Congrats rydys! Enjoy the little one!

I have had a couple of really bad days. I woke up Friday morning with a massive headache, which stayed with me despite Tylenol 8 hour all day- called the office Friday afternoon and got something stronger. The headache stayed all day yesterday, and then last night I started seeing spots of light. I freaked- I had pre-eclampsia with my first, and I was seeing the identical scenario unfold again.

So being the stubborn person I am and not wanting to go to L&D, I sent DH out for a bp monitor. BP wasn't horrible, 132/80, but it had been 110s/60s to low 120s/70s throughout the pregnancy thus far. So I called, and they of course had me go in.

Well, by their bp measurements, it was actually 145/95ish the whole time I was there. No protein in my very dilute urine, so I have inherited a urine hat/jug for a 24 hour urine. Blood work came back normal, but I got the 'at this point you are considered to be mild, but if XYZ happens/continues, you become severe and we will need to deliver' discussion.

I am 35 weeks, and while I admittedly grow huge children, it is still too early. She needs to 'cook' for at least two more weeks! (Plus we still need to get a car seat and pack a bag for the hospital- yes, I have procrastinated to an extreme in this area!)

Plus I was irritated by the resident- I overheard his conversation with the attending (keep in mind this is the senior, who didn't even see me until the junior had done all of the work up. didn't even introduce himself or set eyes on me until after talking to the attending and I was ready for discharge)- he told the attending I had 1) chronic hypertension and 2) gestational diabetes. No, actually my bp has only been above 120/70ish in pregnancy, has been beautiful to date (including just three days prior) in this pregnancy, and I have never had gestational diabetes with any of my pregnancies.

So I talked to my nurse, who was wonderful- then he actually came and introduced himself and cleared up his impression of what my history must be. I in general hate being a patient as a medical student, but at least I get lots of great examples of what not to do. Now the challenge will be remembering them when I too am suffering sleep-deprivation and going on hour # endless in a shift.

Thoughts and prayers are appreciated- I really hope we can make it a few more weeks!

Just reading your resident conversation story made me angry for you! I definitely get that a TON of women have that history, but a simple glance at your medical history rundown would have shown that you had been doing great. Ridiculous! It is going to drive me nuts when I go into labor to be the medical student. Not only that, but I'm giving birth at our teaching hospital (sigh), so I've already had the conversation that I don't want the third-years (my friends) rounding on me during OB rounds. My doctor doesn't have his patients see the OB team in the hospital, but I'm going to reemphasize this to make sure I am understood by all staff whenever I get there.

On that note - a question for you ladies. I have some specific things I want. Namely, when I give birth - if I have a normal vaginal birth with no compications, I am ok with the nurses getting an APGAR on the baby, but nothing beyond that until I hold my son and establish skin-to-skin contact with him and breastfeed my sweet one, who will likely be starving. I am fully ready to have a complete tantrum with screaming if my baby isn't allowed to do this complete with my husband physically removing my baby from nurses arms. I'm just not sure what is usually done in this matter. Is this an unusual demand, or are most babies given to their mommas for an hour of bonding and breastfeeding before any significant removal for any reason? This is a nonnegotiable for me.

With that in mind, I am also worried that since I will also be rounding in OB rotation the following year (I am a second-year) - if I want something that makes the nurses angry - am I going to be screwed over by them the next year? Will they remember that and hold it against me and hurt my rotation grade through that experience? I'm not going to compromise on my delivery experience that I want nor the birth plan I want, and I also feel that the things I want are reasonable.

Is this silly to worry about? Probably, right - I just don't know! I hate that I'm giving birth in my own sandbox (so to speak), but it really is the best decision for me and for the baby. And I do love my doctor.

I'm at 25 weeks, so I'm starting to think about all these things. I also still haven't read much about breastfeeding yet. And I am getting mixed opinions on epidural vs. natural. I'm mainly afraid of tearing and the post-delivery suture experience if I do if I don't get an epidural. I'm also unsure of how much pain I can really tolerate, because I've never had to tolerate much before (I've been really lucky).

