... we'll (most likely) be meeting Baby Dos!
I met a new doc today and he was a bit more nervous than the other two I've seen so far (I rotate among three residents, one of whom will be there for Dos's birth). I liked him because he DID NOT USE A LAPTOP and he asked me lots of questions. I liked him a little less because he wanted to do all sorts of tests and interventions, including a cervical exam, to which I said thanks but no thanks. Actually, I said hmmmm and he went and talked to his attending and came back and said he didn't have to do it after all. But here's the latest news for everyone following along:
- 35 weeks tomorrow! Yay! This is not full term and I would like to let little Dos keep cooking as long as possible, but I'm happy for every extra week we get.
- Doc ordered a different kind of urine spot test today, after we discussed the difficulties associated with me doing another 24-hour urine screen at this point (I'd basically have to take the day off work to do it). This new test is supposed to be more accurate than the simple dip test that my doc did right before, the one that they followed with the 24-hour test because the dip test is not super accurate. The new test involves calculating a ratio of protein to creatinine, which is less accurate than the 24-hour test but more accurate than the simple protein dipstick test for measuring protein output. At least this is what I have gathered from what the doc and wikipedia tell me.
- Doc also ordered my group B strep test. I was negative for this with Evelyn (yay) and hope to be again. If it's positive, it means they will need to give me IV antibiotics throughout labor.
- Finally, I also had some blood drawn to measure my liver functioning and uric acid. Did you know that high levels of uric acid are associated with gout? Now you know! They're measuring my acid as another indicator of toxemia (pre-eclampsia), because if the levels are high it means that yet again my kidneys are sleeping on the job. They also don't want my liver to shut down or anything. Yet again, organs shutting down is never good.
So tomorrow morning I should hear back on the test results and we'll go from there. I have an appointment scheduled for Friday morning, and I'm getting an ultrasound scheduled soon just to verify baby's growth and position should they need to think about induction in the next few weeks. They do think Dos is vertex (head down) now though!
In the meantime, I'm feeling fine and Dos seems to be happy and healthy in there. My blood pressure is rising a little but it's always below the dreaded 140/90 mark when I take it at home, and we verified that my home cuff gives almost identical readings to the cuffs at the doc's office today. So I told them I just need to stop going to the doctor and my pressure will be just fine, thank you!
Now... it's back to work tomorrow and I'm suddenly feeling the need to get on top of bag packing and nesting!
I met a new doc today and he was a bit more nervous than the other two I've seen so far (I rotate among three residents, one of whom will be there for Dos's birth). I liked him because he DID NOT USE A LAPTOP and he asked me lots of questions. I liked him a little less because he wanted to do all sorts of tests and interventions, including a cervical exam, to which I said thanks but no thanks. Actually, I said hmmmm and he went and talked to his attending and came back and said he didn't have to do it after all. But here's the latest news for everyone following along:
- 35 weeks tomorrow! Yay! This is not full term and I would like to let little Dos keep cooking as long as possible, but I'm happy for every extra week we get.
- Doc ordered a different kind of urine spot test today, after we discussed the difficulties associated with me doing another 24-hour urine screen at this point (I'd basically have to take the day off work to do it). This new test is supposed to be more accurate than the simple dip test that my doc did right before, the one that they followed with the 24-hour test because the dip test is not super accurate. The new test involves calculating a ratio of protein to creatinine, which is less accurate than the 24-hour test but more accurate than the simple protein dipstick test for measuring protein output. At least this is what I have gathered from what the doc and wikipedia tell me.
- Doc also ordered my group B strep test. I was negative for this with Evelyn (yay) and hope to be again. If it's positive, it means they will need to give me IV antibiotics throughout labor.
- Finally, I also had some blood drawn to measure my liver functioning and uric acid. Did you know that high levels of uric acid are associated with gout? Now you know! They're measuring my acid as another indicator of toxemia (pre-eclampsia), because if the levels are high it means that yet again my kidneys are sleeping on the job. They also don't want my liver to shut down or anything. Yet again, organs shutting down is never good.
So tomorrow morning I should hear back on the test results and we'll go from there. I have an appointment scheduled for Friday morning, and I'm getting an ultrasound scheduled soon just to verify baby's growth and position should they need to think about induction in the next few weeks. They do think Dos is vertex (head down) now though!
In the meantime, I'm feeling fine and Dos seems to be happy and healthy in there. My blood pressure is rising a little but it's always below the dreaded 140/90 mark when I take it at home, and we verified that my home cuff gives almost identical readings to the cuffs at the doc's office today. So I told them I just need to stop going to the doctor and my pressure will be just fine, thank you!
Now... it's back to work tomorrow and I'm suddenly feeling the need to get on top of bag packing and nesting!
Comments
;) Abby