Day One - 2-10-2009

OK....

What a day, The time is now 9:50 pm, Julia and I have been through 12 hours of "fun"
The morning started out normally, Julia got up at 5 am, got ready for work at 7, I was going to stay home sick today because of a concussion a few days earlier. Julia got a call from her doctor at 9 am and said she needed to go home and pack to be admitted to ISJ in Mankato for at least a week. Yesterday we had the routine monthly appointment and it was discovered that Julia's blood pressure was high, around 150/95. Also lab work indicted that her protein levels were higher then expected as well. The doctor ordered more lab work, which brings us to today. We had Julia admitted around 9:30 this morning for whats called Preeclampsia, which is a disorder that occurs only during pregnancy and the postpartum period and affects both the mother and the unborn baby. Affecting at least 5-8% of all pregnancies, it is a rapidly progressive condition characterized by high blood pressure and the presence of protein in the urine. Swelling, sudden weight gain, headaches and changes in vision are important symptoms; however, some women with rapidly advancing disease report few symptoms. For more information on this go here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-eclampsia

It was then decided the best course of action would be a transfer to Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis via ambulance for thier neonatal center just in case the baby is born real premature. After a gamut of tests, it was decided that it would be best to start on steriods to get the baby ready for a premature birth. Right now we are at 30 wk, 5 day. They would like to get to at least 34-36 weeks. Julia is currently on a Magnesium Sulfate drip to make sure the high blood pressure doesnt cause a seizure. So this could be a lengthy hospital stay. Julia just fell asleep, which is good, she had a rough day, She doesnt like needles much and im sure they poked at least 12-16 times. I know that our current situation is the best for both mom and baby so we are trying to keep a positive outlook. Prayers are helping so keep them coming. With that, im going to sign off for the night, look for updates throughout the day tomorrow.