For the first time, my body is back-firing on me a little bit. I went in for a check-up on Friday, and my blood pressure was high, which led to many hours at the hospital being monitored. Baby is doing just fine for right now, but it seems that, unless my blood pressure goes down on its own, my uterus may not be the most ideal spot for him for much longer. The doctors have started to talk about inducing labor once I reach 38 weeks, and although it is sort of nice to know that we might be on a more concrete timeline than we had been preparing for, it is also a little sad to think that my body isn't quite up to the task of finishing the job without help. There's no real reason for gestational hypertension, and no real cure besides rest and delivery, so I pretty much just have to wait and see if it gets worse, or better, and take it from there.
I'm sad that it is looking likely that I'll have an induced labor. I was really hoping to have a natural birth, with all the lovely things that go with it, and now it seems that I'll have to wait til the next time around. But I am coming to realize that with pregnancy and parenting, very little goes according to plan. We've spent months and months and months planning for something that is entirely out of our hands, and I'm trying to feel good about just letting go and seeing where it leads.
I have another appointment today to check in on everything, and I'll be staying close to home from now on - no more meetings or shows or running around the city. Except to visit the doctor, of course. I have to take care of my body so it can continue taking good care of the little body inside of it. Which is not so simple as it had once seemed.
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1 comment:
"No more meetings or shows or running around the city"
Pregnancy really seems to push a woman's body to the very edge of its abilities. I know that with Whit, it is hard on her to "have to" cut back on (external) responsibilities and activities. With competent, active women such as yourselves, I think it is especially hard to have pregnancy limit your interactions with work and society. I feel I am constantly wanting to remind Whit of how much she is doing internally and how important that work is.
Ultimately I think mother-to-be is entitled to as much RnR as she can possibly stand. In the later phases, I truly believe that it is her primary job to simply relax and oversee the miraculous fabrications of her body.
I do understand the frustration of wanting to plan something that is so wildly variable. Its humbling and worrying. With regards to the gestational hypertension, you are in our thoughts and prayers. May you and your body have an opportunity to relax and prepare for these next sublime phases.
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