We’ve had a little hiccup this week, but I have faith that God will continue to watch over our little girl and help me deliver a healthy baby. Last week when I went for my regular check-up I had high blood pressure. After laying on my side for a while, the nurse re-took it and it went down. So they were not too concerned about it. They told me not to worry and to think happy thoughts. Of course the more you tell me not to worry, the more I worry. Look who you’re talking to here; Mrs. Worry Wart herself.
I was pretty active this weekend (cleaning house, errands, etc.) and as a result did not feel too good. I just thought maybe I overdid it and needed to rest. We happened to be at Rite Aid on Sunday so I decided I would take my blood pressure there and make sure it was normal. Well, it wasn’t. It was high. Before we left, I took it again and it was even higher. So then I really started freaking out. I went home and researched high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia (so my “promise” to not research things anymore didn’t last very long). As you may know, pre-eclampsia can be a very serious condition, sometimes resulting in pre-term delivery. That night I did not sleep a wink. I wasn’t even tired. It was the strangest thing. I guess I had so much adrenaline and worry going through me. I was extremely anxious and awake. All I could think about was what if I had to have an emergency c-section, what was my blood pressure doing to the baby, and all sorts of scenarios. I finally fell asleep at 6:00 a.m., but then got up at 7:00 a.m. to go to work.
I called the doctor that morning (Monday) and they immediately brought me in. My blood pressure was again high. I layed on my side, hoping it would decrease as it did last time. But when they re-took it, it remained high. So the doctor recommended that I only work half-days from here on out. And if that doesn’t work, I may have to go on complete bed rest and not work at all. I was not diagnosed with pre-eclampsia but the doctor said that was the direction I was headed, and she did not foresee my blood pressure getting any better. She thinks it will just get worse the farther along I get in the pregnancy. That’s been scary to think about.
So now I’m home in the afternoons trying to rest, relax, and not worry. Luckily my co-workers have been very supportive and have offered to help out if I need anything. That has been nice. Every morning this week people have stopped by to check on me and see how I was feeling. And Van has been awesome. Fixing me dinner, cleaning up, and making sure I am resting. He even went to the grocery store all by himself 
He’s such a good husband!
I’m just hoping that I can maintain my blood pressure and not let it get any worse. The closer I get to 37 weeks, the better I will feel about things. But in the meantime, I will do whatever I need to do to have a healthy baby.
Niki Murray