{ edith nancy :: 36 weeks }

Today I am 36 weeks, holy cow, only 2-4 weeks left. I cannot wait to meet this sweet girl. This week has been a bit of a pregnancy roller coaster. Sunday I took a little walk to deliver some thank you cards and when I got back I was pretty swollen in my feet and hands. I rested, drank a lot of water, and put my feet up but nothing really helped. The swelling never came down and if anything got worse. I always hit a time in my pregnancies when this happens. I have gained 5 lbs of water weight this week and I can really feel it in my legs, feet, arms, and hands, and I can see it in my face. Tuesday I felt like my blood pressure was rising and my right arm and hand are numb almost all the time and it is really bad at night. I called my Dr. on Tuesday and his nurse just asked me to take my BP three times per day and try to take it easy. The numbers to be alarmed with are if my BP goes over 140 on top or 90 on the bottom. It hasn't gotten that high yet, but over the week it was steadily climbing. I also felt like I hadn't noticed as much movement from baby. Yesterday the nurse called me back to check on me and see how I was feeling. I told her about my BP, the numbness, and the lack of movement so she sent me to labor and delivery for a non stress test. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor, and took my BP every 15 minutes. I was hooked up for an hour. The baby looked great, her heart rate was awesome, her movements were right where they wanted them to be, and my BP was well within the normal range (121/78). I felt a little silly for going in but the nurses were so positive and did not make me feel bad at all. They also did a urine test to check for protein and it came back negative. They did tell me to try to slow down, put my feet up as often as I can, and to drink plenty of water. I have my 36 week apt on Wednesday, hopefully all will be well just like yesterday. I really hope to get to 38 weeks before my body forces her out.