Life, Uninterrupted, with Kerri
Follow Kerri as she proves there's more to life than diabetes.

If one more person tells me I’m in the “home stretch” of this pregnancy, I might completely lose it. Because up until a few days ago, I was dealing with puffy feet and hands, some blood sugar issues, but overall, I was managing my pregnancy safely and happily from my home. Until there was a little bit of a glitch in the system. Namely, some protein in my urine and a spike in my blood pressure.

And now I’m writing this blog entry from my new home for the next two weeks – my hospital room.

I’ve been admitted to the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy due to pre-eclampsia, which is a pregnancy complication that affects 5 – 8% of pregnancies, but seems to crop up often enough in diabetic pregnancies. (Could it be due to the strain already on our kidneys? Don’t quote me – I’m definitely not a doctor. Just speculating.) Pre-eclampsia is a condition that makes the blood vessels narrower, resulting in high blood pressure and a reduced blood flow to different organs, including the kidneys and liver. A lot of the time, blood pressure spikes and a spill of protein in the urine can be the “tell,” which is how my medical team picked up on my diagnosis.

Basically, pre-eclampsia puts considerable strain on the mother and can affect the baby. Oftentimes in these situations, babies are delivered early to keep everyone safe.

If one more person tells me I’m in the “home stretch” of this pregnancy, I might completely lose it. Because up until a few days ago, I was dealing with puffy feet and hands, some blood sugar issues, but overall, I was managing my pregnancy safely and happily from my home. Until there was a little bit of a glitch in the system. Namely, some protein in my urine and a spike in my blood pressure.

And now I’m writing this blog entry from my new home for the next two weeks – my hospital room.

I’ve been admitted to the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy due to pre-eclampsia, which is a pregnancy complication that affects 5 – 8% of pregnancies, but seems to crop up often enough in diabetic pregnancies. (Could it be due to the strain already on our kidneys? Don’t quote me – I’m definitely not a doctor. Just speculating.) Pre-eclampsia is a condition that makes the blood vessels narrower, resulting in high blood pressure and a reduced blood flow to different organs, including the kidneys and liver. A lot of the time, blood pressure spikes and a spill of protein in the urine can be the “tell,” which is how my medical team picked up on my diagnosis.

Basically, pre-eclampsia puts considerable strain on the mother and can affect the baby. Oftentimes in these situations, babies are delivered early to keep everyone safe.

So, as a precautionary measure, I’m now hanging out in the hospital under extremely close supervision, having my blood pressure checked every few hours, with doctors screening my urine and blood every other day. And my baby girl is being closely watched as well, with heartbeat checks three or four times a day and an ultrasound every other day to take measurements of the amniotic fluid. (Lower levels of amniotic fluid can indicate that pre-eclampsia is progressing.) Part of this new regimen includes bed rest, and for anyone who has ever met me, they know that sitting still for even a few minutes is a challenge for me. And now I have to spend two weeks almost entirely chilled out?

For my always-on-the-go self, this does not compute.

But I need to remember what’s in play here, and that’s my health and the health of this baby I’ve worked so hard to keep safe. I started planning for this baby over seven years ago, when I made the decision to go from injections to insulin pump therapy, and I only have two weeks (or so) left to go before my dream of motherhood becomes a reality.

Long story short, I need to sit still, behave, and give my daughter the best start to life that I can. Which, to come full circle, is why I’m blogging from my hospital bed. My medical team is not letting anything slip by, and they’re going to make sure that my baby and I are as safe as we can be.

Home stretch!!