Bed Rest, 38 Weeks 3 Days, 10 Days until due date!!!

Im writing this blog to update everyone on what has been going on. I went to my weekly appointment on Friday (7/17). Everything was normal until the Midwife Nancy began to check my blood pressure. Almost immediately she got a weird look on her face and responded with "Huh, that is strange. Have you been running around? Or did you just eat?" Obviously I hadn't been running around and I had not eaten recently either. She proceeded to check it again and then told me my pressure was 146/89 (I think) and I needed to lay on my left side and try to relax for ten minutes. Im not a nervous person so I knew this was something to be concerned about but I was not by any means scared or overly worried.

It was kind of funny because Amber and Casey had wanted to come to this appointment with me and it turned out to be the most eventful appointment I think I have had so far during my pregnancy. All four of us sat in the room discussing what we thought could be wrong and what was going to happen. After ten minutes Nancy came back in the room and said they had tested my urine and it appeared that I had developed a urinary tract infection (UTI). I had a very large amount of white blood cells in my urine which usually indicates a UTI. She then checked my blood pressure and got 110/70. She then responded with "well that means you are now on bed rest!" This was not something I wanted to hear considering Kyle and I already had plans for the rest of the day and sitting on my butt all day does not seem appealing to me at all. Nancy then explained that I would have to go home and lay on my side until Tuesday (7/21) getting up only to use the bathroom. I guess that my heart doesn't have to work as hard when im laying down and until it gets under control I have to stay in a laying postition.

My high pressure could be related to many things. She explained that when you are pregnant your immune system is already stretched so thin that when something develops your body can react very strongly. So, my high blood pressure could be related to the UTI. Nancy exaplined that I would be given antibiotics and that they would begin to take affect after 48 hours and if this was the reason for my increased blood pressure it should become more stable by Tuesday. We also discussed that the pressure could be linked to other things including the heat or my recent high stress levels. She then explained that there is no concluding evidence at this point but during pregnancy an increase in blood pressure can sometimes be linked to preeclampsia. This didn't seem too likely at that point because I'm not showing other symtoms of preeclampsia such as high levels of protein in my urine or extreme swelling. Also, they don't begin to consider it until there have been two high readings.

So to sum everything up, I have been laying on my couch/bed since Friday afternoon and will be doing so until Tuesday when I go back for my appointment. I have been taking the antibiotics and consuming lots of green tea and water in hopes of helping to cure my UTI. If my blood pressure is stable on Tuesday it will most likly be concluded that it was related to the UTI and hopefully I won't have to stay on bed rest anymore. If it is still high I'm thinking preclampsia will become more of a possibilty. Im hoping that is NOT the case because if I do have it I will not be able to deliver at the birthing center because I will have to be monitored by a doctor during labor and delivery.

So those are all the updates. Hopefully everything will work itself out and my pressure will be normal again on Tuesday. I will write another blog on Tuesday updating everyone with what is going on. Oh, and if I go into labor before Tuesday I have no idea whats going to happen!!!