~36 Weeks~

Well, I can start off my saying that having a birth/pregnancy plan did not suite me, because nothing...absolutely nothing...went according to my plan. I was 36 weeks on July 20th, the day we took our maternity pictures. I think we knew all along that our daughter would come early but we were not expecting the events that would transpire over the next week. The previous week I had to had to do a test on the amount of protein in my urine to detect whether or not I had preeclampsia. Warren and I went to our doctor appointment Monday morning, July 21st to see how the test turned out. We found out that I didn't have preeclampsia but I definitely was borderline and was diagnosed with pregnancy induced hypertension. In simpler terms, my blood pressure was high and was continuing to climb. Our doctor, Dr. Andrew Tucker (who I absolutely adore and trust), referred us to Dr. Fortson, a high risk OBGYN. We had to come back the next morning (Tuesday, July 22nd) at 9am to meet with him and afterwards we were to report back to Dr. Tucker's office, which was just downstairs. Once we arrived at Dr. Fortson's office and did an extremely in-depth ultrasound, Dr. Fortson came in and gave the words that would make my plan go quite off track. He recommended that we go ahead and deliver within the next day or so. He said that the baby looked great and healthy, and that since I was close enough to 37 weeks (full-term) it was more of a risk to me to try and wait it out, as my blood pressure at this point was the main concern. Despite our surprise, Warren and I were really appreciative of Dr. Fortson's thoroughness and concern. After our appointment, we immediately went to see Dr. Tucker, who wanted us to check into the hospital immediately. Needless to say, I panicked. That day was supposed to be my last day of work, and I still had a couple of things left to do. Warren was beaming and I was crying. I was a nervous wreck and Warren was  bouncing off the walls in excitement. We hadn't even packed our bags....I hadn't even washed any of her clothes yet...the nursery wasn't finished....we had only frozen a few meals...I hadn't painted my toenails...SO MANY thoughts came into my mind. I'm so grateful to have a loving husband who reminded me that nothing else mattered but the safety of our baby and myself and hey...WE WERE ABOUT TO BE A FAMILY REALLY REALLY SOON!!! 


We talked Dr. Tucker into giving us a couple of hours so we each could run by work and run home to pack a bag really quickly. We were to report back to the hospital at 2pm...which is exactly what we did. We checked in through the ER and began the journey of childbirth! Here is a picture of me once we got to our room...36 1/2 weeks pregnant and yes, still quite panicked.