Peanut Update

Well a lot has happened in the last few weeks.  I have been backwards and forwards to the hospital for loads of tests.  I think I will be the most tested and scanned mother in the whole of Sydney at this rate.  I went for my 28 week scan on Thursday only to be told that my blood pressure was still high (they haven't really been that concerned about it being high so far!) and that as they also found protein in the urine I had early signs of pre-eclampsia.  As a result of this I was kept for observation, fetal monitoring and blood tests to see if I could go home.  Unfortunately Steven rang me while I was having my tests and I had to come clean about still being at the hospital and that I had to stay a bit longer.  He went straight into panicking husband mode threatening to come straight over to the hospital.  As it happens it was lucky he did decide to finish work early and come to the hospital as I was admitted to the maternity ward and told I had to stay for more tests so they could get a good ideas of how myself and Peanut were doing.  Fortunately I had been given a load of leaflets to read about breast feeding and immunising Peanut with vitamin K and for Hepatitis B vaccine, otherwise I would have been really bored.  They put a monitor on Peanut and I had to press a button every time he moved.  The machine gave a print out of Peanut's heart rate and monitored me for contractions.  Peanut sounded strong and happy so no problem there.

Next we were off for another ultrasound.  I wasn't allowed to walk around the hospital so was taken by wheelchair, which made me feel a little bit silly.  Steven arrived just in time to come and see the ultrasound.  The sonographer took lots of measurements of Peanut and amounts of fluid, position and placenta.  This ultrasound was interesting because you could see Peanut much more clearly and the sonographer explained carefully what he was measuring and looking at.  You could even see Peanut's bladder, which he emptied while on screen, nice!  The sonographer asked if we knew Peanut's sex and we said that we had been told he was a boy so he said he would see if he could show us again.  The kept making a joke about seeing traces of nuts every time he went over Peanut's balls.  Peanut still had big testicles and a big willy! Steven was a very proud dad.

After the ultrasound I was starving as I hadn't had any lunch and so Steven had been asked to bring food and magazines with him to the hospital.  It was very funny because he brought loads of magazines including 4x4 magazines and photography magazines.  He did well on the food front as he brought healthy sandwich and salad and a pork pie.  We shared the pork pie (apparently this was his plan!)  Steven was a very good husband and looked after me really well.  Once he had seen the doctor with me he went home to get me a few things.

Now asking a husband to get clothes and toiletries you are never quite sure what you might get as I am sure the ladies will agree.  Well he did quite well.  He brought me pyjamas that fitted and were part of the same set.  He remembered tooth brush and paste and even contact lenses and makeup.  I was very impressed.  When it came to clothes he brought a good selection of those too.  They even went together.  He did however forget a few key items, underwear, socks and deodorant!  Bless!

While I was in the hospital I bumped into one of the ladies from my yoga class who had given birth to a baby girl that morning so I got to see a new baby.  I think the idea of keeping me in hospital was for me to rest and relax as well as to have tests but have you tried sleeping and resting on a maternity ward?  Little babies cry all night long, buzzers go off all night and the nurses and midwives rush around all night talking.  Not very restful.  Then of course you get woken up at some ungodly hour in the morning and are told you have had a lie in, it was 7am!  My idea of a lie in is more like 10-11am, I think we had different ideas.

All the tests from the previous day were repeated and appointments made for me to come back and have more tests and monitoring over the next few weeks.  After all the tests had been reviewed I was allowed to go home as my blood pressure had gone down when resting.  We were given strict instructions that I was to rest as much as possible and do nothing.  The doctor asked me if I was working and said that I would not be allowed to work from now on.

Steven took me home and we spent the day shopping for a camp oven and a few other bits.  I wanted to go to the baby shop but it had closed down.  We bought  a blood pressure monitor to see how different activities affected it.  We found that when I spend the day out and about my blood pressure is quite high but after a nights sleep it goes down.

The following day I was due to go to yoga (I had been told I was allowed to do non stressful things) but after having breakfast in bed I began vomiting which put pay to my yoga plans.  After a long rest on the sofa Steven decided I was allowed to go to the baby shop to buy a changing mat.  When we got to the baby shop we found they were having a refurbishment sale and the pram I had been looking at was reduced from $679 to $549 and was in the colour I wanted (Steven wanted yellow but the pram didn't come in yellow so we got red).  We also ordered the carrycot to go with it as this was also discounted and would take a few weeks to arrive.  Then we found the baby capsule we had been looking at and found that also had $100 off.  Steven then said I could get some sheets for Peanut and another blanket.  We saved a fortune as we would have to buy all this stuff eventually and after a wake up call at the hospital, being told that they may deliver Peanut early if I continue to get pre-eclampsia symptoms, we decided we ought to get a bit more organised.

Peanut's new fish blanket

 Peanut's boat blanket

 Peanut's changing table and new changing mat

 Peanut's toy box

Present for auntie Chloe

 Steven saw this and thought it was cute

 Peanut's new pram.  The carrycot has yet to be delivered.

 Peanut's Australian capsule

Shopping for Peanut always makes him seem really real and a bit scary.  I am now just over 28 weeks and Peanut moves away from cold ultrasound gel and if you put a warm cup of tea on my belly he tried to kick it off.  You can also see him moving in my belly sometimes.  My belly also looks lopsided sometimes depending where Peanut is lying.  I have been following a high carbohydrate diet this weekend ready for my glucose tolerance test tomorrow to see if I also have gestational diabetes.  Hopefully the test will be negative. 

I will let you know how I get on.

After my husband's comment I just wanted to add that I really couldn't do this without him.  I really appreciate the little things he does for me and the way he is already looking after myself and Peanut.  I love him very much. x