Week 37 OB and Specialist Appointments

I was officially 38 weeks Tuesday! I can't believe Josiah will be here in 13 days or less...wow! So, I've been on the routine of OB appointments on Thursdays and specialist appointments on Fridays for a couple weeks now, and usually they consist of the same ole, same ole. This past week turned out to be a little more interesting then usual...let me explain...

Thursday:
I had my appointment with Dr. Pohl at 9:30 last Thursday. Everything looked good (blood pressure, weight, etc.) Dr. Pohl didn't check me this time because he said usually nothing major happens within a week, fine with me! I did have to sign the consent form for the hospital. And let me say...I think I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing some of the risks they listed for a vaginal birth! I know they have to list every possible thing that could happen, but still, not the best way to start the morning! The only thing Dr. Pohl mentioned was that he wanted to recheck my platelet count. It was apparently somewhat low back in July (man that sounds SO long ago) when they ran all my bloodwork. He mentioned it was at 181,000 and that the anesthesiologist usually won't give an epidural (if you decide to get one) if it is below 100,000. I asked him why it would be low, and he said that sometimes when you get pregnant, your antibodies will attack your platelets...lovely. Before I left Ms. Pam took some blood to recheck my platelet count to see if it had changed.

Friday:
My appointment at Maternal Fetal was at 1:15. They seemed to be extra busy, but the nurse called me back pretty quick. Here, the nurse will usually ask if I've had any: cramping, contractions, headaches, vision changes, swelling, etc. I answer No and then they take my blood pressure and check my heart rate. For the record, I have never had a high blood pressure reading. It is usually average or a little low. For whatever reason, today my blood pressure was a little on the high side. This kind of caught me off guard, because I had just had my blood pressure checked yesterday at Dr. Pohl's and it was fine. I also mentioned to the nurse about my platelet count and she wrote that down on my chart. After this I was taken by an ultrasound tech back to another room to do a scan of Josiah. Everything looked great and we even got a couple cute pictures of his face! Oh, and his estimated weight was 7 lbs. 2 oz.! After the scan I was off to yet another room to wait for one of the doctors (I never know who I'm going to see). Shortly after, in came one of the nurse practitioners. I've seen her before and she's very nice. She mentioned Josiah was doing great and that we couldn't ask for anything better =) She then went on to say she did notice that my platelet count had come back low (the results from yesterday had come in too). My platelet count had gone from 181,000 to 108,000 (an average count for a woman is 266,000). Because of my low platelet count and my blood pressure reading a little on the high side, she mentioned that she wanted to completely rule out preeclampsia. Apparently low platelets can be a precursor to preeclampsia.
How do you rule out preeclampsia you might ask...good question! Let me tell you about my little experience on Monday, called a 24 hour urine sample!

**A little warning. This whole 24 hour urine sample thing may sound pretty gross, and that's because it IS gross, so I appologize in advance**

Before I left Maternal Fetal, I was given a "goody bag"...more like a Kmart bag filled with an orange jug and directions...The nurse explained what I needed to do and I was on my way. Anthony had worked a little overtime but was home by the time I got back from my appointment. I couldn't wait to explain to him what I had to look forward to all day Monday. Long story short...starting from the time I woke up on Monday until the same time Tuesday morning I had the fun job of having to collect my pee EVERY time I went to the bathroom, SICK! But wait, it gets better...I had to store the orange jug in the refrigerator!! Oh my word..talk about an experience. I couldn't go anywhere because I pee every 10 minutes. I did however, fix 2 meals to put back in the freezer for when Josiah gets here.

Anyhow, Tuesday morning finally got here. Thank goodness, for 2 reasons: 1) I was tired of the whole process and 2) I would have needed another jug if I had to collect anymore pee! As soon as I showered and got ready I started toward LabCorp to drop off my "urine specimen" and to get some more blood drawn. Luckily one of the LabCorp locations is in the 575 building across from the Chick-Fil-A so it was close, unfortunately it was a gross day out and here I was having to lug around this container of pee and an umbrella. Now, I'm pretty use to awkward moments as I feel I experience them a good bit sometimes, but this moment might possibly make my top 5 list...nothing beats walking into a relatively small waiting room filled with people, with a huge orange container filled with pee, going up to the desk to sign in, asking what I should do with this jug, and knowing everyone is staring at you....how embarassing!! Anyhow, they called me back fairly quick and drew some blood and I was on my way.

Just in case you're curious here's the "orange jug"

I will be completely fine if I never have to go through that whole experience ever again. But, I am happy to report that my results came in yesterday and everything looked fine! No preeclampsia for this Momma! My platelet count even went up a little bit from 108,000 to 116,000. Please say a little prayer that that number continues to go up as Josiah's due date approaches. Dr. Pohl said he wanted to recheck it so we will see.

Thank you everyone who has been praying for us and our little man. He will be here before we know it and I can't wait to introduce him to all of the prayer warriors that have been so fervently praying for him. We love you all!!