Day 12. . .but who's counting?

Last night, after having my BP readings stay the same for the 11th day and having my labs come back perfectly fine, Peter and I decided to talk to the Dr about monitoring me at home. I had already bought the BP cuff, my mom is here to take care of Oliver, and I have much, much, much better TV at home. Not to mention being able to sleep in the same bed with my husband again. Or take a shower in a space that is bigger then 2'x2', can maintain a normal temperature and not fluctuate between scalding and freezing, and has some water pressure. Oh and eat normal food.

Amazingly the Dr was highly receptive to what we had to say. He said he's gotten some calls from our insurance company about why I was still here and he made his case to us about why I should stay but said let's talk to everybody and see what they all have to say. Of course also mentioning that he's just my Dr and not a police officer and he can't MAKE me stay.

So I got a wheelchair ride to the Perinatologist for an ultrasound to make sure the high BP readings were not causing the baby any growth issues. It's not. He's gained almost a pound in the last two weeks so he's being estimated now at 5 3/4 pounds which is big for 33 weeks. The Perinatologist was of the same mind of me staying here. He also said we could do an Amnio next Tuesday to check for lung maturity and make some more decisions with that information. Oh and he called me a bright and intelligent patient and that it wasn't a false compliment.

I agreed with both Dr's at this point. From being upright in a wheelchair for the past 45 minutes I felt HORRIBLE and while I can get totally normal pressure readings (126/77) by working the system and laying on my left side with the cuff on my right arm, if I am reclining upright in bed, my numbers are much worse (160/94) on average. Those numbers are super close to the cut off for inducing just for Hypertension. Another big concern is how quickly my BP readings can change between ok and not ok.

But the real reality check came this evening. My Ob came in to see what we had decided and to tell us what the insurance agency Dr said. You know it's serious when the insurance company says, keep her there as long as she needs to be there.

Right now it's at least 8 more days. If the amnio comes back with mature lung development then we will most likely induce my labor. If not, then we're going to have to figure out a new plan. I am absolutely getting tired of being in here. I've done what I can to make my room as comfortable as possible. I have my own super nice sheets on the bed and I covered the stupid checkout signs with a large poster board Oliver painted and tons of pictures of him and our family and friends. I wear my own clothes, I have my Ipod dock, my laptop (with streaming Netflix), visitors scheduled so I'm not alone all day every day, etc. But it's still not home and I miss Oliver so much it's crazy.

Tonight Peter's going to bring me pizza. I haven't had pizza in weeks. I am very excited, heartburn be damned!