The Dreaded Bed Rest

The good news is that Ian can stay put for a little longer, but the bad news is that I'm officially on bed rest. When I got to my appointment today, my blood pressure was ridiculously high. They took it again at the end of the appointment and it had come down to a reasonable level, but we are now taking precautions to make sure it doesn't spike like that again. I had blood taken (they got it on the first try, at least one benefit of high blood pressure I guess) and I have to do the 24-hour urine collection again to rule out pre-eclampsia, even though all signs are pointing to anxiety. The doctor also said that I need to try very hard to eliminate stress to prevent more BP spikes, which is ironic because she also wants me to start seeing her twice a week.

As for the bed rest, it's a sort of modified bed rest since I'm limited to one short walk a day for exercise and can run an errand or fix meals if necessary. I can't actually go to work, but I can do some work from home if I'm up to it. Since it would be nice to have at least one paycheck in July, I'm going to try to work from home until at least the 15th but I'm still working out the details of that arrangement. If it gets too stressful to try and work full-time from home then we'll just have to make do, but it would be a lot easier with a little more income.

Hopefully this scenario will eliminate any need for an early delivery or an emergency c-section. Ian's heartbeat is great and his movements are normal, but he hasn't yet started to descend through the pelvic stations. (I know these fancy terms because we watched the first 4 lessons in our childbirth DVD this weekend). My cervix hasn't started to efface or dilate yet, so the goal is to make it another few weeks to give my body time to get ready.

Luckily the house is all ready to go - the bathroom, play room, and nursery are painted and organized, all the baby's laundry is done and put away, the hospital bag is mostly packed, and the car seat is installed. We are going on a tour of labor & delivery at the hospital tomorrow night - another approved activity by my doctor - so that should cover all of the baby-prep necessities. Then we just rest and wait.