Well THAT Wasn't Expected

This week I was supposed to go to the clinic every day to have my blood pressure checked. It's been high since pregnancy check up number one. Without fail my BP is high at the first read after walking in the door and and high normal on the second read. OK, that's not quite without fail ... two times it's been high normal the first time and that's it.

Meanwhile the doctors were calling me "at risk for preeclampsia," a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and a variety of other symptoms that result in swelling and the need for getting the baby out early, usually no later than 37 to 39 weeks into the pregnancy.

I completely blew this off. I mean, with the terrible parking situation at the hospital and the fact that they always take my blood pressure immediately after getting weighed (I mean, obviously this is a recipe for stressing me out) why WOULDN'T I have high blood pressure?! Seeeeriously.

That was until yesterday. I waltz into the clinic (and really I was waltzing because I didn't even have to look for a parking space ... but I was in a hurry because I had groceries in the car and I wanted to go home so I could go to the gym ... so really I was just as stressed as normal) and they take my blood pressure.

... Normal! The first time EVER.

But that apparently did not matter. Late last week I participated in the World's Most Annoying Lab Test and at the risk of overshare (and in the desire to avoid it) I'll just say that it's a 24 hour urine test and not go into any greater detail.

Said test showed I have a high protein count in my urine -- a sign that ye olde kidneys are not really doing their thing. In fact, it was enough of a jump from the original test (that showed what I "normally" have) to really freak the doctor out, awesome BP yesterday morning notwithstanding.

So they sent me trotting (er... waddling ... whatev) upstairs to what ammounts to the labor and delivery emergency room for a ton o' tests, basically telling me that if said tests were as shocking as the urine test, they were going to take the baby out ... right then. As in, yesterday morning, and groceries sitting in my car didn't seem to matter.

I'm just going to fastforward to the end of the story, because obviously I didnt have a baby and you've already figured that out. Basically, all of those other tests were normal and I consistently had the lowest blood pressure ever over two hours time. Crazy!

But they don't seem to care about that. This high protein business is enough to sink a person and their normal pregnancy, apparently. So after all of that freaking out they aren't making me do bed rest, and they aren't making me give up the human growing just yet, but I do have to go into the doctor twice a week for a 20 minute test. If that shows the baby is stressed at all or my blood pressure is way up, who knows what will happen.

Now the entire time I was in said emergency room, mind you without even my trusty nalgene to keep me company, I was thinking. Thinking about the fact that I wish I had my ipod with me. Thinking about the fact that I don't have a hospital bag packed. ... you know, thinking in general.

Next time Im taking the ipod. And you better bet I packed the bag.
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BTW that wasn't the only interesting thing that happened yesterday, but I'm still mulling the second over so you're just going to have to wait. Hint: I got some blog "fan mail." Just you wait.