Just realized my above concern for wanting to bond with my baby post-birth came off a little strong. LOL. I am not a lunatic, but I am very well aware of the benefits of this to baby, and I guess I just am going to be really FIRM about this happening. Hopefully, I will not scream at anyone. Wow - the mommy "bear" inside me is already growling, and my baby isn't even here yet!

I haven't started rotations yet so I don't know from that standpoint. When I delivered both my babies I was able to hold and feed them for around 30 minutes to an hour before they were taken to the nursery. I thought this was pretty standard as long as the baby doesn't need to be rushed to the nicu for any reason.

Southern- Check with the hospital- if they have labor classes/tours available, they will go through some of the standards. The hospital where I am delivering actually has a birth plan for parents to fill out on its website. It is pretty informative, as it lets you know what the routine is and gives a variety of options (along with write-ins) for each step of the process.

With my c/s, I will be able to hold the baby in recovery, which is different from the place we delivered our other three. That was actually my one complaint about the previous hospital- I didn't get to see my children until they were at least an hour old, 3-4 hours old with my last b/c she had difficulties breathing.

As long as you are flexible with whatever labor & delivery brings, the nursing staff won't think any less of you- it is when someone has a list of wishes that can't be accommodated due to an emergent situation that a bad impression can be made.

Good luck

Thanks you guys! All of the classes offered at my hospital conflict with my school schedule. Literally. However, I bet they would accommodate a tour - that sounds pretty reasonable, and I have heard of this before too.

It is nice to know that other women want the same things.

SW to MD - I am really hoping my hospital isn't that way. I do not know what the rules are like, so I'm hoping I am pleased after I schedule that tour you guys recommend. I wish I could fill out a birth plan on the website! That sounds amazing!

So it's official... I have pre-eclampsia. Joy. 24 hour urine = too much protein, and my bp sucks. I was 142/92 in the office today.

So I get to do at least 2x week visits for bp check/blood work/make sure I haven't swollen to the size of a small country. And watch for all of the usual warning signs. It is now just a waiting game/balancing act as to when my body is going to give up and DD is mature enough to be delivered.

On the bright side: we have a car seat! Now I just need to pack a bag!

On the downside: DH seems to think it is okay for him to go up north by his brothers/parents for the weekend and leave me here alone. I think he is somewhat unaffected by this because 1) he doesn't understand how serious pre-eclampsia can be, and 2) we went through it with our oldest, and everything turned out to be just fine (other than the induction --> c/s and difficulties bf).

Am I ridiculous to be upset? My thought is if something goes really bad (i.e. I start to have horrible headache,seizure, etc) and I am alone, what will happen to me/baby? Am just being overly worried, or is he being too relaxed?

SW to MD,

You sound perfectly grounded to me. If I were in the same predicament when I was pregnant, I would probably have tied my husband to a string affixed to a stake centrally located in the house, and make it just long enough to reach the kitchen and bathroom, but just out of reach of the remote control or the xbox, but I am sort of vindictive that way when I am pregnant.
(At least I can admit it!)

Best of luck to you in the next coming weeks. My thoughts are with you.

SW to MD - I'm so sorry to hear you are dealing with pre-e. However, the blessing is that you are so far along if your little one comes early - much better than other circumstances you might be facing. Glass half-full I guess, right?

I would probably insist my husband stay home if it were me. I think that is reasonable, but with both perspectives you described in mind, he probably TRULY doesn't understand the worries you have in your head about pre-e diagnosis and what that means. Maybe a lecture complete with pictures and a powerpoint? (JOKING). But not really if it gets the point across.

Much thoughts with you, and I hope that your baby keeps baking safely for a little bit longer.

Hey SW to MD - so sorry to hear about the pre-eclampsia! What a pain to have to deal with. As southernmd said, at least you're far enough along in your pregnancy that your little one should do fine whenever he has to arrive.

As for your husband, is he CRAZY? (kidding). But seriously, there is no way in hell I would allow my husband to leave under those conditions. They might have to induce you at any time if sh*t hits the fan. Have you tried asking your OB for his/her opinion? Maybe if your OB tells your hubby he should stay by your side that would help?

I guess one piece of info we don't have is how far away he would be - how long would it take him to get back to you?

Good luck!