Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension

This is one of the pictures we got while on the Polar Express with Maysen. It was magical to see his eyes light up. He loved it!!
I had my OB appointment on Friday. I had to see the on-call doctor this time due to my OB doc being in NY for a conference. I LOVED Dr R, the on-call doc. She was great. They hooked me up to the non-stress test machine and she came in to look at it. Of course everything was fine, but again my BP was really high. So she took me back to the room to recheck it. No change. So she made me lay down with "O" magazine from her office. 10min went by and here she comes again. Sure enough - still no change in my blood pressure. So I had to be admitted to the hospital. I understand the legality. If I have a 170/100 BP written in the books that didn't resolve, then they can't legally let me just go home. So, to the hospital I went. Within an hour of being there, it was down to 112/60 and stayed there for the next few hours I was there. Luckily after lunch since my BP was stable I got to go home with strict orders for bed rest. Dr R was very clear that this wasn't an option and "..if that means you have take-out every damn night, no laundry gets done, your house is a wreck, you feed your 3yr old Popsicles all day ... then that's what it means!" So ... I'm home and trying to stay still. The protein in my urine was down drastically on Friday so I'm waiting to see today if it's gone. I have a feeling that it was so elevated last week due to dehydration from having the flu. We'll see.

Here's my frustration: It's documented that at home resting my BP is fine - perfect if I stay "being good". It's when I get up, hustle around, go nuts, etc that it spikes. They are having me come to the office twice a week to check up on my blood pressure and make sure there are no ill effects .... BUT the only reason it's high when I get there is because I've not been resting (like my orders) when I have to go twice a week. And this isn't just a 20min ordeal. I have to get ready, I have to M ready, drive 30min to the babysitters, drive to their office - all on a strict time schedule, get there only to hike it across the office to the bathroom to leave my sample - then they hike me up on the table to strap the cuff on my arm. Frustrating. So they want me to stay home and rest so my BP stays down, yet they want to see me twice a week to check on my high BP that's only high because they make me go in there. So, I'm not sure what to do ... but I feel like I should say something. My labs are stable ... my BP is stable at home resting ... my non-stress tests have all been fine ... so why am I having this BP spikes twice a week because they make me go in there? Wouldn't it be healthier to keep me resting at home? So .. this is a question I will pose today when I see my doctor.

Yesterday Nate got the spare room/office all cleaned out and put in the garage. The carpets are going to be cleaned this week, so this coming weekend we'll (Nate) be putting the nursery together. Need to get that all ready to go. I have to tell you how amazingly fast this pregnancy has gone. I can't believe that in about 1mo I will have another son. At times I sit here sad because my life with only Maysen is going to change - and I feel sad for that. But after reading EJ's site, it reminds me that my heart will only explode with love for both my boys!