no- he will put in my chart and that is that. I guess he is the one "in charge". Talking with him I do feel that keeping the baby "in" is the best for her, as long as I don't get really sick, and Dr. Elliot agrees. He also said I had a choice! You know you hear that you have a say in your health care, but I have just been doing what they tell me- they are doctors and know best, right? It was great that Dr. Elliot said I have a choice, that I could do the amnio this week or wait until 36 weeks to do it with pending delivery. He explained that if I deliver this week the only benefits would be to me and my preeclampsia comfort and not to the baby's. I thought how could I bare being that selfish so I could be home on my couch with Georgia being in the NICU. Elliot said if we wait until 36 weeks, we have a 90% chance of taking Georgia home with us, if we deliver now at 35 we have a 90% chance she will be in NICU. So it looks like another week on bed rest in the hospital! :) This is a small sacrifice to the health of our little baby. Of course we still have the looming "unless we have an emergency..." but I'm progressively getting worse at a "slow rate". So we are banking on me making it another week without me getting out of control. And that is why I have to be grateful I'm in the hospital so if and when anything gets worse, I'm in the right place. :)

My new due date?

They have finally, officially diagnosed me with preeclampsia. According to the doctors here, if I don't get more sick really fast, I will be induced in 9 days. At this point they are weighing how healthy the baby can be inside me vs how healthy the baby will be in the NICU. The longer I have preeclampsia and the more severe it becomes, the more deadly it can be to me and the baby. Preeclampsia (or Toxemia as it is also commonly known) is a progressive disease with the only cure being delivery. Have I already written about that? oh well, pregnancy, has totally jacked my memory! According to the doctors here, I will be 35 weeks tomorrow 08/23... so I will be delivering sometime next weekend- at 36 weeks. I'm bummed that I missed my baby shower at work today, and then tomorrow, is my baby shower for church and all my in-laws. My mom was here visiting me at the hospital today, and she even pitched stealing me for a few hours tomorrow for the shower... yeah, the nurses didn't go for it. Tyler and my Mom have been at home trying to do the prep work for the baby. I thought I'd have at least another few weeks to do that myself... but I am in the hospital watching TLC all day instead. ;) so they are setting up all the little things, car seat, changing station, washing baby clothes and blankies... I kinda wish I was able to do that... you know more nesting... but I don't' have a choice. And I am so grateful that they are able and willing to do that for me. Mom has her next chemo session this Tuesday, so I have to say, I'm trying to put her on as many little tasks as possible now, before she is out of commission. We are really hoping Georgia and I can hold out till next weekend, so my Mom will have more time to recover from Tuesday's session. I really want her to be here for the birth. But, we just have to see.

Hospital Time

I was admitted to the hospital on 8/18 and I'm going to be here for the long haul. We've been dreading the hospital bed rest... and here it is! I'm going to be in here until it's baby time. I'm preeclamptic so I could have the baby tomorrow or in 2 weeks. I just lay here and they take my blood pressure all day and monitor the baby. Baby Georgia looks great, it's my preeclampsia that is keeping me. If I remain "stable" then they will do an amnio (next week- or the week after?) to check on Georgia's lungs to see if they have matured enough to pop her out. Depends on when the Doctors want to do the procedure. Or... I could "get worse" and have her any day. It's also a bummer that I'm at Good Samaritan (the hospital that cares for high risk deliveries) because it's about 30 minutes from home.

8 months... actually 33 weeks

So I am now visiting the OBGyn twice a week because of my hypertension. Twice a week I get a non-stress test (NST) and once a week I have an AFI (Amniotic fluid Index?) when they check the amniotic fluid. This is my second week of it. Today I had just the NST and of course Georgia was NOT cooperating. They can usually get the readings they need in 20-30 minutes... but I was in there for 40. They have this little stick they push on your stomach that vibrates and it is suppose to get the baby going. Well, last week, she sleep right through the first buzz, so they had to buzz her a second time. Today, they buzzed her good and hard; she kicked and then fell right back asleep. My mom says it's just like me...ah ha. very funny. This past Sunday we went to Tyler's parents' house for dinner. Our sister-in-law Michelle gave birth to her second little boy, Trenton Blake, last Wednesday, so of course we had to take an updated foto. Check us out.

August!

So... it has been awhile since we have posted... I'm off of bed rest, back to work. I'm now 8 months along. Tyler is loving his new job and is planning to transfer schools from WIU to University of Phoenix. We kept thinking about how much time he would be spending away from home two nights isn't a lot... but we really like eachother. With him attending University of Phoenix, he can go back online to finish his degree. Tyler put together the stroller errr... I mean "travel system" the other night we got some great shots! Our cat Chiquimula helped out too.