The Brown Klan

Harper has arrived safe and sound 3 weeks early. I was put on bedrest on Tuesday April 21, due to high blood pressure and excessive swelling. They kept an eye on me making me come in every couple of days for blood pressure checks. My blood pressure was not getting better despite the fact that I was laying in bed all the time. They gave me permission to go to work the next day April 22 for 2 hours to train my temp that was going to take my place while I was on maternity leave as long as I stayed sitting down. Well I did that and then went out to lunch for Administrative Professionals Day. By the time I got home my blood pressure was sky high and I was really swollen. I called the dr. and they had me lay on my side for an hour and then call them back. When I took my blood pressure it was 153/105, so they sent me to the hospital to be monitored. They kept me for about 3 hours and sent me home because it had gone back down as long as I was laying on my side. I was sent home to be on strict bedrest and Kendall had to go stay with my parents for a few days, so I did not have the stimulation or the urgency to get up and chase him. It was a rough few days, as I only was able to see him for about an hour a day. I really missed him.

On Monday April 27, I was considered full term at 37 weeks. I had to go to the dr.'s office to get my blood pressure checked. It was still very high and I had started to get protein in my urine which is a sign of developing pre-eclampsia and very dangerous to both me and Harper. I was 1cm dilated and 60% thinned out. The dr. sent me on to the hospital to be induced because of this. I was so happy because my fluctuating blood pressure was really starting to wear on me.

I got to the hospital and in a room about 10:30. They got me ready and started me on pitocin at 11:00 a.m. The dr. came in at 11:45 and broke my water and told me that we would have a baby that evening. I was still 1cm at this point. Kasey was working on a huge proposal that was to be delivered on Friday, so could not come be with me. Well he could have, but he really needed to work, so I told him to stay home until things started to progress. My mom had taken me to the dr. though, so she was with me. She left at noon to go get Kendall from school and bring him home for a nap. They checked me at 2pm after I was having some terribly painful contractions. I could not get my epidural until I was 3-4cm, but I did not want pain meds before it. I was in a lot of pain at this point and was by myself working my way through them wanting to punch the wall several times. At 2 pm when they checked me I was finally 3cm. They got me my epidural at 2:30. Mom had come back by this point and Kasey was on his way. It is a good thing because again just like with Kendall once I got my epidural my blood pressure dropped. It was really drastic this time though because mine had been so high to begin with and then it got really low. They had to shoot some stuff in my IV to get my blood pressure back up and ended up having to get me some anti-nausea meds because it had gotten so low I was feeling nauseated. Mom went back home around 4:30 and they checked me. I was 4cm. Right after she left, I really started having a lot of pressure and I was starting to feel contractions again. At 5:30 they checked me and I was 6cm, so I had progressed 2cm within an hour. The pressure got worse and I really felt my epidural had worn off. The nurse checked me and I was 10cm by 6:00, so I progressed rapidly in 30 minutes. I could feel her check me, so she got concerned and anestesia came and added meds to my epidural. I could have started to push at 6:30, but the dr. was finishing up a surgery. I actually started pushing at 7pm and then there was a shift change, so I had to wait on a new nurse to take over. Every time I pushed Harper would go back in. She just did not want to come out. She finally got her head out and her cord was wrapped around her neck a couple of times, so they had to clamp it off and cut it right away. Kasey did not get to cut it because she was blue and not breathing good. They had to give her some oxygen once she was out, but she turned out fine.

Harper was born at 7:20 pm on April 27, 2009 weighing in at 6lbs 11oz (pretty big for being 3 weeks early) and was 19 inches long just like her brother. She has dark hair although it looks like she has blond highlights, so it will be interesting to see what color it turns out to be. She has some real chubby cheeks and I tell everyone that tells me how chubby they are to just remember I pushed those puppies out! She looks a lot like Kendall did when he was a baby looking back at his pictures. She is BEAUTIFUL! Big Brother Kendall is in love with her too.

I'm just so glad that we are all safe and healthy. My bp really had me concerned(I'm sure part of why it was staying up)

I had my 36 week appointment today and well it did not go so good.

I have been put on bedrest because of my high blood pressure and excessive swelling.

My bp today was 152/94 and I have gained 3lbs in less than a week due to fluid, etc.

I also found out that I'm Group B Strep positive this time around, so when I go to deliver I will have to have IV antibiotics so that I don't get Harper sick.

One good thing came out of my appointment-I'm 1 cm dilated.

I go Friday for a recheck of my bp and we will go from there.

I've had to quit work though and will not be able to go back the rest of my pregnancy, although I'm going to work some from home on my laptop.

They want me to make it to full term which is next week at 37 wks. After that they will probably induce me.