Not Just 24 Hours

Dear Stella Rose,

It wasn't a full 24 hours until 5:30pm. In the meantime, mama had to do the 3-hour glucose test, so mama didn't get to eat until 12:30pm because she had to fast for 12 hours. Not fun for a pregnant lady! Mama's blood had to be drawn in the morning and then 3 more times every hour for the next 3 hours. Unfortunately, mama didn't pass the 3-hour test either, but it still could've been from the Celestone shot.

Mama had to get a second dose of the Celestone shot at 5:30, and she also had to wait to finish the 24 hour urine sampling. Mama and papa knew they probably weren't leaving the hospital until at least the evening.

The results came in. All mama's blood work labs for signs of preeclampsia were negative, but her urine came back with protein in it. The 3-hour glucose test didn't pass either. Dr. Kerlin said mama would need to stay another night, so mama could be treated for gestational diabetes.

Mama asked Dr. Kerlin what time she thought she'd get to leave on Thursday so that mama could let her work know. Dr. Kerlin said, "Oh, you won't be going back in to work!" She also said to plan on not going back on Friday, either. Mama and papa were supposed to leave on Friday to drive down to Gulf Shores, but Dr. Kerlin said they better not! A little more serious than mama and papa expected!

As mama and papa thought about it, they were actually glad that Dr. Kerlin noticed something was off before something possibly could have went wrong while on vacation! It's just another one of the many ways God looks out for his children!

Maternal Fetal Medicine came back to do a biophysical ultrasound exam. You scored an 8 out of 8! This is what they look for: movement, practice breathing, heart rate, umbilical cord dopler, and amniotic fluid levels. The aminiotic fluid levels were still the same, but they consider that stable since the levels didn't go down.

You were looking great on the monitor! You love to move around! It's like the low fluid didn't phase you one bit! Dr. Kerlin said you even look better than most babies look at 26 weeks! What a relief!

Love,
Mama & Papa