Better Late Than Never - The Final Days

I had a regularly scheduled appointment on Wednesday, March 2nd. When I went into the doctor's office, my blood pressure was running higher than usual. I had some swelling and my doctor ordered some blood tests. He was concerned that I was beginning to show some early signs of preclampsia and asked that I return to his office on Friday, March 4th for a follow-up appointment.

On Thursday, March 3rd, I felt pretty good when I woke up. I started becomming concerned when I hadn't felt the baby moving around. This was not typical of Baby Sunshine. I was used to him kicking me all day long and I started to grow concerned. I had a full schedule at work that day and was preparing to head to clinic to meet with several patients. I decided to call the OB nurse, as I couldn't get the concern regarding lack of movements off of my mind. The OB nurse sounded concerned and told me to drink a coke and head over to the office. I politely informed her that I had a full day in clinic and asked if I could wait until mid-afternoon. She told me that I needed to be at the office within the hour. I contacted my supervisor and told her that I wouldn't be able to see patients that day and that I was headed to the doctor's office. I called Matt and agreed to call him if I needed him to meet me there.

Once I got to the doctor's office, they hooked me up to a monitor to detect the baby's heart rate and determine if I was having any contractions. They also asked me to press a button every time I felt the baby move. Sure enough over the next hour of being hooked up to the monitor, the baby moved just perfectly. They also did an ultrasound to confirm that everything was well. I also met with the doctor that same day. Since it was a last minute appointment, I ended up seeing a doctor that I don't usually see. Luckily while I was meeting with her, my own doctor knocked on the exam room door and expressed his concern about my return visit and started talking options.

My doctor informed me that my lab results were concerning, showing a high uric acid level. He was also concerned about swelling and ongoing high blood pressure. My doctor informed me that he thought it would be best for me to be induced and did not feel it was safe for me to wait it out through the weekend. Very calmly, he said, "I think its time for you to go into the hospital." He gave me the option of going in that day or waiting until Friday, March 4th. He didnt feel there was any harm in waiting. My doctor's office contacted the hospital and I was given an arrival time of 7:30am to Durham Regional on Friday, March 4th to be induced!

Like my typical neurotic self, I went home that day and got organized. I cleaned the house one more time. I went grocery shopping. I contacted my co-workers, family and a few friends. I also did some work from home that night to try to prepare ie: setting up my out of office e-mail and voicemail, as well as finishing up a last minute project and responding to e-mails. I went to bed fairly late, feeling nervous about what the induction would be like.