Shopping On-line

Unfit for Bed rest
Two of my top five strengths according to Strengths Finder 2.0 (worth taking if you have not already) are Achiever and Learner. It is crazy how true I find each of these to be...even on bed rest. I am nearly 15 days into bed rest and have spent much of my time trying to figure out the best way to accomplish something tangible while laying here because according to Strengths Finder, each day starts at zero for me and somehow I have tied my feelings about myself to my sense of daily accomplishment. Combine that with an insatiable desire to know everything about everything (plus a laptop with ready access to google) and you can only imagine the insanity!

Going Before the Judge
For the last week, I have been feeling well, staying on my meds, living mostly contraction free, and staying in the bed or on the couch except for doctor appointments. You can probably see why I was certain that my OB was going to release me from my "prison" for "good behavior." I wasn't really anticipating a "full pardon" but I thought at the very least we might move to "parole" (I would have even been willing to wear one of those ankle bracelets like Martha Stewart so my doc could have tracked my every move). Unfortunately, my appointment did not bring the news I was hoping to hear. In fact, it seems my body is not cooperating as I had originally thought.

In the last couple of weeks, my doctor informed me, my body has begun shifting toward preeclampsia. I have been collecting my urine once a week for 24-hour urine analysis as well as going in for blood tests. The proteins in my urine have been creeping up and today when I weighed in at my appointment, I had gained 9 lbs. in only a week. My face is starting to puff along with my hands and legs. This along with my labs, suggest to my doctor that even with bed rest things are not going well in my system and the next step beyond continued bed rest will be hospitalization with round-the-clock monitoring of my system as well as the baby.

Bah Humbug
Before I left her office, Dr. Grinch...stole both Thanksgiving and Christmas... well at least the festive social parts. Her reminders were a list of NO's...including NO SHOPPING (thank goodness I have a handy-dandy laptop and a well-established account with Amazon), NO HOLIDAY GATHERINGS, and NO COOKING (not taking this last one as hard as you might think...smile).

My mom returns on Tuesday and will stay with us until December 1st. During this time, we will quietly celebrate Thanksgiving and Gabriel's 2nd Birthday.

The Thirties
We are currently in week 30 and head to week 31 on Saturday. Certainly grateful for your prayers. Specifically, we are praying that my symptoms come under control and do not cause issues for our little girl (with Gabe my high blood pressure and swelling cut-off feeding to him forcing delivery in week 36). Also, continued prayers for her health especially her ability to effectively cycle the amniotic fluid.

Love to you!
The Kings