Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Le Sigh

Medieval Woman HQ has now become Bedrest HQ.

Last week we were all in a kerfuffle - on Wednesday, exactly 15 minutes after TD left for the airport to go back to the Motherland to get his work visa (he is SO legal now, btw!), I was told I had to check into the hospital for 24 hours for observation and testing for pre-eclampsia. I tried to tell the doctor (a different one from our own Dr. Canadienne) that I have a history of hypertension, but she didn't believe me. I tried to tell her that I was worried about Guy and Miles and that was obviously making my BP spike and she didn't believe me again.

So, there I was in the hospital alone, crying on the phone to TD who was about to board his transatlantic flight. Fortunately, Medieval Mom was coming into town later that evening for a visit and our awesome friends J and A picked her up and brought her to hang out with me "in stir". After over 24 hours of being stuck in a little room, the results were...

I don't have pre-eclampsia. I just have high blood pressure. So, though I'm still on bedrest (but not the Gestapo kind), it's not as bad as we feared.

But here's what sparked all the stress:

At our last ultrasound, Guy had turned into the Incredible Hulk baby, and - no doubt fortified by gamma radiation - seemed to have gained* almost a pound and a half in two weeks. Miles, however, didn't seem to have gained much at all - only a couple of ounces.

This discrepancy is, of course, very distressing and I was worried to death about my little Miles (hence the BP spike, Dr. Conservative!). So, we went to the special hospital ultrasound people and they did more measurements and concluded that they were only 1 pound rather than 1 1/2 pounds apart. It's still a big and sudden margin, though, and they blamed it on the fact that I no doubt have horrible pre-eclampsia and Dr. Conservative started saying I'd be "lucky" to make it to 36 weeks and talking about long term hospitalization until that time.

Now, I'm all for better safe than sorry, but this was ridiculous! And so my treacherous BP creeped higher the more they took it, supposedly confirming their dire diagnosis. Bastards.

But, after all the hub-bub, it all seemed blown out of proportion (for once, not by me) and so I'm ensconced on the couch and bed for the duration - but it's better than the hospital! We have another measuring ultrasound next Thursday and we'll see if Miles has caught up a bit. If not, then we'll have an early c-section to get him on the outside to chub up. I'm not unenthusiastic about this possibility - I'd be happy to get off the couch.

The funny thing about this whole scenario? The boys are completely fine - they move constantly, they practice their breathing, their heartbeats are great, they're totally strong awesome little dudes. They sit in the eye of the hurricane of panic and ultrasounds and tests in which I become embroiled with their little fingers making the "whatever" sign...

Excuse me, I must now pay-per-view "Hot Tub Time Machine"...

* I say "seem to have gained" b/c ultimately we don't know for sure - the margin of error for late term ultrasounds is actually 1.5 pounds! They could weigh exactly the same (although you can see that Guy is chunkier than Miles).

11 comments:

Notorious Ph.D. said...

I don't think I've ever asked -- do you know if they are identical twins? I mean, obviously they're not identical in terms of weight, for the moment.

Anonymous said...

Oh, wow, how stressful! Hope that all is smoother from here on out.

I was on bedrest too. Not so fun, but I tried to make it fun by watching lots of tv. ;)

Best wishes to you all for good future growth and news.

Doctor Cleveland said...

Glad it's not pre-eclampsia! Hope things go more smoothly for the rest of the ride~

And bless J, A, and Medieval Mom!

Fie upon this quiet life! said...

How stressful. I'm glad that you are out of the hospital and that you're taking it easy.

Earnest English said...

Very glad to hear that it's not pre-eclampsia, which was what they were worried about with me too.

I bet those manatees are just fine. Get some rest, if you can find a comfortable position. I hope the Dutchman is home soon so he can wait on you hand and foot!

the rebel lettriste said...

This is normal! But obviously sucky. Thank god you don't have preeclampsia, and thank god babes are OK.

It's likely that Guy and Miles are fraternal, which might explain their weight differences. A MOT down the street has b/g twins, and the boy was 8 lbs, the girl 4.10 lbs at birth. THAT's a discrepancy!

Caedmon and Bede, I am now suspecting, are identical. They weighed the same, down to the gram. But there's no way of knowing without an expensive DNA test.

At any rate, this is the homestretch. Be still! And, as my midwife told me when I was on modified besrest: eat whatever you want right now. Treats in abundance!! And, eat a LOT of protein. Protein feeds the fetuses! Those protein powder shakes helped when I couldn't eat much.

Go team MW!

Flavia said...

Poor MW! I'm glad the news is good, though, and I hope Pay-per-View remains so for the duration--

What Now? said...

I love that Guy and Miles are making "whatever" signs with their fingers -- a great philosophy to hold onto during this bedrest and then, no doubt even more, once the boys are born!

Terminal Degree said...

How frustrating, but I'm glad you're back home now.

I've had to explain to many doctors (who will. not. listen.) that OF COURSE my b/p is high; it's because I am in a medical clinic where I am being bossed around by someone who won't listen! I think that most health care professionals have a hard time understanding that their perfect little clinic (or perfect bedside manner) can be a major cause of stress.

To prove it, a few years ago I started asking the nurses to take my b/p twice: once when I arrived at a clinic, and again after I'd been there about 20 minutes, because that's when it would come back down to normal.

I'm not on bedrest, but I am staying with my in-laws in a city three hours away from my husband until the babe is born. (The hospital in our home town is awful.) Luckily my in-laws are lovely people, but of course I miss my hubby (and my home, and my car, and my comfy bed, and my cat).

We do a LOT to keep these babies healthy, don't we? It's damned tough work--before they're even born.

I had a weird ultrasound reading yesterday--the tech told me that my baby was an ounce LESS than last week. When I said, "are you sure?" and reminded her of last week's weight, she measured him again and conveniently added 9 more ounces. So yeah, I'm taking the ultrasound weight with a big grain of salt. Glad you are, too.

Do you have to see Dr. Conservative again? Or can you talk to Dr. Canadienne soon?

ntbw said...

I'm glad all is well, and that it looks like a successful end to the whole gestation business is in sight, one way or the other. I'm of the school of thought that early arrival is actually just fine, provided it's not TOO early. Who wants to deal with those last weeks of pregnancy anyway, if the babies are OK outside? I say this as a mom who had one kid at 36 weeks (totally fine, no special medical care needed, went home with me 2 days after delivery) and the second kid at 41 weeks. And wow, those last 5 weeks SUCKED the second time around!

Also, what IS it with the docs and the BP? And the not listening. And not understanding the correlation between their not listening and the patient's rising BP. I mean, yes, I get that pre-eclampsia is a serious condition. But still! There is also an actual, recognized condition called "white coat hypertension." That's what I have, and it sounds like that's what a good bit of your problem was too--plus, of course, understandable worry about the babies. There are studies showing that there are a goodly number of people who have been put on BP medication and who don't need to be on it, because their readings are actually only high in the doctor's office. But will the docs listen? No, of course not.
a
I have been known to have full-out panic attacks in doctors' offices (I have had some BAD doctor experiences, let me just say), and yes, my BP is high every single time it is taken in a doctor's office. It is low normal if taken in any other circumstance. I've finally found a doctor who understands this, because she has panic attacks at the dentist's office and even has to be sedated to have dental work done. I hope I never have to leave her!

This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

A kerfuffle it was, it seems. Hope you are as comfortable as possible and finding lots of entertainment. Pay-per-view or otherwise :).

I can just imagine those "whatever" signs from the boys. Spunky little guys.