35 Weeks/Hospital Visit

Well this week was one that will not be forgotten.  It started out with our first weekly appointment.  We went in thinking it would be a regular check up but Eli had other plans.  His heart rate was again high which caused concern by the doctor.  We were hooked up to the monitor again for a Non Stress Test so they could monitor his heart rate for a longer amount of time.  As I stated in a previous post, baby's resting heart rate should be between 100-150ish; when we got hooked up to the monitor Eli's heart rate was as high as 212 at one point.  He kept moving around and wouldn't really relax.

The doctor also ordered an ultra sound.  This was the one positive of the day.  We got to see our little boy again!  He is growing just fine.  Actually when they took measurements, they estimated that he is 6 lb 14 oz already!  That puts him in the 83rd percentile for weight.  Since the ultra sound was done at 35 weeks they had a hard time seeing specific details of his heart because baby's are more developed at this stage.  The ultrasound didn't raise any concerns luckily and his heart rate was going down a bit.

After the ultrasound we spoke with the doctor and he said we needed to go to the hospital so that they could keep an eye on his heart rate.  This of course panicked me a bit but I knew it was best to monitor him plus this was the second time his heart rate was so high.  So we came home and got some things in order, took care of Carter, and made our way to the hospital.

This is the only picture I have of 35 weeks since it was quite the busy day!

The good thing about the visit was that now I know where to go when the real thing happens!  We were hooked up to the monitor for about 3 hours and Eli's heart rate was doing much better, around 150.  The nurse thought that we would be able to go home but when she spoke with the doctor on call, she said we would be staying overnight for continuous monitoring.  They moved us to a more comfortable room and there I was, hooked up to monitors all night.

Josh went home to feed Carter and then came back until I was ready for bed.  We were supposed to start our baby class that night too so we used the time to watch some of the videos on the hospital channel.

I tried to get some sleep but it was a bit difficult with monitors hooked up to my belly.  We had to wait until the doctor on call made their rounds the next morning before we could be released.  Eli's heart rate was great all night.  At times it was even in the 140's.  When the doctor came the next morning she recommended that we have appointments twice a week and get hooked up to the monitors to check his heart rate.  They still don't have a reason for why his heart rate gets so high but the reason to monitor is that if it stays that high, he could actually go into heart failure.

Oh, did I also mention that I was supposed to start my last class to fully complete my master's on Wednesday.  Thank goodness for an understanding instructor.  We got discharged, I went home and got ready and then went off to class!