Screech!!

My smooth sailing pregnancy came to a screeching halt yesterday. On Wednesday morning I noticed that my ankle (only one of them) was pretty swollen when I woke up. Not a big deal I thought, happens to most pregnant women. Then, while eating lunch at work I noticed some very odd squiggly lines that were flashing like a strobe light in my field of vision. Uh oh. I instantly thought of the pregnancy books I've read. Vision changes usually indicate a problem with blood pressure. I called yesterday morning to get into the doctor. Unfortunately, my doctor was out yesterday but they got me in with another doctor at the office. They tested my urine for proteins....passed that test with flying colors. Then the nurse took my blood pressure. It was pretty high considering how low it had been only one week before. I was diagnosed with mild preeclampsia. :( Preeclampsia, if kept under close watch can be controlled, but not improved. The doctor told me it won't get better until the babies can be delivered, and that it will likely progress. He also mentioned that I would likely not make it to the full-term 38 week mark, but would instead deliver around 36 weeks (June 30). For now, I'm not on bedrest but he wants me to take it very easy and keep my feet elevated above my heart when I'm relaxing.

It's a good thing I'm done with work today because he was going to ask me to be done. The news of getting preeclampsia has been difficult for me. I'm a very active person (even at 7 months pregnant) and it's so hard to be told I can no longer do all the things I wanted to do before the babies arrive. The good news is that it's not too bad yet and at least we have nearly everything ready for the babies arrival. I'm trying to focus on the fact that I need to relax anyway, so this is just a way to force me to do so. It will be a long time until I can take naps whenever I please, so I will try to take advantage of that situation.

All in all, the news could have been so much worse! I've made it to the 3rd trimester with no complications and very few symptoms. I feel lucky to have had that experience.