35 weeks and counting...

Look at that boy!

I had my 35-week appointment with the midwife today. My blood pressure was better. I believe there is still some protein in my urine, but for now they are sticking with the diagnosis "pregnancy-induced hypertension" rather than "pre-eclampsia," and that makes me happy.

However... after consulting with one of the doctors in the practice, my midwife and the doc have decided to [continue to] monitor the baby very carefully to ensure that he's not in any kind of distress. Having made it to 35 weeks, he could certainly survive in the outside world at this point, and I imagine if they felt it necessary, they'd go ahead and induce me and bring him out straightaway. While this option has its pros, I'd much rather my little guy choose the time on his own.

So. Back to the monitoring. I (we?) had a non-stress test today, where they hooked me up to a fetal monitor for about 15 minutes and kept track of the baby's movements and changes in his heart rate, as well as looking for contractions. (I had two!) He did well, and everything seems to suggest that he is fine. I go for another non-stress test on Friday (this will apparently be a twice-a-week kind of deal), will get some bloodwork done (this will be weekly), and have to do that horrible 24-hour urine collection thing again (I hope only this one time more!).

I told you they were going to monitor him closely...